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According to immigrant-rights advocates, a 6-year-old girl separated from her mother under the Trump administration’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policy was sexually abused while at an Arizona detention facility run by Southwest Key Programs. The child was then made to sign a form acknowledging that she was told to maintain her distance from her alleged abuser, who is another child being held at the same detention facility. Ad Policy
The girl, who is only identified by the initials “D.L.,” and her mother had been fleeing gang violence in their native Guatemala. According to the family, the pair entered the United States at a point of entry in El Paso, Texas, on May 24, where they presented Border Patrol authorities with paperwork claiming that they had “credible fear” that returning to Guatemala would result in harm. On May 26, government officials separated D.L. from her mother and sent her to Casa Glendale, a shelter outside of Phoenix operated by Southwest Key Programs. It was there that the alleged abuse occurred.
Before D.L. was taken away, her mother provided authorities with the phone number of D.L.’s father, an undocumented immigrant living in California. On June 11, D.L.’s father received a phone call from Southwest Key explaining that a boy had fondled his daughter and other girls. According to family spokesperson Mark Lane, D.L.’s father was told not to worry, because Southwest Key was changing some of its protocols and such abuse would not happen again. (Lane was connected with D.L.’s family through Families Belong Together, a coalition of civil-rights groups formed in response to the recent border crackdown.) Lane says that D.L.’s father asked to speak with a social worker, but, despite promises from the facility, he never heard from one.
A Southwest Key Programs document obtained by The Nation confirms that D.L. was reported to have been sexually abused on June 4, 2018. On June 12, one day after D.L.’s father was contacted, the 6-year-old girl was presented with the form stating that, as part of the facility’s intervention protocol, she had been instructed to “maintain my distance from the other youth involved” and had been provided “psychoeducation,” described in the document as “reporting abuse” and “good touch / bad touch.” The form, posted below, shows D.L.’s “signature”—a single letter “D,” next to the characterization of her as “tender age”—which supposedly confirms that D.L. understands “that it is my responsibility to follow the safety plan” reviewed with her.
When D.L.’s mother learned about the incident, she was still being detained in Texas and was devastated. “I felt really horrible. I couldn’t do anything for her, because we were separated,” she said through a translator in an interview with The Nation. “It was a nightmare. When my husband told me what happened, I felt helpless. She was so little, she was probably so scared, probably afraid to say anything to anyone. It was a total nightmare for me.”
But the nightmare wasn’t over. On June 22, Southwest Key again contacted D.L.’s father and informed him that the same boy initially cited for abuse had hit and fondled D.L. again. According to Lane, D.L.’s father asked how the facility could allow this to happen, and the woman on the phone responded that she was only calling him to advise him that it had happened, that she didn’t have permission to say anything else, and he would have to speak with the director.
Southwest Key, a nonprofit based in Austin, Texas, is contracted by the federal government to house immigrant minors in 26 facilities across the United States, according to a report in Texas Monthly. The company’s shelters have come under increased scrutiny since the Trump administration began forcibly separating children from immigrant parents seeking asylum. In Texas, where the nonprofit operates a number of children’s shelters, facilities have been cited for hundreds of violations over the past three years. Southwest Key is expected to be paid $458 million by the federal government this year. Current Issue View our current issue
When The Nation contacted Southwest Key, a woman who answered the phone said she was not allowed to talk to the media. Additional requests for comment have not been answered. The Department of Health and Human Services, which contracts with Southwest Key, also did not have a comment at press time.
Earlier this year, the ACLU released a report, based on 30,000 pages of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, that described hundreds of cases of abuse of immigrant children in US custody between 2009 and 2014. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement calling the report “unfounded and baseless.”
Through the work of Families Belong Together and a legal team assembled for this case, D.L., her mother, and her father have now all been reunited.
According to D.L.’s mother, when the family came together again, the young girl was confused. “I hugged her, I was crying. She didn’t recognize me,” the mother said. “She told me that she thought I was never going to be with her again and that she was going to have to live with another lady. She behaved like she was still in detention. She wouldn’t touch me, hug me, or kiss me.”
“It lasted for a couple of days,” said D.L’s mother. “She didn’t know I was her mom. She thought I was another social worker.”
D.L.’s mother reports that her girl is getting better every day, but the trauma of the ordeal lingers. “She is still behaving following the rules of the detention center,” said her mother. “She doesn’t let them touch her; she doesn’t touch them. She wakes up at 6, and bathes and eats. She behaves like she is programmed.”
“She says, ‘Please don’t return me to Guatemala; I don’t want to go back to that place where I have to sleep alone with the other kids,’” added her mother.
D.L.’s father was anxious as well, since he hadn’t seen his daughter in a long time. “She recognized me quicker because of all of the photos that she had seen, and because I spoke with her many times while she was in the shelter,” he recounted.
“My morale was so low,” D.L.’s father says of the time they were all separated. But now, “When I had my wife and daughter with me, I felt so good. I knew that now that I had them at my side, they would be protected; I would be able to protect them again. I don’t know what to hope for. I don’t know what will happen. But I think that whatever happens will be good, because we are all three together again.”
Correction: An earlier version of this article inaccurately described the age of the alleged abuser. The text has been corrected. ||||| Southwest Key Programs, an Austin-based nonprofit that is federally contracted to house unaccompanied minors in 26 shelters across the country—and has recently been approved to open a new immigrant children’s center on Emancipation Avenue in Houston—has been cited for hundreds of violations by Texas state regulators during shelter inspections over the past three years.
The inspection records paint a much different picture of the conditions within Southwest Key’s shelters than the images that have come from strictly monitored tours granted in the past few weeks to media, which have generally shown clean, orderly, and well-lit shelter spaces. Even as Southwest Key’s shelters become a focus of nationwide scrutiny amid the ongoing family separation crisis at the border, the nonprofit has supporters within the immigrant advocate community. Immigration attorneys and pediatricians have been careful to aim their criticism at detention facilities and processing centers operated by federal immigration enforcement agencies and other shelters, where serious allegations of abuse and neglect—often far worse than what has shown up in Southwest Key’s state inspection reports—have already been publicly documented. But Southwest Key has a much larger footprint in Texas than any other federally contracted shelter provider, operating seventeen shelters here that hold thousands of children. Southwest Key also earns a larger cut of the federal funding to house unaccompanied immigrant minors than any other organization in the country. Despite hundreds of violations recorded at its shelters across the state in the past few years, Southwest Key’s shelters are expanding, and the nonprofit will receive $458 million from the federal government this year.
Details of the state inspection reports reviewed by Texas Monthly show that the violations range from the comparatively benign—like peeling paint in the bathrooms, rotten bananas, or inappropriately prepared chicken—to the more severe. For example, Southwest Key’s La Esperanza shelter in Brownsville self-reported a violation last year after an employee left a child who was known to be “upset” unsupervised in the bathroom for fifteen minutes, which led to her “self-harming,” according to records from the Texas Department of Health and Human Services. In 2015, Southwest Key self-reported a violation at the Casa Rio Grande shelter in San Benito, when a child urinated on himself in class after staff refused to let him go to the restroom. At the same Casa Rio Grande shelter in 2014, state inspectors found that a staff member “engaged in an inappropriate relationship” with a child. An August 2017 inspection found that two staff members at the Houston Mesa shelter in Northeast Houston “did not intervene when a child and staff member had an altercation, resulting in the staff member pushing the child.”
The state inspection records usually provide fairly detailed accounts of each violation, but some violation reports have no additional information beyond a citation of the state code that was found to have been broken. For example, in March 2018 the Houston Mesa shelter self-reported a violation that cites the section of the Texas Administrative Code that prohibits capital punishment, specifically the sub-section prohibiting workers from forcing a child to “[maintain] an uncomfortable physical position, such as kneeling, or holding his arms out,” but no additional information was included.
Frequently cited violations include children being left unsupervised in bathrooms or bedrooms for long periods of time, staff failing to stop fights, poor medical treatment for children, and lax background checks for employees.
At the Casa Quetzal shelter in Harris County alone, there were eight reported violations where staff had left children unsupervised, including one incident in May where the unsupervised child had access to a “tool/knife”; a March 2018 violation after three staffers forgot about a child in the restroom for more than twenty minutes; an incident last year when a child was left inside alone during a fire drill; and another violation where “a child was left unattended for an estimated 45 minutes until being discovered by staff.” At the Esperanza shelter in 2015, a self-reported violation showed staff left a child unattended for twenty minutes inside her room, until another child found her inside, crying.
Inspectors cited the Esperanza shelter in 2016 after reviewing video of a fight, which showed a staff member “standing and calling for backup and not mediating the fight.” After questioning the staffer, inspectors wrote that she told them “she was afraid of being hit and would have done the same thing again if she had to.” According to state records, a violation was self-reported at the Casa Rio Grande shelter in 2015 after a staff member left children alone in a room when “an altercation occurred”—he later “returned and saw the altercation and left once more.”
The Casa Padre shelter in Brownsville self-reported a violation in 2017 when a child who tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease did not receive medical treatment for nearly three weeks. At the Esperanza shelter, a violation was self-reported in 2015 after a child who was feeling sick was not given medical treatment, so he took medicine that was sneaked into the facility by another child. At the same shelter in 2015, one self-reported violation stated that “medical staff left rubbing alcohol accessible to youths entering the medical office; in consequence, a youth took and consumed the rubbing alcohol.” Casa Quetzal was cited in April after a child who was allergic to Tylenol was given the medicine anyway, despite a red band around her wrist indicating her allergy.
There were at least twenty violations citing Southwest Key’s Texas shelters for conducting late, incomplete, or insufficient background checks, and most of those individual violations were regarding background checks for multiple employees. The Casa Antigua shelter in San Benito was cited by inspectors in 2016 for failing to renew background checks for fifteen staff members within the required two-year window. That same year, inspectors cited the Casa Houston shelter in Southwest Houston for being late to renew background checks for 21 employees. Inspectors found in 2016 that two employees at Houston Mesa had not been checked through the State Child Abuse and Neglect registry before they were hired, and also found one employee whose background check was renewed six months late. At a shelter in Montgomery County last year, inspectors found that a caregiver who had access to children had been hired despite failing a preemployment drug test.
A spokesperson for Southwest Key told Texas Monthly last week that it conducts “extensive background checks” on all job applicants, and CEO Juan Sanchez has defended the nonprofit amid several media reports that have noted the shelters’s numerous violations. “We self-report allegations,” Sanchez told NPR last week. “So any time a child makes an allegation or a staff member makes an allegation, we are the ones that report that to the licensing department. Any allegation involves a staff member, we immediately suspend the staff member so they are out of the program, and we turn over the investigation to child care licensing. It is of utmost priority that we have staff in the program that have not engaged in any form of child abuse or neglect.”
Of the more than 206 notable violations reviewed by Texas Monthly, only 61 were designated by the state as having been “self-reported.” In at least one case, it appears Southwest Key did not self-report a major violation to state regulators. In 2017, Ernesto Padron was hired as a case manager at the Casa Padre shelter in Brownsville, but he was later suspended and laid off after Southwest Key discovered that he had resigned from his previous job as a Border Patrol agent after being arrested on a felony child pornography charge. Padron’s child pornography case was ultimately dismissed after a backlog at the Cameron County district attorney’s office allowed the case’s three-year statute of limitations to expire, but his arrest remained in public court records and was heavily documented in local news reports, which popped up near the top of a Google search of Padron’s name. Southwest Key told Texas Monthly last week that Padron’s arrest did not show up in their background check when he was hired.
But no background check-related violations have been self-reported to the state by Southwest Key at the Casa Padre shelter in the past three years, and the state did not report any background check violations discovered during inspections, indicating regulators may not have been notified of any suspension or disciplinary action that Southwest Key may have taken against Padron. Southwest Key did not respond to Texas Monthly‘s questions about this.
Southwest Key has been a major recipient of federal funding to house unaccompanied minors since 2014. The program’s shelters have been expanding to meet the expected influx of immigrant children, ever since the Trump administration implemented its “zero tolerance” immigration policy, which has resulted in the separation of more than two thousand children from their parents at the U.S.-Mexico border since early May. Southwest Key has received $1.5 billion from the federal government in the last decade and will receive more than $458 million in 2018, according Bloomberg.
At the same time, Southwest Key has faced increased national scrutiny in the past few weeks. Politicians and some immigrant advocates have been critical of Southwest Key’s lack of transparency and of its role in the family separation crisis, while the organization’s booming profits and quality of care have fallen under the microscope. State Representative Ana Hernandez, a Democrat from Houston, asked the Texas Department of Health and Human Services to stop its process to grant a license to Southwest Key for a new shelter in Houston, a project Houston mayor Sylvester Turner has also publicly opposed. Even actor Samuel L. Jackson has joined the opposition to Southwest Key, posting several tweets that were critical of the nonprofit’s role in the family separation crisis.
Southwest Key has largely struggled to handle this new (and generally unflattering) spotlight. Southwest Key shut down its main website due to heavy web traffic, and a temporary webpage has remained in its place for days. And after President Trump signed an executive order effectively ending family separations at the border by allowing for children to remain with their parents as they are prosecuted under the “zero tolerance” policy, Southwest Key released a statement against family separations. “We believe keeping families together is better for the children, parents and our communities, and we remain committed to providing compassionate care and reunification,” the statement said. But it was not well received on social media, as commenters questioned the sentiment and timing of the statement. |||||
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– A 6-year-old Guatemalan girl taken from her mother was sexually assaulted at least twice in a US facility—and signed a document saying it was her responsibility to avoid the abuser, the Nation reports. Identified only as DL, the girl was taken away at the Texas border on May 24 and placed in a shelter near Phoenix. Days later, shelter operator Southwest Key Programs contacted her father, who lives in Calfornia, saying a boy had fondled DL but it wouldn't happen again. A shelter document appears to confirm the June 4 assault, saying DL was told to "maintain my distance from the other youth involved" and had received "psychoeducation" about abuse and "good touch bad touch." Signed only by "D," the form says it's her "responsibility to follow the safety plan." On June 22, Southwest Key contacted DL's father again and said the same boy had again fondled and hit his daughter. Asked how that could happen, the caller said she couldn't go into details; the shelter operator said less when contacted by the Nation. A nonprofit out of Austin, Texas, Southwest Key is contracted by the feds (this year's expected contract: $458 million) to run 26 housing facilities for immigrant minors, per Texas Monthly. An ACLU report earlier this year found hundreds of immigrant-children abuse cases in US custody between 2009 and 2014, but Customs and Border Protection called the report "unfounded and baseless." DL, now reunited with her mom and dad, appears traumatized: "She wouldn't touch me, hug me, or kiss me" for days, the mom says. "She behaves like she is programmed."
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Summarize this article:
The baby's heart starts to beat at around 6 weeks. You may be able to hear – and see – your baby's heart beat for the first time when you're about 8 weeks pregnant if you have an early ultrasound exam.
Otherwise, you'll probably first hear it with a fetal Doppler at a regular prenatal care visit. Your caregiver may be able to find it with the Doppler as early as 10 weeks, but it's more common to hear it at 12 weeks. How early the sound can be picked up depends on your baby's position in your uterus, your weight, and the accuracy of your due date.
Checking your baby's heartbeat will become a regular part of every prenatal visit. Here are a few other things you may want to know:
What is a fetal Doppler? The fetal Doppler is a handheld ultrasound baby heartbeat monitor that your caregiver can use to find your baby's heartbeat. She'll cover it with ultrasound gel and move it around on your belly until she finds a spot where the heartbeat can be detected. The Doppler sends and receives sound waves that bounce off your baby's heart. In this way the fetal Doppler makes your baby's heartbeats loud enough for you to hear.
The fetal Doppler is a handheld ultrasound baby heartbeat monitor that your caregiver can use to find your baby's heartbeat. She'll cover it with ultrasound gel and move it around on your belly until she finds a spot where the heartbeat can be detected. The Doppler sends and receives sound waves that bounce off your baby's heart. In this way the fetal Doppler makes your baby's heartbeats loud enough for you to hear. Can I rent or buy a fetal Doppler? Yes, you can rent or buy a Doppler for home use. However, some experts think a home Doppler isn't a good idea, because it can take considerable training and practice to find and correctly identify a baby's heartbeat.
Yes, you can rent or buy a Doppler for home use. However, some experts think a home Doppler isn't a good idea, because it can take considerable training and practice to find and correctly identify a baby's heartbeat. What does my baby's heartbeat sound like? Many women say that the beating of their baby's tiny heart sounds like the thunder of galloping horses. Hearing it for the first time can be very moving. The heart rate of a healthy baby in the womb ranges from about 120 to 160 beats per minute. A heartbeat that's much faster or slower than that may signal heart problem.
Inside pregnancy: Weeks 1 to 9
Learn more:
Baby development in the first trimester
Talk about your baby's heartbeat with other BabyCenter parents ||||| COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio Senators, mostly along party lines, voted Tuesday to ban abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy.
Republican lawmakers inserted the anti-abortion "heartbeat bill" language at the last minute into a bill revising state child abuse and neglect laws. The bill previously cleared the House, so it will not receive additional hearings.
The House is expected to vote on the bill Tuesday night. If signed by Gov. John Kasich, the legislation would make Ohio's abortion laws the most restrictive in the nation. But the bill has split abortion foes.
Critics, including Ohio Right to Life, have long said they're sympathetic to the effort, but assert it would not survive a constitutional challenge.
For that reason, the Senate previously declined to act on the heartbeat bill. Senate President Keith Faber told reporters numerous times that the legislation would be found unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
What changed for Faber?
Donald Trump was elected, Faber told reporters after session, and he will have the opportunity to appoint at least one conservative justice to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"He's changed the dynamic and there was a consensus in our caucus to move forward," Faber said.
The bill was approved in a 20-10 vote, with Republican Sens. Gayle Manning of North Ridgeville and Bill Coley of Liberty Township voting with Democrats against the bill.
Ohio Right to Life, the state's largest anti-abortion lobby, has opposed the bill because of concerns about constitutionality. Kasich said in 2014 he shared those concerns.
Federal courts blocked similar laws in North Dakota and Arkansas. The U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld those lower-court rulings.
Democrats, abortion rights advocates oppose bill
Sen. Kris Jordan, an Ostrander Republican, offered the amendment to a bill that updated state child abuse reporting laws.
"We in this chamber discuss the opportunities for children all in the context of education, medication and infant mortality," Jordan said on the Senate floor. "But through our inaction we ensure that some children won't have the most important opportunity of all -- the opportunity to live."
Sen. Capri Cafaro, Hubbard Democrat, said government should not make medical decisions for women.
"We have no way of anticipating the reasons why women and their families and their doctors and their gods come to the decision they make about their body to terminate a pregnancy," Cafaro said.
Iris Harvey, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, said legislators are wasting taxpayers' money by passing bills that will not hold up in court.
"To slip it in at the last minute where there's no comment and no opportunity for people to really voice their opinion says we can't trust our legislators," Harvey said in an interview.
A pair of abortion bills
The heartbeat language effectively bans abortion six weeks into a woman's pregnancy, before many women find out they are pregnant. The language provides an exception for when the mother's life is threatened but does not provide exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
The heartbeat bill cleared the House in March 2015, in a 55-40 vote. It never had a hearing in the Senate.
Meanwhile, a 20-week abortion ban cleared the Ohio Senate in June 2015 but hasn't moved in the Ohio House. Faber said an agreement had been reached with the House to pass that bill.
Current Ohio law bans abortion after 24 weeks gestation, and less than 1 percent of all abortions conducted in 2015 happened after 21 weeks gestation.
Both could be on Kasich's desk at the same time.
The child abuse bill contains an appropriation, so Kasich would have line-item veto power when signing the bill containing the heartbeat language.
Last-minute maneuver
Senate Democrats protested the amendment's late filing and relevancy to the child abuse bill. Faber insisted the amendment was filed according to Senate rules, which require amendments to be filed at least 90 minutes before session.
Democrats said they were notified of the amendment at 12:24 p.m. and that it had been filed at 12:10 p.m. Session was scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., but didn't convene until closer to 1:41 p.m.
Senate Minority Leader Joe Schiavoni said he asked Faber and other leaders at 11:15 a.m. whether there was anything new for discussion and was told no.
Divided advocates
Janet Porter, president of Faith 2 Action, said supporters sent more than 25,000 emails and flooded lawmakers' phone lines urging action on the bill. Porter said Tuesday that she's confident Trump will appoint several, anti-abortion justices to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It's a brand new day and we believe that by the time this Ohio heartbeat law gets to the Supreme Court it will be upheld in its entirety," Porter said.
Ohio Right to Life President Michael Gonidakis disagreed, noting Trump will only have one justice to replace when he enters office. Adding a conservative justice would take the court from a 5-3 split to a 5-4 split supporting abortion rights.
"You have to be cautious in your approach and if you overreach the courts will set you back and be very fierce against you," Gonidakis said. "Of course we want to save every baby with a beating heart, but we have to deal with the U.S. Supreme Court that is not in our favor." ||||| Roe v. Wade: The Constitutional Right to Access Safe, Legal Abortion
Despite persistent attacks by anti-women's health politicians, support for Roe v. Wade and access to safe, legal abortion is at a record high.
Roe v. Wade affirms the constitutional right to access safe, legal abortion. The case was decided by the Supreme Court on January 22, 1973. More than 40 years later, Americans overwhelmingly support the decision.
Today, 72 percent of Americans — including a majority of Democrats, Independents, and Republicans — don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. The data is clear: Despite attacks on our rights, Americans support Roe v. Wade and the constitutional right to access abortion.
Abortion Access: Then & Now
Roe wasn’t the beginning of abortion in America — rather, it allowed people to access abortion legally and prevented people dying from unsafe, illegal abortions.
In 1965, illegal abortions made up one-sixth of all pregnancy- and childbirth-related deaths. A survey conducted in the1960s found that eight in 10 women with low incomes in New York City who had an abortion attempted a dangerous self-induced procedure.
But now that abortion is a legal right thanks to Roe, it’s become one of the safest medical procedures in the United States — with a safety record of over 99 percent. Also, because abortion is legal, people who decide to have an abortion can receive support throughout the process from medical professionals.
Attacks on Roe v. Wade
The right to safe and legal abortion has been the law of the land for more than 40 years, and is a part of the fabric of this country. Roe v. Wade is clearly established precedent, and it shouldn’t be up for debate. And yet, opponents of abortion have made it increasingly harder for people to access — and these threats are not slowing down.
Brett Kavanaugh's Confirmation to the U.S. Supreme Court
Brett Kavanaugh's confirmation to the Supreme Court dealt a huge blow to our right to access safe, legal abortion. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump, who had previously made a clear promise to nominate judges who would "automatically" overturn Roe v. Wade. Kavanaugh's nomination was widely celebrated by anti-abortion groups as an opportunity to do just that.
Prior to joining the Supreme Court, Kavanaugh had a long record of ruling to limit access to safe, legal abortion:
Just last year, he tried to use his judicial power to prevent a young undocumented woman in U.S. custody from accessing a safe, legal abortion.
He praised a dissent in Roe v. Wade, calling the constitutional right to abortion a "freewheeling" reading of the Constitution.
When the Senate asked Kavanaugh whether Roe v. Wade was decided correctly or whether he recognizes the right to privacy, he repeatedly dodged the question.
Recently leaked emails show that Kavanaugh doesn't consider Roe v. Wade to be settled law — or consider it safe from being overturned.
There are currently 13 abortion cases that are one step away from the Supreme Court. Kavanaugh would likely have the chance to rule on one of these pivotal abortion cases as soon as his first year on the bench. His rulings could limit our access to safe, legal abortion for generations to come.
With Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, access to abortion across the country is at risk. Twenty states are poised to ban abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned, threatening access for more than 25 million women — or a third of all women of reproductive age in this country. learn more
Looming Abortion Restrictions
As part of a broader effort to chip away at Roe v. Wade and ultimately ban abortion nationwide, anti-abortion politicians have been pushing a variety of bills in Congress that would restrict access to abortion at any point during pregnancy. That includes efforts to pass a harmful nationwide ban on all abortions at 20 weeks of pregnancy.
Existing Federal Abortion Ban
An abortion ban that became law in 2003 and upheld by the Supreme Court in 2007 criminalizes certain abortion procedures in the second trimester of pregnancy — procedures that doctors say are often the safest and best to protect women's health.
State Attacks on Roe v. Wade
In Roe v. Wade, the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the U.S. Constitution protects a person's right to make their own medical decisions, including the decision to have an abortion. In the more than 40 years following that landmark ruling — in decisions including Casey v. Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania and Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt — the Supreme Court has never wavered from this principle.
Despite this precedent and Americans' consistent support for Roe v. Wade, anti-women’s health state legislators continue to attack abortion access through ballot measures and legislative restrictions.
Since 2011, politicians have passed more than 400 new state abortion restrictions that shame, pressure, and punish people who have decided to have an abortion. In the first quarter of 2018, 37 states introduced 308 new abortion restrictions. Many of these laws blatantly flout Supreme Court precedent — such as in Missouri, where politicians are trying to enforce abortion restrictions nearly identical to the Texas laws that were found to be unconstitutional just two years ago.
Currently, 20 states are poised to ban access to abortion should Roe v. Wade be overturned, threatening access for more than 25 million women. That's more than a third of women of reproductive age in this country. It includes:
More than 4.3 million Hispanic or Latino women
Nearly 3.5 million Black or African American women
More than 800,000 Asian women
Nearly 300,000 American Indian or Alaska Native women
These 20 states a risk of overturning Roe v. Wade are Alabama, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
Some of these states have existing pre-Roe abortion bans or trigger laws that could ban abortion immediately if Roe's overturned. These are also states with anti-abortion politicians in power and an established history of passing abortion restrictions.
Americans Support Roe v. Wade and Don't Want it Overturned
Support for access to safe, legal abortion is at a record high.
72 percent of Americans don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.
That's the highest rate since the case was decided more than 45 years ago, and it includes people who voted for Trump.
Across the political spectrum, Americans oppose overturning Roe v. Wade.
Support for Roe v. Wade by political party includes:
53 percent of Republicans
76 percent of Independents
86 percent of Democrats
Moderates overwhelmingly support Roe v. Wade. That includes:
71 percent of self-described moderate Republicans and liberal Republicans
82 percent of moderate and conservative Democrats
Roe v. Wade has strong support from Catholic Americans.
Six in 10 Catholics support the decision.
Young people are especially supportive of Roe v. Wade.
And their approval is higher than ever. Eighty-two percent of 18-29 year olds support Roe v. Wade.
People of color overwhelmingly support Roe v. Wade. That includes:
79 percent of African Americans
71 percent of Latinxs
74 percent of Asians/Pacific Islanders
Americans simply don't believe that politicians or judges should be making personal decisions for people about their pregnancies.
Ensuring That Women Have Health Care, No Matter What
Planned Parenthood is America’s most trusted provider of reproductive health care. Planned Parenthood’s expert health care professionals are dedicated to offering all people high-quality, affordable medical care.
One in five American women has chosen Planned Parenthood for health care at least once in her life. Planned Parenthood knows firsthand why it’s so critical that everyone have access to a comprehensive range of reproductive health care services, including safe and legal abortion. ||||| CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share Ohio lawmakers have approved a bill that bans abortion once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. If this bill becomes law, it could be one of the most stringent abortion restrictions in the United States. USA TODAY
Protesters from both sides of the abortion debate lined up in front of the Hamilton County Courthouse in downtown Cincinnati in this 2014 file photo. (Photo: Liz Dufour, The Cincinnati Enquirer)
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio would have the country's most restrictive abortion laws under a bill sent to Gov. John Kasich on Tuesday, as leading Republicans were emboldened by the anticipation of Donald Trump's upcoming federal and Supreme court appointments.
If signed by Kasich, the so-called "heartbeat bill" would ban abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks' gestation. The proposal would not exempt pregnancies resulting from rape or incest, but does include an exception for an abortion to save the life of the pregnant woman.
The change would put the state in violation of current constitutional standards for abortion rights.
For years, Kasich, leading Republican senators and Ohio Right to Life have cited its unconstitutionality as their reason for opposing the heartbeat measure. Federal courts have struck down similar laws in North Dakota and Arkansas.
Senate President Keith Faber, a Republican from Celina, Ohio, even suggested last year that supporters of the heartbeat bill ultimately were undermining efforts "to save babies."
On Tuesday, Senate Republicans changed course. Faber cited Trump's election to the presidency as justification for his change of heart, saying the effort could have a shot in the courts with Trump's appointees. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that states cannot prohibit abortions unless a fetus is viable outside the womb, generally accepted as 24 weeks' gestation.
Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis was skeptical of Faber's logic that Trump's presidency would dramatically change the heartbeat bill's chances. The abortion-opponent group instead favors passage of a ban on abortions after 20 weeks' gestation as the vehicle for overturning Roe v. Wade.
"Everyone is swept up in Trumpmania, but let's be realistic," said Gonidakis.
Republican Sens. Bill Seitz and Bill Coley were among the three Republicans who voted against the Senate's decision to add the abortion ban into a separate bill, which would make changes to the way child abuse and neglect are reported.
"The sad reality of this bill passing will be that we spend millions of taxpayer dollars on attorney fees for a bill that has zero chance of becoming law," said Coley, who voted against the bill. "My biggest fear is that some of the great work that we have done in protecting life here in Ohio will be jeopardized."
But newly elected Rep. Candice Keller, a Republican from Middletown, said she was sent to Columbus to pass legislation like the heartbeat bill. "I have waited years for this bill," said Keller, who runs the Community Pregnancy Center.
Democrats railed against the last-minute changes. "You might as well call me a baby killer," said Rep. Teresa Fedor, a Democrat from Toledo, who had revealed her rape and subsequent abortion. "There’s no (rape) exception to this legislation and you know it."
Others found fault with Faber's change of heart. "The president-elect has not taken office. The president-elect has not selected any Supreme Court justices, and there are not enough vacancies to make a change," said Sen. Charleta Tavares, a Democrat from Columbus. Still, the amended child abuse bill passed the Senate 21-10.
Late Tuesday, the House passed the bill, 56-39, sending the ban to the governor. Seven House Republicans opposed the bill and two Democrats voted for it.
Kasich must decide whether to veto the abortion ban. The child abuse legislation contains an appropriation of tax revenue, so Kasich would have the authority to line-item veto the heartbeat bill if he wanted. Lawmakers plan to pass a 20-week ban as well, so Kasich could veto the stricter abortion ban while still tightening Ohio's restrictions on abortion.
The Republican governor opposes abortion, but has voiced doubts about the heartbeat bill in the past.
"I share the concerns of Right to Life about this bill and about potential litigation," Kasich told reporters last year. He declined to comment Tuesday through a spokeswoman.
Follow Jessie Balmert and Chrissie Thompson on Twitter: @jbalmert and @CThompsonENQ
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2gTbYf0 |||||
Summary:
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– Gov. John Kasich has a new bill on his desk, and if he signs it, Ohio will have the toughest abortion laws in the US, USA Today reports. The "heartbeat bill," which bans abortions after a fetal heartbeat is found (sometimes as early as six weeks), doesn't allow for rape or incest exceptions, though abortions to save the mother's life are OK. Per Cleveland.com, the bill was unexpectedly shoehorned Tuesday into child abuse and child neglect legislation, with Kasich able to veto just that item or refuse the entire deal. Ohio Republicans, including Kasich, had previously balked at such a bill, feeling it wouldn't stand up to constitutional challenges—Roe v. Wade makes it illegal for states to ban abortions before a fetus is viable—but some feel empowered by the coming Trump presidency and a future Trump Supreme Court pick. "[Trump has] changed the dynamic," GOP state Senate President Keith Faber told reporters, per Cleveland.com. Not surprisingly, abortion rights supporters are speaking out against the development, including Democratic Rep. Teresa Fedor, who last year spoke about her rape and abortion. "You might as well call me a baby killer," she says, per USA Today. Others take issue with the bill's 11th-hour passage. "To slip it in at the last minute where there's ... no opportunity for people to really voice their opinion says we can't trust our legislators," Iris Harvey, CEO of Planned Parenthood of Greater Ohio, tells Cleveland.com. One GOPer still not sure this bill is the way to go is Ohio Right to Life President Mike Gonidakis. "Everyone is swept up in Trumpmania, but let's be realistic," he tells USA Today. He'd prefer a ban on abortions after 20 weeks' gestation, a bill Kasich could approve instead of this one when and if such a bill ever makes its way to him. (In Texas, fetal remains must be cremated or buried.)
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The auto industry has made it a top priority to review the Obama administration’s 11th-hour attempt to lock in tough standards for years. | Getty Images Trump takes steps toward undoing Obama’s auto emissions limits
President Donald Trump will tap the brakes Wednesday on the Obama administration’s tightening of future vehicle emissions limits, in yet another strike at his predecessor’s energy and climate agenda.
The auto industry has made it a top priority to review the Obama administration’s 11th-hour attempt to lock in tough standards for years, and Trump will deliver on a trip to Michigan Wednesday. He will direct EPA to reconsider its recent conclusion that automakers would be able to meet strict limits strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions that would have vehicles getting more than 50 miles per gallon on average by 2025.
Story Continued Below
However, the president is leaving in place a waiver that lets California and other states enforce stricter rules within their borders — sidestepping, at least for now, an all-out climate change battle with blue states. Wednesday’s announcement is part of a series of steps the Trump administration has taken to unwind Obama’s climate change programs. The president is expected to continue that effort in the coming days with an executive action directing EPA to begin rolling back its rules on power plant carbon emissions, among other steps, along with a budget proposal that aims to slash EPA’s purse by more than 25 percent.
“We’re going to pull back the EPA’s determination because we don’t think it’s right,” a senior White House official told reporters on Tuesday. “We’re going to spend another year looking at the data in front of us, making sure everything is right, so that in 2018 we can set standards that are technologically feasible, economically feasible, that allow the auto industry to grow and create jobs, that’s very important for the president.”
Trump announced the move during a trip to the Detroit area, where he spoke to auto executives and workers.
The president’s action is the first step toward relaxing the emissions rules, although the White House official cautioned that Trump is only directing EPA to continue studying the issue, not necessarily to weaken the standards.
Trump said his instructions to the agency will include “commonsense” changes to protect automakers' jobs.
“If the standards threatened auto jobs, then commonsense changes could have and should have been made,” Trump told an audience of workers in Michigan while criticizing the Obama administration’s “11th-hour executive action” to lock those standards into place.
“We are going to cancel that executive action,” he continued. “We are going to restore the originally scheduled midterm review and we are going to ensure that any regulations we have protect and defend your jobs, your factories. We're going to be fair.”
The emissions standards were set by the Obama administration in 2012 as part of a sweeping plan to encourage automakers to produce more hybrid and electric vehicles and reduce carbon emissions from transportation. However, formal changes to the standards would take years to implement, and the Trump administration would encounter fierce resistance from environmental groups and states that have struggled to reduce air pollution.
Automakers implored Trump to revisit the standards just days after his election. In a more recent February letter to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers wrote that the Obama administration's decision to lock in the standards "may be the single most important decision that EPA has made in recent history."
Obama’s EPA signed off on the 2022-25 vehicle rules in January, just one week before Trump took office — and more than a year before it was scheduled to complete its midterm review of whether cars and light trucks would be able to comply with the targets for those years.
EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is in charge of setting the sister fuel-efficiency regulations, began their midterm review last summer and were not required to complete it until April 2018. But three weeks after last year’s election, the Obama administration proposed keeping the standards and gave the public just 30 days to comment before cementing that policy.
Agency officials at the time insisted there was nothing wrong with acting 14 months early, but critics said the decision was a political one, rushed across the finish line in an effort to tie the Trump administration’s hands.
EPA estimated in January that the 2022-25 standards would save 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 540 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions over those vehicles' lifetimes. However, the agency acknowledged that because of heavier-than-expected sales of big vehicles like SUVs, the U.S. would fall short of the much-heralded 54.5 miles-per-gallon goal that automakers and the Obama had agreed to in 2011. The Auto Alliance argues the standards would cost up to 1.1 million jobs because of lower vehicles sales, citing a 2016 study from the Center for Automotive Research, which is funded by government and corporate grants.
While the White House downplayed the notion that it necessarily will weaken the standards, the official did indicate the administration sees major problems with the regulation.
“The numbers just don’t add up,” the official said. “They may be making it in California, but overall the industry is concerned because consumers are not going to buy those vehicles if you have” low gas prices.
Environmentalists are already pushing back. “This is no time to shift cleaner car standards into reverse,” said Tiernan Sittenfeld of the League of Conservation Voters. “These commonsense clean cars standards are already doing their job to protect consumers, protect our health and climate, and reduce our oil consumption.”
Meanwhile, Securing America’s Future Energy, a group focused on reducing dependence on oil, called for all sides to come to the table. "There's no reason for environmentalists, automakers, and conservatives to risk a nuclear war over these rules, which will result in zero progress for all sides," said president and CEO Robbie Diamond.
Trump will direct EPA to put the midterm review back on the original schedule and make a new final determination by April 2018.
NHTSA has not yet completed mileage standards for 2022-25. It will start writing a new mpg rule, which must be finished by April 2020 and is meant to harmonize with EPA’s standards. NHTSA will be “much more of a partner” on the auto standards than it was under the Obama administration, the White House official said.
Rumors swirled in recent weeks that the Trump administration would seek to revoke a 2012 waiver granted by EPA to California to regulate vehicle emissions at a stricter level than the federal rules, but the administration decided against it, at least for now.
The White House official said the California standards, which are also followed by a dozen other states, are a bridge the administration will cross when it gets to that point, in 2018.
“The hope is that as you go through this process, California will be a partner and we’ll figure this out,” the official said. “If at that point California decides they want to go in a different direction, or we decide to go in a different direction, we’ll have to deal with it at that point. But that’s really down the road.”
Federal law since 1967 has given the Golden State special consideration under the Clean Air Act because of its history of high pollution and attempts to regulate emissions. California can apply for waivers from EPA to set stricter standards, which other states can then adopt as their own.
California routinely received its waivers until 2007, when the Bush administration announced it would deny California a waiver to set greenhouse gas emissions limits on cars and other vehicles, in what would have been the first such program in the nation.
That program became the template for the nationwide rules the Obama administration adopted five years later, after determining that EPA had to regulate carbon emissions. California eventually received its waiver, but agreed that it would consider any vehicles that met the EPA standards set in 2012 to be in compliance with state requirements.
A dozen states — representing 40 percent of the U.S. population — have adopted all or most of the California program, meaning that they could enforce stricter rules if the state waiver remains in place, even if EPA eventually relaxes the national requirement.
Democrats and environmentalists say there is no clear authorization in the law for EPA to revoke California’s waiver once it has been issued, meaning the state may have the upper hand over vehicle emission standards through 2025. Federal courts have never considered the issue, but Ken Kimmell, president of the Union of Concerned Scientists, said an “extremely strong case” could be made that the waiver must remain in place.
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But California is raring for a fight.
State lawmakers have hired former Attorney General Eric Holder in preparation for battles with the federal government on a variety of issues. And Gov. Jerry Brown has vowed to keep in place state policies to reduce emissions. “We can do much on our own and we can join with others — other states and provinces and even countries, to stop the dangerous rise in climate pollution,” Brown said in his State of the State address in January. “And we will.” ||||| 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. ||||| WASHINGTON — President Trump traveled to Detroit on Wednesday to announce a rollback of stringent fuel economy standards for cars and trucks that were put in place by the Obama administration — a welcome message to American automakers but one that could slow the push for a new generation of efficient vehicles.
The fuel-economy rules, aimed at cutting heat-trapping carbon dioxide, were one of the two main pillars of President Barack Obama’s climate change legacy. Put forth in 2012, they would have required automakers to nearly double the average fuel economy of new cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025, forcing automakers to speed development of highly fuel-efficient vehicles, including hybrid and electric cars.
The rules have been widely praised by environmentalists and energy economists for reducing the nation’s dependence on foreign oil and its greenhouse pollution. If put fully into effect, the fuel efficiency standards would have cut oil consumption by about 12 billion barrels and reduced carbon dioxide pollution by about six billion tons over the lifetime of all the cars affected by the regulations.
That would have been a little more than the amount of oil consumed and carbon pollution produced by the United States in a year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. |||||
What is a summary?
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– President Trump on Wednesday is making a move seen as good news for the auto industry and bad news for environmental advocates. In a visit to Detroit, the president will direct the EPA to re-examine fuel efficiency standards put in place by the Obama administration just before Trump took office, reports the Washington Post. Those standards would have required automakers to have a fleetwide average of more than 50mpg by 2025, meaning more electric and hybrid vehicles. “We’re going to pull back the EPA’s determination because we don’t think it’s right and we’re going to spend another year looking at the data in front of us,” says a White House official. The Trump administration thinks the Obama White House sped up a review and tried to rush the standards into place after the election. Automakers have said they're not feasible. Trump, however, will keep a waiver in place that allows California to set tougher standards than are in place nationally, though that could change in 2018. The Los Angeles Times sees the possibility of a "legal brawl" between the state and the White House over the standards. California wants to stick with a goal of 54mpg by 2025, and about a dozen states have voluntarily decided to follow California's lead. Politico characterizes the Trump move as "yet another strike at his predecessor’s energy and climate agenda," noting that the EPA plans to ease rules on carbon emissions at power plants in the coming days. Automakers had pleaded with Trump during a meeting to revist the EPA rules, and Trump will make it official Wednesday while tying the decision to manufacturing jobs, reports the New York Times.
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For complete World Cup 2014 coverage visit Yahoo Sports and follow @YahooSoccer
Brazilians begged Mick Jagger not to support their team at this World Cup. He developed a reputation for cursing the teams he supported at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa when he was present for the elimination of England (his homeland), the U.S. (he attended with Bill Clinton) and Brazil (he has a Brazilian son with model Luciana Gimenez). But that turned out to be nothing compared to the horror he ushered in at the 2014 World Cup.
With the Rolling Stones on tour, Jagger could not attend the early rounds of this World Cup, but still afflicted teams with his tainted support from afar. At a concert in Rome, he predicted Italy would beat Uruguay to reach the knockout stage. Italy lost 1-0 and were eliminated. At a show in Lisbon, he predicted Portugal would win the tournament. Portugal also went out in the group stage. And when England played Uruguay, he tweeted "Let's go England! This is the one we win!!!" England lost and, like the others, failed to reach the knockout stage.
This prompted Brazilians to dub Jagger "pe frio" — a term for bad luck that translates to "cold foot." They tried to harness his powers of destruction and use them against their rivals along the way to reaching the semifinals by bringing cardboard cutouts of him wearing the opposing team's shirt and offering a message of support in word bubbles. Here's one that was brought to the semifinal against Germany.
View gallery . (Getty)
But the cardboard cutouts proved to be no match for the real thing.
Wearing an England hat to try and divert his curse to a team he's already doomed, Jagger attended the Brazil-Germany match with his son, who wore a Brazil shirt, and a group of other local supporters. And the result was emphatic enough to make a believer in occult out of anyone. Brazil lost 7-1, with five goals coming in the first 30 minutes of play — a new World Cup record. It was Brazil's widest margin of defeat ever. Not just in the World Cup. Ever. It was Brazil's first home loss in a competitive match since 1975. And to top it off, Germany's Miroslav Klose scored to overtake Brazlian Ronaldo all-time World Cup scoring record against Brazil and in Brazil.
This was the first match Jagger attended during this World Cup and it just so happened to be one of the worst losses in the history of the sport. Clearly his powers of destruction are only growing stronger.
You can blame the absence of Neymar and Thiago Silva, you can blame Luiz Felipe Scolari's tactics, you can even blame Germany for being unrelenting, but this result was obviously all down to Mick Jagger, World Cup Angel of Doom.
View gallery . (Photo by Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images) ||||| Mick Jagger has an abysmal record at the World Cup. Not simply because the Rolling Stones singer supports his national side — the perennially disappointing England — but because he has developed a reputation for jinxing any team he supports. And after the 7-1 thrashing Germany unleashed on Brazil, he has ensured that his legendary curse will go down in history — at least in the eyes of Brazilians.
The legend of Jagger’s Jinx began in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup, where he attended matches to support England, the U.S. and Brazil in separate games — and saw all of them defeated. Brazilians supposedly blamed Jagger for their 2010 loss to the Netherlands on a Brazilian shirt he wore.
When the World Cup kicked off in Brazil, locals were understandably anxious to ward off Jagger’s bad mojo. He was nicknamed Pé Frio — literally “cold foot,” which is used to describe a person who brings bad luck.
With the Rolling Stones on tour during the group stages of the World Cup, soccer fans hoped he would be too distracted to do any harm. But, as AP noted in a report dated June 25, this was not to be realized:
At a concert in Rome on Saturday night, Jagger predicted to 70,000 fans that four-time World Cup champion Italy would pull off a clutch victory over Uruguay to advance to the knockout phase. The Italians lost 1-0 Tuesday and were headed home after the tournament’s first round. At a show in Lisbon in May, the singer predicted that Portugal, led by Cristiano Ronaldo, the game’s top player heading into the World Cup, would win it all at the monthlong tournament in Brazil. Portugal is on the brink of elimination after failing to win in its first two group matches. Earlier in the World Cup, Jagger suffered some good-hearted ridicule after taking to Twitter on June 19 to urge on his native England in a game, also with Uruguay. ‘Let’s go England! This is the one to win!!,’ he wrote. England lost.
BELO HORIZONTE, BRAZIL - JULY 08: Mick Jagger looks on during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil Semi Final match between Brazil and Germany at Estadio Mineirao on July 08, 2014 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. (Photo by Chris Brunskill Ltd/Getty Images) Chris Brunskill Ltd—Getty Images
Finally, Jagger turned up in Belo Horizonte for the semifinal to cheer on the host nation with his Brazilian son Lucas. Despite wearing an England cap, Pé Frio sat down to witness, along with thousands of dismayed fans of the yellow and green, reportedly the worst home loss ever in Brazilian soccer as well as the most one-sided defeat in a semifinal game in World Cup history. When it comes to soccer, Jagger just can’t get, or give, no satisfaction.
[Dirty Tackle] |||||
What is a summary?
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– Still upset about Brazil's World Cup loss yesterday? Blame Mick Jagger. To understand why, Time explains, we have to go back to the 2010 World Cup, during which Jagger cheered on England, the US, and Brazil at various matches—and England, the US, and Brazil all lost those matches. Brazilians reportedly blamed him, and a Brazilian shirt he wore. His bad-luck reputation continued this year, when he cheered on England (right before it lost to Uruguay), predicted victory for Italy over Uruguay (Italy also lost), and also predicted ultimate victory for Portugal (not gonna happen). Then, finally, he showed up at the Brazil-Germany match, and the rest is history. On Yahoo Sports, Brooks Peck calls Jagger the "World Cup Angel of Doom." "This was the first match Jagger attended during this World Cup and it just so happened to be one of the worst losses in the history of the sport," Peck writes. "Clearly his powers of destruction are only growing stronger."
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input question: Jason London Beaten, Arrested and Allegedly Craps Himself
Jason London ARRESTED ... and Allegedly Crapped His Pants
EXCLUSIVE
crapped himself in the back seat of a cop car Sunday morning ... minutes after the "" actor was punched in the face in a bar fight ... this according to a police report obtained by TMZ.Here's what the report says ...Cops were called to the Martini Ranch bar in Scottsdale, Arizona at 1:42 AM on Sunday morning after getting a call about a man who was bleeding on the street.When officers arrived to the scene ... they found Jason nursing a swollen eye. Cops spoke to a bouncer who told them Jason had been inside the club, walked by him and sneezed on him. The bouncer asked for an apology, and Jason allegedly punched him in the face.40-year-old Jason was thrown out of the bar kicking and screaming and in the process he was beaten up.Paramedics arrived to the scene to treat London, but cops say the actor got aggressive with the responders and shoved some of them. Cops say one of the officers was forced to deliver a knee strike to London's right thigh so they could seat him on the ground. London later called one of the officers a "f**king hillbilly."Jason was eventually arrested for disorderly conduct/fighting and assault.On his way to the police station ... Jason uttered a homophobic slur to the cops ... saying, "Guess what fa**ot? I f***ing love this. I f***ing own you guys so hard. I'm rich and I'm a motherf***ing famous actor! F***ing look me up, bitch."Jason continued ... "It smells like s**t in your car and your breath smells like diarrhea." According to the police report, Jason then leaned to the left and crapped in his pants. Jason then said, "I told you I'm happy as s**t."The next day, cops say they spoke with Jason's wife Sofia who told them ... "I know he's an a**hole when he drinks."Cops say Sofia also told them she had spoken with Jason ... and he had no recollection of the incident.-- Jason just tweeted about the story ... saying the police report is a "total f*cking lie."Jason explains, "I got jumped by three 250 pound bouncers. They knocked me out and beat me for several minutes.""I would never say or do the crap they are reporting. Have faith in me. The truth will come out and you will see."He continues, "Some guy thought I was hitting on his girl and had me jumped. My wife was in the next room, had no idea what even happened. I hate Arizona." ||||| PHOENIX |
PHOENIX (Reuters) - "Dazed and Confused" star Jason London has been arrested in Arizona and charged with assault and disorderly conduct over a bar room fracas in which he is accused of throwing punches and later defecating in a patrol car on his way to jail, a police report showed on Tuesday.
The 40-year-old actor, who played the main character of Randall "Pink" Floyd in the 1993 coming-of-age comedy "Dazed and Confused," responded on Twitter that he was attacked and injured and that the allegations against him were false.
"I would never say or do the crap they are reporting," he said in the message on Tuesday. "Have faith in me. The truth will come out and you will see."
"Some guy thought I was hitting on his girl and had me jumped," London tweeted. "My wife was in the next room, had no idea what even happened. I hate Arizona." London is married to actress Sofia Karstens.
Police said London was at the Martini Ranch bar in the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale on Sunday when an unidentified person complained London had sneezed on him and the person asked him to apologize.
Instead of apologizing, London punched the person, the report from Scottsdale police said. He was escorted out by bouncers and during that time he hit them, leading the security guards to "defend themselves" against London, it added.
A 26-year-old Martini Ranch bouncer, whose name was not released, was listed by police as a victim in the incident. London was charged with assault with intent to injure and disorderly conduct, the report said.
"London showed obvious signs and symptoms of extreme alcohol impairment," one of the responding officers wrote in the report.
Because of swelling and bruising around his right eye from the fracas, London was seen by paramedics but "became belligerent and started cursing" at them, the report said.
While seated in the back of the patrol car on the way to jail, one of the officers saw London "lean to the left and defecate in his pants" after the actor complained about the odor in the vehicle, the police report said.
London has in recent years had a number of guest appearances on television shows, such as the political drama "Scandal." In 2000, he starred in the TV movie "Jason and the Argonauts" and in 1999 was in horror movie "The Rage: Carrie 2."
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Mohammad Zargham) |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
output answer: – If you thought Jason London was the saner of the London twins, today is the day we set you straight. The Dazed and Confused actor was arrested at a Scottsdale, Ariz., bar Sunday after allegedly punching numerous people ... and he's accused of defecating in the cop car en route to jail, Reuters reports. He also now stars in one of the more epic mugshots of our time. The police report says the trouble started when someone accused London of sneezing on him and asked the actor to apologize. That's when London allegedly punched the guy. As bouncers escorted him out, London allegedly punched them, too. When cops showed up, "London showed obvious signs and symptoms of extreme alcohol impairment," the report says. And then the pièce de résistance: In the patrol car, London "lean[ed] to the left and defecate[d] in his pants." On Twitter, London defended himself, claiming he was "jumped" after "some guy thought I was hitting on his girl." He added, "I hate Arizona" and "I would never say or do the crap they are reporting." No pun intended, we assume. TMZ has a much more profanity-laden version of events.
input question: VICTORIA, Texas (AP) — An online fund established to raise money to rebuild a South Texas mosque destroyed by fire over the weekend has far exceeded its $850,000 goal.
A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the Islamic Center of Victoria indicated Monday that about $870,000 has been raised in just two days. The page shows more than 18,500 people have contributed.
Fire officials say it's too early to determine the cause of the blaze early Saturday morning.
The mosque was broken into about a week ago and the target of a hate message in 2013, but Muslim leaders and others are cautioning against a rush to judgment.
The Victoria Advocate reports that police estimate about 400 people attended a prayer rally Sunday outside the remains of the mosque. ||||| GoFundMe has verified that the funds raised will go directly to the intended recipient.
What does verified mean? |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
output answer:
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– An online fund established to raise money to rebuild a South Texas mosque destroyed by fire over the weekend has far exceeded its $850,000 goal. A GoFundMe page set up on behalf of the Islamic Center of Victoria indicated Tuesday that about $970,000 has been raised in just three days; the page shows more than 20,600 people have contributed. Fire officials say it's too early to determine the cause of the blaze early Saturday morning, the AP reports. The mosque was broken into about a week ago and was the target of a hate message in 2013, but Muslim leaders and others are cautioning against a rush to judgment. The Victoria Advocate reports that police estimate about 400 people attended a prayer rally Sunday outside the remains of the mosque.
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Here is a news article: The government loves your kids more than you do. Or so it seems to believe. How else to explain a government worker visiting a Maryland mom and threatening her with a fine and jail time for letting her kids play outside? Here's a letter she wrote me describing the terrible child abuse she committed:
Dear Lenore, I thought you might find this interesting: I was just visited by two representatives of Montgomery County Child Welfare Services because a "helpful" neighbor called them about my children who were at the park on Monday afternoon 10/27 without an adult. These reps told me that Maryland law prohibits me from allowing my six-year old to go to the park, which is two blocks away in a residential neighborhood, with her 10-year old brother but no adult. This is not true.
She actually dug up the Family Law statute (5-801):
"A person who is charged with the care of a child under the age of 8 years may not allow the child to be locked or confined in a dwelling, building, enclosure, or motor vehicle while the person charged is absent and the dwelling, building, enclosure, or motor vehicle is out of the sight of the person charged unless the person charged provides a reliable person at least 13 years old to remain with the child to protect the child."
And so, she continued in her note to me:
The way I see it, "locked or confined in a dwelling, building, enclosure, or motor vehicle" does NOT include a neighborhood park and this statute does not preclude me from sending my six-year old there with her brother. Therefore, I will continue to do so.
Then this ballsy mom called up the child services rep to point out the difference between "playing outside" and "locked or confined." The rep actually called back to tell her that:
...[J]udges have interpreted the law to include parks—in spite of the fact that the language is VERY clear about enclosed spaces—so a cop could charge us $500, or a judge could give us 30 days in jail, if my daughter is without supervision at the park.
The mom wants her children to have fresh air, fun, exercise and independence. She trusts her kids, her neighborhood, and her own parenting. The state, apparently, does not. And it believes things would be better for the children if mom was locked up in jail for a month.
I will keep you posted as to what happens next. ||||| I received an update from the Maryland mom of two who was contacted by Montgomery Country Child Welfare Service in November after she let her kids, ages 6 and 10, play at the park two blocks from home by themselves. She was cited for allowing a child under age 8 "to be locked or confined in a dwelling, building, enclosure, or motor vehicle while the person charged is absent."
The CPS worker decided "confined in a dwelling" was the same thing as "outside in a park."
The higher ups at child services agreed that this was insane, and the case was closed—until this week. As the mom wrote in an email to me:
It seemed that we had called their bluff and they were going to leave us alone. Not for long. This past Saturday, while I was out of town, my husband dropped my kids off at a park about 1 mile from our house and said they could walk home together. They got 1/2 way when someone called the police.
"Shots Will Be Fired"
The kids were picked up in a patrol car and brought home. The policewoman asked to see my husband's ID. When he refused, she said she was going to call for back-up. He said he would get his ID and went to go upstairs. She said - in front of the kids - that if he came down with anything else, "shots would be fired." At this point 10 yr old. called me crying, saying that the police were there and that Daddy was going to be arrested. My husband stepped outside to continue the conversation away from the kids. When he disagreed with one of the officers about the dangers that walking alone posed to the kids, she actually asked him: "Don't you watch TV?" (The answer was no). They took notes and left.
"Sign This or We Take Your Kids"
Two hours later someone from Child Welfare showed up with a temporary plan, which they wanted my husband to sign, stating that he would not leave the children unsupervised until Monday when someone from their office could contact him. He refused. She called the police, saying that if he didn't sign they would take the kids away right then. He signed. This is outrageous. We refuse to deprive our children of critical opportunities to develop responsibility and independence, and have no intention of fundamentally changing our parenting to accommodate this kind of paranoia and bullying, but it's not going to be easy. We are now waiting for the call from Child Welfare and looking for someone who can give us legal advice on these issues in Maryland. I have to admit when I read stories on your site and elsewhere about CPS threatening to take kids away, I never thought it could happen to us. I'll keep you posted. Best, Danielle Meitiv
I'll keep you posted, too, readers. Since when are children not supposed to play outside on their own? And what gives the state the right to take them from their parents when they do? ||||| You may recall the story last month of a family threatened by the authorities for letting their kids walk outside. Here's the latest from the mom, Danielle Meitiv, who is hoping the rest of the media takes note. I hope so, too.
Meitiv explains via email:
Dear Reason: On Monday, a Montgomery County child protective services worker went to my children's school and interviewed them without my knowledge or consent. Why?
Because last month we'd let them walk home from the park by themselves. It's a mile away. They are 6 and 10. We live in suburban Maryland. Let me recap the story and then tell you where we're at.
On a Saturday afternoon in December, my husband, Alexander, gave our kids permission to walk home from the local playground. I was out of town at the time. When they'd walked about halfway, a Montgomery County Police patrol car pulled up. A "helpful" neighbor had called 911 to report unaccompanied children walking outside. Our kids were brought home in a police cruiser.
At the door the police officer asked to see my husband's ID, but did not explain why. When he refused, she called for backup.
A total of six patrol cars showed up.
Alexander then agreed to get his ID and went to go upstairs. The officer said—in front of the kids—that if he came down with anything else, "shots would be fired." She proceeded to follow him upstairs, and when he said she had no right to do so without a warrant, she insisted that she did.
Our 10 yr. old called me crying and saying that the police were there and that Daddy was going to be arrested. Alexander stepped outside to continue the conversation away from the kids. When he disagreed with one of the officers about the dangers that walking alone posed to children, she asked him: "Don't you realize how dangerous the world is? Don't you watch TV?" They took notes and left.
Two hours later a CPS worker arrived with a “temporary safety plan,” which she told my husband to sign. It stated that he would not leave the children unsupervised at any time before Monday morning, when someone from their office could contact him. He refused to sign it. She informed him that if he didn’t, she would instruct the police to take the children away immediately. He signed.
We were then contacted by a CPS social worker named W. Don Thorne who made an appointment for us to come to his office on Friday, Jan. 9. A little while later he called back saying that he needed to come to us, so that he could see our house. We told him we would meet with him at his office, not our home. He said he would speak with his supervisor and call us back.
On Monday, Mr. Thorne showed up at our door unannounced, accompanied by a police officer. He insisted that he had the right to come into our house without a warrant. I said that I was invoking my Fourth Amendment rights against unwarranted search, and would not let him in, but repeated my willingness to go to his office to answer questions. Then I noticed that he had a visitor’s sticker from my children’s elementary school on his jacket. Had he been to my children's school to interview them?!
He didn't answer that question and they quickly left. I have since learned that he visited my children’s school and spoke to my children without my knowledge or consent.
We do not know what actions CPS will take next.
We are frightened and confused. We are good parents, educated professionals, and our children are happy, healthy, well-adjusted, and academically successful.
As difficult as it is for us to believe, all of these events occurred as the result of allowing our children to walk along public streets in the middle of the afternoon without our supervision.
My husband grew up in the former Soviet Union. Now he wonders if we have to just go along with whatever the authorities want us to do. I keep reminding him that we have RIGHTS in this country and that neither the police nor the bureaucrats can arbitrarily dismiss them. ||||| Danielle and Alexander Meitiv let their children, 10 and six, walk home alone from a park a mile away from their house. Now, Montgomery County is investigating the couple for child neglect. (Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)
Danielle and Alexander Meitiv let their children, 10 and six, walk home alone from a park a mile away from their house. Now, Montgomery County is investigating the couple for child neglect. (Jorge Ribas/The Washington Post)
It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.
Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.
“We wouldn’t have let them do it if we didn’t think they were ready for it,” Danielle said.
(Related: What’s wrong with a little parental supervision?)
She said her son and daughter have previously paired up for walks around the block, to a nearby 7-Eleven and to a library about three-quarters of a mile away. “They have proven they are responsible,” she said. “They’ve developed these skills.”
The Meitiv children outside the National Gallery in Washington this month. (Family photo)
The Meitivs say they believe in “free-range” parenting, a movement that has been a counterpoint to the hyper-vigilance of “helicopter” parenting, with the idea that children learn self-reliance by being allowed to progressively test limits, make choices and venture out in the world.
“The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had — basically an old-fashioned childhood,” she said. “I think it’s absolutely critical for their development — to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency.”
On Dec. 20, Alexander agreed to let the children, Rafi and Dvora, walk from Woodside Park to their home, a mile south, in an area the family says the children know well.
The children made it about halfway.
(Related: Why are we criminalizing childhood independence?)
Police picked up the children near the Discovery building, the family said, after someone reported seeing them.
Police on Wednesday did not immediately have information on the case. But a spokeswoman said that when concerns are reported, “we have a responsibility as part of our duty to check on people’s welfare.”
The Meitivs say their son told police that he and his sister were not doing anything illegal and are allowed to walk. Usually, their mother said, the children carry a laminated card with parent contact information that says: “I am not lost. I am a free-range kid.” The kids didn’t have the card that day.
Danielle said she and her husband give parenting a lot of thought.
“Parenthood is an exercise in risk management,” she said. “Every day, we decide: Are we going to let our kids play football? Are we going to let them do a sleepover? Are we going to let them climb a tree? We’re not saying parents should abandon all caution. We’re saying parents should pay attention to risks that are dangerous and likely to happen.”
She added: “Abductions are extremely rare. Car accidents are not. The number one cause of death for children of their age is a car accident.”
Danielle is a climate-science consultant, and Alexander is a physicist at the National Institutes of Health.
Alexander said he had a tense time with police on Dec. 20 when officers returned his children, asked for his identification and told him about the dangers of the world.
The more lasting issue has been with Montgomery County Child Protective Services, he said, which showed up a couple of hours after the police left.
Mary Anderson, a spokeswoman for CPS, said she could not comment on cases but that neglect investigations typically focus on questions of whether there has been a failure to provide proper care and supervision.
In such investigations, she said, CPS may look for guidance to a state law about leaving children unattended, which says children younger than 8 must be left with a reliable person who is at least 13 years old. The law covers dwellings, enclosures and vehicles.
The Meitivs say that on Dec. 20, a CPS worker required Alexander to sign a safety plan pledging he would not leave his children unsupervised until the following Monday, when CPS would follow up. At first he refused, saying he needed to talk to a lawyer, his wife said, but changed his mind when he was told his children would be removed if he did not comply.
Following the holidays, the family said, CPS called again, saying the agency needed to inquire further and visit the family’s home. Danielle said she resisted.
“It seemed such a huge violation of privacy to examine my house because my kids were walking home,” she said.
This week, a CPS social worker showed up at her door, she said. She did not let him in. She said she was stunned to later learn from the principal that her children were interviewed at school.
The family has a meeting set for next week at CPS offices in Rockville.
“I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing,” Alexander said. “We feel we’re being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with.”
Magda Jean-Louis contributed to this report. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– A climate-science expert and a physicist for the NIH say they're trying to teach their kids how to be independent and self-reliant. So they're baffled why they're being investigated for neglect by Maryland's Child Protective Services for allowing their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter to play at a Silver Spring park, then walk a mile home—alone. Danielle and Alexander Meitiv tell the Washington Post that they follow a "free-range parenting" philosophy—letting their kids gradually make decisions and gain certain freedoms. "We wouldn't have let them do it if we didn't think they were ready for it," Danielle tells the Post. The trouble started when Danielle got a visit from CPS reps in the fall for letting Rafi and Dvora play in the park alone, she wrote to Reason.com. Danielle refuted the state statute that CPS cited (it appears to deal with leaving kids alone in a building or a car, not at a park) and the investigation ended. However, when Alexander dropped the kids off solo at the park in December, they only got halfway home before cops picked them up (a neighbor had called 911)—and CPS got involved again. Danielle tells Reason.com that things have gotten "outrageous," including a cop telling her husband in front of the kids that "shots would be fired" if he came downstairs carrying anything other than his ID, and a social worker visiting the kids' school and questioning the kids without the Meitivs' permission. Neither the police nor CPS would comment on the case, though a police spokeswoman tells the Post, "We have a responsibility ... to check on people's welfare." The Meitivs are set to meet with CPS again next week. "I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing," Alexander says. "We're being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with."
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Article:
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2007, file photo, NASCAR racer Robby Gordon, right, answers a question during a news conference in Charlotte, N.C. Police said a husband and wife were found dead inside a home Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2007, file photo, NASCAR racer Robby Gordon, right, answers a question during a news conference in Charlotte, N.C. Police said a husband and wife were found dead inside a home Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Orange, Calif., and a neighbor said they were Gordon's father and stepmother.... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2007, file photo, NASCAR racer Robby Gordon, right, answers a question during a news conference in Charlotte, N.C. Police said a husband and wife were found dead inside a home Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Orange, Calif., and a neighbor said they were Gordon's father and stepmother.... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Aug. 8, 2007, file photo, NASCAR racer Robby Gordon, right, answers a question during a news conference in Charlotte, N.C. Police said a husband and wife were found dead inside a home Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — Police said a husband and wife were found dead inside a home in Southern California and a neighbor said they were the father and stepmother of former NASCAR racer Robby Gordon.
Officers discovered the bodies inside a gated house in an upscale neighborhood in Orange after receiving a 911 call Wednesday afternoon, police Lt. Fred Lopez said.
A rifle was found at the scene, and police do not believe a suspect is at large, officials said Thursday.
The Orange County coroner's office identified the deceased as Robert Gordon, 68, and Sharon Gordon, 57.
Jill Dombroske, a longtime neighbor, told The Associated Press that the Gordons were the parents of racer Robby Gordon.
The younger Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father. Known as "Baja Bob," Robert Gordon was also an accomplished off-road racer.
Dombroske said the Gordons were longtime residents of the quiet neighborhood where large homes sit on expansive hillside properties and many people own horses. Residents were out Thursday morning walking and riding horses on dirt trails that run along the winding hillside roads.
"I feel very sad," she said. "Everyone here will be very sad."
Another neighbor, Greg Saunders, said everyone in the area knew the family. He said Robert Gordon had a horse feed business and would regularly drop hay off at neighbors' homes.
"He's a very nice, down to earth guy. He has his truck and he delivers personally," Saunders said.
Police in the city about 30 miles (48.3 kilometers) southeast of Los Angeles said the cause of the deaths had not been determined. The deceased were married and autopsies were pending as part of the ongoing investigation, Lopez said.
Racer Dale Earnhardt Jr., who has won multiple NASCAR championships, tweeted that he was praying for the Gordon family. "Hope they find strength and support," he said.
Calls to representatives for Robby Gordon were not immediately returned Thursday.
Gordon, 47, has raced on numerous racing circuits, from NASCAR to IndyCar to Champ Car and IROC.
Known for his aggressive style, he earned three wins in parts of 19 seasons in what is now the NASCAR Sprint Cup. He was a full-time driver early last decade and finished a career-high 16th in the points standings in 2003 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Gordon last raced in the Sprint Cup in 2012.
Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps.
Gordon's off-road racing team was scheduled to be in Orange County this weekend.
Gordon's sister, Beccy, is married to 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner Ryan Hunter-Reay. The driver tweeted Wednesday that his wife had given birth to a boy.
___
Associated Press writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and AP freelance writer Mike Cranston in Chicago contributed to this report. ||||| This April 2008 photo shows Robert Gordon, father of NASCAR racer Robby Gordon. Police said Robert Gordon and Sharon Gordon were found dead inside a home Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Orange, Calif. (Michael... (Associated Press)
This April 2008 photo shows Robert Gordon, father of NASCAR racer Robby Gordon. Police said Robert Gordon and Sharon Gordon were found dead inside a home Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016, in Orange, Calif. (Michael Goulding/The Orange County Register via AP) (Associated Press)
ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on two people found dead inside a home in Southern California (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
Auto racer Robby Gordon says his family is in shock and grieving the loss of his father and stepmother, who were found dead inside their Southern California home.
Gordon spoke briefly to reporters Thursday near the gated house where police discovered the bodies of 68-year-old Robert Gordon and 57-year-old Sharon Gordon.
Police in the city of Orange say a rifle was found at the scene Wednesday, and investigators do not believe a suspect is at large.
Gordon says he will speak about the deaths again once authorities conclude their investigation.
The former NASCAR star thanked the racing community for its support.
He said his father, a one-time off-road racer, instilled in him a passion for motorsports and competition.
Gordon says an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned.
___
8:13 a.m.
Police in the Southern California city of Orange say a man and a woman have been found dead inside a home and a neighbor says the man was the father of former NASCAR racer Robby Gordon.
Lt. Fred Lopez says officers discovered the bodies in an upscale suburban neighborhood after receiving a 911 call Wednesday afternoon.
Officials say a weapon was found at the scene, and police do not believe a suspect is at large.
The Orange County coroner's office identifies the deceased as 68-year-old Robert Gordon and 57-year-old Sharon Gordon.
Jill Dombroske, a longtime neighbor, says Robert Gordon was the father of racer Robby Gordon. Calls to Robby Gordon were not immediately returned Thursday.
Police say the cause of the deaths have not been determined.
Robby Gordon's off-road racing team will be in Orange County this weekend.
___
1 a.m.
Police say a man and woman were found dead Wednesday afternoon inside a home in Orange.
Authorities tell the Orange County Register that officers responding to a call in Orange Park Acres found the bodies of a 68-year-old man and 57-year-old woman. Police have not released their identities or details about their relationship.
A longtime neighbor confirmed that the couple who lived in the home were relatives of former NASCAR racer Robby Gordon.
A police spokesman says the cause of the deaths have not been determined. An undisclosed weapon was also discovered.
Police do not believe a suspect is at large.
Robby Gordon's off-road racing team will be in Costa Mesa this weekend. |||||Summary:
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– Auto racer Robby Gordon says his family is in shock and grieving the loss of his father and stepmother, who were found dead inside their Southern California home, the AP reports. Gordon spoke briefly to reporters Thursday near the gated house in an upscale neighborhood in Orange where police discovered the bodies of 68-year-old Robert Gordon and 57-year-old Sharon Gordon. Police say a rifle was found at the scene Wednesday, and investigators do not believe a suspect is at large. A neighbor said the Gordons were longtime residents of the quiet neighborhood where large homes sit on expansive hillside properties and many people own horses. Gordon says he will speak about the deaths again once authorities conclude their investigation. The former NASCAR star thanked the racing community for its support. Another neighbor, Greg Saunders, tells the AP everyone in the area knew the family. He said Robert Gordon had a horse feed business and would regularly drop hay off at neighbors' homes. The younger Gordon, 47, said his father, a one-time off-road racer, instilled in him a passion for motorsports and competition. Robby Gordon currently races in an off-road series he created in 2013 called Speed Energy Formula Off-Road, following the path of his father. Known as "Baja Bob," Robert Gordon was also an accomplished off-road racer. Gordon says an event featuring his off-road racing team scheduled for this weekend in Orange County will go on as planned. Gordon is one of only four drivers, joining John Andretti, Tony Stewart and Kurt Busch, to compete in the Indianapolis 500 and NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 on the same day. He nearly won the 1999 Indy 500 before running out of fuel in the closing laps.
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Here is a news article: “His face was buried in the mattress of the stretcher,” lawyer Tim Edwards told NBC News Monday. “There was a strap over the back of his head so he couldn’t move his head. His hands and feet were hogtied so he couldn’t move those, either.”
Goode was “intoxicated” after he and four friends took something in the parking lot before the concert began said Edwards, who declined to comment on what they may have used. “That’ll be determined by the toxicology screen,” he added. “Whatever was ingested, it was done by all five of them.”
The chemical engineer “got paranoid” and left the concert site even before the gig began. He climbed out of his wife’s car and was “in a field running in circles,” Edwards said. “There was no one around him.”
Cops saw him “running from the area acting strange and not cooperative,” Lt. Mark E. Little from the Southaven, Mississippi, Police Dept. said in a statement.
“Officers attempted to detain the subject who began to resist and run from them again,” Little added. “On our initial investigation we learned that the subject had allegedly taken some LSD in a parking lot before a concert.”
Little said officers were waiting on the results of an autopsy that was performed Monday morning which will include toxicology reports.
Edwards said that Goode had asthma but "it was controlled" through his use of an inhaler. "If it played a part [in his death], we don’t know," the lawyer added. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video
SOUTHAVEN, Miss. -- An investigation is underway to get more details into how a man died in the 3400 block of Goodman Road.
Troy Goode is dead, and his family is trying to get to the bottom of what happened.
Tim Edwards, with Ballin, Ballin & Fishman P.C, is the family's attorney.
Edwards said Goode and his wife were leaving the Widespread Panic concert at Snowden Grove Amphitheater as it began.
"He was under the influence and so the wife began to drive them home," Edwards told WREG.
At some point on Goodman Road Edwards said Goode got out of the car and began running around.
Southaven Police said they were called to a shopping complex on Goodman around 7:45 p.m. on Saturday.
Police say they "attempted to detain the subject who began to resist and run from them again. He was eventually restrained by Officers and transferred to an awaiting ambulance to be transported to the hospital."
"They showed up in force and subdued him," Edwards said. "They hogtied and put his face down on the stretcher."
Edwards claimed a witness heard Goode scream that he could not breathe.
"The police took him off and next thing that we know he was a Baptist Hospital," Edwards said.
Police say they were told Goode may have taken LSD in the parking lot before the concert began.
Goode's mother got the call that he died around 11:00 p.m. Saturday night.
"The family as you might expect is grieving, and they are not irrational at all, but they want answers. They want to know why Troy died," Edwards explained.
WREG started questioning Southaven Police about the events that took place before Goode's death, but a department spokesperson said they were not commenting or releasing any more information Sunday evening.
Goode's body is being taken to Jackson, Mississippi for an autopsy.
"I'm not in the position right now pointing fingers because I don't know the cause of death," Edwards said.
Edwards believes there was someone shooting video of the incident that night and urges that person to come forward to help the family piece together what happened.
Police are awaiting toxicology test results. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– Another death in police custody has a Tennessee family scrambling for answers. Family attorney Tim Edwards tells NBC News that Troy Goode, 30, "ingested" something outside a Widespread Panic concert in Southaven, Miss., on Saturday and "got paranoid." The Memphis man, father to a 15-month-old child, reportedly left his wife's car at some point during the ride home, reports WREG, and was spotted "in a field running in circle," Edwards says. Officers say they responded to a parking lot to find Goode "running from the area acting strange and not cooperative," according to a rep, who says they believed Goode was suffering from an LSD overdose. Goode, an asthmatic, ran from officers and resisted arrest before he was taken into custody, the rep says. A lawyer who witnessed the arrest tells the Clarion-Ledger Goode "looked to me like he was struggling or convulsing or both. He appeared to be in distress." The lawyer's son began filming the scene as Goode was loaded into an ambulance on a stretcher. A woman can be heard telling him to record the event "just in case he dies." "His face was buried in the mattress of the stretcher," Edwards says, repeating witness statements heard in the video. "There was a strap over the back of his head so he couldn't move his head. His hands and feet were hogtied so he couldn't move those, either." He adds a witness heard Goode tell officers he couldn't breathe. Goode, a chemical engineer, died two hours later at a hospital. Police say they are waiting on autopsy and toxicology reports before releasing a cause of death.
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There are always going to be feuds in the world of rock and roll. Metallica and Megadeth. Creed versus everyone ever. Jack White verses The Black Keys. And now we have Taylor Swift versus Katy Perry. Of course, the definition of rock and roll has swayed quite a bit there, but like Taylor sings, "haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." And it seems that Taylor is one of the haters.
Let's dissect this rivalry. Even though Tay and Katy seem like night and day, they both shared a love for the one and only John Mayer. Which seems completely out there. Mayer clearly doesn't have a type. To be able to dance around in that guy's head for a day would be a delight. But what's fueling the feud between Swift and Perry even more is some thievery. Yes, thievery!
We could surmise the thievery first began when Katy began dating Mayer after Taylor did. Because of course it did -- you can't be just out of your teens and that well adjusted that you take breakups in stride and not hate on the new girlfriend. Unless you are one of those kinds of teens without the emotion thing. Clearly, Tay is not. Maybe Tay expected John to write a song about her and beg for her back. Just like Jake Gyllenhaal did minus the song until she finally had to sing "we are never getting back together like ever" for the umpteenth time. When that didn't happen, and John took up with Katy, it was Katy hating time.
Apparently Katy was super smiley and nice to Taylor whenever they would run into each other at the places megastars run into each other -- award shows and such. But that just made Taylor suspicious and wonder if Katy was being real or a fake. Because as we all know she also sings in "Shake It Off," "fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake." Which gets me thinking about this line in the same song:
My ex-man brought his new girlfriend / She's like "Oh, my god!" but I'm just gonna shake.
IS THAT EX MAN MAYER AND THE NEW GIRLFRIEND KATY?!?!?! I think so! Pass the popcorn! This is an after-school special of the finest variety!
Taylor is being a bit hypocritical though. She's not shaking anything off. She's holding a grudge and a big one. With the Katy-hating, it's the shared boyfriend thing, the fake thing, and it's also the stealing her dancers thing that is keeping this nasty-lite feud alive in the sweetest way. Everything Taylor does has a little sugar on top; we all know Katy prefers whipped cream. Plus, Katy roars, so look out Tay!
This dancer thievery issue has some holes in the theory. These three dancers worked with Katy first. Her tour ended and they went to work with Swift supposedly telling Taylor's peeps that this is a short gig and they're leaving for Katy once her tour started up again. That's what happened (they say), but now Taylor's all mad about it and all of this leads us to the writing of the song "Bad Blood," which is all about Katy stealing people from Taylor. A boyfriend and three dancers. And if you ask me, "Shake It Off" references Katy, too.
Shake it off, Taylor. Shake. It. Off. Also, Tay, maybe talk to Lena Dunham for advice.
What do you think of the Swift/Perry feud?
Image via Katy Perry/Instagram ||||| 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. |||||
Write a summary.
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– It would appear that story about Taylor Swift secretly writing Calvin Harris' "This Is What You Came For" is true. It would also appear Harris isn't super pleased about the way the story was reported (Swift was said to be unhappy with Harris' comments after the song came out, and that's allegedly why they split). After a rep confirmed that Swift wrote the song, Harris went on a Twitter rant Wednesday: First he was nice: "And she sings on a little bit of it too. Amazing lyric writer and she smashed it as usual" Then he was a little defensive: "I wrote the music, produced the song, arranged it and cut the vocals though. And initially she wanted it kept secret, hence the pseudonym" Then the unhappiness started creeping in: "Hurtful to me at this point that her and her team would go so far out of their way to try and make ME look bad at this stage though" Then things started getting real: "I figure if you're happy in your new relationship you should focus on that instead of trying to tear your ex bf down for something to do" Then he addressed Swift directly: "I know you're off tour and you need someone new to try and bury like Katy ETC but I'm not that guy, sorry. I won't allow it." And: "Please focus on the positive aspects of YOUR life because you've earned a great one" Then he dropped the mic: "God bless everyone have a beautiful day" That "Katy" line is, of course, a reference to this.
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News article:
Mike Huckabee emailed a select group of advisers Friday evening to explain that he couldn't say what his 2012 plans are because of a "sworn obligation" to reveal it first on Fox, adding that "once I pull the trigger...things will get even crazier."
One source said the email appeared to have gone to roughly 10 people. Yet while it sparked widespread intrigue among political watchers, several sources close to Huckabee still remained unconvinced he will run again for the presidency, citing his approach to making a decision.
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Others privately expressed concern that, if Huckabee does run, his approach so far has had an overly theatrical quality that hasn't screamed "presidential" and has been comparable to the way developer Donald Trump has gone about his potential candidacy.
By mid-afternoon Saturday, few Huckabee supporters were expressing optimism he was set to announce a run, with most speculating the "trigger" he referred to pulling meant another venture, like a politically focused non-profit, or that he was taking on a new role with Fox.
Even if he does announce he's running, many supporters made clear he'll have repair work to do with his inner ranks. Several sources said his media-hyping approach would only make the donors and operatives he's acknowledged he would need support from view him with suspicion.
Huckabee wrote in the email that he wanted to reach out to everyone individually in advance, but couldn't because "I committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel, that became impractical," according to a copy of the email obtained by Time magazine and confirmed to POLITICO as authentic by adviser Ed Rollins after a reporter read it to him.
"A lot of information and speculation was already rampant in the press today, and it frankly isn't fair to you to tell you the details and then put you in the awkward position of saying you didn't know (which at that point wouldn't be true) or saying you did know, but couldn't reveal or discuss it," Huckabee wrote.
"It was this afternoon before I could even get word to all of my own children and even now, the executive producer of my show and the staff and crew of the show don't know and won't until I actually do the final preparation literally minutes before I share the decision live Saturday night," he wrote. "I will look forward to speaking with you soon and once I fulfill my sworn obligation to Fox, I will be free to discuss things that I can't now due to promises to them and to some possible legal considerations of the announcement."
He added,"Many friends have said, "how can we help you in the decision?" My answer has consistently been, "Pray that I have clarity." I have it and will share it Saturday night during the show. Please be patient if I don't respond immediately to an email because I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that's possible."
Speculation among reporters and political watchers that Huckabee was not going to run almost immediately started to tilt the other way once the email's contents were reported.
But Rollins, who had said on Friday he believed Huckabee's lack of advance warning indicated a no-go by Huckabee, said simply, "I don't know what's going on here."
His comments mirrored other advisers who received the email, and who remained skeptical that it means he's in for 2012. ||||| Tomorrow night (Saturday) I will announce the next step in my plans for 2012 during my show on the Fox News Channel. I would like to be able to call you or email you personally and in advance of the announcement, but due to the fact that the decision was not finalized until today and that I committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel, that became impractical.
A lot of information and speculation was already rampant in the press today, and it frankly isn’t fair to you to tell you the details and then put you in the awkward position of saying you didn’t know (which at that point wouldn’t be true) or saying you did know, but couldn’t reveal or discuss it.
It was this afternoon before I could even get word to all of my own children and even now, the executive producer of my show and the staff and crew of the show don’t know and won’t until I actually do the final preparation literally minutes before I share the decision live Saturday night.
I will look forward to speaking with you soon and once I fulfill my sworn obligation to Fox, I will be free to discuss things that I can’t now due to promises to them and to some possible legal considerations of the announcement.
Many friends have said, “how can we help you in the decision?” My answer has consistently been, “Pray that I have clarity.” I have it and will share it Saturday night during the show. Please be patient if I don’t respond immediately to an email because I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that’s possible.
My heartfelt thanks for your friendship, prayers, and support,
Mike Huckabee |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– Mike Huckabee plans to make a big announcement tonight—and many people believed his 2012 decision would be "no go." But an email sent to his inner circle last night has many rethinking their bets. Time has posted the five-paragraph email in its entirety, and it's the last sentence of the last paragraph that's getting the most buzz: He writes, "Please be patient if I don't respond immediately to an email because I expect that once I pull the trigger Saturday night, things will get even crazier, as if that's possible." Politico talked to a source who said the email went to about 10 people. In it, Huckabee wrote that he had wanted to reach out in a more personal way to each of them, but "I committed to Fox that I will absolutely not release it prior to doing so on the channel" and "once I fulfill my sworn obligation to Fox, I will be free to discuss things that I can't now due to promises to them and to some possible legal considerations of the announcement." Politico notes that as soon as the email's contents were revealed, speculation immediately began to shift toward "he's running." One adviser to Huckabee who received the email isn't so sure: "Mike is savvy," he said, but "I don't know what to tell you." Click to read the entire email.
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Summarize this article:
Does a musical score hold the secret of hidden Nazi gold? In scenes reminiscent of an Indiana Jones movie, a Dutch film-maker has started digging in a Bavarian town, believing annotations made by Hitler's aide Martin Bormann on a piece of sheet music will guide him to the gold.
The theory was first developed by the Dutch writer Karl Hammer Kaatee last year, when he published scans of decades-old sheet music that was allegedly marked-up by Bormann. There's nothing exceptional about the music – Gottfried Federlein's Marsch-Impromptu – but Kaatee was drawn to the pages' hand-drawn scribbles and mysterious annotations. In the waning days of the second world war, he argued, Bormann used Marsch-Impromptu to secretly convey the location of a buried fortune: at least 100 gold bars, plus Hitler's personal collection of diamonds, known as the "tears of the wolf". The Führer supposedly intended for the document to reach Nazi party accountant Franz Xaver Schwarz in Munich; instead, Schwarz was arrested.
Now, 51-year-old film-maker Leon Giesen believes he has cracked the code and has already staged three excavations in the town of Mittenwald, in Bavaria, guided by Bormann's markings. According to Spiegel Online, Giesen's theory is centred on the hand-written phrase, "Wo Matthias die Saiten Streichelt" ("where Matthew plucks strings"). This, he claims, is a reference to Mittenwald luthier Matthias Klotz, one of the town's most famous residents. Another phrase, "Enden der Tanz" ("end the dance") is purportedly an allusion to one of the local railway's buffer stops. The sheet music may even contain a concealed diagram of the city's train tracks.
Working separately from Kaatee, Giesen is using crowdfunding to finance further Mittenwald digs. The initial drillings were reportedly fruitful: diggers found "anomalous" metals, Giesen told Der Spiegel. "[It] cold be a treasure chest," admitted Jürgen Proske, a local historian and amateur archaeologist, "but it could just be a manhole cover."
It is possible sceptics might look at Karl Hammer Kaatee's other work and doubt the likelihood of the music containing a code. For example, his 2006 book Satan's Song purported to be a fictionalised version of the true story of the CIA's hunt for Jesus. ||||| Three attempts have been made in recent weeks to find buried Nazi treasure in the Bavarian town of Mittenwald, close to the Austrian border. Even though the holes in the ground have since been filled, the traces left by drills and blue markings are still visible below a thin layer of autumn leaves.
Authorities granted permission for the undertaking in "a bid for clarity," and before too long, the story was making headlines in local papers. "The Hunt for Nazi Gold," the Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt called it.
Residents' reactions range from annoyed to amused. "I've never seen anything like it," says one. "I can't wait to see what they find down there," says another.
Behind it all is 51-year-old Leon Giesen, a Dutch filmmaker and musician with a tantalizing theory. He is convinced that Nazi treasure is languishing below Mittenwald's roads -- gold or diamonds, at the very least.
The whole idea of Nazi gold has long held a grip on the public imagination, and as a former Nazi stronghold, Bavaria provides fertile soil for many an aspiring Indiana Jones. In 1944, with the Allies and the Soviet Army threatening to advance, it was here that Heinrich Himmler, one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany, planned to build an Alpine Fortress -- a national redoubt where Nazi Germany would fight from until the end.
And that's not all. In April 1945, the Wehrmacht armed forces and officials of the Reichsbank approved a plan to store at least part of the reserves of the German Reichsbank at Einsiedl, a small town on the southwest shore of Lake Walchen. Much of these assets were handed over to the Allies, but around 100 gold bars, sacks of dollars and Swiss francs and possibly even more hoards went missing.
'Like a Treasure Map'
Even though Giesen's theory is an outlandish one by any standards, it has generated reams of publicity in his native Netherlands. It revolves around an annotated score of the "March Impromptu" by composer Gottfried Federlein.
Legend has it that in the final days of World War II, Adolf Hitler's private secretary Martin Bormann scribbled letters, figures and runes on the score that form a code giving the coordinates of the hidden Nazi treasure.
Supposedly, a military chaplain was tasked with taking the score to someone in Munich. But it apparently never arrived, instead ending up decades later in the hands of Dutch journalist Karl Hammer Kaatee.
After spending years attempting to crack the code, he finally made the score public last December and was promptly deluged with e-mails and suggestions. Even though there is no proof that the document is genuine, it exerts a magic pull on many.
"It's like a treasure map that can't be deciphered," says Jürgen Proske, a local historian from Garmisch-Partenkirchen and a hobby archeologist who has located Wehrmacht paraphernalia and a wine cellar from 1940 in the mountains around Mittenwald and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The Mystery of Mittenwald
But filmmaker Giesen now believes he's solved the mystery, maintaining that the line added to the score that reads "Wo Matthias die Saiten Streichelt" ("where Matthew plucks strings") is a reference to Mittenwald and its famous son Matthias Klotz, who founded the town's violinmaking tradition. Moreover, he contends that the score contains a schematic diagram of the train tracks that ran through Mittenwald in the 1940s, and that the rune and fragmented sentence "Enden der Tanz" ("end the dance") at the end of the score means the treasure can be found at the former site of the buffer stops.
The drilling effort in Mittenwald proved fruitful, unearthing a large quantity of unidentified metals. "Geologists call it an anomaly, a substance that doesn't belong there," says Giesen. He is now looking for a company specialized in excavations and dealing with explosives to continue the hunt, and is hoping to pay the costs by raising 25,000 with a crowdfunding campaign. He is also considering making a documentary about the project.
Local historian Jürgen Proske has his doubts about the find. "It could be a treasure chest," he says. "But it could just be a manhole cover." |||||
Summary:
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– It's quite the fanciful story: Nazis buried diamonds and 100 gold bars in a Bavarian town during World War II, in a spot whose location was encoded into an annotated piece of sheet music by Adolf Hitler's private secretary. That score, to Gottfried Federlein's "March Impromptu," was posted online in December by stumped Dutch journalist Karl Hammer, reports der Spiegel. Now, a 51-year-old fellow Dutchman who spent nine months poring over what NBC News describes as "letters, figures, and lyrics" added to the score thinks he has an answer—or, at least, a "very good theory." Leon Giesen spotted a distinct capital "M," which seemed familiar to him: An image of a Berlin train station had contained the same letter. He now believes the "M" stands for Mittenwald, where Nazi barracks once stood, and that the phrase Enden der Tanz, or "end the dance," refers to one of the rail line's buffer stops, reports the Guardian. If you're doubtful, there's also this: Giesen thinks an added lyric (wo Matthias die Saiten streichelt, "where Matthew plucks strings") refers to 17th-century violin builder Matthias Klotz, who hailed from that same town. Giesen got the go-ahead to drill three holes in Mittenwald, and says his "geophysical survey" revealed an "anomaly" in the earth. Next up: Raise more money for a full excavation, which is no small task. "If there are boxes with valuable items below the surface they could be booby-trapped, so we need to bring in specialists and meet all safety requirements first." (More treasure-related news: Jewels have been found atop the French Alps.)
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Eugene Bradshaw, , 24, is pictured in Houston, Texas in this undated handout photo obtained by Reuters November 20, 2015.
HOUSTON Houston-area police have arrested a man dubbed the "Cookie Monster" robber who is suspected in holdups at more than 30 fast-food restaurants, often demanding that a cookie be handed over along with the cash, authorities said on Friday.
Eugene Bradshaw, 24, and his accomplice Kristy George, 34, were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of armed robbery with a deadly weapon in 33 cases over the past two months in the Houston area, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.
Surveillance video of a few of the robberies, aired on local TV news, showed the suspect entering restaurants with a bag over his hand.
The suspect during the robberies said there was a gun in the bag and demanded cash, and at time cookies, before making off with the money, police said.
No lawyer was listed on the online arrest report of the suspects.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin, Texas; Editing by Will Dunham) ||||| HARRIS COUNTY, Texas -
A man and a woman have been charged in connection with a string of robberies in the Harris and Fort Bend county areas.
Harris County sheriffs on Thursday arrested 25-year-old Eugene Bradshaw, also known as "Cookie Monster," and Kristy George, 25.
According to officials, they face several charges of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon.
Members of the Harris County Sheriff's Office Robbery Division, the Houston Police Department westside tactical and robbery teams, the Texas Rangers and the Fort Bend County Sheriff's Office worked jointly to track down and arrest the suspects. |||||
Write a summary.
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– Houston-area cookies are safe again: Police say an armed robber nicknamed the "Cookie Monster" and a female accomplice are in custody in connection with a long string of armed robberies, Click2Houston reports. Police believe that in more than 30 robberies over the last two months, Eugene Bradshaw, 24, entered restaurants with a bag over his hand, said there was a gun in the bag, and demanded cookies as well as cash before making his getaway, reports Reuters. Bradshaw and accomplice Kristy George will be charged with multiple counts of aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, police say. (In Germany, a "Cookie Monster" thief sent ransom notes after stealing a century-old biscuit sculpture.)
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The stubby squid's giant eyes, that "look painted on," caused one researcher to compare the sea creature to a children's toy.
A purple squid with eyes so googly it could easily be mistaken for a character in the movie "Finding Nemo" was recently spotted by scientists off the coast of Southern California.
The so-called stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) is a species of bobtail squid native to the northern Pacific Ocean. These adorable sea creatures can be found in waters from Japan to Southern California, and typically dwell along the ocean floor, at depths of around 984 feet (300 meters), though they have been spotted as deep as 4,260 feet (1,300 m), according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).
The stubby squid's giant eyes, that "look painted on," delighted the scientists aboard the Exploration Vessel (E/V) Nautilus. In a live stream of the Nautlius' undersea explorations, one researcher said the googly-eyed squid looks "like some little kid dropped their toy." [Photos: See the World's Cutest Sea Creatures]
"On that watch it happened to be a lot of geology folks or ecology folks, so a lot of the commentary was of course more like 'What is this thing, it's so cute!' and sometimes we have less of that when we see rocks," Samantha Wishnak, a science communication fellow aboard the E/V Nautilus, told Live Science.
The scientists on watch during the squid sighting also initially misidentified the stubby squid as a cuttlefish, which the squid is closely related to. Wishnak said the E/V Nautilus team was able to rule out cuttlefish, as the species is not found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. With a few other ideas for what the species might be, the researchers on board collaborated with scientists ashore and at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and MBARI, to identify the stubby squid.
Stubby squids are nocturnal hunters, so Wishnak said it was exciting to see the animal in its "somewhat natural behavior" rather than hidden in the sea floor.
"They actually have this pretty awesome superpower, they can turn on a little sticky mucus jacket over their body and sort of collect bits of sand or pebbles or whatever they're burrowing into and make a really nice camouflage jacket," Wishnak said. "When they go to ambush something and prey on something, they're able to sort of turn off that mucus jacket."
Other stubby squid sightings by divers have resulted in the same "deer in the headlights" kind of reaction, Wishnak said. The animals are used to being in darker waters, camouflaged from view.
"I think what we encountered was a squid who was not expecting to see us in any way," Wishnak said.
The E/V Nautilus is currently on a four-month expedition to explore the eastern Pacific Ocean. Next, the ship will move from the coast of Southern California to the San Francisco Bay. The vessel's mission is to explore the oceans and seek out the unknown, and is operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, a nonprofit organization founded by oceanographer Robert Ballard.
Recent discoveries on this expedition have included a mysterious purple sea orb and a sighting of the world's largest bony fish, the Mola mola.
Original article on Live Science. ||||| Published on Aug 12, 2016
The team spotted this Stubby Squid off the coast of California at a depth of 900 meters (2,950 feet). The stubby squid (Rossia pacifica) looks like a cross between an octopus and squid, but is more closely related to cuttlefish. This species spends life on the seafloor, activating a sticky mucus jacket and burrowing into the sediment to camouflage, leaving their eyes poking out to spot prey like shrimp and small fish. Rossia pacifica is found in the Northern Pacific from Japan to Southern California, most commonly seen up to 300m deep, but specimens have been collected at 1000m depth.
E/V Nautilus is exploring the ocean studying biology, geology, archeology, and more. Watch http://www.nautiluslive.org for live video from the ocean floor. For live dive updates follow along on social media at http://www.facebook.com/nautiluslive and http://www.twitter.com/evnautilus on Twitter. For more photos from our dives, check out our Instagram @nautiluslive.
Edited by: Daniel Larsh ||||| It may look like a creature making a great Finding Dory cameo, but this adorable underwater specimen spotted relaxing on the sea floor is no Pixar animation.
The friendly-looking Rossia pacifica — or “stubby squid” — resembles both an octopus and a squid, but is in fact more closely related to cuttlefish.
At maturity, these googly-eyed creatures grow to about six cm long and, as both male and female die after mating, they live for only two years. Adults mostly eat live shrimp, The Cephalopod Page reports, and they produce large quantities of mucus, which form a thick, protective ‘Jello’ jacket around them.
The footage was captured by a remotely-operated submersible, sent down to the sea floor by scientists working on the ocean exploration vessel E/V Nautilus.
According to the Nautilus team, Rossia pacifica is found in the Northern Pacific from Japan to Southern California at depths of usually around 300m. This critter was spotted at 900m, however, and researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) claim to have spotted the specimen at even greater depths of 1,300m.
Despite their extensive experience studying underwater creatures, the scientists are clearly excited when the submersible comes across the creature as they can be heard exclaiming “his eyes look painted on!” and “he looks so fake!”.
You can explore the ocean live with the team on the Nautilus website. |||||
Write a summary.
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– It looks for all the world "like some little kid dropped their toy," as one scientist jokes. But, no, that adorable purple creature with giant, googly eyes spotted on the bottom of the ocean is, in fact, a stubby squid called Rossia pacifica. Researchers in the exploration vessel E/V Nautilus were navigating off the coast of Southern California when they came upon the creature whose eyes "look painted on," as one of the scientists describes it, reports Live Science. (See the video here.) The species of bobtail squid native to the northern Pacific typically dwells at depths of 1,000 feet—this one was much deeper—and are rare enough that the scientists initially mistook it for a cuttlefish. The team later confirmed that it's a stubby squid, and that it comes with an "awesome superpower" of being able to engulf itself in a sticky jacket through which it can collect sand and pebbles for camouflage—since that purple is such a dead giveaway. This stunned-looking squid was seen at a depth of nearly 3,000 feet, reports Time, and one scientist says other stubby squid sightings have resulted in a similar deer-in-the-headlights reaction: "I think what we encountered was a squid who was not expecting to see us in any way." (Another weird find on the ocean floor: this purple blob.)
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A fringe religious group that believes extraterrestrial scientists created life on Earth is today flying a large swastika banner over Brighton Beach and Coney Island, outraging residents in one of the world’s largest communities of Holocaust survivors.
The plane was spotted by beachgoers flying between Coney Island Avenue and Brighton 15th Street around noon. With a symbol of a Star of David interlaced with the swastika, and a message that reads “卐 + ☮ = ❤ Proswastika.org,” the banner is commissioned annually by the International Raelian Movement in an attempt to “rehabilitate” the symbol to it’s pre-Nazi-era meaning of peace. It flew over the beach in previous years, sparking headlines – and outbursts from upset residents.
This year is no different.
“A plane was flying with this sign over the beach today, not once but twice it went past the beach. Beaches filled with families and children. This is an inhumane action and must be stopped,” wrote tipster Jane Roitman, who sent in the photo above.
Another tipster called in to say that the group is being beyond insensitive, given the area’s dense population of Holocaust survivors and the current inflamed tensions between Israel and Palestine.
“I was dumbfounded by it. My grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and everyone [in Brighton Beach]knows someone whose family was affected by the Holocaust,” said Loren Azimov. “The timing could not be worse with everything going on in Israel and Palestine; it’s as bad as it has ever been.”
Azimov said there are other ways to try to rehabilitate the symbol without being so offensive, and that he’d like to see either the banner grounded.
“The First Amendment is not an acceptable reason [to let it fly.]What if it was rehabilitation of slavery? People would be up in arms,” Azimov said, adding that he’d like to see pressure on the company the organization chartered to refuse them access to the skies in the future.
It wouldn’t be the first company to decline the Raelian’s business. The group sought an expanded international campaign for what they’re calling Swastika Rehabilitation Week this year. When they approached a major Canadian billboard company, they were turned away.
“The company representative said many people would see our ad as offensive and inflammatory, so they wouldn’t post it,” said Thomas Kaenzig in a press release. Kaenzig is a planetary guide, the title for a top-ranking clergymember. “So this poses a real catch 22. How can the world be reeducated about the truth of this symbol if we can’t get the word out to show people?”
Azimov has been calling elected officials and government agencies, but to no avail. One prominent leader in Brighton Beach’s Russian-Jewish community told him that he should “consider writing a letter to the leadership of this org and kindly express compelling reasons not to fly this in our area.”
The Raelians may not be so receptive to Azimov’s rationale. Aside from brushing off similar complaints in previous years, the group appears to have a tenuous grasp on reality.
Raelism dates back to the 1970s and is the world’s largest UFO religion, believing that space scientists created life and have been popping in for visits throughout human history (with increased frequency in recent years, as evidenced through all the UFO sightings in the past century). Buddha, Jesus and other religious figures are all believed by the group to be messengers of the extraterrestrials. The group is attempting to build an interplanetary embassy to welcome extraterrestrials, and have been denied land in Israel because of their prominent use of the swastika.
The group also operates Clonaid, a company developing human cloning. The company claimed to have cloned the first human in 2002. There was no evidence that the claim was anything more than a publicity stunt, and the group has since been derided as cult led by a sex-crazed leader.
UPDATE (3:28 p.m.): Councilman Mark Treyger, who represents Coney Island and part of Brighton Beach, and is also the grandson of Holocaust survivors, called Sheepshead Bites to express his outrage.
“It isabsolutely disgusting and an egregious act of hate and intolerance. Whatever this hate group is, it’s an unacceptable act. I’ve asked the police department to investigate how this happened and how it came to be,” he said.
Treyger said he’s received numerous calls from constituents offended by the banner. He has also reached out to the mayor’s office and the City Council speaker’s office, which he said were receptive to the concerns. He said authorities are trying to determine if the plane and advertising campaign are in violation of any laws, and are also attempting to identify the company chartered to fly the banner.
The local pol said the group’s attempt to restore the symbol as one of peace and unity has little chance of success, and the group should stop its “outrageous” approach.
“Try asking someone who witnessed their loved ones murdered under that symbol if they’ll view that symbol as anything but murder and pain,” he said. “There’s no place for this here in this country.” ||||| A religious group that claims to have invented human cloning and believes scientists from another planet created life on Earth thousands of years ago has tried to “rehabilitate” the swastika with a stunt that has caused outrage in New York City communities.
The International Raelian Movement says it flew large swastika banners over New York, Miami and other cities on Saturday to close out a week-long, worldwide event dedicated to “reeducat[ing] about the truth” of the symbol’s peaceful association before it was used by the Nazis in the 1930s and ’40s.
“I was dumbfounded by it,” Loren Azimov told Brooklyn neighborhood blog, Sheepshead Bites. “My grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and everyone [in Brighton Beach] knows someone whose family was affected by the Holocaust. The timing could not be worse with everything going on in Israel and Palestine.”
Councilman Mark Treyger, who represents some of the neighborhoods over which the plane flew, told the blog that he asked the police department to investigate the incident and has contacted the mayor’s office.
“It is absolutely disgusting and an egregious act of hate and intolerance,” said Treyger, who is the grandson of survivors of the Holocaust. “Whatever this hate group is, it’s an unacceptable act.”
Joe Lhota, the Republican mayoral candidate for New York City in 2013, tweeted about the incident:
The International Raelian Movement has called it an act of religious freedom.
[Sheepshead Bites] ||||| A spacey religious group flew a banner with a swastika on it over Coney Island and the Rockaways on Saturday.
The Raelian religion shelled out $2,000 to rent a plane to pull an advertising banner aimed at changing minds about Adolf Hitler’s Nazi symbol.
The banner was part of what the Raelians call “International Swastika Rehabilitation Week,” which ended Saturday.
“By keeping the negative connotation of the swastika and linking it to Hitler, you only give credit to this guy’s monstrosity,” said Thomas Kaenzig, a Raelian spokesman, who believe the symbol arrived on Earth millions of years ago — on the same spacecraft that brought our ancestors. “It’s very important to reclaim it and explain to the public that this symbol has a beautiful origin,” he said.
But locals disagreed.
“Whenever I see a swastika, I think about white supremacy,” said Arverne resident Cuauni Lee, 46, who saw the banner in the Rockaways.
“It was horrific,” said Ariel Creamer, 14, who saw the banner near her home in Belle Harbor. Several of her relatives were killed in the Holocaust, she said. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– Visitors to New York City beaches yesterday were pretty horrified when a plane flew by towing a banner with a swastika that noted, in symbols, that "swastika plus peace equals love." It also contained a swastika combined with a Star of David. The banner, which flew through Coney Island and the Rockaways, was the work of a religious group called the Raelians, who paid $2,000 for the ad, the New York Post reports. The cause, apparently, doesn't celebrate Hitler; instead, it was part of "International Swastika Rehabilitation Week." The group, it seems, wants to end the swastika's association with the Nazis. "By keeping the negative connotation of the swastika and linking it to Hitler, you only give credit to this guy’s monstrosity," says a spokesman. Subscribers to Raelism, according to Brooklyn blog Sheepshead Bites via Time, believe alien scientists created humanity; the spaceship that carried these extraterrestrials also supposedly brought the swastika. "It’s very important to reclaim it and explain to the public that this symbol has a beautiful origin," the rep tells the Post. But a Coney Island councilman calls the sign "absolutely disgusting and an egregious act of hate and intolerance."
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Earlier this week, Snapchat introduced Snap Map, an opt-in function that allows you to share your location with your friends on a map. Snapchat’s introduction video to Snap Map, seen above, focuses on sharing the location of posted Snaps to Our Story, which is public, and could be useful for, say, seeing a collection of Snaps from a particular event.
But what Snapchat doesn’t tell you in the video, or in the app, is that if you aren’t careful, Snap Map will broadcast your exact location to anyone on your friends list every time you open the app.
When you update Snapchat and get to the Snap Map walkthrough, as seen below, only three screens need to be clicked through to complete it. Though it mentions sharing your location, it’s vague on what that exactly means. Users might not understand that Snap is posting your location on Snap Map every time you open the app. Not just when you share Snaps to Our Story.
When I first opened Snap Map, I saw the Bitmoji for one of my friends in a residential area. I presumed this was her home, and was able to zoom in close enough to estimate where she lived on that particular block. Then I called her. “This is a weird question,” I said, “but do you live at the intersection of X and Y? More particularly, one of these addresses?” I rattled off three house numbers on the street closest to where her Bitmoji appeared on Snap Map. One of them was correct. I’ve never been to her house.
Turned out, she didn’t know she had Snap Map enabled, and didn’t know it was showing her location every time she opened the app. When she updated Snap and went through the Snap Map introduction, she believed Snap was giving the option to geotag her Snaps for Our Story, as shown in the promotional video. Instead, she had inadvertently broadcast where she lived to every one of her Snap contacts.
She was understandably freaked out. “That’s so creepy!” she said. “I don’t know why anyone would use that. I understand if you’re at an event and checking in, but I wouldn’t want people to see where I am at all times.”
She had inadvertently broadcast where she lived to every one of her Snap contacts
Because Snap Map shows exactly where you are every time you open the app, there are a number of dangerous scenarios that could take place without a user even posting a Snap publicly. What if you’re at home alone, at night, and open the app to view Snaps posted by friends? What if you’re walking by yourself and get a ping that a friend sent you a Snap message, so you read it? What if you’re traveling and want to take a pic with a location-specific filter to post later on another platform? In all of these vulnerable situations, if you have Snap Map enabled, your location is immediately broadcast to some, or all of the people in your Snapchat friends list.
People have been responding to the risks Snap Map poses to children who aren’t aware of the dangers location-sharing poses, but Snap Map is a threat for teens as well, whose parents might not know about Snap Map and how it works. And it can also be dangerous for adults, as the conversation with my friend proved. Not only is the consumer-facing information for Snap Map not detailed enough, many people often agree to updates and new settings on apps without looking at the specifics.
A Snapchat representative told The Verge, “The safety of our community is very important to us and we want to make sure that all Snapchatters, parents, and educators have accurate information about how the Snap Map works.” However, the way Snap Map currently functions and is communicated to users provides opportunity for lurking, stalking, and other dangerous activities with real-life consequences.
We spoke with a Snapchat representative about the specifics of how Snap Map works. Here are details we learned that aren’t communicated through Snapchat’s video and Snap Map walkthrough:
If you are choosing to share your location on the Map, your location is updated every time the Snapchat app is opened.
If a Snapchatter chooses to share their location with all of their friends on Snapchat, the app will remind them of that choice periodically to make sure they are still comfortable with this.
Only mutual friends can see each other on the Map.
Snapchat will delete precise location data after a short period of time. (This period of time was not specified.) Some more general location data may be retained a little longer (this time was also not specified), but the company says that is also subject to regular deletion.
If you tap on your friend, you will see when their location was updated (i.e., 1 hour ago, 2 hours ago). Their location reflects where they last opened Snapchat.
A friend’s location will remain on the Map for up to 8 hours if they do not open the app again, causing their location to update. If more than 8 hours has passed and a Snapchatter has not opened the app, their location will disappear from the Map entirely.
If you want to disable Snap Map, select “Ghost Mode” upon Snapchat’s initial walkthrough. If you’ve already enabled location sharing for Snap Map, tap the settings gear in the top right while viewing the Map, and select Ghost Mode from there. ||||| We've built a whole new way to explore the world! See what's happening, find your friends, and get inspired to go on an adventure!
It's easy to get started — just pinch to zoom out and view the Map! You decide if you want to share your location with friends, or simply keep it to yourself with Ghost Mode.
If your friends are sharing their location with you, their Actionmoji will appear on the Map. Actionmojis only update when you open Snapchat.
We hope you enjoy the new Map as much as we do!
Happy Snapping!
Team Snap ||||| TAMPA, Fla. (WFTS) - Snapchat introduced a new feature called "Snap Map." Some people are excited about the new feature but some parents are worried about its impact on privacy.
The new feature allows people to see where their friends are snapping from, but Snapchat says users can turn it off so that no one knows where they are. The company also said users can limit the feature so that only their friends know where they are.
"I think first and foremost parents need to be aware of it," Antony Francis with Head of Lettuce Media said.
Francis said parents should continue to have conversations with their children as technology advances and as apps add new features.
"I think they’ll like it if their kids are using it properly, if they’re restricting it just to their friends ... younger kids, there is probably no good reason for them to be using it," Francis said.
Francis said parents should ask their kids to teach them how to use it.
"It's OK to pretend that you don’t understand, even if you might understand a little bit, get them to explain it to you to make sure they understand," Francis said.
Francis said there are a number of positives with the new feature. He said you can check where people are hanging out and that may be helpful if you are new to town or are looking for something to do.
"They do have heat maps so you can see where the hot spots are," Francis said. ||||| Police forces have raised child safety concerns about a new Snapchat feature that reveals users' locations amid fears it could be used for stalking.
Parents have been warned to turn off "Snap Maps" on their children's phones after Snapchat, which is wildly popular among teenagers, introduced the location-sharing mode this week.
The feature displays a map of nearby friends, showing their latest location gathered using a smartphone's GPS sensor. Users of the app can also search for locations such as individual schools, with the app displaying public photos and videos sent by students. |||||
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– A new Snapchat geolocation function released last week may be dishing out more personal information than users were counting on. The company announced Wednesday that once activated, Snap Map places a location Bitmoji on the new map feature for anyone on a user’s friends list to see. But according to the Verge, locations update whenever the app is opened, meaning friends can track users’ whereabouts more often than they may realize. Writer Dani Deahl tested out how much information she could gather via the map by observing a friend’s Bitmoji. Within minutes, she was able to guess her friend’s address, which she hadn’t previously known. “That’s so creepy!” her friend said after Deahl called to confirm the address, adding, “I wouldn’t want people to see where I am at all times.” The map function is opt-in and users can go into a “ghost mode” to turn it off, but a social media expert told ABC 15 that parents should make sure their children understand how it all works: “It's OK to pretend that you don’t understand, even if you might understand a little bit, get them to explain it to you to make sure they understand.” Meanwhile, the Telegraph reports that police in the UK have already issued warnings to parents on the dangers of location sharing, echoed by UK Safer Internet Centre, which cautions that the new feature "can allow people to build up a picture of where you live, go to school, and spend your time.” The Verge writes that to opt out, new Snapchat users should choose ghost mode, and those who already opted in can switch to ghost mode in the map's settings to disable the location feature.
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– The Chicago police officer charged with murder in the death of Laquan McDonald was the subject of at least 18 citizen complaints before the October 2014 incident, reports WLS. Jason Van Dyke was accused of excessive force in 10 of those incidents over his 14-year career, including two when he allegedly used a firearm to cause injury, reports the Washington Post, via data compiled by the University of Chicago and nonprofit Invisible Institute. Van Dyke, however, has never been disciplined, reports WLS. "We don't have all of Van Dyke's complaints"—the data only includes complaints those from 2002 to 2008 and 2011 to 2015—but the "misconduct complaints … show by and large excessive force and racial slurs," an Institute rep says. "And he has largely operated with impunity and under a code of silence with the same huddle of officers again and again." NBC News reports 20 complaints address Van Dyke, including four that appear to be open investigations. "I think there's a pattern of 'investigation as cover-up,'" says Invisible Institute's founder, Jamie Kalven. "As long as you can say there is a pending investigation, you don't have to acknowledge the reality of what happened." The Institute says about 80% of officers receive no more than four complaints during their careers, but 20% make up "barrels of bad apples." One Chicago officer received 68 complaints but escaped disciplinary action, reports the New York Times. Only about 5% of complaints result in penalties, and white officers were half as likely to be disciplined as black officers, per the Post. Kalven says departments should monitor the number of complaints an officer receives so they can "intervene and keep small things from becoming big things." If such a strategy were in place, "perhaps Laquan McDonald would be alive today."
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EMBED More News Videos At least 18 citizen complaints have been filed against Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke in his 14-year career.
A Chicago police officer faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of Laquan McDonald , 17.Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke is seen shooting the black teenager 16 times in October 2014. The shooting was recorded on a police dash cam video, which Chicago police released to the public on Tuesday afternoon after ABC7 Chicago Eyewitness News received a version of the video earlier in the day Van Dyke is being held without bail. Fraternal Order of Police leaders sent out an email Tuesday night to all current and retired FOP members asking them to contribute to a fundraising effort for bail money once his bond is set.When Van Dyke fired 16 shots into the Chicago teenager more than a year ago, it wasn't the first time that he ended up subject of an internal affairs case.McDonald's shooting death was excessive force, prosecutors say, for a suspect with a knife. Despite the matter being juggled by police and politicians the past year, Van Dyke's attorney says the actual case will be decided on a different standard."Thankfully politicians will not be deciding the fate of my client in this case, it will be either a judge or a jury," said Dan Hebert, Van Dyke's attorney."Based on the video alone, it will be a tough case," for Officer Van Dyke to win, said Gil Soffer, ABC7's legal analyst and a former federal prosecutor."The video certainly makes it appear that the man was fired upon when he was walking away. It doesn't show that he caused an immediate risk to the officers and the fact that what the officers were responding to was a burglary in a freight yard and not a kidnapping, not a murder or a violent act and it makes it a little more difficult, maybe a lot more difficult, for the defense to mount a justification defense," Soffer said.At least 18 citizen complaints have been filed against Van Dyke in his 14-year career, but he was never disciplined, according to a University of Chicago database. Eight complaints alleged excessive force, two involving the use of a firearm in addition to the McDonald shooting."We don't have all of Van Dyke's complaints but the complaints of, the misconduct complaints from Van Dyke that we do have in our data tool show by and large excessive force and racial slurs. And he has largely operated with impunity and under a code of silence with the same huddle of officers again and again," said Alison Flowers, U of C Invisible Institute."I'm not going to comment on what his history is. I don't know what all of his prior incidents are. All I know, is that in looking at this case, but based on evidence bringing charged. Not just looking at tape, talking to witnesses," Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez said.With all of this information being made public about a police officer charged with a crime and the major piece of evidence being made public, the videotape of what went down - what about the prospect of a fair trial?"That's the million dollar question. How is that going to taint the jury pool, more or less affect people's personal bias? Once they see it over and over dozens and dozens of times. I think that's a fair question," said Dean Angelo, president, Fraternal Order of Police.The judge said he wants Van Dyke to return to court on Monday, so the judge can reconsider bail. He also asked for prosecutors to have the dash cam video recording of the shooting ready to play Monday, saying it was "pertinent" to the matter setting bail. ||||| The officer accused in the violent shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was no stranger to the agency responsible for investigating complaints against Chicago Police. Phil Rogers reports. (Published Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2015)
The officer accused in the violent shooting of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald was no stranger to the agency responsible for investigating complaints against Chicago Police.
City records indicate at least 20 citizen complaints have been filed against officer Jason Van Dyke since he joined the Chicago Police Department in the summer of 2001. Four of those appear to be open investigations, but none of the others resulted in discipline against the officer.
A freelance Chicago journalist who won a landmark case forcing the release of over 50,000 complaint records, including Van Dyke’s, argues the shooting of LaQuan McDonald is a textbook example of how the system drags its feet in investigations of potential police misconduct.
“If this were a gang shooting, this would have been tied up quickly,” says Jamie Kalven, a founder of the non-profit Invisible Institute, which has put the complaints online. “I think there’s a pattern of ‘investigation as coverup.’ As long as you can say there is a pending investigation, you don’t have to acknowledge the reality of what happened.”
Early Tuesday, Van Dyke’s wife set up a GoFundMe page, hoping to raise at least $80,000 for his defense.
“With the holidays approaching,” she said, “our husband and father needs to be home with his family.”
But by early afternoon, the page had been taken down, after netting over $10,000 in contributions. A spokesman for GoFundMe cited a policy prohibiting fundraising for the “defense of anyone alleged to be involved in criminal activity.”
The site said all donations would be refunded to the donors.
At the Leighton Criminal Courts Building, the chief of Van Dyke’s union urged restraint.
“We’re concerned about the officer’s safety,” said Dean Angelo, President of the Fraternal Order of Police. “We’re concerned about his family.”
Angelo called Tuesday a “tough time for police.”
“We are standing by officer Van Dyke in the performance of his duty at this stage,”
At the Invisible Institute meanwhile, researchers suggested the Van Dyke case is a cautionary tale about the need to more rigorously investigate complaints which they believe are dismissed far too quickly.
“He’s what we call a repeater,” says the site’s Alison Flowers. “He’s on our repeater list, which means ten or more complaints.”
She notes that in actuality, most police officers, as many as 80 percent, have zero to four complaints for the entirety of their careers. But with the remaining 20 percent making up the majority of the misconduct reports, Flowers argues that an analysis of the data dispels the notion of a “few bad apples.”
“There are barrels of bad apples,” she says.
Kalven, who won the court case freeing up the reports, is also quick to point out that most officers serve long careers with relatively few complaints.
“The lion’s share of complaints is accounted for with a relatively small number of officers,” he says.
But even as he defended the best officers on the Chicago force, Kalven argued that the Independent Police Review Authority needed to be held more accountable for their own investigations. And he suggested Van Dyke was a classic example.
“Consider what might have happened if there was a functioning disciplinary system that was monitoring patterns,” he said. “(They might see) officers that were in high level of complaints, and note that ‘Hey, there’s something that we should look at with this officer.’
“Perhaps LaQuan McDonald would be alive today,” Kalven said. “A well-functioning disciplinary system would allow a police department to intervene, and keep small things from becoming big things.”
Van Dyke's attorney, Dan Herbert, has argued the video alone is not enough to determine if Van Dyke "acted inappropriately" when he fatally shot McDonald, though he has described the footage as "graphic and violent" and "difficult to watch." He said outside the courtroom Tuesday that the case needs to be tried in a courtroom, "not in the streets or in the media." ||||| Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke, who faces murder charges after shooting Laquan McDonald, had at least 17 citizen complaints against him, according to a University of Chicago database of police records. Here's what else the records show about complaints against Chicago cops. (Gillian Brockell/The Washington Post)
In the graphic video seen across the country Tuesday, Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke levels his gun toward Laquan McDonald, an African American teen carrying a knife and veering away from the officer. Van Dyke shoots. McDonald spins, then falls to the ground as Van Dyke continues to fire every bullet in his clip — 16 shots in all.
The officer was charged Tuesday with first degree murder in the Oct. 20, 2014, shooting, which prosecutors say was an “improper use of deadly force.” That night protesters in Chicago streamed through downtown toward police department headquarters, chanting “16 shots.”
Van Dyke, a white 14-year veteran of Chicago’s police force, has been accused of misconduct 17 times before, according to data from the University of Chicago and the journalism non-profit Invisible Institute. The database, published less than a week before the announcement that Van Dyke would be prosecuted, details tens of thousands of complaints against Chicago police officers that weren’t previously made public. Fewer than five percent of the allegations resulted in disciplinary actions for the officers; none of the 18 complaints against Van Dyke led to a penalty.
[Chicago police officer charged with murder in shooting of black teenager as city releases video footage]
“We don’t have all of Van Dyke’s complaints but … the misconduct complaints from Van Dyke that we do have in our data tool show by and large excessive force and racial slurs. And he has largely operated with impunity and under a code of silence with the same huddle of officers again and again,” the Invisible Institute’s Alison Flowers told Chicago ABC affiliate WLS.
1 of 10 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The heated scene on Chicago streets after video of police shooting released View Photos Hundreds of protesters marched after the release of a graphic video showing the killing of a black teenager by a white officer. Caption Hundreds of protesters marched after the release of a graphic video showing the killing of a black teenager by a white officer. Nov. 25, 2015 A woman greets protesters out of a car window during protests in Chicago. Andrew Nelles/Reuters Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue.
Van Dyke joined the Chicago Police Department in 2001 and spent several years on the force’s Targeted Response Unit, a city-wide team that aggressively worked in neighborhoods where crime was spiking. That force was disbanded by Superintendent Garry McCarthy in 2011.
The allegations against Van Dyke include 10 complaints of excessive force, including two incidents where he allegedly used a firearm, causing injury. He was also accused of improper searches and making racially or ethnically biased remarks. Four of the allegations were proven factual, but Van Dyke’s actions were deemed lawful and appropriate. In most of the other cases, there was either not enough evidence to prove or disprove the complaint or the allegation was proven unfounded.
The information in the database comes from reports spanning 2002 to 2008 and 2011 to 2015, which were released by the Chicago Police Department in response to Freedom of Information Act requests and a years-long legal battle over whether citizen complaints should be public information.
Editor's note: This video contains graphic content. Chicago police released October 2014 video of police shooting Laquan McDonald, a black 17-year-old. Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke was charged with first-degree murder. (Chicago Police Department)
The data shows that it’s rare for any officers to be penalized, and white officers were half as likely as black ones to be disciplined for a complaint. More than 60 percent of allegations that resulted in discipline came from white citizens, even though they accounted for just 20 percent of complainants. (Black complainants were also much more likely to fail to file an affidavit, a necessary step in the investigation process, which may account for some of the disparity.)
Regardless of race, it was extremely rare for allegations of any kind to be upheld — four percent of the 56,361 allegations were sustained. And it was even rarer for officers to be disciplined with more than a reprimand or a suspension of less than 10 days.
The Independent Police Review Authority (IPRA), which investigates police shootings and misconduct allegations, is led mostly by former cops, according to Chicago public radio station WBEZ. That has led some to question how independent the agency really is.
“Complaints may be seen not through the eyes of the citizen but through the eyes of a police officer,” Paula Tillman, a former IPRA investigative supervisor who was a Chicago cop herself in the 1970s and 1980s, told WBEZ. “The investigations can be engineered so that they have a tilt toward law enforcement and not what the citizen is trying to say.”
[54 police officers have faced criminal charges for fatally shooting someone while on duty in the past decade]
The Invisible Institute database also reveals how easy it could be for a few apparently abusive officers to garner a disproportionate number of complaints. Apparent repeat offenders — officers with more than 10 complaints against them — represented 30 percent of all complaints, even though they made up only 10 percent of the police force — a fact that police accountability experts like University of Pittsburgh Law School professor David A. Harris find troubling.
“It’s not unusual for a police officer to get a complaint, but the fact is that a complaint is a significant piece of information if it is a recurring thing,” Harris told the New York Times. “It is the patterns we worry about.”
Though Van Dyke appears in the database many times, he is by no means the most complained-about officer listed. That distinction goes to Jerome Finnigan, the subject of 68 citizen complaints in nearly two decades with the Chicago Police Department; none of the allegations resulted in disciplinary action.
In 2011, Finnigan was convicted of robbing criminal suspects while serving on an elite force and ordering a hit on a cop he thought might turn him in. At his sentencing, Finnigan admitted to having become “a corrupt police officer,” according to the Chicago Tribune. But he said the police department was aware, and for many years did nothing.
“My bosses knew what I was doing out there,” he said, “and it went on and on. And this wasn’t the exception to the rule. This was the rule.”
The same year Finnigan was convicted, Garry McCarthy was appointed the city’s police superintendent. Since then, city officials told the New York Times, the police department that has been plagued for years by instances of brutality and abuse has undergone reforms in how it deals with officer misconduct. The department said it gets half as many citizen complaints as it did several years ago. (The Invisible Institute database lists 5,776 complaints in 2014, compared with 6,439 in 2011, though the non-profit says their information is likely incomplete.)
One of those 2014 complaints is dated Oct. 20 — a misconduct allegation against Officer Jason Van Dyke. The database doesn’t include the details of the complaint, but it’s clear from the date and location what it’s about: the shooting of Laquan McDonald.
When Ed Nance first heard that Van Dyke was the officer involved, he broke into tears.
“It just makes me so sad because it shouldn’t have happened,” he told the Chicago Tribune in April. “He shouldn’t have been on the street in the first place after my incident.”
Nance filed his own complaint against Van Dyke in 2007, after he says the cop aggressively handcuffed him during a traffic stop, injuring both his shoulders. A federal jury found that Van Dyke and a partner had used excessive force and rewarded Nance $350,000 in damages. But IPRA said there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Nance’s claims. Both officers were cleared of all the allegations.
“They looked like, OK, so what, go (back) to work,” Nance told the Tribune. “They was back on the street like nothing ever happened.”
Nance, a cable company employee with no criminal record, underwent two shoulder surgeries and began taking anxiety medication after the incident. Though he eventually recovered, the news about the shooting brought back Nance’s memories of the encounter with Van Dyke.
“It makes me feel like it could have been me,” he told the Tribune.
Daniel Herbert, Van Dyke’s attorney, said his client shot McDonald in self-defense. Prosecutors and Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D) thought otherwise.
“We hold our police officers to a high standards and obviously in this case Jason Van Dyke violated … basic moral standards that bind our community together,” Emanuel said at a news conference announcing the release of dash-cam video of McDonald’s shooting.
After a judge ordered the release of the video last week, Cook County chief prosecutor Anita Alvarez said she moved up the filing of the first degree murder charge to come out the same day, just hours before the video was made public.
“With release of this video it’s really important for public safety that the citizens of Chicago know that this officer is being held responsible for his actions,” she said.
Van Dyke’s case marks the first time in more than three decades that a Chicago police officer has been charged with murder for an on-duty shooting. ||||| Although very few officers were disciplined in the years covered by the data, African-American officers were punished at twice the rate of their white colleagues for the same offenses, the data shows. And although black civilians filed a majority of the complaints, white civilians were far more likely to have their complaints upheld, according to the records.
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Information related to complaints and discipline taken against officers is typically tightly controlled by police departments, and in many cases is protected from public release by state or local law.
“It is very unusual to have this much data — and data this rich,” said David A. Harris, a University of Pittsburgh Law School professor and an expert on police accountability. “The general rule is that this kind of stuff is not made transparent, so the public can’t see it and can’t hold people accountable in the way they want.”
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The release of the documents comes as police departments around the nation have been placed under intensive public scrutiny after a number of fatal shootings of unarmed African-Americans by white police officers. This has led to criticism about the lack of public availability of even rudimentary data related to police work.
The records take on added resonance in Chicago because the department has a well-documented history of officers physically abusing — including torturing — African-American men, and also because of the possible release on Thursday of a police dashboard camera video showing the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald, an African-American teenager.
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Mr. McDonald, 17, who had been armed with a knife, was shot 16 times in 2014 by Jason Van Dyke, a white officer. The shooting is being investigated by a team including the F.B.I. and the United States attorney’s office in Chicago.
Officer Van Dyke has had 18 civilian complaints filed against him, including allegations of using excessive force and racial slurs. In each of the complaints, Officer Van Dyke denied that he had acted improperly and was not punished by either the Police Department or civilian police oversight investigators.
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In April, the city agreed to pay Mr. McDonald’s family a $5 million settlement. The video of the shooting, which is the subject of a court hearing on Thursday, shows Mr. McDonald lying on the ground as some of the shots are fired, according to people who have seen it.
Dan Herbert, a lawyer for Officer Van Dyke, said the officer believed that he was justified in the shooting. “He fired because he was in fear for his safety, as well as the safety of his colleagues,” Mr. Herbert said in an email. Regarding Officer Van Dyke’s past disciplinary record, Mr. Herbert said, “As far as I know, Jason has not had a single sustained complaint, meaning all allegations were found to be without merit.”
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Criminologists say the public’s ability to see civilian complaints against officers and similar data compels police departments to be more accountable, especially when it comes to officers who receive frequent complaints.
“Look, it’s not unusual for a police officer to get a complaint, but the fact is that a complaint is a significant piece of information if it is a recurring thing,” Professor Harris said. “It is the patterns we worry about.”
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The department said that since the 2011 appointment of Garry McCarthy, the city’s police superintendent, it had instituted reforms to eliminate wrongdoing by officers. In a statement, it said that it had “zero tolerance for any misconduct,” and that during Mr. McCarthy’s tenure the force had “become a positive national and international model for preventing police misconduct and investigating allegations.”
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The measures Mr. McCarthy has put in place, the department said, include increasing the number of field training officers, beefing up the internal affairs bureau and requiring new procedural justice training for all officers. The department said that one important sign of its progress was that complaints against officers had fallen by 50 percent in recent years. The department acknowledged, however, that it had “much more work to do.”
In Chicago, complaints are investigated by either the internal affairs division or the city’s Independent Police Review Authority, which consider sanctions against officers accused of policy violations that range from excessive force and corruption to being drunk on duty. The final determination in nearly all disciplinary cases is made by Mr. McCarthy.
Anthony Guglielmi, a spokesman for the department, questioned some of the newly released data. He said that for 2015, the department’s own records showed that it had not disciplined officers in about 90 percent of the civilian complaints it received — compared with the 99 percent figure arrived at by the University of Chicago. This is because the department did not count complaints in which a civilian had not signed a sworn affidavit to bolster an initial complaint, or in most instances in which a citizen did not know the name or the badge number of an officer. State law requires an affidavit before an inquiry can proceed.
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Larry L. Merritt, a spokesman for the police review authority, which is composed of civilians, said the agency’s hands were often tied because people who call to file complaints often do not follow up by coming to the office to sign an affidavit.
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The authority reviews the actual complaints but passes on some to the Police Department to investigate. Mr. Merritt said that of the cases the authority reviewed, if the people who do not sign affidavits were to be removed from the statistics, about 20 percent of complaints would be upheld by that agency.
The department said that some 30 percent of complaints made in 2014 were found by the civilian review agency to be false, partly because officials said gang members often filed false complaints against particularly effective officers to try to discredit them.
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The department said it had “implemented early warning systems to help identify potential concerns with officers’ actions and arrange for the appropriate training, when applicable,” to reduce misconduct.
But Craig B. Futterman, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School who founded the legal aid clinic that helped bring about the records’ release, said the department’s early intervention system had identified only 6 percent of officers who received 11 or more civilian complaints. The department did not dispute that figure.
The files show that a number of officers who have been convicted of serious crimes, like Mr. Finnigan, or are being investigated for misconduct have accumulated dozens of complaints while avoiding punishment from the Police Department.
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Among them is Aldo Brown, convicted last month of using excessive force after a store surveillance camera showed him attacking a suspect lying on the ground. Citizens had lodged 16 complaints against Mr. Brown, including several for excessive force, but Mr. Brown denied the accusations, and the department and civilian review board failed to find enough evidence to discipline him, the records show. |||||
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The five permanent members of the UN security council reached an agreement on Thursday over the wording of a "binding and enforceable" resolution to eliminate Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons.
British and US officials announced the breakthrough after a fast-moving day of diplomacy on the margins of the United Nations general assembly in New York.
But the agreement does not authorise the use of force if Syria does not comply – the sticking point that had prevented diplomatic progress on the conflict that has lasted more than two years and killed more than 100,000 people.
The British ambassador to the UN, Mark Lyall Grant, said in a post on Twitter that the five permanent members of the security council – Britain, France, the US, Russia and China – agreed on a "binding and enforceable draft" of a resolution.
He said the text would be introduced to the 10 other members of the security council at a meeting later on Thursday night.
The development was announced after hastily convened talks between the US secretary of state, John Kerry, and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. If the resolution is adopted, it would be the first legally binding resolution on the Syrian conflict.
US officials said the deal was significant. The administration, in a statement attributed to a state department official, said it was "historic and unprecedented". The statement said: "This is a breakthrough arrived at through hard-fought diplomacy. Just two weeks ago, no one thought this was in the vicinity of possible."
However, in order to get the agreement, the US had to concede that the wording of the resolution would not fall under chapter 7 of the UN charter, which allow it to be enforced by military action. Neither did the resolution ascribe blame for the 21 August chemical attack that killed hundreds of people in a Damascus suburb, and which prompted the latest crisis.
As part of the deal, Russia agreed to send troops to Syria to guard sites where chemical weapons are to be destroyed.
Sergei Ryabkov, a deputy foreign minister, said that other former Soviet republics that were part of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation would also deploy soldiers to provide security for an international team of weapons inspectors who would oversee the task of destroying Syria's stockpile of poison gases and nerve agents.
The alliance includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
Ryabkov said that Moscow would not allow the Syrian arsenal to be transferred to Russia for dismantling.
"We believe that it should be dismantled on Syrian territory," Ryabkov was quoted as saying while attending an arms show in Nizhny Tagil. "We undoubtedly won't deal with it. We believe that the process of its destruction could be efficiently organised on the territory of Syria."
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, based in the Hague, is expected to agree to a provisional verification and disarmament plan on Sunday, following Syria's formal declaration of its chemical weapons, delivery systems and production facilities.
The frenzied diplomacy came in response to a gas attack that killed hundreds in a suburb of Damascus on 21 August. The US had threatened air strikes, but these were delayed as president Barack Obama struggled with flagging political and public support at home.
The Associated Press contributed to this report ||||| UNITED NATIONS — The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council have agreed on a resolution that will require Syria to give up its chemical weapons, but there will be no automatic penalties if the Syrians fail to comply, officials said Thursday.
The agreement, hammered out after days of back-room negotiations, is a compromise among the United States, its allies and Russia about how to enforce the resolution, which would eliminate Syria’s chemical arms program.
But the deal, when approved by the 15 members of the Security Council, would amount to the most significant international diplomatic initiative of the Syrian civil war. It would also be a remarkable turn for President Obama, who had been pushing for a military strike on Syria just a few weeks ago before accepting a Russian proposal to have Syria give up its chemical arsenal.
Western diplomats said the resolution would be legally binding and would stipulate that if Syria failed to abide by the terms, the Security Council would take measures under Chapter 7 of the United Nations Charter, the strongest form of a council resolution. Such measures could include economic sanctions or even military action. But before any action could be taken, the issue would have to go back for further deliberations by the Security Council, on which Russia, like the other permanent members, holds a veto.
“This resolution makes clear there will be consequences for noncompliance,” Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, said Thursday night.
In an earlier Twitter message, Ms. Power said the resolution established a “new norm” against the use of chemical weapons. Mark Lyall Grant, Britain’s ambassador to the United Nations, said in another post that the resolution agreed to by the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — the five permanent members of the Security Council — would be “binding and enforceable.”
The diplomatic breakthrough on Syria came as Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said progress had been made toward a resolution of the nuclear dispute between his country and the West, suggesting it could happen in a year.
Mr. Zarif spoke optimistically after emerging from what he called a “very substantive, businesslike” meeting at the United Nations with representatives of the big powers. He also met face to face with Secretary of State John Kerry in one of the highest-level discussions between the estranged countries in years.
The entire 15-member Security Council began to discuss the Syria resolution agreed to by the permanent members of the Security Council on Thursday evening.
A vote on the resolution could come as early as Friday, the French foreign minister, Laurent Fabius, told reporters here Thursday night, as long as the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, based in The Hague, votes on its own Syria measure early Friday. A formal vote on the measure will not take place until the international organization that monitors compliance with the international treaty banning chemical weapons drafts procedures for inspecting and eliminating Syria’s vast arsenal of poison gas.
The Syria resolution was a major milestone for the United Nations after years of largely unproductive discussions in the Security Council over the civil war in Syria, which has killed more than 100,000.
Just three weeks ago, the Obama administration grew openly frustrated at the inability to win Russian support for military action against the government of President Bashar al-Assad after a chemical weapons attack on Aug. 21 that killed more than 1,400 people. Ms. Power complained then, “There is no viable path forward in this Security Council.”
Now, the council has agreed to a provision in the resolution stating that “the use of chemical weapons anywhere constitutes a threat to international peace and security.”
Syria, the resolution states, “shall not use, develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile or retain chemical weapons, or transfer, directly or indirectly, chemical weapons to other states or nonstate actors.” ||||| The five permanent members of the often-divided U.N. Security Council reached agreement Thursday on a resolution to eliminate Syria's chemical weapons arsenal, British and U.S. diplomats said, and the council was meeting to discuss it Thursday night.
In this Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013 photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, Syrian President Bashar Assad speaks during an interview with Venezuela's state-run Telesur network, in Damascus,... (Associated Press)
In this image taken from Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013, video obtained from the Sham News Network, Syrian opposition fighters fire at government forces near Daraa customs in Daraa al-Balad, Syria. Russia... (Associated Press)
The agreement by the permanent members, whose differences have paralyzed council action on Syria, represents a major breakthrough in addressing the 2 1/2-year conflict, which has killed more than 100,000 people.
Britain's U.N. ambassador, Mark Lyall Grant, tweeted that Britain, France, the U.S., Russia and China had agreed on a "binding and enforceable draft ... resolution."
He said Britain will introduce the text to the 10 other members of the Security Council at a meeting Thursday night.
The U.S. and Russia had been at odds on how to enforce the resolution, but Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Ambassador Samantha Power confirmed that the last hurdles to agreement had been overcome.
On Twitter, Power said the draft resolution establishes that Syria's chemical weapons "is threat to international peace & security & creates a new norm against the use of CW."
U.N. diplomats said it would be the first legally binding resolution on Syria in the conflict if adopted, which now appears virtually certain.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met in hastily scheduled, closed-door talks Thursday afternoon at the United Nations, and the agreement was announced soon afterward.
The agreement came a day after Russia's deputy foreign minister said negotiators had overcome a major hurdle and agreed that the resolution would include a reference to Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which allows for military and nonmilitary actions to promote peace and security.
In Moscow, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov offered to provide troops to guard facilities where Syria's chemical weapons would be destroyed.
The P-5 have been discussing for weeks what to include in a new resolution requiring that Syria's chemical weapons be secured and dismantled. The U.S. and Russia had been at odds on how to enforce the resolution.
The flurry of diplomatic activity is in response to an Aug. 21 poison gas attack that killed hundreds of civilians in a Damascus suburb, and President Barack Obama's threat of U.S. strikes in retaliation.
After Kerry said Syrian President Bashar Assad could avert U.S. military action by turning over "every single bit of his chemical weapons" to international control within a week, Russia, Syria's most important ally, agreed. Kerry and Lavrov signed an agreement in Geneva on Sept. 13.
Assad's government quickly accepted the broad proposal, but there have been tough negotiations on how its stockpile will be destroyed.
___
Associated Press writer Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow contributed to this report |||||
What is a summary?
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– The five permanent members of the UN Security Council have finally agreed on the wording of a resolution that requires Syria to destroy its chemical weapons, reports the New York Times. As part of the deal worked out mainly between the US and Russia, Moscow and some former Soviet republics will send troops to guard Syria's stockpile of weapons and provide security for the international inspectors charged with overseeing its destruction, reports the Guardian. As expected, the resolution won't threaten military action if Syria fails to comply or blame Bashar al-Assad for the chemical attack in August—two stipulations demanded by Russia. But it will be the "first legally binding resolution on Syria in the conflict" when the full 15-member council eventually adopts it, reports AP. A meeting was scheduled for later tonight.
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FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 file photo ThruVision suicide vest-detection technology reveals a suspicious object on a man, at left, during a Transportation Security Administration demonstration... (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2018 file photo ThruVision suicide vest-detection technology reveals a suspicious object on a man, at left, during a Transportation Security Administration demonstration in New York's Penn Station. Los Angeles is poised to have the first mass transit system in the U.S.... (Associated Press)
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles' subway will become the first mass transit system in the U.S. to install body scanners that screen passengers for weapons and explosives, officials said Tuesday.
The deployment of the portable scanners, which project waves to do full-body screenings of passengers walking through a station without slowing them down, will happen in the coming months, said Alex Wiggins, who runs the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's law enforcement division.
The machines scan for metallic and non-metallic objects on a person's body, can detect suspicious items from 30 feet (9 meters) away and have the capability of scanning more than 2,000 passengers per hour.
"We're dealing with persistent threats to our transportation systems in our country," said Transportation Security Administration Administrator David Pekoske. "Our job is to ensure security in the transportation systems so that a terrorist incident does not happen on our watch."
On Tuesday, Pekoske and other officials demonstrated the new machines, which are being purchased from Thruvision, which is headquartered in the United Kingdom.
"We're looking specifically for weapons that have the ability to cause a mass-casualty event," Wiggins said. "We're looking for explosive vests, we're looking for assault rifles. We're not necessarily looking for smaller weapons that don't have the ability to inflict mass casualties."
In addition to the Thruvision scanners, the agency is also planning to purchase other body scanners — which resemble white television cameras on tripods — that have the ability to move around and hone in on specific people and angles, Wiggins said.
"We really want to be effective and we need the ability to have a fixed field of view, but we also need to be able to move that field of view as necessary," Wiggins said. "Deploying these technologies together gives us that accuracy and minimizes any delays."
Wiggins would not say how many of the machines were being purchased, but said they would be rolled out in subway stations in the "coming months." Employees and police officers first have to be trained on how to use the equipment.
Signs will be posted at stations warning passengers they are subject to body scanner screening. The screening process is voluntary, Wiggins said, but customers who choose not to be screened won't be able to ride on the subway.
But some passengers saw the screening as an added layer of security.
"I guess it is a good, precautionary thing," Andrea Kirsh said, a 22-year-old student from Corvallis, Oregon, who was traveling through Los Angeles' Union Station on Tuesday. "It makes me feel safe. As a civilian I think we often don't know what to look for or what we would be looking for."
Passengers who rode down an escalator to ride the Metro Red Line at Union Station in Los Angeles on Tuesday were screened as Pekoske and other officials looked on. But after the news conference and media demonstration, officials packed up the equipment and carted it off.
The TSA tested body scanners in New York's Penn Station in February and has also conducted tests at Union Station in Washington, D.C., and at a New Jersey Transit station during the 2014 Super Bowl.
In December, a Bangladeshi immigrant injured himself by setting off a crude pipe bomb strapped to his chest in a subway passageway near Times Square in New York City.
Metro has previously tested several different types of body scanners, including airport-style screening systems where passengers walk through a scanner. The pilot program was meant to evaluate the accuracy and capacity of the portable machines.
About 150,000 passengers ride on Metro's Red Line daily and the subway system counted more than 112 million rides last year, officials said.
___
Follow Michael Balsamo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1 . ||||| (CNN) — Don't worry, Los Angeles commuters, your time rushing through the metro system won't be held up by these body scanners.
Instead, these new high-tech scanners, at the bottom of the escalators, will scan you as you walk by. They scan your naturally occurring body waves looking for any indication of concealed weapons or explosive devices.
The Transportation Security Administration partnered with LA Metro to test the portable passenger screening devices and announced on Tuesday that Metro will be the first in the nation to equip its surface transportation agency with them.
This the the front view of the scanner. KTLA
"Metro has been an industry leader in testing new technologies to meet the evolving threat to our nation's public transportation infrastructure," said Sheila Kuehl, LA County supervisor and Metro Board chairwoman, in a statement.
"This new technology will augment our aggressive safety and security posture and help us proactively deter potential attacks to our system."
So how do they work?
They scan your body for objects that are blocking your naturally produced body waves. Both metallic and nonmetallic objects can be picked up by the scanner.
"When an object is hidden in clothing or strapped to a person, these waves are blocked and detected by the system's software," reads a news release from LA Metro . "The software generates generic avatars and creates either a black spot on the area of the body where the item is concealed or overlays a color indicator."
No radiation is emitted, and the scanners will not display anatomical details. The technology has been tested this past year at the 7th Street/Metro Center Station. ||||| Another view, from L.A. Times transportation reporter Laura Nelson:
Here’s the new body scan technology that @metrolosangeles has purchased, designed to detect suicide vests and other wearable explosives. The black box on the left-hand side of the screen shows a ceramic plate beneath a woman’s shirt as she comes down the escalator. pic.twitter.com/fWL0q7uEq3 — Laura J. Nelson 🦅 (@laura_nelson) August 14, 2018
A media event was held today at Union Station. Here is the news release from Metro and the TSA:
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has partnered with Metro to deploy a new advanced portable passenger screening technology that will help detect weapon and explosive device security threats on the county’s transit system.
Metro is the first surface transportation agency in the nation to purchase such an advanced, high-tech security device to help keep transit riders safe from person-borne improvised explosive devices or other weapons that are intended to cause mass casualties.
Following a series of tests over the last year of TSA-vetted and approved security technologies at its stations, Metro has purchased several Thruvision TAC-TS4
portable terahertz millimeter wave passenger screening devices. The units can be placed at locations throughout the Metro system and are equipped with software that quickly and unobtrusively screens individuals for concealed threats. The units can identify both metallic and non-metallic objects.
The devices identify objects that block the naturally-occurring waves produced by a person’s body. When an object is hidden in clothing or strapped to a person, these waves are blocked and detected by the system’s software. The software generates generic avatars and creates either a black spot on the area of the body where the item is concealed or overlays a color indicator. The technology does not emit radiation of any kind and no anatomical details are displayed. The device allows law enforcement agents and Metro Security to screen rail and bus patrons without disrupting foot traffic and to take decisive, pre-emptive action if suspicious items are found.
“TSA applauds the leadership of L.A. Metro for its proactive efforts to evaluate, procure and use state-of-the-art technology designed to detect potential threats to the transit system,” said TSA Administrator Pekoske. “TSA is pleased to have been a partner during the evaluation and testing process, which ultimately led to the purchase of a recommended system to help detect and deter potential acts of terrorism while keeping the traveling public safe.”
The Thruvision technology was tested extensively by TSA. Metro tested the technology at its 7th Street/Metro Center Station over the last year.
“Metro has been an industry leader in testing new technologies to meet the evolving threat to our nation’s public transportation infrastructure,” said Sheila Kuehl, L.A. County Supervisor and Metro Board Chair. “This new technology will augment our aggressive safety and security posture and help us proactively deter potential attacks to our system.”
For additional information about Metro’s Safety and Security Program, visit www.metro.net/safety. For more photos, please click here. Here is video from the press event:
Like this: Like Loading... ||||| Later this year, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will deploy several portable scanners that can be moved to any of the system’s 93 subway and light-rail stations. The devices will be used in response to terrorism threats, or to scan large crowds at a station near a protest or a sporting event, officials said. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– All humans emit body waves, but if they're concealing an object under their clothes, that object blocks the waves—exactly what the Transportation Security Administration is banking on with the installation of the country's first body scanners in a transit agency. The subway system getting the first crack at these portable passenger screening devices, per CNN: the LA Metro, which can place the high-tech scanners at the bottom of escalators or at station entrances to "quickly and unobtrusively screen individuals for concealed threats," per the Source blog. The Thruvision scanners, which the New York Times describes as wheeled devices looking like "the sort of black laminate cases that musicians lug around on tour," can pick up both metallic and nonmetallic objects from up to 30 feet away. The $100,000 devices are able to scan more than 2,000 people an hour. "We're looking specifically for weapons that have the ability to cause a mass-casualty event," Alex Wiggins, head of the LA County MTA's law enforcement unit, tells the AP. "We're not necessarily looking for smaller weapons that don't have the ability to inflict mass casualties." He adds, per the Los Angeles Times, that signs will warn about the scanners, and commuters can "opt out" (though they then won't be able to ride the subway). The scanners don't emit radiation or display "anatomical details," and they won't slow down traffic—they'll simply scan people streaming by. "Most people won't even know they're being scanned," an LA Metro rep tells the New York Times, though one rider wonders if the system will lead to an uptick in police harassment or "false positives." "But if we don't even notice it, and they use it in a responsible way, then I think it's a good thing," the commuter adds.
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(CNN) -- Three children and their mother who were found dead inside their partially burned house in southern Indiana had all been shot in the head, police said Saturday, with an internet rant tied to the woman drawing investigators' attention.
Results of a preliminary autopsy, conducted by the Kentucky Medical Examiner's Office, released Saturday revealed that Amanda Bennett, 30, had died from a gunshot wound to her head and smoke inhalation.
The same causes of death were listed for her 9-year-old daughter, Katelynn Bennett. Jasmine Abbott -- 14 and also Amanda's biological daughter -- was killed by a gunshot wound to the head, as was the woman's 4-year-old son, Ryan Bennett.
Shortly after 4:20 p.m. Friday, Austin, Indiana, police forced their way into the victims' residence after getting a request from a relative to check on them.
The police officer that went inside noticed that parts of the home had been burned and, after a "quick search," found the four bodies, according to a statement from Indiana State Police.
"This is a very, very tragic situation -- a very sad situation," Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin said after the discovery, according to CNN affiliate WAVE.
Authorities subsequently opened what they're calling a "death investigation." They sent the bodies to Louisville, Kentucky, about 36 miles to the south, where the nearest medical examiner is located. They have not named any suspects in the killings.
"We have no reason to believe at this time that the public at large should be scared for their safety," Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin told reporters Saturday.
Police are looking at an internet posting on the "Crothersville Forum," referring to a town near Austin, that mentions the late Amanda Bennett's husband by name. Two posts, both under the heading "Gone Forever," were published online Friday and contained urgent, heated language.
One of the posts reads, in part: "it's time to take the pain away ... you got what u wanted no wife an no kids."
Responding to a query about whether the post may have been written by Amanda Bennett, Goodin said state police detectives are aware of the post and other online posts that might be relevant to the case.
"That is something that has been brought to our attention -- absolutely, it has been," he said.
Deborah Davidson, who works at an elementary school that the two youngest victims attended, described Amanda Bennett as consistently friendly and warm, according to CNN affiliate WLKY.
TamRa Stidham, a high school classmate of Jasmine Abbott's, described Amanda Bennett as an unselfish mother, telling CNN affiliate WAVE, "Anything (her children) wanted, they got if she had the money."
Stidham said, too, that "everybody loved" Jasmine Abbott at Austin High School.
Meanwhile, friends and neighbors in the tight-knit community were distraught at the news.
"I was devastated, and I'm still devastated," Lula Davidson, who knew Amanda Bennett, told WAVE. "It wasn't meant for me to understand, but I would like to understand." ||||| Amanda Bennett and her three children were found dead in their home in the small town of Austin, Indiana Friday. For days, Bennett had posted about her marital problems on a local message board, much to the delight of readers.
The bodies of Bennett and her children, 14-year-old Jasmine, 9 year-old Katelynn and 4-year-old Ryan, were found on Friday in their house, which had been partially burned. The causes of death have been determined to be a combination of gunshot wounds and smoke inhalation; one neighbor told CNN Bennett shot her kids then herself.
Bennett's mindset could possibly be seen in a post she's suspected of making on a publicly-accessible local message board hosted by Topix on Friday. (Click to Enlarge.)
This was the last of dozens of anguished posts in which Amanda Bennett detailed her ongoing divorce from her husband, John Bennett, using the handle "his wife." The messages were posted in a thread devoted to workplace gossip at Versatech, the factory where John worked.
Amanda started posting after catching John's coworkers dishing about an affair he was allegedly having with another coworker. On January 9th, user Employee wrote: "John Bennett and Jan [redacted] need to quit messing with each other they are both married and she is old." Other employees quickly weighed in. "Yes, they do," wrote Corn Fed. Mind Your Own Business took John's side, arguing that Amanda Bennett was a "psycho" and "what goes around comes around."
"Glad you all want in are buisness," Amanda wrote the next day. "So he been yelling all that I cheated that's a lie. We are still married and if he wants her old ass fine with me." A user named That Bitch Be Lying responded: "Liar. You cheated and you know it."
Things progressed about as you might expect from there. Amanda continued to make her case, viciously attacking Jan and John; and she continued to get piled on by haters—some clearly Versatech employees, others just random browsers. In one particularly prophetic message she wrote:
he will regret everything he is doing right now . Maybe not tomorrow but one dAy he said he didn't trust me and I didn't stray at all . How is he going to ever trust her .oh well I hope they both cAtch something
At every turn she was goaded on by other usres basking in the drama. Wrote Brewsta: "people laugh, people cry, people fight, and people die. Its the way of life and I love every minute of it! thank you topix....HAHA!"
The laughing stopped Friday. "I guess everyone knows by now that Amanda Bennett and her kids are dead," wrote Team Black, the first user to break the news. "I would think that the guilt felt by Jan, John, and all the people who made fun of her on here and called her names is very strong." Since then, debate has raged about how much blame the board's users should share.
At the time it seems they were driven by the natural instinct we all have to get in others' business. There's no way they could have forseen the future. But reading the thread now, one can't help but wonder, as one user did after the fact, "how things would have turned out if you would have offered a kind word or a word of encouragement to her." |||||Summary:
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– A troubled mother may have shot her three children and herself after posting complaints about her marital troubles online, according to investigators. The bodies of Katelynn Bennett, 30, and her two daughters and son, ages 4 to 14, were found in their partially burned Indiana home, reports CNN. An Internet post on a local blogging site mentions Bennett's estranged husband by name and is entitled "Gone Forever." He "wont stop hurting us with his words and actions so it's time to take the pain away. You got what you wanted: no wife and no kids," says the post signed only "the wife." Other postings, in a thread concerning gossip at a local company, also slams a rumored affair her husband is having with a co-worker. "He will regret everything he is doing now," adds "the wife." Workers at the company apparently enjoyed the back-and-forth between the wife, possibly the other woman and friends, and apparently her husband. "I guess everyone knows that Amanda Bennett and her kids are dead," wrote one poster after the killing. "I would think that the guilt felt by all the people who made fun of her and called her names is very strong." For more on the story, check out Gawker.
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Actor and former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger received a warning from German federal police on Friday after he was caught riding his bicycle through Munich's main railway station with a bodyguard, police said on Saturday.
They said a policeman first noticed two cyclists "weaving their way among the many travelers more in the manner of a slalom than a speed race."
The officer spoke to one of the men, who said he was "Arnold Schwarzenegger's bodyguard," which the police officer reportedly at first believed to be a joke - until the other cyclist approached and turned out indeed to be the Austrian-born actor.
According to the police, Schwarzenegger accepted the warning that cycling through the station was not allowed, but explained "that he couldn't walk well" at the moment. He then offered the officer the opportunity for a selfie with him as a "small compensation."
Schwarzenegger might be back in the station in future, but hopefully on foot this time
The police report said that the "Terminator" star then left the station through its northern exit - presumably on foot.
Munich is currently celebrating the final three days of its world-famous Oktoberfest, which Schwarzenegger officially visited on Tuesday.
tj/jlw (AFP, dpa) ||||| In this Oct.1, 2016 photo provided by the Munich police former Californian state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger poses with police officer Stefan Schmitt for a selfie in the main train station in Munich,... (Associated Press)
In this Oct.1, 2016 photo provided by the Munich police former Californian state governor Arnold Schwarzenegger poses with police officer Stefan Schmitt for a selfie in the main train station in Munich,... (Associated Press)
BERLIN (AP) — A police officer in Germany got himself an unusual souvenir after finding none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger breaking the rules at Munich's main train station.
Federal police say the officer stopped Schwarzenegger's bodyguard and then the movie star and former California governor himself riding bikes Friday along the station's platforms.
Police said Saturday that Schwarzenegger apologized, explaining he was having trouble walking, and offered to take a picture with the officer.
A police statement noted that "after brief small talk with the federal police officer, the 'Terminator' left the main station through the north entrance."
It said Schwarzenegger walked away, pushing his bike. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– He'll be back...but next time he'll make sure he's walking his bicycle. Deutsche Welle reports a German police officer was shocked to discover the man he stopped for riding a bicycle through the main railway station in Munich was none other than the Terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger. On Friday, the officer noticed two people on bicycles "weaving their way among the many travelers more in the manner of a slalom than a speed race." That's verboten, so the officer stopped one of the men, who said he was "Arnold Schwarzenegger's bodyguard." The officer thought he was joking until the other cyclist stopped. Schwarzenegger apologized to the officer for breaking the rules and offered to take a picture with him as a "small compensation." He told the officer he "couldn't walk well," which was why he was riding the bicycle. "After brief small talk with the federal police officer, the Terminator left the main station through the north entrance," the AP quotes a statement from police as saying. Schwarzenegger was in town for Munich's famed Oktoberfest.
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STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. -- A middle school is under fire for its reaction to a violent brawl between a teacher and a staff member inside a classroom that was caught on video by a student.
CBS affiliate WGCL-TV reports the fight broke out on May 19 at Stone Mountain Middle School, northeast of downtown Atlanta. WGCL obtained video of the dramatic incident, which shows two women punching each other and pulling each other's hair while students scream for them to stop.
WGCL reports one woman is a teacher and the other is a teaching assistant.
"From what I think I know the teachers were arguing about a teacher, a male teacher, and they started arguing and it went on for about three to five minutes," one student told WGCL.
Close WGCL-TV
The fight was eventually broken up by another adult. Students told WGCL that officials came into the classroom after the incident and forced them to delete any evidence of the brawl on their cell phones.
"Nobody apologized. They just came in and were like, 'Who videotaped this?' and stuff like that," one student said. "I think they were trying to push it under the rug so nobody would know about it and the school's reputation wouldn't be messed up."
The DeKalb County School District (DCSD) told WGCL it was not aware of school officials examining students' phones. After WGCL sent the video to DCSD's communications director, the district issued a statement saying the staff members involved in the fight would be disciplined.
"Those staff members that participated in the conduct have been removed from the learning environment," the statement read. "Following our process, DCSD will act swiftly and decisively to hold those employees accountable for their actions."
Dr. Vincent Hinton, principal of Stone Mountain Middle School, eventually sent a letter home to parents about the confrontation.
"Safety and security procedures are in place to help maintain a safe campus," Hinton wrote. "Anyone who creates an unsafe learning environment for our students receive swift disciplinary actions."
Julia Berry, whose daughter was in the classroom at the time of the fight, told WGCL she wants the teacher and the assistant fired.
Berry said failure to fire those responsible would send a message that "it's OK to fight if you can't deal with a problem. This is how you deal with it -- you punch the teacher in the face." ||||| STONE MOUNTAIN, Ga. (MEREDITH/CBS46) -- Georgia middle school students screamed in science class as a teacher and a staff member got into a fist fight right in front of their desks.
“Everyone was screaming like stop, stop, stop,” A student said.
The brawl happened on May 19 at Stone Mountain Middle School, which is northeast of downtown Atlanta.
A student recorded most of the fight on her cell phone.
The women are throwing punches and pulling hair, and another adult had to get in the middle to break it up.
“From what I think I know the teachers were arguing about a teacher, a male teacher, and they started arguing and it went on for about three to five minutes,” A student said.
CBS46 asked if any of the students were concerned for their safety.
“I would say about two students who were really close to them. One of them was pushed up against the wall because they were so close to hitting her,” A student said.
Julia Berry's daughter was inside the classroom and watched the fight unfold. Berry wants these women fired, saying that they set a horrible example for students.
After the fight was finally broken up, students say school officials came into the classroom, went through their cell phones and made them delete any evidence of it.
“Nobody apologized they just came in and were like who videotaped this and stuff like that,” A student said. “I think they were trying to push it under the rug so nobody would know about it and the school’s reputation wouldn’t be messed up."
The DeKalb County School District says it's not aware of staff going through the student's phones. The communications director did say he would send CBS46 a statement, but only after we sent him a copy of the video so he could review it.
The statement says, in part, for those involved in the fight, "Those staff members that participated in the conduct have been removed from the learning environment. Following our process, DCSD will act swiftly and decisively to hold those employees accountable for their actions."
The school district confirmed that the two employees involved in the incident had been disciplined, but would give details.
After CBS46 kept pressing the school for answers, Berry says Stone Mountain Middle School sent out a letter saying, "Safety and security procedures are in place to help maintain a safe campus. Anyone who creates an unsafe learning environment for our students receive swift disciplinary actions."
“I couldn’t believe it because they’re supposed to be role models, they’re supposed to set an example for us and they always tell us violence is never the answer,” A student said.
CBS46 contacted the chairman of the DeKalb County School Board Melvin Johnson for a statement and he did not respond. We also reached out to the Organization of DeKalb Educators who represent thousands of school system employees and they did not want to comment.
Copyright 2017 WGCL-TV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.
Read more: http://www.cbs46.com/story/35492172/fight-between-teacher-staff-member-caught-on-video#ixzz4hwgeHeBD |||||
What is a summary?
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– A brawl broke out in a middle school classroom in Georgia last week—not between students, but between a teacher and a staff member. Students say the two women were arguing about a male teacher for a few minutes before things got physical. "Everyone was screaming like stop, stop, stop," one Stone Mountain Middle School student tells CBS 46, which obtained video of the fight from a student's cell phone; the women—one of whom was reportedly a teacher's assistant, per CBS News—are seen punching and pulling hair. Parents are now speaking out about the May 19 incident, calling for the employees to be fired and criticizing the school for how it handled the aftermath. Students say another adult ultimately broke up the fight, and then school officials entered the classrooms and went through students' cell phones, forcing them to delete any recordings of the fight. "Nobody apologized," one student says. "I think they were trying to push it under the rug so nobody would know about it." Parents say no letter was sent home about the incident until CBS 46 started questioning the school district. The district says it isn't aware of staff going through student phones and that the employees involved "have been removed from the learning environment." The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that they have also been charged with disorderly conduct.
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Here is a news article: 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. ||||| 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. ||||| New evidence recently found that many ER doctors fail to recognize signs and symptoms of a stroke, which can leave patients at a higher risk for a potentially life-threatening "brain attack." Although patients should still rely on their physician for a complete cognitive and cardiovascular checkup, they should also be wary of their own warning signs. A study published in the American Heart Association’s journal Stroke has revealed a patient’s ability to stand on one leg can determine their risk for a stroke.
"One-leg standing time is a simple measure of postural instability and might be a consequence of the presence of brain abnormalities," Dr. Yasuharu Tabara, associate professor at the Center for Genomic Medicine at Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine in Kyoto, Japan, said in a statement.
Tabara and his colleagues recruited 841 women and 546 men at an average age of 67. Participants were asked to stand on one leg with their eyes open for a maximum of 60 seconds. This examination was performed twice and researchers used the better of the two times for their research. The research team used brain magnetic resonance imaging to evaluate cerebral small vessel disease.
Ability to stand on one leg can predict stroke risk. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
Participants who were unable to balance on one leg for more than 20 seconds were at a higher risk for cerebral small vessel disease, most notably small infarctions — a type of ischemic stroke that occurs when blood supply to the brain is blocked or leaks outside vessel walls. These small infarctions did not show any symptoms, such as lacunar infarction and microbleeds. The presence of both lacunar infarction and microbleeds is usually associated with cognitive decline.
Findings revealed that 34.5 percent of participants with more than two lacunar infarction legions had trouble balancing on one leg, while 16 percent of those with one lacunar infarction lesions also struggled with balancing. Thirty percent of participants with more than one microbleed lesion had trouble balancing on one leg and 15.3 percent of those with one microbleed lesion had trouble balancing. On average, patients with cerebral disease were older and those who were unable to stand on one leg for over 20 seconds recorded lower cognitive scores.
"Our study found that the ability to balance on one leg is an important test for brain health," Tabara added. "Individuals showing poor balance on one leg should receive increased attention, as this may indicate an increased risk for brain disease and cognitive decline."
According to the American Stroke Association, small vessel disease is a condition in which already small arteries in the heart become even narrower. It is often a common occurrence of aging; however, factors such as high blood pressure and diabetes can worsen this condition. Patients with small vessel disease are at a higher risk for lacunar infarction and intracerebral hemorrhage.
Source: Okada Y, Ohara M, Tabara Y, et al. Stroke. 2014. ||||| Your Balance on One Leg & Your Stroke Risk Linked
Inability to stand on one foot for 20-plus seconds could suggest brain vessel damage, study contends
WebMD News from HealthDay
WebMD News Archive
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Dec. 18, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- If you can't balance on one leg for at least 20 seconds you may be at risk of a stroke, Japanese researchers suggest.
Difficulty standing on one leg may indicate that small strokes or tiny bleeds have already occurred, which means the risk for more serious strokes is high, the investigators reported online Dec. 18 in the journal Stroke.
"Individuals showing instability while standing on one leg, as well as problems walking, should receive increased attention, as this physical frailty may signal potential brain abnormalities and mental decline," said lead author Yasuharu Tabara, an associate professor in the Center for Genomic Medicine at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.
Stroke, a leading cause of disability and death, occurs when blood flow to a part of the brain is interrupted because of a clot or bleeding.
For the study, Tabara's team had nearly 1,400 men and women, average age 67, try to balance on one leg for a minute. The researchers also took MRI scans to assess disease in the small blood vessels of participants' brains, in the form of "silent" strokes -- or microbleeds.
The researchers found that the inability to balance on one leg for more than 20 seconds was linked to having had tiny strokes or small bleeds in the brain. Balance problems were also associated with reduced thinking and memory skills.
Dr. Richard Libman, chief of vascular neurology at North Shore-LIJ Health System in Manhasset, N.Y., said that "narrowing or blockages of tiny blood vessels deep within the brain can give rise to small strokes or tiny amounts of bleeding."
These small strokes, which are a major contributor to mental decline and dementia, have also been associated with walking and balance difficulty and falling, he explained.
"The authors of this study have devised a simple test of balance, which seems to be able to reflect 'small vessel disease' of the brain," Libman said.
"This test may be an inexpensive, low-tech method to screen people for small vessel disease who are most likely at risk for further strokes and brain damage," Libman added. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– Think you're at risk of a stroke? Then try standing on one one leg for at least 20 seconds, a new study says. Japanese researchers had nearly 1,400 women and men, with an average age of 67, try the balancing act for at least a minute—and found that those who lasted less than 20 seconds were more likely to have already suffered a small stroke, WebMD reports. Such strokes are considered a serious contributor to dementia and mental decline. People who can't go 20 seconds "should receive increased attention, as this physical frailty may signal potential brain abnormalities and mental decline," says chief study author Yasuharu Tabara. Those who failed the test were at greater risk of small vessel disease like "infarctions"—ischemic strokes caused by a block or leak in the brain's blood supply, Medical Daily reports. Worse, such strokes show no symptoms. So the one-leg test "may be an inexpensive, low-tech method to screen people for small vessel disease who are most likely at risk for further strokes and brain damage," says a vascular neurologist. Published in the journal Stroke, the study recalls a finding earlier this year that 53-year-old men and women who could rapidly stand and sit in a chair for a minute, and stand on one leg for more than 10 seconds, were at less risk of an early death, the Telegraph reports. (Another study shows that half of Dr. Oz's advice is all wrong.)
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Write an article based on this summary:
– The Washington Post calls it a "rare and remarkable standoff," and CNN says it's a "striking signal." Two days after House Republicans voted to release a memo regarding FBI surveillance and one day after President Trump was overheard saying he would release it, the FBI publicly came out opposing that plan. "We have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy," the FBI said in a statement Wednesday. The memo prepared by staffers for Rep. Devin Nunes, the Republican chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, concerns the role of the so-called Steele dossier in federal surveillance of former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page. Last week, the Justice Department warned the House Intelligence Committee that releasing it would be "extraordinarily reckless." The intelligence community worries making the classified document public would inform foreign targets how to avoid surveillance. FBI Director Christopher Wray and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein met with Chief of Staff John Kelly on Monday in an attempt to prevent the memo from being released. And Democrats say the memo picks and chooses information to cast doubt on Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion by the Trump campaign. Regardless, Kelly told Fox News Radio on Wednesday that the memo will be released "pretty quick."
Article:
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After delivering his State of the Union address on Jan. 30, President Trump told Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) that he will “100 percent” release a memo alleging abuse by the FBI. (The Washington Post)
After delivering his State of the Union address on Jan. 30, President Trump told Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.) that he will “100 percent” release a memo alleging abuse by the FBI. (The Washington Post)
The FBI spoke out publicly Wednesday against a GOP memo criticizing the bureau’s use of surveillance authorities, challenging the classified document’s accuracy as the White House and congressional Republicans are expected to soon make its contents public.
“As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about the material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo’s accuracy,’’ the FBI said in a statement.
The bureau also said it carefully follows the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which provides a legal framework for national security investigations.
“The FBI takes seriously its obligations to the FISA Court and its compliance with procedures overseen by career professionals in the Department of Justice and the FBI. We are committed to working with the appropriate oversight entities to ensure the continuing integrity of the FISA process,’’ the statement said.
The public statement underscores the concerns among federal law enforcement officials and intelligence officials that the memo is an inaccurate attack on the FBI, and that its release will set a dangerous precedent for future releases of classified information that touches on political issues.
President Trump delivers his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress inside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. (Reuters)
The FBI statement follows President Trump’s Tuesday night statement that he would “100 percent” authorize the public release of a GOP memo of alleged surveillance abuses at the FBI and Department of Justice.
“There are no current plans to release the House Intelligence Committee’s memo,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Wednesday morning on CNN, noting that Trump had not “seen or been briefed” on the memo’s contents before he made those comments Tuesday night.
But later Wednesday morning, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly told Fox News radio that the memo will “be released here pretty quick,” just as soon as the White House’s national security lawyers finish “slicing and dicing and looking at it so that we know what it means.”
On Tuesday night, Trump promised to publicize the memo in comments to Rep. Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), who asked the president to “release the memo” as Trump was exiting the House chamber following his first State of the Union address.
“Oh yeah, oh, don’t worry,” Trump told him. “100 percent.”
The exchange was caught by television cameras filming his departure. A White House spokesman confirmed soon after that the president intended to release the memo.
The comments appeared to jump ahead of plans to assure critics that the White House is putting the memo through a formal vetting process before the president makes a decision. They are also the latest sign that Trump is out of step with parts of his administration when it comes to whether, or how, the memo ought to be made public.
After the House Intelligence Committee voted to release a classified memo created by Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), Republicans lauded the vote as a victory while Democrats criticized it as a political deception. (Jenny Starrs/The Washington Post)
Sanders also insisted that the White house planned to “complete the legal and national security review that has to take place” before deciding whether the memo should be released.
“There’s always a chance” the memo won’t be released, Sanders said. “No one here is going to make a decision that jeopardizes national security.”
But since the memo issue emerged, Trump has been at odds with top federal law enforcement officials about whether it should be made public.
On Monday, the House Intelligence Committee voted along party lines to make the four-page document available to the public, something that will happen if Trump does not act to block its release within five days. Just before the vote, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray, who viewed the memo over the weekend, and Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, made a last-ditch plea to Kelly not to approve the House panel’s action, explaining that it could compromise intelligence gathering and set a dangerous precedent.
[Justice Department officials appealed to White House to halt release of memo alleging FBI abuses related to author of Trump dossier]
It was not the first time that Justice Department officials had warned that releasing the memo could compromise intelligence gathering sources and methods, and threaten national security. But at the White House, Trump made his desire to release the memo clear despite those warnings, prompting Kelly to apprise Attorney General Jeff Sessions of the president’s plans.
Conservative Republican members of Congress were sure days before that Trump would be on board with their campaign to publicize it. The push began shortly after the House Intelligence panel voted on the morning of Jan. 18 to make the memo available to members to read in a secure facility; that afternoon, leaders of the conservative House Freedom Caucus took a phone call from Trump in which they told him of the memo and their plans. Caucus members told of the conversation immediately afterward came away with the impression “that he would want it released . . . since it helps the president so much,” as Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) put it.
The memo was written by staffers for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) earlier this month, after the panel procured from the FBI and Justice Department long sought-after documents related to a now-famous dossier of allegations concerning Trump and his purported ties to Kremlin officials. Sanders told CNN Wednesday that Trump was “not aware of any conversation or coordination” between Nunes and the White House on the production or release of the memo, but she didn’t rule out the possibility entirely, saying: “I just don’t know the answer.”
The memo alleges that the former British spy who wrote the dossier, Christopher Steele, passed bad information to the FBI — though people familiar with the document said it does not determine whether he did so intentionally or by mistake. The memo alleges that information formed the basis for an application to conduct surveillance against former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page.
Republicans have long been suspicious of the dossier, particularly since learning that Steele’s work was paid for by the Hillary Clinton campaign and the Democratic National Committee. Democrats, however, allege that the GOP memo is nothing but a hit job designed to weaken the federal law enforcement agencies behind special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election, including Trump’s alleged ties to Russian officials. They have prepared a memo countering the allegations in the GOP memo written by Nunes’s staff, but the Democrats’ document is only available to members to read in a secure facility.
John Wagner contributed to this report.
Read more at PowerPost ||||| (CNN) FBI Director Christopher Wray publicly clashed with President Donald Trump on Wednesday over a controversial Republican intelligence memo, furthering the rift between the President and the agency investigating ties between his campaign and Russia.
Wray sent a striking signal to the White House , issuing a rare public warning that the memo about the FBI's surveillance practices omits key information that could impact its veracity. The move set up an ugly confrontation between Wray and Trump, who wants the document released.
"With regard to the House Intelligence Committee's memorandum, the FBI was provided a limited opportunity to review this memo the day before the committee voted to release it," the FBI said in a statement. "As expressed during our initial review, we have grave concerns about material omissions of fact that fundamentally impact the memo's accuracy."
The dire warning stood in direct contrast to Trump, who has told his associates he wants the memo released to ensure full transparency. Earlier Wednesday, White House chief of staff John Kelly predicted the memo would be released "pretty quick" and that "the whole world will see it." Trump himself was overheard telling a Republican congressman after the State of the Union address on Tuesday he will "100%" release the memo
The FBI's unusual public warning came after two days of private meetings between top Justice Department and White House officials, where the FBI's entreaties to withhold the memo went largely unheeded by Trump's aides.
Officials from the Justice Department and FBI went to the White House on Tuesday to make a renewed effort to explain certain inaccuracies they see in the Nunes memo, according to a source familiar with the discussions. The effort came a day after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Wray made similar overtures to Kelly to delay a House Intelligence Commitee vote on releasing the memo.
Two administration officials told CNN the Nunes memo is not expected to be released Wednesday, but could be released as early as Thursday. Officials said the precise timing has not yet been decided and the memo remains under review.
Raising concerns
JUST WATCHED Trump says he will '100%' release Nunes memo Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump says he will '100%' release Nunes memo 00:40
Law enforcement and intelligence agencies have raised concerns about the potential public release of the document, composed by the staff of Republican Congressman Devin Nunes of California. Those agencies have said the memo contains inaccuracies and does not paint a full picture of how the surveillance process works, according to two law enforcement sources.
Nunes, who was traveling Wednesday with fellow congressional Republicans aboard a train when it crashed into a dump truck , decried the FBI's public rebuke.
"Having stonewalled Congress' demands for information for nearly a year, it's no surprise to see the FBI and DOJ issue spurious objections to allowing the American people to see information related to surveillance abuses at these agencies," Nunes said in a statement.
Asked about the FBI's statement during an Oval Office meeting with American taxpayers, Trump declined to respond.
The memo, which is currently being reviewed in a secure room at the White House, claims the FBI abused the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act over its use of the opposition research dossier on Trump and Russia as part of the case to obtain a highly classified warrant on former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser Carter Page, people familiar with the document say.
Democratic detractors claim the memo is an attempt to discredit officials overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Trump campaign connections to the Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The investigation has moved increasingly closer to Trump's inner circle, with a series of indictments handed down over the past two months.
Questions have also mounted about the White House's own role in creating the document. Trump's spokeswoman said Wednesday morning she didn't know whether any West Wing aides were involved in the memo's production.
"We have certainly coordinated with members of Congress as is appropriate. As to specifics on this, I just don't know the answer," press secretary Sarah Sanders said on CNN's "New Day." "I'm not aware of any conversations or coordination with Congressman Nunes."
During the House Intelligence Committee's business meeting on Monday to vote on releasing the Nunes memo, Illinois Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley pressed Nunes, the committee's chairman, about whether he or his staff had coordinated with the White House on the memo, according to a transcript of the meeting released on Wednesday.
"I would just answer, as far as I know, no," Nunes responded when asked whether he'd coordinated with the White House on the memo.
Quigley said Nunes became "quite agitated" when pressed whether any of his staffers were involved in producing the memo and refused to answer the question.
"The chair is not going to entertain a question by another member," Nunes said, according to the transcript.
Democratic suspicions that Nunes has coordinated with the White House stem from last year, when he took a secret trip to the White House to review intelligence gathered by two White House staffers about the "unmasking" of Trump's team in foreign intelligence collected during the Obama administration. Nunes then briefed Trump about his findings, despite the information coming from the White House.
The whole episode ultimately led to Nunes temporarily stepping aside as leader of the House Intelligence Committee's Russia investigation amid an Ethics Committee investigation over whether he revealed classified information. Nunes was cleared by the committee in December.
Growing rift
Ahead of the FBI's statement on Wednesday, some Justice Department officials expressed concerns about publicly opposing the release of the memo, according to multiple officials. Trump had already been angered by a letter the Justice Department sent the House Intelligence Committee last week warning the release would be "extraordinarily reckless." The FBI issued the statement Wednesday anyway.
The memo also faces deep opposition inside intelligence agencies, multiple current and former intelligence officials tell CNN. The intelligence community's concerns are rooted in a fear that disclosing details of the FISA warrant process could reveal crucial elements of intelligence gathering, potentially causing foreign intelligence targets to change behavior to avoid surveillance in the future.
Specifically, these intelligence officials are concerned the memo will reveal what goes into a decision to monitor targets, including what kinds of communications are targeted, and how those communications are intercepted.
These intelligence officials emphasized that applications for FISA warrants would need to be based on law enforcement information as well as intelligence gathered independently by US intelligence agencies. That would include intercepted communications and would not meet the standard for approval if the applications were based largely or entirely on outside information, such as the dossier compiled by former British intelligence agent Christopher Steele.
Republican lawmakers allege that the FISA warrant obtained to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Page was based in large part on the dossier, and that the judge who approved the application was not made aware to what degree the dossier played a role in the FBI request.
Review underway
JUST WATCHED Cardin: Nunes memo release would be dangerous Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Cardin: Nunes memo release would be dangerous 00:37
Administration officials cautioned that despite Trump's insistence the memo be released, the document will be reviewed to ensure that it does not compromise sources and methods.
"We are still going to complete the legal and national security review that has to take place before putting something out publicly," Sanders said Wednesday. "That is the place where we are right now."
The process could last up to five days, according to White House officials, but it is possible that they could approve publishing the document sooner.
To date, though, White House, National Security Council and intelligence agency officials have declined to comment on what goes into such a review process. An official told CNN that the document is currently being reviewed and the findings could be presented to Trump as early as Wednesday.
Whenever Trump does see the document, he won't likely see it in a vacuum. It will be accompanied by the relevant agencies weighing in on their interests and contextual underlying intelligence, if warranted.
But the details of how the review is being conducted are still unclear. Wray reviewed the memo over the weekend. Republican members have said that Wray did not raise any objections about inaccuracies at the time.
That said, the Nunes document, the source familiar with the discussion said, is subject to political considerations more so than a typical document that would be subject to this kind of interagency review.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to state that Wray's clash with Trump happened Wednesday, not Tuesday. ||||| Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more |||||
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(CNN) -- The folks in Buffalo are quite used to bad weather, but Tuesday night they were enduring a brutal trifecta of inclement conditions: unusually cold temperatures, high winds and almost another foot of snow.
It was so bad the Buffalo Sabres NHL team did something they haven't done since 2000: They told their fans to stay home and postponed their game at the First Niagara Center.
A blizzard warning is in effect for three counties until 6 a.m., forecasters said, and CNN affiliate WIVB reported one wind gust of 51 mph. There were also flood warnings in some areas because of broken water mains.
During an afternoon news conference, Erie County officials told residents to stay off the roads and said there was a significant number of road closures. Officials said it would be Wednesday afternoon at the earliest before most roads would be cleared.
But in a small bit of good news, part of Lake Erie was frozen over, meaning the lake-effect snow system pulled less moisture and snowfall amounts were significantly lower than first feared. Still, one area of Buffalo had 14 inches of new snow Tuesday, WIVB said.
The Sabres said their game against the Carolina Hurricanes would be played at a date yet to be determined.
Across the nation, many cities were still dealing with the effects of a polar vortex that dropped lower than normal and brought below-freezing temperatures to many states, including Florida.
And, unfortunately, the cold weather was also being blamed for one new death from hypothermia, authorities said Tuesday.
New York City saw a record low for the date. It was just four degrees in Central Park, breaking a record of six set in 1896.
That's not quite as bad as the all-time low of 15 below zero in 1934. But with the wind chill, temperatures still felt well below zero -- a 69-degree drop from Monday, when the weather was a relatively sultry 50 degrees with wind chill.
Temperatures plummeted below freezing somewhere in all 50 states Tuesday morning -- most, but not all, due to the arctic blast hovering like an ice chest, according to CNN meteorologist Dave Hennen. (The cold regions of California and Hawaii, for example, had nothing to do with the vortex.)
In Florida, despite the low temperatures, crops were not damaged, the state's Fruit and Vegetable Association told CNN.
Authorities have blamed at least 16 deaths on the cold so far, including 11 from traffic accidents and three involving hypothermia. A spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office in Illinois said Tuesday that one person had died as a result of the extreme cold.
And animals are suffering and dying, too. CNN affiliate WISH reported seven dogs froze to death near Indianapolis after being left outside, according to Marion County, Indiana, animal care officials.
At Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo, Anana -- a polar bear who never grew the thick layer of fat that bears in the Arctic do -- had to be brought inside Monday. And at the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, bald eagles and African penguins, "who are used to temperate climates," were taken off exhibit until the weather warms up, the facility reported.
Travel snarled
The weather left more than 500 people stranded on three Amtrak trains overnight in western and north-central Illinois, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
All three Chicago-bound trains -- two coming from California, and one originating in Quincy, Illinois -- stopped Monday afternoon or evening because conditions prevented them from going farther. At least one was stopped by "heavy snow drifting in a trenchlike area," Magliari said.
"The passengers were sheltered in place overnight," Magliari said. "It wasn't safe to take people off these trains ... because there wasn't a good way to get people to and from the trains in the bad weather."
Amtrak worked to make other arrangements, putting some passengers on buses.
All the trains had heat and electricity throughout, he said.
"It certainly wasn't as comfortable as anyone would have liked, but it was not unsafe," Magliari said. "It was the best thing to do in these temperatures in these conditions at that time overnight in that part of the state."
Jeanette Floyd, who boarded one of the California trains in Kansas City, praised the crew for helping to keep passengers positive, but said her trip -- which ended up taking more than a day from start to finish -- still was "one of the worst (experiences) ever."
"I can't feel my butt because it's just not there anymore, just sitting for literally 26 hours," Floyd told CNN Tuesday after arriving in Chicago by bus.
Floyd and other passengers said the crew gave them a complimentary meal during the stranding.
A fourth Amtrak train was stuck for nine hours Monday night and early Tuesday near Kalamazoo, Michigan, about 300 passengers had to wait more than nine hours to reach their destination, CNN affiliate WXMI reported.
"It was kind of like purgatory," a passenger told CNN affiliate WLS, adding that it was "not quite hellish because there was good company." The train, which was bound for Chicago, finally arrived at the city's Union Station on Monday night, WLS reported.
More than 2,600 flights were canceled within, into or out of the United States on Tuesday, according to flightaware.com. Nearly 6,000 were delayed, the flight-tracking website said.
New York resident Mindy Goldberg said her family's flight back from Mexico had been diverted to Boston because of the weather.
"I just called my kids' school to tell them they wouldn't be there, and she said, 'Everyone's stuck somewhere,'" Goldberg told CNN affiliate WBZ.
Ships ran into trouble as well. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Hollyhock had to break through ice in Lake Michigan.
In Indianapolis, Los Angeles resident Jason Bentley decided to play in the snow outside the airport after learning that his flight home had been canceled Sunday. It was 15 below zero Farenheit (minus 26 Celsius).
JetBlue cancels Northeast flights to rest crews
"This is the wettest snow I've ever touched, the easiest snow to make a snowman and to have snowball fights," Bentley wrote in a CNN Facebook discussion. "It's also probably the worst (weather) I've ever been in because of the temperature."
"Sick as a dog. Car is dead. Roads are closed. Space heater died yesterday," Amanda Brooke of Valparaiso, Indiana, said on Facebook. "Missing doctors' appointments I've had for six months." She described herself as "cold, sick, and trying not to be miserable."
In Columbus, Ohio, Alexis Mitchell-Tremain posted that she still had to go to work. "So, it's layers of clothing, the hubby's big woolly scarf, and a lot of coffee."
Jason Coppula in Pittsburgh can relate. "I have about three layers on, two gloves, two (pairs of) socks, scarf and ski goggles," he wrote on Facebook.
Extreme wind chills mean flesh can freeze in as little as five minutes. Several major school districts are closed Tuesday, including those in Minneapolis and Atlanta, to prevent children from waiting outside at bus stops.
When will this end?
Temperatures should start edging higher on Wednesday. By Thursday, most of the country will be back to normal, CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller said. In fact, some temperatures may even be a bit higher than usual.
CNN's Carma Hassan, Kait Richmond, Deborah Doft, Matt Smith, Indra Petersons, Stephanie Elam, and Paul Vercammen contributed to this report. ||||| INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Frigid air that snapped decades-old records will make venturing outside dangerous for a second straight day, this time spreading to southern and eastern parts of the U.S. and keeping many schools and businesses shuttered. Meanwhile, residents driven from their homes by power outages in the Midwest worried about burst pipes.
Eli Esch, 13, right, and his dad Tom enjoy the snow fort and igloo they built over the last few weeks, Monday Jan. 6, 2014 in Minneapolis. It is decked out with Christmas lights and the two spent the... (Associated Press)
A woman walks back to her car in the long term parking lot at Indianapolis International Airport, Monday Jan. 6, 2014. The coldest, most dangerous blast of polar air in decades gripped the Midwest and... (Associated Press)
Farmer Randy Cree chops a hole in the ice while a cow waits to drink water from a pond near Big Springs, Kan., Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. Kansas farmers are coping with frigid conditions as they look after... (Associated Press)
In this Sunday, Jan. 5, 2013 photo, a man walks through while shoveling the parking lot in front of the Five Below shop in Fairview Heights, Ill. (AP Photo/Belleville News-Democrat, Steve Nagy) (Associated Press)
U.S. Postal Service letter carrier Jamie Jasmon struggles through snow and below zero temperatures while delivering the mail Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Springfield, Ill. A whirlpool of frigid, dense air... (Associated Press)
Rich Carillo, right of Halifax Urban Ministries helps homeless people get on a bus to a cold weather shelter as the sun sets in Daytona Beach, Fla., Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. Cold weather shelters are activated... (Associated Press)
A person struggles to walk in strong wind gusts as vehicles pass on Bristol Road, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, in Burton, Mich. (AP Photo/Detroit Free Press, Ryan Garza) DETROIT NEWS OUT; NO SALES (Associated Press)
Brooke Spencer, 9, makes a face after eating some snow on Monday, Jan. 6, 2014, at her home in Grand Blanc, Mich. Grand Blanc recorded more than 13 inches of snow. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press, Michelle... (Associated Press)
Will King, 14, tries to push a stuck SUV driven by his father Bob up their driveway on Abbott street in Ann Arbor, the day after Sunday's snow storm, Monday, Jan. 6, 2014. (AP Photo/The Ann Arbor News,... (Associated Press)
Bliss Communications maintenance worker Joe Villa shows the results of working outdoors in -17 degree weather. Villa was clearing drifted snow from the walkways around the downtown Janesville building... (Associated Press)
In this Sunday, Jan. 5, 2014 photo, Ron, a bison at Brookfield Zoo, is covered in snow and doesn't seemed phased by the frigid temperatures or snow blowing through the Chicago area. The zoo was closed... (Associated Press)
Monday's subzero temperatures broke records in Chicago, which set a record for the date at minus 16, and Fort Wayne, Ind., where the mercury fell to 13 below. Records also fell in Oklahoma and Texas, and wind chills across the region were 40 below and colder. Officials in states like Indiana already struggling with high winds and more than a foot of snow urged residents to stay home if they could.
"The cold is the real killer here," Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard said Monday as he asked schools and businesses to remain closed another day. "In 10 minutes you could be dead without the proper clothes."
The polar air will next invade the East and South on Tuesday, bringing with it the prospect of more records falling. Highs in the single digits were expected in Georgia and Alabama, and wind chill warnings stretched as far south as Florida, with forecasts calling for minus 10 in Atlanta and minus 12 in Baltimore.
In downtown Louisville, Ky., where wind chills dropped to 22 below zero Monday, John Tyler gathered with friends at a McDonald's. The self-described homeless man spent Sunday night sleeping on the street.
Dressed in a sweatshirt, two coats and a black woolen cap, Tyler said there's no way to adequately prepare for this kind of cold.
"How we're dealing with it? You can't deal with it," Tyler said. "There's no way you can deal with it."
Forecasters said some 187 million people in all could feel the effects of the "polar vortex" by the time it spreads across the country. Tennessee utility officials braced for near-record power demand, while Ohio prepared for its coldest temperatures in decades.
PJM Interconnection, who operates the power grid supplying energy to more than 61 million people in parts of the Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South, has asked users to conserve electricity Tuesday because of the cold, especially in the morning and late afternoon.
Recovery will be the focus in several Midwestern states Tuesday, since the subzero cold followed inches of snow and high winds that made traveling treacherous — especially on interstates in Indiana and Illinois — and was being blamed for numerous deaths in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Indiana Gov. Mike Pence issued disaster declarations, paving the way to request federal aid.
More than 30,000 customers in Indiana were without power late Monday night. Utility crews worked to restore electricity as temperatures plunged into the negative teens, but officials cautioned some people could be in the cold and dark for days.
"My kids are ready to go home, and I'm ready too," said 41-year-old Timolyn Johnson-Fitzgerald, of Indianapolis, who faced a second night sleeping on cots at a Red Cross shelter with her three children, ages 11, 15, and 18.
More than 500 Amtrak passengers spent the night on three stopped trains headed for Chicago because of blowing and drifting snow in north-central Illinois. A spokesman said the trains — coming from Los Angeles, San Francisco and Quincy, Ill. — are operating on tracks owned by BNSF railroad and crews are working to reopen the tracks.
Bob Oravec, a meteorologist at the Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Md., said the blast of frigid air raised concerns that roads wet from melted snow would freeze over.
"In Maryland, we lost a lot of the snowpack and a lot of water is draining off, and the temperatures are dropping fast," Oravec said.
But there are signs things are returning to normal.
JetBlue Airways, which stopped all scheduled flights to and from New York and Boston on Monday, planned to resume some flights Tuesday morning. Southwest Airlines operations in Chicago resumed Monday night, even if it was, as a spokesman for the Texas-based airline called it, "a trickle."
The Minnesota Zoo announced it would reopen to the public Tuesday. State lawmakers in Indiana planned to kick off their 2014 legislative session after a day's postponement.
And warmer temperatures — at least, near or above freezing — are in store for the Midwest. Indianapolis should reach 27 degrees on Wednesday, and other parts of the central U.S. could climb above freezing later in the week.
Even International Falls, Minn., had something to look forward to. Wind chills dropped as low as -55 Monday, but were expected to rebound to 25 below Tuesday. By Friday, the low was expected to be 5 to 10 above zero, Oravec said.
Until then, take advice for dealing with frostbite- and hypothermia-inducing cold from Anthony Bickham in St. Paul, Minn., who jumped around while waiting for the bus Monday.
"You gotta keep it moving," Bickham said. "Stay warm at ... all costs, you know."
___
Associated Press writers Steve Karnowski and Amy Forliti in Minneapolis; Brett Barrouquere in Louisville, Ky.; and Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report. ||||| Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday declared a state of emergency in 14 counties in western New York and announced that parts of the New York Thruway would be closed, as the Buffalo area braced itself for as much as three feet of snow and wind chills of 30 degrees below zero.
New York City’s Department of Homeless Services issued a Code Blue alert, doubling the number of people on the street trying to reach out to those who need shelter at a time when the temperature is experiencing a major drop. The city’s Housing Authority issued a notice to residents on Monday evening asking them to stay indoors as much as possible and to check on older neighbors and those with chronic health problems and special needs.
The high temperature in Central Park on Monday was a balmy 55 degrees; the expected temperature on Tuesday morning is 6 degrees, which would match the record low temperature for Jan. 7, set in 1896. With wind chills, the outdoors could feel like 15 degrees below zero.
The frigid weather was expected to cause other travel problems in the region on Tuesday. Amtrak trains running between Boston and Washington, and between New York and Albany will have a reduced schedule on Tuesday, officials said. ||||| 1 of 26. The Chicago skyline is seen beyond the arctic sea smoke rising off Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, January 6, 2014.
CHICAGO/CLEVELAND, Ohio (Reuters) - A blast of Arctic air gripped the vast middle of the United States on Monday with the coldest temperatures in two decades causing at least four deaths, forcing businesses and schools to close and canceling thousands of flights.
Shelters for the homeless were overflowing due to the severe cold described by some meteorologists as the "polar vortex" and dubbed by media as the "polar pig."
Temperatures were 20 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (11 to 22 degrees Celsius) below average in parts of Montana, North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska, according to the National Weather Service.
It was colder in Brimson, Minnesota, where the mercury plunged to minus 40 Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius) than in Arctic Bay, Canada, where it was minus 31F (minus 35C).
The U.S. cold snap outdid freezing weather in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where it was minus 8F (minus 22C), Mongolia at minus 10F (minus 23C) and Irkutsk, in Siberia, at minus 27F (minus 33C).
More than half the flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport were canceled as fuel supplies froze, leaving crews unable to fill aircraft tanks. The afternoon temperature in Chicago was minus 12F (minus 24C).
The polar vortex, the coldest air in the Northern hemisphere that hovers over the polar region in winter but can be pushed south, was moving toward the East Coast where temperatures were expected to fall into Tuesday.
The coldest temperatures in years and gusty winds were expected as far south as Brownsville, Texas, and central Florida, the National Weather Service said.
The Northeast saw unseasonably mild weather and rain, but authorities warned travelers to expect icy roads and sidewalks on Tuesday.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency, announcing that parts of the New York State Thruway in Western New York would be closed due to extreme winter weather conditions.
At least four weather-related deaths were reported, including a 48-year-old Chicago man who had a heart attack while shoveling snow on Sunday and an elderly woman who was found outside her Indianapolis home early Monday.
In oil fields from Texas to North Dakota and Canada, the severe cold threatened to disrupt traffic, strand wells and interrupt drilling and fracking operations.
It also disrupted grain and livestock shipments throughout the farm belt, curbed meat production at several packing plants and threatened to damage the dormant wheat crop.
In Cleveland, Ohio, where the temperature was minus 3F (minus 19C) and was forecast to drop to minus 6F (minus 21C) overnight, homeless shelters were operating at full capacity. Shelter operators had begun to open overflow facilities to accommodate more than 2,000 people who had come seeking warmth.
"There are also going to be people that won't go into the shelters," said Brian Davis, an organizer with Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. Frostbite can set in within minutes in such low temperatures, according to experts.
The National Weather Service issued warnings for life-threatening wind chills in western and central North Dakota, with temperatures as low as minus 60F (minus 51C).
TRAVEL SNARLED
Some 4,392 flights were canceled and 3,577 delayed, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks airline activity.
Many airlines could not allow their ground crews to remain outdoors for more than 15 minutes at a time. There were hundreds of cancellations by airlines including United, Southwest, and American.
"The fuel and glycol supplies are frozen at (Chicago O'Hare) and other airports in the Midwest and Northeast," said Andrea Huguely, a spokeswoman for American Airlines Group. "We are unable to pump fuel and or de-ice."
After five days of scrambling to catch up from storm delays, JetBlue said it would halt operations at three airports in the New York area and Boston Logan International Airport from 5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) Monday until 10 a.m. EST (1500 GMT) on Tuesday to give crews time to rest.
The bitter cold combined with blowing snow was complicating rail traffic as well. Union Pacific, one of the largest railroads and a chief mover of grains, chemicals, coal and automotive parts, warned customers on Monday that the weather was causing delays up to 48 hours across Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri and Wisconsin.
Following last week's storm that dumped up to 2 feet of snow on parts of New England, some shoppers opted for the comforts of home rather than venturing out.
Many people did not have the luxury of staying home.
In the western Chicago suburb of Geneva, Beth Anderson, 38, was shoveling the remains of Sunday's snow from her driveway before sunrise on Monday while warming up her pickup truck for the short drive to her job at a mall.
"I just wish I could get the day off too but it would take more than a bit of weather to close down the mall where I work," she said.
(Additional reporting by Marina Lopes, Phil Wahba and Barbara Goldberg in New York; Colleen Jenkins in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Nivedita Bhattacharjee in Chicago; Kay Henderson in Des Moines, Iowa; Heide Brandes in Oklahoma; Carey Gillam in Kansas City; Jana J. Pruet in Dallas; and Karen Jacobs in Atlanta; Writing by Scott Malone and Barbara Goldberg; Editing by Grant McCool and Lisa Shumaker) |||||Summary:
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– The "polar vortex" deep freeze is spreading to the East Coast and bringing record low temperatures to the Deep South after causing misery in the Midwest, where it got so cold that a Chicago zoo had to move its polar bear and penguins inside, CNN reports. Some 15 deaths have been blamed on the cold, including 11 in traffic accidents. Thousands of schools and businesses are staying closed and homeless shelters are overflowing, with shelter operators scrambling to open warming centers to accommodate people trying to escape the severe cold, reports Reuters, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has declared a state of emergency in 14 counties and warned that parts of the New York State Thruway will be closed. In New York City, where it was 55 degrees yesterday, temperatures are expecting to plunge as far as minus 6, equaling a record low for the day, the New York Times notes. The Arctic air caused the cancellation of more than 5,000 flights yesterday, with many more expected today. Airlines say that things have been made even more complicated by new FAA rules requiring pilots to have more rest time. As the East and South hunker down, the focus in the Midwest has switched to recovery, the AP finds. Flights are beginning to resume and temperatures are expected to climb above freezing later in the week.
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– News outlets are digging into the West Fertilizer plant's regulatory filings and finding that, in light of the explosion that may have killed as many as 15 people and injured about 160, the plant might have undersold the risks a tad. While the company did tell regulators it had up to 54,000 pounds of anhydrous ammonia on hand, it said there was "no" fire or explosive risk, Fox News reports. It said the absolute worst-case scenario would be an essentially harmless 10-minute gas leak. In other developments: Rick Perry is asking the federal government to declare an emergency for the area, the Dallas Morning News reports. "Last night was truly a nightmare scenario," he said. " This tragedy has most likely hit every family and touched practically everyone in that town." Three to four volunteer firefighters are among the missing, as is the West city secretary. The blast destroyed as many as 75 buildings. The streets of the town are carpeted with the glass of storefront windows, and one 50-unit apartment complex stands with its brick facade blown completely away. Documents obtained by the Dallas Morning News indicate that regulators didn't issue a permit for the facility until after it was already in use, and that they were well aware of its proximity to homes and a school. Columnist Tod Robberson writes that the incident should be a wake-up call to cities to zone dangerous businesses more carefully. "Someone needs to be called to account," he writes. KUT notes that the explosion falls almost directly on the 66th anniversary of the Texas City Disaster, a devastating explosion caused by a ship containing ammonium nitrate.
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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. ||||| WEST — In this small, shattered town 80 miles south of Dallas, residents awaiting word on missing loved ones spent most of Thursday finding hope in not knowing for sure.
But Thursday evening, officials finally laid out what they knew so far: that eight to 10 bodies had been recovered in the devastated areas around Wednesday’s horrific explosion at West Fertilizer Co. and that they expected to find about a half-dozen more inside the facility.
Although the death toll remained uncertain, it’s a far smaller number than the 35 to 40 that West Mayor Tommy Muska had calculated earlier. “It’s very good news,” Muska told The Dallas Morning News. “I’m very relieved that it’s not that high.”
But for many in West, a close-knit town of about 2,800 from which more than 160 people were taken to hospitals with injuries, other answers would have to wait. Many spent the day unsure whether their homes survived the sudden, devastating explosion, so powerful that it registered on seismographs hundreds of miles away.
And determining the cause of the fire at West Fertilizer that triggered the explosion could take a while, more uncertainty for a town searching for answers.
Muska’s fatality estimate included four EMS members, five volunteers with the West Fire Department, an off-duty Dallas fire captain who lived in West and two volunteers who had seen the fire and stopped to help.
One resident of West Rest Haven, a nursing home across from the fertilizer company, died from injuries suffered in the explosion, according to the state agency that regulates nursing homes and David Moon, the home’s former board president and a co-owner.
The rest, Muska guessed, were residents who lived within a few blocks of the fertilizer company. Their homes took the full impact of the explosion, with windows blown out, roofs ripped off, walls toppled, with some burning brightly into the night.
Many homes and other buildings were said to be flattened. Through the day Thursday, search and rescue crews moved carefully from house to house near the site of the explosion, the buildings so fragile that they had to shore up damaged ceilings and walls before they could search for survivors.
“It’s a very slow and methodical search,” Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said Thursday morning. “There are some true heroes out there that aren’t police, that aren’t firefighters.”
Condolences poured in from around the world, including from Pope Francis, along with help from around the state. President Barack Obama called Gov. Rick Perry to offer federal support, and the governor quickly declared McLennan County a disaster area as a preliminary step to receiving federal aid for cleanup and reconstruction.
“We greatly appreciate his call and his gracious offer of his support, and very quick turnaround of the emergency declaration that will be forthcoming, and his offer of prayers,” Perry said of Obama.
Later, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst told CNN that the cause was still a mystery and could remain so for weeks.
“Unless we know something else, right now it’s an industrial accident,” he said. “But we’re going to get to the bottom of this to find out what happened because we don’t want to see this ever happen again.”
Search incomplete
Officials initially said there were no environmental concerns. But later, inspectors from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency tried to determine whether it was safe for rescuers to be on the site.
Muska said the Texas Forest Service, which helped coordinate the search and rescue operation, told him late Thursday that crews had searched 80 percent of the devastated area of town, including a nursing home and a 50-unit apartment complex. The teams found the eight to 10 bodies in that search but hadn’t entered the fertilizer company building yet.
Residents were eager to get back into their homes, to see if there was anything to salvage. The state’s U.S. senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz, planned to visit Friday to tour the damage and show support. But Sgt. Jason Reyes of the Texas Department of Public Safety said it was unclear when the affected area would be opened to residents.
“It’s still a very volatile situation,” added McLennan County Chief Sheriff’s Deputy Matt Cawthon.
In a town like West, almost everyone knows the missing and the presumed dead, among them, Joey Pustejovsky, West’s city secretary and a member of the volunteer fire department.
“We have a mayor and we have Joey,” said resident Laura Bettge, who said she spent Thursday morning praying and crying. “He’s a friend to everybody, but he’s also our leader.
“‘Secretary’ doesn’t really describe what he does,” she said. “We don’t have a city manager, so he kind of just helps run everything.”
The only victim publicly identified Thursday was Capt. Kenny Harris of Dallas Fire-Rescue, a 52-year-old father of three grown sons who lived in West and had volunteered to help fight the fire.
“He was one of the most genuine people I’ve ever met,” said Presley Hoffman, 18, who said she knew Harris’ son.
At least two people with family members in the West Fire Department said they were told their loved ones were missing and presumed dead.
But even in the most terrible hours West has ever known, residents banded together, helping one another get through that first night and the hard day that followed.
Outpouring of help
Hundreds of residents hauled cases of bottled water, bags of food and other supplies to the West Community Center. Volunteers said they were so inundated with supplies they had to open other drop-off locations at nearby schools and churches.
“It’s been a nonstop flow of goods,” said Dwayne Young, a volunteer who guided traffic outside the community center.
The Red Cross opened a shelter for displaced residents but quickly realized no one was waiting for help.
“We really didn’t need it because they stayed with family and friends,” said Dan Halyburton, a public affairs volunteer with the Red Cross. “That says there’s something special about this community.”
Volunteers from nearby towns, and some from as far away as Dallas, flooded into West early Thursday, eager to help in any way they could.
“People from all over have been here,” said Derek Phipps, a Dallas insurance adjuster who arrived at dawn to volunteer. “They don’t even know where to go. They just drove into town.”
Asked what survivors needed most when they arrived at the community center, Phipps smiled sadly.
“Right now, they just need a hug,” he said. “Everybody is stone-faced and in shock. So we try to smile, give them a hug, ask how we can help.”
Members of San Antonio’s fire department helped put up an inflatable medical tent at the community center, and chaplains and traumatic stress counselors waited around at the library Thursday afternoon, but families weren’t coming in as they had expected.
“I’d say there are more people here to help than in the town, I’d guess,” said Chuck Bridge, a member of the Austin Disaster Relief Network. “It’s just unusual, but it’s early yet.”
Perry, who grew up in an even smaller community, said, “This tragedy has most likely touched every family, has touched practically everyone in that town.”
Along the edges of the blast area, the people of West were beginning to put things in order again. Shop owners cleaned up the broken glass. School officials started sorting out the challenges ahead, with their intermediate school largely destroyed.
West is the sort of town where people pitch in, said Wesley Adcock, who had been delivering concrete for a road project south of town when he heard the explosion.
He ended up ferrying three residents from the nursing home to the hospital in Waco, one on each trip.
The third asked a special favor. When Adcock got back to town, she said, maybe he could go to her room and pick up her Bible, her prayer book and her bingo winnings and bring them to her.
West, he said, is the kind of place where people do things like that, where helping neighbors comes naturally.
“That’s what this town is all about,” Adcock said.
Staff writers Matthew Watkins, Eva-Marie Ayala, Tristan Hallman, Robert T. Garrett, Karen Brooks Harper, Christy Hoppe, Todd J. Gillman and Michael E. Young contributed to this report. Brandon Formby reported from West and Matthew Haag from Dallas.
[email protected]
[email protected] ||||| Firefighters were reportedly among those who could not be accounted for after the explosion, which occurred at West Fertilizer Inc., just off Interstate 35, about 80 miles south of Dallas. Photo by Rod Aydelotte/Waco Tribune Herald
Update, 3:03 a.m.: In late 2006 or early 2007, a state environmental inspector saw the nearby homes and schools while reviewing a separate permit for a sister company, Adair Grain Inc., located at the same site as West Fertilizer. Here is the official summary of his findings from a Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit document:
The regional investigator described the area surrounding the facility as residential and farm land. There are two schools located within 3000 ft of this facility, however, the impact potential is described by the region [regional TCEQ office] as low. The nearest off property receptor, a residence, is 350 ft from the plant.
Earlier post: Texas regulators knew in 2006 that the fertilizer facility that burned and exploded Wednesday night had two 12,000-gallon tanks of anhydrous ammonia and was near a school and neighborhood, documents show.
However, West Fertilizer Co., of West, Texas, told Texas Commission on Environmental Quality permit reviewers that emissions from the tanks would not pose a danger.
That assertion was based on expected routine emissions, not the possibility of a catastrophic failure.
As a permit condition, the TCEQ required the company to build a wall between the tanks and a public road to prevent passing vehicles from striking the tanks. The company complied and on Dec. 12, 2006, the agency’s executive director issued an operating permit for the tanks, which already existed.
Documents that The Dallas Morning News reviewed early Thursday did not indicate how long the tanks had been in operation before they received a state permit.
However, the documents state that West Fertilizer’s permit application drew no public comments for or against it from its neighbors.
The business stored anhydrous ammonia for sale to farmers. State and federal documents describe West Fertilizer as a seller, not a manufacturer.
In its permit application, submitted in September 2006, West Fertilizer said it would inspect its tanks for leaks once a day and would follow safety procedures when transferring the fertilizer to and from its storage tanks, operations that posed potential risks.
The company said it would limit the amount in each tank to 85 percent of its capacity “to ensure maintainable vapor pressures.” It also said it had a system to protect the nearby neighborhood from a vapor leak.
“The facility shall also be equipped with a water spray system in the event of accidental release of NH3 [anhydrous ammonia],” West Fertilizer told the state agency.
It described the spray system as “an added precaution considering its proximity to populated areas.” ||||| T he devastation from the explosion in West, especially given the known destructive power from the Oklahoma City bombing, should have been foreseeable. The rapid and overwhelming response from emergency crews from around north-central Texas has been nothing short of astounding. Clearly, disasters like this are exactly what the first responders prepare for. They knew where to go to establish triage centers. They even had backup triage centers in case they had to evacuate the primary site, which happened in this case. That kind of forethought, as I say, is nothing short of astounding.
So why didn’t local planners demonstrate an equal level of forethought and imagine what kind of problems could arise when you place a middle school, a retirement complex, apartments and houses next to a fertilizer plant with a 12,000-gallon tank containing highly volatile chemical compounds? Someone needs to be called to account for the scores of deaths and injuries caused by this explosion.
In Dallas, we are still dealing with the environmental aftermath of the decision to zone low-income residences next to lead smelters. A few years ago, we had a huge chain reaction of exploding acetylene gas tanks from a storage depot located right next to downtown.
People don’t take these dangers seriously until after the damage is done. The tragic loss of life and unbelievable devastation in West is hard to contemplate. Daylight will bring a fuller assessment of how widespread the destruction is.
Obviously, this isn’t the time to be asking how this could happen because the main concern is saving lives, easing suffering and containing the damage.
But sometime soon, the state and federal governments will have to mandate a review of these decisions and others like them across rural America and take corrective action. We cannot have people living and going to school next to sub-nuclear ticking time bombs.
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The death chamber is seen through the steel bars from the viewing room at the federal penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas in this September 29, 2010 handout.
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Texas executed by lethal injection on Wednesday a Mexican citizen who was convicted of bludgeoning a man to death and repeatedly raping the man's wife.
Ramiro Hernandez, 44, was pronounced dead at 6:28 p.m. CDT at the Texas state death chamber in Huntsville after receiving a dose of lethal drugs, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
Hernandez was the sixth convict executed in Texas this year and the 16th in the United States.
The Mexican government has tried to halt other executions of its citizens in the state, arguing Texas has not met international obligations concerning the treatment of foreign nationals taken into custody. It had appealed to Texas to halt the execution of Hernandez.
Texas has usually proceeded with the executions despite the diplomatic protests and the Mexican Foreign Affairs Ministry had said it had exhausted all remedies to stop the execution.
In a last statement in Spanish translated by the state criminal justice department, Hernandez said he thanked God for letting him see his family and told them not to be sad.
"I am sorry for what I have done," Hernandez said. "Be mindful that I am happy till the end. To the family of my boss, I love you."
Hernandez said, "I have no pain and no guilt. All I have is love. Love will win. Thank you God. I am going with you."
Hernandez, a hired hand, was convicted of beating his employer Glen Lich to death with a metal bar in October 1997 in the south central Texas county of Bandera.
"(He) then ransacked the Lich residence and repeatedly sexually assaulted Lich's wife at knife-point," the Texas Attorney General's office said in statement.
A federal court had granted Hernandez a temporary stay of execution, saying the state needed to provide information about the supplier of the lethal injection drug.
The stay was reversed by a U.S. appeals court this week, which said there was no compelling evidence that protections provided by the U.S. Constitution would be violated under Texas' current procedures.
(Reporting by Jon Herskovitz in Austin and David Bailey in Minneapolis; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) ||||| HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man who escaped prison in his native Mexico while serving a murder sentence was executed in Texas on Wednesday for fatally beating a former Baylor University history professor and attacking his wife more than 16 years ago.
Ramiro Hernandez-Llanas, 44, was lethally injected in the state's death chamber in Huntsville.
He was in the U.S. illegally when he was arrested for the October 1997 slaying of 49-year-old Glen Lich. Just 10 days earlier, Lich had given Hernandez-Llanas a job helping with renovations at his ranch near Kerrville, about 65 miles northwest of San Antonio, in exchange for living quarters.
Investigators said Hernandez-Llanas lured Lich from his house by telling him that there was a problem with a generator, then repeatedly clubbed him with a piece of steel rebar. Armed with a knife, he then attacked Lich's wife. She survived and testified against Hernandez-Llanas, who also had been linked to a rape and a stabbing.
Strapped to a gurney inside the death chamber, Hernandez-Llanas asked for forgiveness. He also said he was at peace and thankful for being able to see relatives, and he urged them not to be sad.
"I'm happy... I am sorry for what I have done," he said, speaking in Spanish during a nearly five-minute final statement. "I'm looking at the angel of God."
He raised his head from the gurney three times and blew three loud kisses toward a brother, a sister and two friends watching through a window. He also thanked prison officers and the warden.
"I say this with a lot of love and happiness: I have no pain and no guilt. All I have is love," he said.
As the lethal drug took effect, he snored loudly twice, then appeared to go to sleep. Within seconds, all movement stopped. He was pronounced dead 11 minutes later, at 6:28 p.m.
Lich's son, who also witnessed the execution, declined to speak with reporters afterward.
Hernandez-Llanas was the second Texas inmate to receive a lethal injection of a new supply of pentobarbital. Texas Department of Criminal Justice officials have refused to identify the source of the powerful sedative, contending secrecy is needed to protect the drug's provider from threats of violence from capital punishment opponents. The U.S. Supreme Court backed the state's position in a related case last week.
Texas and other states that have the death penalty have been scrambling for substitute drugs or new sources for drugs for lethal injections after major drugmakers — many based in Europe with longtime opposition to the death penalty — stopped selling to prisons and corrections departments.
Hernandez-Llanas' appeals were exhausted, and the Texas parole board on Tuesday refused to delay his death sentence or commute it to life in prison.
He was among more than four dozen Mexican citizens awaiting execution in the U.S. when the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in 2004 that they weren't properly advised of their consular rights when arrested. A measure mandated by the U.S. Supreme Court to enforce that ruling has languished in Congress.
On Wednesday, the Mexican government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement condemning the execution.
"This is the fourth case of a Mexican being executed in clear violation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice," the ministry said. "The Government of Mexico expresses its most vigorous protest at the failure to comply."
But that issue never surfaced in Hernandez-Llanas' appeals, which focused primarily on claims that his mental impairment made him ineligible for the death penalty. Testimony from psychiatrists who said he was not mentally impaired and would remain a danger was faulty, his attorneys argued.
According to trial testimony, Hernandez-Llanas was arrested just hours after the attacking Lich and his wife. He was sleeping in the bed where he had wrapped his arm around the terrorized woman, who managed to wriggle from his grasp and restraints without waking him and call police.
Evidence showed Hernandez-Llanas was in Texas after escaping from a Mexican prison, where he was serving a 25-year sentence for a 1989 bludgeoning murder in Nuevo Laredo. He was linked to the rape of a 15-year-old girl and a stabbing in Kerrville. While awaiting trial, evidence showed he slashed another inmate's face with a razor blade. In prison, he was found with homemade weapons.
"This is exactly why we have the death penalty," Lucy Wilke, an assistant Kerr County district attorney who helped prosecute Hernandez-Llanas, said ahead of the execution. "Nobody, even prison guards, is safe from him."
Hernandez-Llanas was the sixth prisoner executed this year in Texas, the nation's busiest death penalty state. |||||Summary:
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– A man who escaped the prison in Mexico where he was serving a murder sentence and killed again in the US has become the second Mexican citizen executed in Texas this year. Ramiro Hernandez, 44, was executed by lethal injection for beating a university professor to death in 1997 and repeatedly raping his wife, Reuters reports. He had been hired as a ranch hand just 10 days before the murder. "I’m looking at the angel of God," he said after being strapped to a gurney in the Huntsville death chamber. "I ask forgiveness from the family of my boss." Hernandez was among dozens of Mexican citizens on death row found to not have been properly advised of their consular rights, and the Mexican government expressed "its most vigorous protest," at the execution "in clear violation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice." But that issue did not play a role in his appeals, which focused on alleged mental impairment, the AP finds. Hernandez is the second person to be executed with pentobarbital from Texas' new supplier, whose identity the state has refused to reveal. Serial killer Tommy Lynn Sells, who claimed to have killed up to 70 people across the US, was executed last week.
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'I Am Alive For A Reason,' Says Va. Lawmaker Stabbed By Son
i itoggle caption Steve Helber/AP Steve Helber/AP
Saying he is "alive for a reason and I will work for change," Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds has told a Virginia news outlet that his life's work now "is to make sure other families don't have to go through what we are living."
Deeds, 55, was stabbed and seriously wounded by his 24-year-old son, Gus, on Nov. 19. Gus Deeds then shot and killed himself.
The day before the attack and the younger man's suicide, Gus Deeds was given a mental health evaluation and local authorities tried to have him placed in a psychiatric facility where he could get care. But they did not locate such a facility before time expired on an emergency custody order. Questions have been raised about whether officials contacted enough hospitals. Regardless, Gus Deeds was released.
Now, as Politico reports, Creigh Deeds has told Virginia's The Recorder that he believes the local Community Services Board that oversees cases such as his son's is responsible for what happened. Politico writes that:
"Deeds, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 2005 and for governor in 2009, spoke with law enforcement and gave them complete access to his medical records and property, the paper said. Deeds emphasized the need for improvement in the state's mental health services. " 'I hope we can make a positive change as a result of this tragedy,' Deeds told The Recorder. 'I hope the justice we can get for my son is to force change in the delivery system for mental health services.' "
The Recorder's interview with Deeds is behind a paywall.
CNN adds that Deeds told the news outlet that "I cry a lot. I can't focus now and talk to anyone."
Last Friday, Deeds wrote this message on his Twitter page:
"I am alive so must live. Some wounds won't heal. Your prayers and your friendship are important to me."
Deeds, who was hospitalized after the attack, is now recovering from his stab wounds at home. ||||| Virginia State Sen. Creigh Deeds says he’s “alive for a reason” in his first comments to the media following an altercation at his residence last week where he suffered multiple stab wounds to the head and torso and his son killed himself with a rifle.
“I am alive for a reason, and I will work for change. I owe that to my precious son,” Deeds said in an interview with the Virginian newspaper The Recorder published online Monday.
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“I cry a lot. I can’t focus now and talk to anyone,” Deeds said, who was released from the hospital last Friday and is recuperating at home.
Last Tuesday, Deeds, 55, and his 24-year-old son, Gus, were involved in an altercation at Deeds’s residence in Bath County, Va. Gus died at the scene of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to law enforcement officials who said last week the case is being investigated as a attempted murder and suicide. Creigh Deeds was airlifted to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where he received treatment until his release last Friday.
However, Gus Deeds underwent a mental evaluation the day before the altercation at the Bath County Hospital, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Rockbridge Community Services Board told the paper he was not admitted to a facility because a bed could not be located within the western Virginia area.
“I have very strong opinions about the CSB, and feel like they are responsible. My life’s work now is to make sure other families don’t have to go through what we are living,” Deeds said in the interview Monday.
Deeds, the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 2005 and for governor in 2009, spoke with law enforcement and gave them complete access to his medical records and property, the paper said. Deeds emphasized the need for improvement in the state’s mental health services.
“I hope we can make a positive change as a result of this tragedy,” Deeds told The Recorder. “I hope the justice we can get for my son is to force change in the delivery system for mental health services.”
He added that a “lack of services” in certain parts of the state “may be a bigger problem.” Following his release from the hospital on Friday, Deeds tweeted “some wounds won’t heal.” |||||
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– Creigh Deeds, released from the hospital, is speaking out after his son stabbed him before committing suicide. "I am alive for a reason, and I will work for change," Deeds tells the Recorder newspaper, via the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "I owe that to my precious son." Deeds' new goal, per NPR, is "to make sure other families don't have to go through what we are living." Amid controversy over whether officials did enough to try to get Gus Deeds into a psychiatric institution, his father is blunt. "I have very strong opinions about the CSB, and feel like they are responsible," he tells the Recorder, referring to the Rockbridge Area Community Services Board, tasked with screening those whose mental health issues may pose safety concerns. There are 39 other such boards statewide, the Times-Dispatch notes. "I hope we can make a positive change as a result of this tragedy," Deeds says, via Politico. "I hope the justice we can get for my son is to force change in the delivery system for mental health services." In the meantime, the senator openly admits he's struggling: "I cry a lot," he says. "I can’t focus now and talk to anyone."
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Dan Dzula first heard Connie Converse’s music on NPR in 2004. It was an amateur recording, taken in someone’s kitchen, but he felt an intense emotional connection to the woman behind the song. It was unlike anything he’d ever experienced before.
“I had a very instant read on it,” Dzula remembers. “Her music was so wonderful to me that it just seemed obvious a record would come out soon.”
At the time, Converse was what the music industry calls “undiscovered talent.” She had never released an album, never signed to a label, never even really performed in public. Dzula, a music producer and recording artist making his living in advertising, was sure a record label would snatch her up in no time. When time passed and no album came out, Dzula realized he could produce her.
There was just one problem: nobody knew where Connie Converse was.
And nobody had for a long, long time. One day, she had just packed her life into a Volkswagen bug, sent goodbye letters to her friends and family, and was never heard from again. That was in 1974. She had recorded the tape Dzula heard back in the 1950s.
Converse herself is still lost to the world. Nobody actually knows what became of her. But, thanks to Dan Dzula and his professional partner David Herman, her music is now widely available. You can buy the album, download it, or stream it to your heart’s content, like many, many people before you. Converse is now hailed as both the first American singer-songwriter, and the “indie hipster of the moment.” Converse’s life story -- which music journalist Robert Forster called “a drama so sprawling, with a denouement so unexpected, that Hollywood can only gaze in wonder” -- has already become the subject of documentary film and stage production. (Forster added, “Reese Witherspoon or Kate Winslet are probably practising the acoustic guitar right now.”)
How was Connie Converse’s work -- and the story of her life -- rescued from disappearing with her?
A Roving Woman
Connie Converse was born Elizabeth Converse in a small-town in New Hampshire in 1924. By most accounts, she had a conservative upbringing. As music historian David Garland described her parents: “Her father was a strict Baptist minister, her mother was musical.”
A quiet character but a brilliant student, Converse was valedictorian of her high school class. Upon graduating, she attended Mount Holyoke on a full scholarship. Then, two years into her college education, she did what many creative young people still do: she dropped out of college and moved to New York to be an artist.
There, she found work as a printer’s assistant. In her free time, she wrote songs and hounded record labels to listen to them. She was not alone in this pursuit. New York in the 1940s and the 1950s was home to the percolating “folk revival.” The likes of Odetta, Pete Seeger, and Woodie Guthrie played open mics and shuffled through the dark alleys of Greenwich Village, some of them continuing straight on to the national charts.
But “Connie” -- a nickname she picked up in New York -- was very different from her contemporaries. Most early folk artists sang music other people wrote: old time traditionals and medieval ballads. When they wrote original material, it was more often about America or the environment than about themselves. (With the blacklisting of entertainers, including folk singers, as suspected communists, they had plenty to sing about in that respect.)
“[The folk-based musicians of the ‘50s] were primarily political writers,” music journalist Robert Forster explains, contrasting them with Converse and the generation of songwriters to come. “[N]one foresaw the coming wave of youngsters who would drag poetry and private feelings together to the accompaniment of an acoustic guitar.”
Converse appears to have been a forerunner to the present-day American Songwriter. Her music touched upon her own experience as an intelligent and creative young woman, trying to find love and make a place for herself in mid-Century America. Though many of her songs are humorous, the characters in them are lonely, unfulfilled, or somehow misfit to society’s norms: A free-wheeling man who gallops into town on his brother’s wedding day and may or may not sire the bride’s child in the last verse. A character living happily alone reminisces about a rocky love affair. A woman who likes to go to bars and gambling dens to be “saved” from sin by someone “taking her home.” Many of the songs subtly subvert McCarthy’s conservatism, and, for that matter, Converse’s parents’.
From the song, ‘Roving Woman’:
How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse
“People say a roving woman/Is likely not to be better than she ought to be/When I stray away from where I got to be/Someone always takes me home”
Many of the artists Converse met in New York were fascinated with her and went to pains to help her find a wider audience. Her musician friends encouraged her to perform at parties. Susan Reed, a star of the folk scene, covered her songs on stage. Once a friend even pulled some strings and got her onto the Morning Show with Walter Cronkite.
None of this did anything for Converse’s career. There’s no evidence of a label ever showing any interest in her. Very much the introvert, Converse does not seem to have been particularly adept at self-promotion. But even if she was, the singer-songwriter subgenre of folk music was not even remotely ‘mainstream’ until the 1960s. Converse’s songs, full of humor, passion, pining and poignancy were, tragically, ever-so-slightly before their time.
Scene from Inside Llewyn Davis, set in 1950s New York. Like Converse, the title character performs mainly at informal, private events
In the Coen Brothers’ film, Inside Llewyn Davis, a late 1950’s singer songwriter finds himself in a similar situation. He plays his songs in cafes and bars, hustles his way through the music business, lives on frighteningly tight margins, and drifts aimlessly through winter in New York. He’s undeniably talented: time stops when he sings, or at least the camera fixes on him in perfect, otherworldly light. But he gets nowhere. The film ends with a soon-to-be-famous Bob Dylan playing an open mic at Llewyn’s regular bar, off-screen. Meanwhile Llewyn is in the alley outside, getting beat up for the second time in the movie -- seemingly forever trapped in the ‘50s.
This seems to have been, essentially, Converse’s experience of New York: she and her songs slogged their way through 1950s New York, completely unnoticed by the music industry. In 1961, the year Dylan moved to Greenwich Village, Converse moved out. She put away her guitar and left New York for Michigan, to live near family.
In Ann Arbor, she got a “real” job, first as a secretary. Eventually, she became managing editor of a research journal: The Journal of Conflict Resolution. It should have been a challenging role for someone who never completed her Bachelor’s degree, but Converse excelled. Calling herself an “educated layman,” she even wrote a few articles herself, which you can read in the Journal’s archives.
Despite her professional success, depression started to eat away at Converse. Finally, in 1974, she disappeared. Her family was distraught. Ultimately, when their search efforts proved futile, and years passed without any contact from her, they decided to respect her right to disappear. Converse was a heavy drinker and smoker at the time. If she survives today she is in her early ‘90s. Her younger brother, Phil Converse, has said he suspected she took her own life back in the 1970s.
Upon her disappearance, Converse had sent letters to her friends and family and left behind notes explaining her decision. In one of them, she pleaded, "Let me go. Let me be if I can. Let me not be if I can’t. [...] Human society fascinates me & awes me & fills me with grief & joy; I just can't find my place to plug into it."
The Cartoonist Who Captured Connie Converse
Connie practicing at home, 1956
And that is where the story could have ended. But it didn’t. Back when Connie Converse wasn’t making records or performing in public, but making music all the same, somebody happened to record her. And this recording was improbably carried into the 21st century, where it eventually flourished.
Back to New York City, 1955. At a party, a man named Gene Deitch met a strikingly buttoned-down young woman with a guitar. She didn’t seem the sort to normally hang out with his beatnik, bohemian crowd. “I had the immediate impression when I saw her,” Deitch has said, “‘This is the type of person who you usually see as a nun.’”
“But then when she started singing you realized she was anything but a nun.”
The woman was Connie Converse. Deitch has written about the meeting on his personal website:
“When she started to sing, she transformed us! No, she didn’t sing jazz or blues – she sang her own songs, which she was actually composing just at the time. Most were songs of loneliness, rejection, betrayal, often told with ironic humor. They were all-musicianly, beautifully melodic, with seemingly coded lyrics. They completely hypnotized us.”
Dietch was a self-described “recording enthusiast.” He owned a tape-recorder and liked to record musical artists “just for the fun of it.” He promptly asked Converse if he could record her, and she obliged. From a radio interview of Dietch:
“I sat her up on a little stool, sort of a kitchen stool which she liked to sit on when she was playing, and put my microphone in front of her, and she just started to sing. And we maybe would ask a couple words or make a few remarks in between songs but she just sang one song after another." "She exuded an atmosphere of tremendous intelligence. It was a little bit [...] frightening to talk with her [...] [N]aturally, [...] all of our guests who met her [...] wanted to know all about her, but [...] she was so obviously intelligent and brilliant that it was really difficult to speak with her without sounding like an idiot.”
“Connie sang, I recorded her, then she disappeared forever!” Deitch laments on his website. “Her songs were all in one way or another about a woman scorned. They were intensely personal and haunting.”
Gene Deitch self portrait, 2007
Flash forward 50 years. Converse has long-since disappeared. Dietsch has been living in Prague since 1959, and has had a very successful career as an animator. He worked on Pop-Eye and Tom and Jerry, and he won an Oscar for the short film Munro -- about a 4-year-old who is accidentally drafted into the military. He’s also been quite successful in amateur recording -- his collection includes home-tapes of folk legend Pete Seeger and the earliest known recordings of blues musician John Lee Hooker.
In 2004, on a trip to New York, David Garland, host of the NPR show Spinning on Air, invited Dietsch and his son to play some of their favorite records on the radio.
“I suddenly realized,” Dietch writes, “that with the opportunity of Big Apple airtime, I had a chance to sneak in one piece that [...] had never ever been played on the radio.”
He selected a song titled “One by One,” the first he ever heard Converse play. He gave it a brief introduction, relating the air of mystery around the artist, mentioning her disappearance. And then? Nothing happened.
“That was it. Show over!” Dietch writes. “I went home.”
But the show wasn’t over. In 1955 Connie sang, and Dietsch recorded her. 19 years later she disappeared forever. 30 years after that he played a song of hers on the radio, and someone else heard it and couldn’t get it out of his head.
Extra-terrestrial Guardian Angel
Dan Dzula
“I was driving on the New Jersey turnpike on a Sunday evening,” Dan Dzula remembers, “and I happened to be listening to Spinning on Air.”
At the time, Dzula was working in New York on commercial music. “I was basically writing and recording advertising jingles,” he says. According to him, he wasn’t a “folk head,” and still isn’t. He was listening to David Garland’s show that particular day because most of the songs Deitch and his son were playing were jazz.
But when Deitch put Connie Converse’s song on, Dzula felt himself -- like Deitch’s friends in the 1950s -- hypnotized, transformed, haunted.
“It felt in a way very emotionally accessible for me,” Dzula says. What Deitch said of Converse’s life, and disappearance, also touched him. “Just to know we would perhaps never hear anything else of hers, really kind of scared and inspired me at the same time.”
After hearing ‘One by One’ in his car, he went home and recorded the audio playback from the podcast online, which was temporarily available for streaming. Then, he had a file he could listen to over and over again.
“I put it on a few mixtapes for friends,” Dzula says. “And I listened to that recording frequently. I suppose in hopes that, I don’t know, perhaps it would just come to life.”
From 'One by One':
How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse
"We go walking in the dark/We go walking out at night/And it's not as lovers go/Two by two, to and fro/We go one by one"
He listened to that bootleg for two years. In that time, he periodically Googled Converse’s name, hoping to catch wind of the album he knew had to be coming. “From [the moment I heard ‘One by One’] I always kind of imagined that someone else would get in touch with Deitch, and put out an album of this woman’s music,” Dzula says. “I wanted to be the first to buy it.”
“I was listening to a broadcast and presumably other people were hearing the same thing,” Dzula tells us, about his assurance a record was coming. “I just couldn’t believe that I was the only person who was really moved by this song. ”
But the music industry didn’t seem to notice Connie Converse: not in the ‘40s, not in the ‘50s, and not in 2004, 2005, or 2006. No matter how long he waited, or what he Googled, Dzula could not find any evidence of an upcoming record.
“Finally, I got bored of waiting,” Dzula remembers. “Maybe it wasn’t happening, maybe somebody else wasn’t making it. I needed to reach out to Gene Deitch to see if I could help.”
Dzula was not a record executive, the type Converse had spent New York years futilely trying to court. He was more like Gene Deitch or Susan Reed: a fellow artist completely fascinated with Converse, shocked that the larger world had not noticed her. But the industry itself had changed in a big way since Converse’s time. Dzula knew that in his world, artists like him could make their own records and get them in front of an audience.
Three years after Deitch’s Spinning on Air appearance, Dzula found an address on his website and emailed him cold. “It was a longshot,” Dzula says. “I didn’t even know if he’d have time for someone like me.”
To Dzula’s shock and delight, Deitch wrote back. Nobody else had contacted him about Converse, ever, and he was eager to help Dzula in any way he could. Just like that, Dzula was in business, with the strangest, most enthusiastic blessing he could have imagined. From Dietch’s email:
“Preserving and presenting Connie’s songs to the world is one of my most intense unrequited dreams! [...] It may be that you are an extra-terrestrial, Dan, sent here to rescue the lost spirit of Connie Converse.”
“It was kind of amazing,” Dzula says. “He basically called me his guardian angel from space.”
How Sad, How Lovely
Dzula bore the mantle proudly. He and his professional partner David Herman began work on a record to debut their independent record label: “Squirrel Thing Recordings,” named for a line in a Connie Converse song.
Producing an absent artist is pretty different from producing a contemporary artist. First of all, with Connie Converse gone, there was nobody to record. Dzula and Herman would have to hunt down surviving recordings, and extract an album from them. It turned out that Deitch had a ton of recordings of Connie Converse, but so did Phil Converse, Connie’s younger brother. She used to mail them to him from New York. Dzula and Herman got in touch with him and acquired his recordings.
“At the time that we produced the first CD,” Dzula says, “we had found about 90 recordings of about 35 different songs.”
Now they have twice as many. The corpus expanded whenever Phil turned up a new box in his attic. Connie may have disappeared 40 years ago, but she kept churning out new material. (Phil Converse, a prominent figure in the field of political psychology, passed away in late 2014.)
The second stage of producing the first album was editing. Because Converse never released an official album, she never had to settle on definitive versions of her songs. But Dzula and Herman did. Dzula and Herman paired 35 songs down to 15, selected the best performances of each of them, and then improved the audio as best they could.
“We felt for a first release, we wanted to make it a little bit easy on the listener,” Dzula says. “We leaned towards the songs that had a more immediate appeal in terms of folk music or even pop. She definitely had some really weird songs as well, which we plan to put on later releases.”
Parallel to these decisions, Dzula and Herman embarked on a massive research project into Connie Converse’s life, one that continues to this day. As her biggest fan in the world, Dzula admits he’s interested in learning as much as he can about her, and he expects listeners to share that interest. “Don’t you want to know what happened to her?” he asks.
But there’s another dimension to his research: knowing more also makes him a better producer. It’s a little like he’s the editor of a posthumous novel -- he wants to present the songs as closely as possible to how Connie would want them presented. And in order to do that, he needs to get to know Connie. He’s basically reconstructing a person to go along with very, very personal music. Much of what is now known of Converse’s biography comes directly out of his and Herman’s research, which has included extensive interviews with her friends and family.
“Reconstructing a person is a big part of our project,” Dzula says.
Their efforts culminated in the release of “How Sad, How Lovely,” Connie Converse’s debut album, in 2009. The title came from yet another of her songs. As one reviewer quipped:
“Singer-songwriter Connie Converse is the indie hipster of the moment in Brooklyn, the indie hipster capital of the world, and she's poised to break out beyond the city limits with the release this week of her debut album.”
***
Since then, Dzula, Herman and Deitch have been joined by a growing cult of Connie Converse fans. These people are independent, passionate, and many. Like a Vivian Maier of folk music, the Internet has enabled the rise of Converse’s star, even without Converse around to promote herself. Converse can be found everywhere, from Bandcamp to YouTube to streaming services like Spotify. We now live in an era of Connie Converse webcomics, crowd-funded Connie Converse documentary films, Connie Converse tribute concerts (some of them featuring Cibo Matto’s Miho Hatori), tribute songs, and blogrolls that keep rolling.
Not to mention the many young men and women covering her songs in YouTube videos, adding her work to the canon of Western folk.
“I think she deserves a place at the table with the great 20th Century songwriters,” Howard Fishman has said. Fishman has a musical career of his own, but he is also the author of “A Star Has Burnt My Eye,” a play based on the life and times of Connie Converse. And he’s produced an album of “Connie Converse’s Piano Songs”: songs that Converse never recorded but wrote the melody of and piano accompaniment to in sheet music.
As he has said, “I think her story is a mirror for us [to reflect on] how we [as Americans] define success, and how we treat ‘outsiders’ in our midst.”
It’s still not a full time job, but Squirrel Thing Recordings has become Dzula’s professional passion. When he’s producing a new album, he spends 6 hours a day in the studio. When he’s not, he’s still putting in a couple hours a day on research and communications. He and Herman released a vinyl version of "How Sad, How Lovely," last year, and are working on future Connie Converse releases. They’ve also added another ‘absent’ artist to their label: Molly Drake, mother to the ‘70s singer-songwriting legend Nick Drake, also deceased, whose own musical talent went unnoticed until recently.
It’s possible that, were the cards stacked differently, Converse’s music could have had just as much success while she was still around to enjoy it. But the fact that it’s been able to, today, is nothing short of remarkable. Society, it seems, has finally found a place for the woman who could never quite find a place for herself. Of this end, no words seem more appropriate than Converse’s own:
How Sad, How Lovely by Connie Converse
How sad, how lovely...how sweet.
***
In our next post, we examine Meetup.com's data to figure out what hobbies make American cities unique. To get notified when we post it → join our email list.
This post was written by Rosie Cima. You can follow her on Twitter here. ||||| Connie Converse was the quintessential musical enigma – an artists before her time, forgotten, and disappeared without a trace over 35 years ago. If you stripped away the sharp literary mind, the precision of the songcraft, the bare honesty of her humble recordings, you would still be left with an unanswerable question: Where did she go? Why did she pack her belongings into a car, write goodbye letters to her friends and family, and vanish?
Around 1949, Elizabeth “Connie” Converse dropped out of Mt. Holyoke College and moved to New York City to make her way as a musician. Over the course of the next decade, she wrote and recorded a body of truly unique, plaintive, and haunting work. Some songs she recorded herself in her Greenwich Village apartment, others were recorded by friends enamored of her music, but almost none ever reached an audience wider than, as she once put it, “dozens of people all over the world.” By the early 1960’s, despondent over the limited commercial success of her music, she decided to leave New York for Ann Arbor where, in 1974, Connie wrote a series of goodbye letters to friends and family, packed up her Volkswagen and disappeared. She has not been heard from since.
At first listen, Connie’s music seems to keep close company with the female folk artists who were her contemporaries. The knack for plaintive storytelling shares much with Peggy Seeger and Susan Reed. Reed knew Connie’s music well, and performed a set of her songs in 1961 at the Kaufmann Concert Hall in New York. But Connie’s music stands out from that of the American folk revival of the 1950’s. Her fluid and disarmingly intelligent poetry reflects an urban perspective, that of a new New Yorker becoming disenchanted by the bucolic tropes of folk music. She is at once a maverick and a romantic, intellectual and spiritual, a staunch independent and a tender, pining lover. |||||
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– Connie Converse would be in her 90s if she's still alive, perhaps more surprised than anyone that the music she made back in the 1950s has finally found an audience. As Priceonomics explains in a fascinating profile, Converse tried to make a go of it as a musician in New York City decades ago with little success. She wrote her own songs, then a rare thing, but the labels weren't interested. She left New York in 1961 and took a more traditional job before disappearing, seemingly of her own accord, in 1974. "Let me go," she wrote to family and friends at the time. "Let me be if I can. Let me not be if I can’t. [...] Human society fascinates me & awes me & fills me with grief & joy; I just can't find my place to plug into it." Her brother suspects she took her own life, and that might have been the end of the story, if not for a remarkable string of events: A guy named Gene Deitch recorded her at a party in 1955; five decades later, he played one of those songs on NPR; a listener named Dan Dzula became entranced, contacted Deitch, and then made it his personal mission to spread her music to the world via Deitch's amateur recordings. The result is the album "How Sad, How Lovely," and passionate fans who've made her a hit on Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. "I think she deserves a place at the table with the great 20th-century songwriters," says musician Howard Fishman, who has written a play about her. Click for the full story.
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– Pink slime is perfectly safe to eat, but it has a bit of a PR problem, according to federal authorities and a coalition of at least four governors. Department of Agriculture officials say the "slime"—leftover beef trimmings sometimes treated with ammonium hydroxide—is actually a low-cost way of making ground beef leaner, and has been unfairly labeled, reports the Wall Street Journal. The additive has been used for nearly 20 years, but supermarkets have started taking it off their shelves under pressure from the public. Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad are among the governors who plan to eat the stuff the meat industry calls "lean, finely textured beef" themselves after touring a plant in Nebraska today, BusinessWeek reports. "You effectively need to kill 1.5 million more head of cattle a year to replace the meat that would go off the market from this unwarranted, unmerited food scare," Branstad says. "That's why we're pushing back on it."
Let's expand this into a news article: 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 ||||| The Associated Press
Governors to tour plant where 'pink slime' is made
The leaders of at least four states plan a visit to the only place where a beef product known as "pink slime" is still made, an effort aimed to support its embattled manufacturer, a company spokesman said Tuesday.
Texas Gov. Rick Perry will visit the one Beef Products Inc. plant that's still in operation to combat misconceptions and misinformation about the company and its "lean, finely textured beef" product, company spokesman Rich Jochum said.
Perry will be joined at the South Sioux City, Neb., plant on Thursday by Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad, Nebraska Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy and South Dakota Lt. Governor Matt Michels.
Dakota Dunes, S.D.-based Beef Products said Monday it is suspending operations at plants in Texas, Kansas and Iowa where it makes the low-cost beef ingredient from fatty bits of meat left over from other cuts.
The bits are heated and spun to remove most of the fat, and the lean mix then is compressed into blocks and exposed to ammonium hydroxide gas to kill bacteria such as E. coli and salmonella. The result is a product, which has been used for years and meets federal food safety standards, that is as much as 97 percent lean beef.
Critics call the product an unappetizing example of industrialized food production and dub it "pink slime."
The company has acknowledged that recent public uproar has cost the company business. Operations have also been reduced at the South Sioux City plant, and company officials said more than 650 people are affected by the shutdowns.
Branstad spearheaded the plant tour. He told the Sioux City Journal that by touring the facilities, the governors and lieutenant governors are showing they have every confidence in the quality of the beef.
"They're been a victim of a smear campaign, and I think we need to do all we can to try to counter this," he said.
Members of the media will not be allowed inside the plant during the tour, Jochum said, but will be able to watch through a video feed.
------
Follow Kristi Eaton on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kristieaton |||||
– Burka-wearers of the world apparently have nothing to fear from a Donald Trump presidency. At a rally before a town hall meeting in New Hampshire on Monday, Trump told supporters that "freeing" Muslim women from the burka isn't a good reason to intervene in the Middle East, Mashable reports. "I saw a woman interviewed. They said, 'We want to wear them, we've worn them for a thousand years. Why would anybody tell us not [to]?' They want to!" he said, per CNN. "What the hell are we getting involved for?" "Fact is, it's easy. You don't have to put on makeup, look how beautiful everyone looks," Trump told the audience, joking that he would wear one himself if he were a woman. Trump also took potshots at Jeb Bush, Hillary Clinton, and Ben Carson—calling Carson "even lower-energy" than Bush—but saved his fiercest attack for the media, reports the Boston Globe. "They're scum. They are horrible people," he said, per the Globe, telling the crowd that running for president has taught him "how brilliant the public is and how bad the press is." (At the town hall, Trump boasted about how he had been able to build a business with only a "small loan of $1 million" from his father.)
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Let's expand this into a news article: Story highlights Donald Trump joked Monday that women in the Islamic world might prefer to wear burkas because it lessens the need to apply make-up
"I saw a woman interviewed. They said 'We want to wear them, we've worn them for a thousand years. Why would anybody tell us not?' They want to," Trump said
Washington (CNN) Donald Trump joked Monday that women in the Islamic world might prefer to wear burkas because it lessens the need to apply make-up.
Trump, delivering a riff in New Hampshire about how American foreign policy had destabilized the Middle East, said that it was hard to square that interventionism with what the foreign people actually want. His case: The coverings worn by some Muslim women on their face -- or, as he called them, the "you know what."
"I saw a woman interviewed. They said 'We want to wear them, we've worn them for a thousand years. Why would anybody tell us not?' They want to!" Trump said. "What the hell are we getting involved for?"
Trump then offered a reason why those women might prefer them that went beyond their religious customs.
"Fact is, it's easy. You don't have to put on makeup, look how beautiful everyone looks," he said, pointing to the laughing audience. "Wouldn't it be easier? Right? Wouldn't that be easy? I'll tell ya, if I was a woman I don't want to."
Read More ||||| WASHINGTON — Republican businessman Donald Trump waded into the debate over wearing a burqa on Monday.
Trump said that women opt to wear the burqa, a loose-fitting garment worn by some Muslim women that covers a woman’s body from head to toe, because "you don’t have to put on makeup."
"They want to. What the hell are we getting involved for," Trump asked supporters at a campaign event in Atkinson, New Hampshire.
What’s more, Trump said, wearing a burqa is easier for women.
"Fact it's easier," he said. "You don't have to put on makeup. Look at how beautiful everyone looks. Wouldn't it be easier?"
Trump said if he were a woman, he’d sport a burqa too.
Trump waved his hand over his face as though it were a burqa and then announced,
"I’m ready darling, let’s go."
Watch the entire exchange below, courtesy of The Washington Post. |||||
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Nike terminated its endorsement contract with boxer Manny Pacquiao on Wednesday after he made derogatory remarks about same-sex couples.
"We find Manny Pacquiao's comments abhorrent," the company said in a statement. "Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community."
Based on Pacquiao's comments, a spokesman confirmed that he is no longer on the company's endorsement roster. Pacquiao, 37, had endorsed Nike for a little more than eight years.
On Thursday, Pacquiao said he respects Nike's decision to drop him but stood pat on his opposition to same-sex marriage and added that he is happy that "a lot of people were alarmed by the truth."
Pacquiao's original remarks were made to a Filipino television station earlier this week
"Have you seen any animal having male-to-male or female-to-female relations?" Pacquiao said. "If you have male-to-male or female-to-female [relationships], then people are worse than animals."
Pacquiao apologized on Twitter within hours.
"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals," Pacquiao tweeted. "Please forgive me for those I hurt. God bless!"
In the tweet, Pacquiao had a video message in Filipino wearing a Nike shirt with the special logo the company has for him.
Pacquiao's promoter, Bob Arum, CEO of Top Rank, said he understood Nike's decision to end the deal.
"Nike is in the business of selling its products to as wide of an audience as they can, and Manny's comments were insulting to a lot of people," Arum told ESPN.com. "His comments were made to a Filipino audience, where same-sex marriage is not as accepted as it is here, and Manny is a convert of enlightened Christianity, which does not believe in same-sex relationships. But to people in the United States, his words can only be viewed as hate speech.
"If I was running Nike, I would have to make the same decision they did."
Pacquiao was more of a billboard for Nike, which had its swoosh on his shorts for fights and on his shoes, instead of a true revenue stream. Few Pacquiao items reached the market.
Nike has been more active in terminating contracts of late than at any other time in company history. Over the past four years, it has severed deals with cyclist Lance Armstrong, running back Ray Rice, running back Adrian Peterson and sprinter Oscar Pistorius.
Arum, according to The Associated Press, said Pacquiao's message was "diametrically opposed to what I believe."
"I'm in favor of gay rights and same-sex marriage," Arum said. "I'm apologetic personally to the gay movement in the United States."
Pacquiao's fight against Floyd Mayweather in May 2015 became the richest fight in boxing history, breaking financial benchmarks for ticket sales, sponsorship and pay-per-view buys.
His fight against Timothy Bradley on April 9 is expected to be his last.
This week wasn't the first time Pacquiao has been involved in a furor over gay rights. In 2012 he was quoted as saying he was against same-sex marriage because "it's the law of God," though he denied implying that homosexuals should be put to death.
An eight-time champion, Pacquiao is the Philippines' most famous person and most popular athlete. He has represented the Sarangani province in the country's House of Representatives since May 2010, though he has drawn criticism for seldom showing up for legislative duties.
Polls in the Philippines show he is a strong contender for a Senate seat, which many believe will eventually lead him to seek the country's presidency.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ||||| Nike just KO'd its endorsement deal with Manny Pacquiao.
Nike (NKE) made the announcement on Wednesday -- days after Pacquiao made comments about how gay people are "worse than animals."
In a statement, Nike said it found Pacquiao's comments "abhorrent."
"Nike strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community," the statement read. "We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao."
The eight-time world boxing champion made the anti-gay comments while campaigning for a seat in the Philippine senate.
"It's common sense. Will you see any animals where male is to male and female is to female," Pacquiao said during an appearance on the Filipino station TV5. "The animals are better. They know how to distinguish male from female. If we approve [of] male on male, female on female, then man is worse than animals."
Nike has been supportive of gay rights and has promoted a "BeTrue" campaign that features products bearing the rainbow flag.
Related: Manny Pacquiao: Boxer sorry for 'gay people are worse than animals' remark
Pacquiao, 37, seemed to reiterate his sentiments about gay people in social media posts on Monday.
I rather obey the Lord's command than obeying the desires of the flesh. Im not condemning anyone, but I'm just telling... Posted by Manny Pacquiao on Monday, February 15, 2016
On Tuesday, Pacquiao then returned to social media to apologize for his comments.
"I'm sorry for hurting people by comparing homosexuals to animals," the post read. "Please forgive me for those I've hurt. I still stand on my belief that I'm against same-sex marriage because of what the Bible says, but I'm not condemning LGBT. I love you all with the love of the Lord. God Bless you all and I'm praying for you."
Related: Bill Cosby, Jared Fogle and other pitchmen gone bad
Nike's decision to drop Pacquiao is a bold move from a company that has a mixed track record as far as how it handles athletes who are embroiled in scandal.
Nike famously kept its contract with golfer Tiger Woods after accounts of his infidelity made the news. In 2013, Nike even released an ad campaign featuring Woods' comeback with the slogan: "Winning takes care of everything."
When Michael Vick was convicted of dog fighting in 2007, Nike initially dropped him. But, less than five years later, Nike re-signed him, saying he "acknowledged his past mistakes."
And Kobe Bryant kept his deal with Nike even after he was charged with sexual assault in 2003. The charges were eventually dropped, but Bryant did lose deals with other companies.
But not every athlete has been spared.
After allegations surfaced in 2014 that Adrian Peterson had harshly disciplined his 4-year-old, Nike cut him loose.
That same year, Ray Rice was caught on video attacking his then-fiance in an elevator. Nike quickly ended his contract and removed his jerseys from its website.
In 2012, Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong was dropped for his involvement in a doping scandal.
And, Nike distanced itself from longtime Penn State football coach Joe Paterno when it became clear he had concealed evidence of child sex abuse by his assistant coach. Paterno's name was scrubbed from a child development center at Nike headquarters in Oregon. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– Manny Pacquiao has dealt a knockout blow to his Nike endorsement deal with his comments about gay people being "worse than animals." Nike announced on Wednesday that it has cut its ties with the boxer, who's running for a senate seat in the Philippines, over the "abhorrent comments," CNN reports. Nike "strongly opposes discrimination of any kind and has a long history of supporting and standing up for the rights of the LGBT community," the company said in a statement. "We no longer have a relationship with Manny Pacquiao." American promoter Bob Arum, who helped make Pacquiao a superstar, says he understands Nike's decision to ditch the boxer over his "reprehensible" remarks. "His comments were made to a Filipino audience, where same-sex marriage is not as accepted as it is here," Arum tells ESPN. "But to people in the United States, his words can only be viewed as hate speech. If I was running Nike, I would have to make the same decision they did." Arum is still promoting Pacquiao's pay-per-view fight against Timothy Bradley on April 9, which is expected to be his last. Fellow boxing promoter Frank Warren tells the BBC that despite the remarks from Pacquiao and similar ones from British boxer Tyson Fury last year, homophobia isn't a big problem in the sport. "No matter what walk of life you come from there are bigots," he says, predicting the boxer has now "lost any type of sponsorship."
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OPEC says it has decided to maintain output levels, with the option of meeting within the next three months for a possible production hike.
The decision is unexpected and reflects unusual tensions in an organization that usually works by consensus.
Saudi Arabia and other influential Gulf nations had pushed to increase production ceilings to calm markets and ease concerns that crude was overpriced for consumer nations struggling with their economies. Those opposed were led by Iran, the second-strongest producer within the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
OPEC Secretary General Abdullah Al-Badri told reporters: "We are unable to reach consensus to ... raise our production." ||||| AP Traders in the Nymex oil options pit
OPEC has decided to keep its production output unchanged, defying market expectations for a production increase, which is driving up oil prices suddenly.
Nymex crude is now up nearly 2%, back above $100 a barrel, and Brent crude is up to $118. Both were down ahead of the OPEC news.
A meeting of oil ministers in Vienna broke up unexpectedly without an agreement to raise production. OPEC’s president said some members wanted three months to consider the issue.
Algeria, Angola, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran and Libya refused to consider a production increase, Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi told Dow Jones Newswires. Saudi Arabia already plans to increase production, according to reports yesterday, and it’s possible other OPEC members didn’t feel the need to join them.
“This is one of the worst meetings we ever had in OPEC,” Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi told reporters after the meeting. “We were not able to reach an agreement.”
This could be an echo of the age of dissent and revolutions throughout the Middle East, currency analyst Ashraf Laidi said on Twitter.
OPEC’s Secretary General said there is no oil coming out of Libya right now, crimping supplies and helping keep oil prices high.
The next OPEC meeting is scheduled for December.
Adding to the weirdness, Iran’s oil minister says Iran might call for an “extraordinary” OPEC meeting at some point. |||||
– Crude prices are headed north this morning, after OPEC surprised the market by keeping production flat instead of ramping it up, the Wall Street Journal reports. Nymex crude is currently up almost 2%, above $100 a barrel, after being down ahead of the announcement. OPEC's secretary-general told reporters that the countries were "unable to reach consensus to raise production," according to the AP. Going into the meeting, Saudi Arabia had led a group of nations that favored increasing production, while Iran and Venezuela had stood steadfastly against it. Afterward, the Saudi oil minister told Bloomberg TV it was one of the worst OPEC meetings he'd ever attended. Iran's oil minister said his nation might seek an "extraordinary" meeting.
Article:
Sponsored Links
Weeks after Egypt's vibrant, youth-led revolution, disturbing details are emerging about the treatment of some young female protesters briefly detained by Egyptian soldiers. Some of the women say they were strip-searched, photographed naked, beaten and forced to undergo "virginity tests" on threat of prostitution charges.At least 18 women were captured and held in military detention after army officers violently cleared Cairo's Tahrir Square on March 9, nearly a month after pro-democracy protesters ousted President Hosni Mubarak from power. After their release days later, several of them complained to Amnesty International about their treatment. The human rights group issued a public report on the allegations Wednesday, calling on the Egyptian government to investigate such claims of torture.One of the women is Salwa Hosseini, 20, who said she was arrested and taken to a military prison where she and other women were forced to take off all their clothes. They were searched by a female prison guard, she said, but male soldiers were able to look inside through two open doors and a window -- and snap photos of the degraded prisoners. In a different room, she said, a man in a white lab coat subjected them to "virginity tests" and threatened that those who didn't "pass" would be charged with prostitution.For one of the girls who claimed to be a virgin, the test purportedly declared otherwise -- and she was then tortured with beatings and electric shocks."Forcing women to have 'virginity tests' is utterly unacceptable," Amnesty International said. "Its purpose is to degrade women because they are women. All members of the medical profession must refuse to take part in such so-called 'tests.'"Amnesty continued: "Women and girls must be able to express their views on the future of Egypt and protest against the government without being detained, tortured or subjected to profoundly degrading and discriminatory treatment."Some of the alleged beatings outlined by Amnesty International even took place inside an annex of the famed Egyptian Museum, where thousands of the country's most precious antiquities are housed. An Egyptian journalist detained along with some of the victims, Rasha Azeb, said she heard the screams of women being tortured and given electric shocks inside the museum. The building was also looted during violent clashes between protesters and Egyptian security forces in February.On Monday, 16 Arab and Egyptian rights groups sent a letter to Egypt's Health Ministry urging an investigation into the alleged conduct by Egyptian doctors, soldiers and officers. The letter, excerpted by the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National , accused them of "violating the sanctity of the human self and human body."One of the signatories, Aida Saif el Dawla, who co-founded the El Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence , laughed off the idea that the Egyptian government might actually do something about the abuse. "Of course not," she told the newspaper. "But there is always somebody who knows somebody on the military council, and from that we hear them say they don't have any idea of what was happening in the military prison."El Dawla's group said it too gathered testimony similar to the complaints published by Amnesty International.In Egypt, many women face diminished chances of getting married if their "honor" is not intact. Surgical procedures to "restore" a woman's virginity are common in Egypt and across the Muslim world, as are products that claim to help women fake their virginity and make it seem as if they are having sexual intercourse for the first time.Serious crime is relatively scant in Cairo, a city of 20 million that has a fraction of the number of rapes and violent attacks of other big world capitals. But sexual harassment has long been a problem in Egypt, where poverty and sexual repression amid conservative Muslim norms have been blamed for misconduct by mostly young, uneducated Egyptian men.Many foreign tourists and workers also complain of harassment, but attacks rarely reach the severity of that suffered by CBS News correspondent Lara Logan , whose network said she was brutally sexually assaulted in Tahrir Square in February.The women interviewed by Amnesty International appeared before a military court on March 11 and were released two days later. Hosseini was convicted of disorderly conduct, destroying private and public property, obstructing traffic and carrying unspecified weapons. Several were given suspended, one-year prison sentences.Civilians are often tried before military tribunals in Egypt, where defendants are denied adequate access to a lawyer and also the right to appeal. Pro-democracy protesters who managed to push Mubarak from power Feb. 11 have also called for an end to such trials -- a move Amnesty International has supported. ||||| Columbia University LibrariesArchive-It Partner Since: May, 2008Organization Type: Colleges & UniversitiesOrganization URL: http://library.columbia.edu The Columbia University Libraries (CUL) web resources collection program archives selected websites in thematic areas corresponding to existing CUL collection strengths, websites produced by affiliates of Columbia University, and websites from organizations or individuals whose papers or records are held in CUL's physical archives. |||||
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– A group of female protesters detained by Egyptian soldiers say they were beaten, stripped, given electric shocks, and humiliated with so-called "virginity tests" while male soldiers were allowed to watch and take photos, reports AOL News. The women complained to Amnesty International, which found the allegations credible and demanded that the new government investigate. (Amnesty's report is here.) The 18 women were arrested in Tahrir Square not during the protests to oust Hosni Mubarak, but in a rally weeks after he left office. They were told they'd be charged with prostitution if they failed the virginity tests. “Forcing women to have 'virginity tests' is utterly unacceptable," Amnesty says. "Its purpose is to degrade women because they are women." For more, click here.
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Write an article based on this summary:
– When you think of sentences that Gwyneth Paltrow's friends often say to her, here's one that probably does not come to mind: "I want your chili recipe!" But yes, they do in fact exclaim that all the time, Paltrow revealed at a recent dinner party attended by New Yorker scribe Lizzie Widdicombe. Widdicombe paints an interesting picture of Paltrow as "domestic goddess" at the party celebrating her new cookbook. Many of those on the guest list, which included Jay-Z, Cameron Diaz, Alex Rodriguez, and the Seinfelds, claim they associate stick-thin Gwyneth with food. Mario Batali insists "she eats like a truck driver." But PopEater points out perhaps the most interesting part of the profile: When hubby Chris Martin arrives at the party, looking "cranky" and, according to his publicist, "he doesn't want to talk." Writes Jo Piazza, "We picture Martin stewing (in) the corner, displeased at having to make small talk with Martha Stewart and Mario Batali about canapes again." Click to read the entire New Yorker piece, which is incredibly entertaining.
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It’s tough for some people to accept Gwyneth Paltrow’s transformation from movie star to domestic goddess. Something about the combination of her willowy looks, her glam life style (she is married to Chris Martin, the Coldplay front man), and the unlikely food tips in her e-mail newsletter, Goop—“I was stationed at the deep fat fryer (Delight! Fried zucchini! Fried anchovies!)”—produces cognitive dissonance. But Paltrow takes it in stride. “I’ve been the cook amongst my family and friends for years,” she said the other night. “That’s why I wrote the book. Because my friends are, like, ‘How do you make that? I want your chili recipe!’ ” The book is Paltrow’s first cookbook, “My Father’s Daughter”—the title refers to her father, the late television producer Bruce Paltrow. It advises readers, “Invest in what’s real. Clean as you go. Drink while you cook.” Paltrow, who was hosting a dinner party to celebrate her publication, was not yet drinking, but she had a glow. She wore a white racer-back dress, tan wedges, and a linen apron with the book’s title printed on the chest. She eats at home, she said. That day: “a cappuccino, some poached eggs with spinach, an apple, almonds, some cheese and bread, and a turkey sandwich with avocado and tomato.” She said, “People who don’t know me think that I only eat seaweed and rice balls.”
Dinner guests included people who do know her: Jay-Z, Cameron Diaz, Alex Rodriguez, the Seinfelds, and assorted food-world worthies. Most guests saw nothing unusual about getting cooking advice from a stick-thin actress; in fact, many said that they associated Gwyneth Paltrow with food. Mario Batali, in pink cargo shorts, was talking to Ruth Reichl. “She eats like a truck driver,” he said of Paltrow. He recalled being in Valencia, Spain, and “watching her eat an entire pan of paella as big as a manhole cover.”
Michael Stipe added, “Once, a duck she was cooking caught fire, and she threw it in the pool.”
Paltrow greeted people by the door, holding a glass of cucumber water. Her mother, Blythe Danner, arrived.
“Hi, Mommy,” Paltrow said.
Danner unfurled a white monogrammed cloth: “I brought you something. Daddy’s napkin.”
“Oh, boy,” Batali said. “The tears are gonna fly now, baby.”
Christy Turlington looked on. “We are lucky in that we have been the recipients of many meals with Gwyneth Paltrow,” she said, and mentioned a stuffed-lobster dish that Paltrow and Martin had served in Amagansett. “They do everything themselves, including the killing of the lobster,” she said. “It’s not the boiling-in-the-pot-and-screaming lobster thing. It’s a different, faster approach. I could never do it.”
“You smack it against a tree or something?” Batali asked.
“You stick a knife through the head,” said Turlington, who seemed suddenly troubled. “Oh! That’s awful to say.”
A financier at the party said that he associated Paltrow with scungilli: “My family and I were conch-diving down in the Bahamas. They’d cook the conch right there on the beach. And they had a TV in the little hut there, and that’s where I watched the Oscars this year.” (Paltrow sang a song on the broadcast.)
“I loved her in ‘Shakespeare in Love’!” said Martha Stewart, who was checking out the minimalist place settings provided by the Web site One Kings Lane. She said the only thing she consumes while watching movies is bottled water. She later tweeted, “Is Gwyneth the next Martha?”
At 9 P.M., the guests went out to a pair of long tables on the terrace. Diaz, A-Rod, and Batali sat near Chris Martin, who had arrived looking cranky. (A publicist warned, “He doesn’t want to talk.”) Paltrow sat a few seats away, flanked by Jerry Seinfeld and Jay-Z. (The next day, she and the rapper posted reciprocal interviews on their Web sites. Paltrow: “I could sing to you every single word of N.W.A’s ‘Fuck tha Police.’ ”) Paltrow announced the menu: roasted red peppers with anchovies, escarole salad, pasta with duck ragout. Jessica Seinfeld made a toast: “There is no one who is more comfortable or more capable in the kitchen, naturally, than you,” she said to Paltrow. “I don’t know how you do it.” She turned to the assembled guests. “And you are all so lucky to be part of Gwyneth’s world. Because this is the real deal. And she’s invited all of you good people in here. I would never do that.”
Wendi Murdoch, sitting nearby, had said that she is a reader of Paltrow’s blog: “Only one thing comes to mind—healthy and organic.” She listed her favorite recipes: “Pumpkin soup, grilled market vegetables. It’s good. I get my chef to cook it.”
“But you’re directing the chef,” Kelly Behun, a friend of Murdoch’s, interjected. Behun, an interior designer, was the only guest who didn’t have a Paltrow-related food memory. “Gwyneth?” she said. “When I see her, I don’t think of food.” ♦ ||||| Chris Martin Hates Gwyneth Paltrow's Pretentious Dinner Parties
Email This On a recent evening in New York, a group of FFOGs (Famous Friends of Cameron Diaz,
It is first worth noting that Paltrow's husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, was not nearly as psyched as the other guests to sample his wife's duck ragout. According to the New Yorker write-up, Martin arrived cranky and a publicist warned, "he doesn't want to talk."
It's a little odd when your hubby doesn't want to talk at a party promoting your project, no?
Thankfully for Gwyneth, everybody else wanted to talk.
On a recent evening in New York, a group of FFOGs (Famous Friends of Gwyneth ) turned out for a dinner party to celebrate the actress, singer and blogger's debut cookbook, 'My Father's Daughter.' New Yorker scribe Lizzie Widdicombe was there to rub shoulders with guests like Jay-Z Alex Rodriguez and the Seinfelds and to document exactly how Gwyneth is not just like us.It is first worth noting that Paltrow's husband, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, was not nearly as psyched as the other guests to sample his wife's duck ragout. According to the New Yorker write-up, Martin arrived cranky and a publicist warned, "he doesn't want to talk."It's a little odd when your hubby doesn't want to talk at a party promoting your project, no?Thankfully for Gwyneth, everybody else wanted to talk.
Jessica Seinfeld reminded the crowd how lucky they were to be invited."You are all so lucky to be part of Gwyneth's world," Seinfeld said to the guests. "Because this is the real deal. And she's invited all of you good people in here. I would never do that."Christy Turlington revealed that Gwyneth is a whiz when it comes to killing lobsters."It's not the boiling-in-the-pot-and-screaming lobster thing. It's a different, faster approach. I could never do it," Turlington said about how Paltrow prepares them for the boil. "You stick a knife through the head," said Turlington, who seemed suddenly troubled. "Oh! That's awful to say."Michael Stipe was happy to rib Gwyneth for a cooking faux pas. "Once, a duck she was cooking caught fire, and she threw it in the pool."Still, amidst all the laughter, we picture Martin stewing the corner, displeased at having to make small talk with Martha Stewart and Mario Batali about canapes again. |||||
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Article:
World With No Fear
Alix explains how nature imbued us with the need to feel fear, and how the modern world sends it into unnecessary overdrive. We'll also hear about the striking (and rare) case of a woman with no fear.
ALIX SPIEGEL, HOST:
This is INVISIBILIA, stories about the invisible forces that shape human behavior.
LULU MILLER, HOST:
I'm Lulu Miller.
SPIEGEL: And I'm Alix Spiegel. And today we are talking about fear, and like many stories that involve fear, this one begins in the woods.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROGER HART FILM)
SPIEGEL: This is tape from a film which shows two little children, ages 4 and 6, together in a clearing in the forest. They're alone, two tiny bodies dwarfed by tall, dark trees. Close by in the brush, a man is watching them. By his side, there's a camera. But really, the children don't even seem to notice the man. They're too busy, absorbed in one of the most central, sacred activities of human childhood...
(SOUNDBITE OF ROGER HART FILM)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (Imitating fart noises).
SPIEGEL: ...The production of fart noises. Now, this film is all about the fart noises, in a way. The man filming them from the trees was an environmental psychologist who was interested in what children do when they're alone because at that time - this film was taken in the 1970s - that work had literally never been done before.
ROGER HART: They just hadn't been studying children in natural settings.
SPIEGEL: This is Roger Hart, the environmental psychologist in the trees.
HART: Almost nothing was known about how children even explored the world, and then I came across a book on baboons. And I realized that we knew more about baboons' everyday behavior than we did about children's behavior outside of school.
SPIEGEL: And so you wanted to study children the way Jane Goodall studied baboons?
HART: Precisely.
SPIEGEL: So Roger found himself a small town in Vermont, set himself up there and started tracking all of the children in the town.
HART: There were 86 children between 3 and 12 years of age, and I worked with all of them, all of the waking hours for two and a half years, I was with them. They were my life, these kids.
SPIEGEL: Roger would follow the kids throughout the day, documenting everywhere the children went by themselves.
HART: Show me the places that are dangerous. Show me the places that are scary. Take me to where you're not supposed to go, and show me where that is.
SPIEGEL: He then took that information and literally made maps...
HART: OK. Let me just find the chapter.
SPIEGEL: ...Physical maps that measured the distance each child was allowed to go by themselves and what the average was for every age group. And what Roger discovered was that these kids had remarkable freedom. Even 4- or 5-year-olds, like the ones in the woods, traveled unsupervised throughout their neighborhoods, and by the time they were 10, most of the kids had the run of the entire town.
HART: They had more than the run of the town. Some of them would go to the lake, which would be on the edge of town, and the lake, you'd think, would be a place that would be out of bounds.
SPIEGEL: But the parents weren't worried about the lake or their kids being abducted.
HART: Abduction wasn't something I ever heard anybody talk about then.
SPIEGEL: So there was no stranger danger?
HART: No.
SPIEGEL: The point is that these parents weren't particularly motivated by fear.
HART: No.
SPIEGEL: Which brings us to today. See, several years ago, Roger went back to the exact same town to document the children of the children that he had originally tracked in the '70s, and when he asked the new generation of kids to show him where they played alone, what he found floored him.
HART: They just didn't have very far to take me, just walking around their property, really.
SPIEGEL: The huge circle of freedom on the maps had grown tiny.
HART: There is no free range outdoors. Even when they're much, much older, parents now say, I need to know where you are. I need to know where you are at all times.
SPIEGEL: What's odd about all of this, Roger says, is that the town is not more dangerous than it was before. There's literally no more crime today than there was 40 years ago.
HART: You know, 35 years later, it's remarkably the same.
SPIEGEL: Same physically?
HART: Same physically and demographically, in terms of living in the town, very similar.
SPIEGEL: So why has the invisible leash between parent and child tightened so much? Roger says it was absolutely clear from his interviews. The reason was fear.
ANDREW: You know, you just never know who's out there and what these crazy people are doing.
MILLER: Now, this frightened parent is actually somebody you've already met before.
(SOUNDBITE OF ROGER HART FILM)
UNIDENTIFIED CHILD #1: (Imitating fart noises).
MILLER: Andrew, the very little boy playing unattended in the woods at age 4, all grown up. Even he told Roger he was too afraid to let his kids roam free.
ANDREW: I think when we were children, you know, my parents wouldn't worry if I was gone for an hour, you know, or up in the woods. But here, if my girls are gone for five minutes, I start to, you know, think, OK somebody could be turning around at the end of the road and - or, you know, whatever. So that makes a big difference.
SPIEGEL: And what Roger found in this small town, you see it again and again across America. Crime is at its lowest levels nationally since the 1950s, but everywhere you look, fear of the world outside our door narrows the circle of our lives. Why?
RALPH ADOLPHS: Are you rolling? Yeah. He's rolling. So I guess we're ready.
SPIEGEL: This is Ralph Adolphs, a professor at Caltech who spent decades studying fear in the human brain. And when we were talking, he said something that really struck me. He said our overall fear threshold - that is what triggers our fear - is something that evolution has set and set at a high level for a very good reason.
ADOLPHS: You know, if I just hear a slight creak in my house at night, I feel fear, and 99.9 percent of the time, there's no burglar in the house. And it's all safe. But nonetheless, I felt fear. So you have a lot of false positives. But that's as it should be because you don't want to miss any.
SPIEGEL: The problem, Adolphs says, is just that modern life - it's constantly triggering our fear in all kinds of ways that our natural world didn't.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)
SPIEGEL: This is the sound of the first mass murder captured on film in American history. It was recorded in Austin, Texas, in 1966 after a lone shooter named Charles Whitman stormed the balcony of the clock tower in the middle of the University of Texas campus and started firing at random.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: There must have been a hit that last time. We hear people outside of our building in an area where we can't now look safely saying, let's help that boy. Does he need help? Someone must be down.
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Ricochet bullets bouncing off the top of the...
(SOUNDBITE OF GUNSHOTS)
SPIEGEL: It is chilling to see this footage - the puffs of gun smoke floating from the deck of the clock tower, the people falling to the sidewalk in the hot Texas sun and not getting up. It's terrible. But today, of course, it's not exactly novel.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS REPORT)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #1: This morning in Michigan, police have arrested a man who's suspected of chopping up his wife.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS REPORT)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #2: A stranger seized a child.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS REPORT)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #3: Three men accused of abducting and holding the women hostage.
SPIEGEL: Horror inflicted on other people surrounds us. And Adolphs argues that because of our wiring, we are just not set up to ignore it.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS REPORT)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #4: A serial killer...
SPIEGEL: And so it distorts our experience of the world, activating our fear when we don't need it.
(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS REPORT)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER #4: And police say it's only a matter of time before he strikes again.
SPIEGEL: Essentially, Adolphs is saying that a lot of our modern First World fear is totally unnecessary.
ADOLPHS: I think not being able to experience fear is mostly lethal if you're in the wild. But in today's world, I mean, I'm sitting here in my office, and, you know, other than a microphone in my face, there's not a particular threat going on. So our environment, which of course isn't the environment in which we evolved, you know, there just aren't that many hazards around.
SPIEGEL: Which got Lulu and I thinking. What would happen to us if we somehow disappeared our fear?
This is INVISIBILIA.
MILLER: I'm Lulu Miller.
SPIEGEL: And I'm Alix Spiegel.
MILLER: And what we do on our show is look at invisible things, like emotions, assumptions, beliefs and ideas, that control human behavior. And today, that thing we are looking at is fear...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Oh, my God.
MILLER: ...That ancient chemical reaction that's shaped us and allowed us to survive as a species.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN #1: Jesus Christ.
SPIEGEL: How would our lives be different if we were able to short-circuit fear?
MILLER: So bring your bear whistles and arm your home security alarm systems because...
SPIEGEL: It's fear hour.
MILLER: All right, Alix. So you're going to get us started, right?
SPIEGEL: Yeah. So the question is, what happens when you disappear fear? And to answer it, I went to one of the only people who can, like, objectively try to answer that question, a neuroscientist at the University of Southern California named Antonio Damasio.
ANTONIO DAMASIO: I always like to say that I have a perfect face for radio.
SPIEGEL: No. No, no, no. I know - the same for me.
See, one day in the early '90s, a young woman came to see Damasio. We're going to call her SM for reasons that I'll get to shortly.
DAMASIO: She looked like a pleasant woman. She had a very open face and looked like a perfectly normal person.
SPIEGEL: SM had originally come to the hospital because she had these unexplained blackouts. But Damasio says that, sitting there, everything about her seemed quite normal, except for one small thing - her physical proximity.
DAMASIO: It struck me a little bit out of the ordinary she was very close to you. And that of course came to have an interpretable meaning after we knew more about her. But at that point, I would say that she looked like a perfectly normal person. And she is a perfectly normal person, except for one particular problem.
SPIEGEL: The problem? The woman couldn't feel fear - literally could not experience that emotion.
DAMASIO: Fearless - that's the best way of describing it.
SPIEGEL: Now, fearlessness like this, that is a biological inability to feel fear, is incredibly rare. Fear is one of the most basic emotions that we have, so it's next to impossible to find someone without it.
DAMASIO: Fear, it's a very towering emotion.
SPIEGEL: In fact scientists have identified only about 400 people on earth with the condition that was causing fearlessness in SM.
DAMASIO: A very unusual disease called Urbach-Wiethe disease.
SPIEGEL: Urbach-Wiethe has three main symptoms. People with disease have an extremely hoarse voice, small bumps around their eyes, but also the disease leads to these deposits in the brain.
DAMASIO: Deposits of calcium, little stones in certain parts of the brain. And one part in particular is a favorite for those deposits, and that is the amygdala.
SPIEGEL: The amygdala are two almond-shaped structures deep in the brain critical for the processing of fear. And in SM's brain, her amygdala were completely calcified.
DAMASIO: It's a little bit as if you would go to this region and literally scoop it out.
MILLER: Which is why biologically, SM couldn't feel fear. That bit of brain couldn't signal to the rest of her body that it was time for her heart to start racing and her palms to sweat. It's also why SM was so profoundly valuable to the scientists who studied her, like Damasio, and the fear researcher Ralph Adolphs that you heard earlier because fear seems critical to survival. But here was SM, alive and also completely normal in other ways. She had normal intelligence and no problem with any other emotion.
DAMASIO: You know, joy, sadness, anger - she was perfectly normal with those. Fear was really an isolated defect.
SPIEGEL: In a sea of emotions, her brain had subtracted just one, which brings me to the reason why we are using SM instead of the woman's real name because, as you might imagine, being without fear is dangerous.
DAMASIO: To make the point very clearly, if she would be threatened - and she has in her life - she would not register the fear that that would immediately cause in you or me.
SPIEGEL: And so for the last three decades, the scientists researching SM have been very, very careful about guarding her identity. Though people have written about her, no reporter has ever been allowed to contact her or anyone connected to her. No one has heard from her directly in any way until now.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
DANIEL TRANEL: Hello?
SM: Hello.
TRANEL: Hello.
SM: Hey.
SPIEGEL: This is SM.
TRANEL: You're on there?
SM: I'm on here, yes, sir.
SPIEGEL: Like every other journalist, I was not allowed to meet or even email SM. I don't know her name or where she lives or how old she is - nothing I could use to identify her because if her identity leaked, people could very easily take advantage of her. But I was able to give a short list of questions to one of the neuroscientists who's been studying her for the last 20 or so years, a man named Daniel Tranel.
TRANEL: Dr. Daniel Tranel at the University of Iowa.
SPIEGEL: And he called SM on the phone and recorded as he read to her from my list.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRANEL: Tell me what fear is.
SM: Well, that's what I'm trying to - to be honest, I truly have no clue.
TRANEL: Do you have a sense of what it would feel like to be afraid and feel fear?
SM: No, not really.
SPIEGEL: When SM first met the scientists who've been studying her, she was in her early 20s, a wife and mother of young boys. By that time, her amygdala was already completely calcified, so she couldn't feel fear. But apparently before the complete calcification, when she was very young, she had experienced fright.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRANEL: Tell me this, when do you remember feeling fear in your life?
SM: I believe when I was just a little girl.
SPIEGEL: SM had been out fishing with her dad, and they caught a great, big catfish.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SM: And I didn't wanted touch the doggone fish.
TRANEL: You were afraid to take the fish off the hook.
SM: Yes, because I didn't want to get bit. And that's the only time when I can really remember, being afraid of the doggone fish when I was small.
SPIEGEL: Somewhere in her teens, somewhere between the catfish and walking into Damasio's office, SM's ability to experience fear just slowly faded out and the world around her became benign, a place populated by people and things that only seemed to wish her well. Damasio and the other scientists who have studied SM know this because they've done all kinds of tests that prove it's true. They've exposed her to the most terrifying animals that they could find, snakes.
DAMASIO: She had to be restrained from playing with the ones that would actually be quite dangerous to her.
SPIEGEL: They've tried to condition a fear response into her by randomly assaulting her with the sound of a loud, jarring horn - nothing. She just seems emotionally blind to the experience of fear.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SM: I wonder what it's like, you know, to actually be afraid of something.
SPIEGEL: For example, in one of the studies that Damasio did, he asked SM to draw for him a picture of a face with a fearful expression, but she couldn't do it.
DAMASIO: She would be puzzled and would be - pencil in hand and paper, and she would not be able to draw a face of fear, not even able to conjure up the image.
SPIEGEL: Which brings us back to the big question of the show; what would it be like to walk through the modern world with no fear? Are you OK? What I can tell from looking at the case of SM - and it is one case - is that her inability to feel fear, it makes her much more open and friendly than most people...
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SM: Nice to meet you.
SPIEGEL: ...Which in many ways is a great thing. But it also has its downsides because SM is often open even with people who mean her harm.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SM: Years ago, when my three sons were small...
TRANEL: OK. Don't say their names.
SM: OK. I was walking to the store, and I saw this man on a park bench. He said, come here please. So I went over to him. I said, what do you need? He grabbed me by the shirt, and he held a knife to my throat and told me he was going to cut me. I told him - I said, go ahead and cut me. And I said I'll be coming back, and I'll haunt your ass. Oops. Am I supposed to say that? I'm sorry.
TRANEL: That's OK. It's an intense situation. How did you feel when that happened?
SM: I wasn't afraid. And for some reason, he let me go. And I went home.
TRANEL: Call the police?
SM: No.
SPIEGEL: In her life, SM has been held at knifepoint at least once besides this and held at gunpoint twice. Also her first husband nearly beat her to death. So clearly, a life without biological fear exposes you to dangers that are easier to avoid if you do have fear. But talking to Damasio, I never got the sense that he saw a lack of fear as a death sentence at all.
How do you make it through the world if you're not physically capable of fear?
DAMASIO: Oh, you can make it perfectly well, obviously, if you are smart enough. The big difference here is having a true emotive reaction or having to think through it, which may be more or less accurate and certainly longer in time, in terms of the response. The beauty of emotions is that they're ready-mades. What an emotion is - same way that an instinct or drive - is that you don't need to think about it in order to do it. It's a natural, ready-made way of leading you to the correct behavior.
SPIEGEL: One thing that SM might be showing us, Damasio is suggesting, is that we might not need our ready-made of fear as much as we have assumed. There are other variable paths to the correct behavior, like logic.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRANEL: If you were crossing the street, and you looked up and saw a car racing toward you, how do you think you would feel?
SM: I would try to get out of the way.
TRANEL: You don't feel your heart race or skip a beat?
SM: I don't know. But I would try to jump out of its way.
SPIEGEL: Which finally brings me to the absolutely crazy thing about not having fear that I feel like I learned from looking at the case of SM, which is this; without fear, trauma is not traumatizing.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
SM: Instead of running away, I faced it. I said, I'll be coming back, and I'll haunt your ass (laughter).
DAMASIO: If she cannot conceptualize the threat, she hasn't had the bad events happen to her.
SPIEGEL: Can you just say that again?
DAMASIO: Sorry. The bad events appear to us because we know that she was threatened, but she herself did not see herself as threatened. So as a result, she is lacking the bad stuff in her life.
SPIEGEL: To me, this is incredible, like, metaphysical.
DAMASIO: It's not metaphysical. It's very objective. It's because the situation was indeed not threatening in the sense that it would be for us. Then she didn't have a bad episode to register in the history of her life. In other words, if she looks at her autobiography, her autobiography does not have that written in big letters as this was a bad thing because it was not a bad thing in terms of her experience. It's not that she is masking it. It's that she didn't have it to begin with.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TRANEL: Well, let me ask you this. Would you consider yourself a happy person?
SM: You know, there's some days that I could be on top of the world, and there's some days that, you know, I can be - got the blues. But 9 out of 10, I'd say happy.
TRANEL: Yeah. OK.
SPIEGEL: It seems like such an odd bargain. If you have no fear, more terrible things will happen to you, but you don't personally experience them as terrible. If you have a lot of fear, fewer bad things are likely to happen, but it's very probable that your life is more painful to you. So is it better to be fearful or fearless? Which side of the continuum do you choose?
When we come back, we experiment with two different ways of reducing fear. And because this is not just high-class journalism but also cheesy, secret self-help made by two women who have unironically watched all of Jennifer Aniston's romantic comedies, we will offer you at the very end of the program an actual formula that you can break down that will help you to face your fear, whatever your fear is.
MILLER: I think I just heard the soul of an NPR founder scream out and die.
SPIEGEL: Yeah, I think I just heard that, too. INVISIBILIA will be back in a minute.
[Editor's note on June 28, 2018: NPR has deleted a surname from this story because that person was promised anonymity as a participant in academic research and in reporting this story we agreed to respect that promise.]
Copyright © 2015 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record. ||||| Abstract Losses are a possibility in many risky decisions, and organisms have evolved mechanisms to evaluate and avoid them. Laboratory and field evidence suggests that people often avoid risks with losses even when they might earn a substantially larger gain, a behavioral preference termed “loss aversion.” The cautionary brake on behavior known to rely on the amygdala is a plausible candidate mechanism for loss aversion, yet evidence for this idea has so far not been found. We studied two rare individuals with focal bilateral amygdala lesions using a series of experimental economics tasks. To measure individual sensitivity to financial losses we asked participants to play a variety of monetary gambles with possible gains and losses. Although both participants retained a normal ability to respond to changes in the gambles’ expected value and risk, they showed a dramatic reduction in loss aversion compared to matched controls. The findings suggest that the amygdala plays a key role in generating loss aversion by inhibiting actions with potentially deleterious outcomes.
Loss aversion describes the widespread behavioral avoidance of choices that can lead to losses, even when accompanied by equal or much larger gains. This phenomenon was first proposed as part of “prospect theory” (1), a theory of choice among monetary gambles. Across many studies, losses typically loom about 1.5–2 times as large as gains: for instance, people will avoid gambles in which they are equally likely to either lose $10 or win $15, even though the expected value of the gamble is positive ($2.50). Loss aversion has been well documented in the laboratory and in many field settings (2), including high-stakes game show decisions (3), financial markets (4), politics (5), trade policy for declining industries (6), rate of organ donation for transplant cases (7) and has also been evident in monkey behavior (8). But what drives loss-averse behavior, and what neural structures mediate the effect?
Our study tested the hypothesis that the amygdala mediates loss aversion, an idea motivated by a large literature implicating this brain structure in processing fear and threat (9), as well as in anticipation and experience of monetary loss (10). Given the amygdala’s prominent role in affective processing, it is also relevant to note that loss aversion appears to increase with affective enrichment of “hedonic” consumer goods (e.g., music CDs versus computer disks) (11) and more generally with emotional attachment (12). Intriguingly, recent theories of amygdala function argue that the amygdala subserves an abstract function in detecting uncertainty (13) or ambiguity (14) in the environment and in triggering arousal and vigilance as a consequence. This hypothesis is consistent with a tendency for amygdala-lesioned monkeys to approach stimuli that healthy monkeys avoid (15), as well as greater amygdala activation in people with more inhibited personalities (16). Furthermore, a recent study found that increased cognitive control of the autonomic emotional responses normally elicited by losses significantly reduced the susceptibility to loss aversion (17). However, a recent fMRI study (18 ) did not find amygdala activation associated with loss aversion and is discussed in more detail below.
Our goal in the present study was to provide a direct test of the hypothesis that the amygdala is part of a computational process that leads to loss aversion. To do this, we test the revealed aversion to financial losses of individuals with amygdala damage.
Results The two participants have rare focal bilateral lesions of the amygdala (Fig. 1). Their neuroanatomy and background neuropsychology have been described in detail elsewhere (9, 19, 20). Both individuals have impairments in processing fear despite otherwise largely normal cognition and IQ. The first participant, S.M., is a 43-year-old woman with a high school education whose lesions encompass the entire amygdala plus subjacent white matter and anterior entorhinal cortex. The second participant, A.P., is a 23-year-old woman with a college education whose lesions are entirely confined to the amygdala and encompass roughly 50% of the amygdala. The two participants were each compared to a separate group of 6 healthy controls (12 in total) matched to that participant on age, gender, monetary income, and education. Fig. 1. Selective bilateral calcification of the amygdala (arrows) due to Urbach-Wiethe disease is evident as loss of signal on these T1-weighted structural MRI scans of the brains of S.M. and A.P. At the beginning of the experiment, participants received an endowment of $50 in cash. During the behavioral task participants were asked to accept or reject a series of mixed gambles with equal (50%) probability of winning or losing a variable amount of money. These were presented on a computer screen as the prospective outcomes of a coin flip. Participants indicated their willingness to take the gamble by a key press. A total of 256 trials were presented (split in four 64-trial sessions). The risky gamble in each trial had 1 of 16 potential gains ranging from +$20 to +$50, and 1 of 16 potential losses ranging from −$20 to −$50, both sampled in increments of $2 (Fig. 2). Each of the 256 (16 × 16) possible gain–loss pairs were present in only one gamble. Fig. 2. Experimental task design. Participants saw a two-outcome gamble that offered equal (50%) chances of gaining or losing different amounts. We sampled the entire matrix shown on the Right. Each cell represents the expected value (i.e., EV = 0.5G + 0.5L) associated with each gamble. This task is a modification of the one used in an fMRI study (18), with the critical difference that our gain/loss range was symmetrical and larger. At the end of the experiment one trial was randomly selected and paid out according to the participant’s decision during the experiment. The behavioral results can be visualized in a 5 × 5 matrix that combines gambles with similar gain and loss amounts (see Methods for more details). The percentage of gamble choices in each cell is represented by color, in Fig. 3. Both amygdala-lesioned participants showed a strikingly higher willingness to accept gambles than their matched control groups. This shift in accepting gambles was most prominent in S.M. Critically, both participants retained a monotonic sensitivity to reward magnitude (i.e., they preferred larger gains and smaller losses). Fig. 3. Amygdala lesions block loss aversion. A 5 × 5 matrix collapses the data from the complete matrix shown in Fig. 2. Color-coded heatmaps depict the probability of gamble acceptance at each level of gain/loss (white indicates high willingness to accept the gamble, and black indicates low willingness to accept the gamble) within that cell. S.M. and A.P. were noticeably less loss averse than their respective control groups. We next quantified differential behavioral sensitivity to gains G and losses L and estimated the aversion to choosing these gambles, and the magnitude of loss aversion, for each individual participant. The expected value of each gamble (i.e., EV = 0.5G + 0.5L) was entered into a logistic regression analysis as an independent variable, whereas participants’ choices were the dependent variable. The response function estimates the expected value at which participants are indifferent between accepting the gamble and turning it down (i.e., the EV with an acceptance rate of 50%, known as the “risk premium”). Confidence intervals for each lesion participant were obtained from a bootstrap analysis of their data that generated 500 pseudosubjects constructed by randomly sampling 256 choices with replacement from the original data set for that participant. For each of these pseudosubjects a logistic regression was fit to estimate an indifference point. To generate normal distributions of the two control groups a similar bootstrap procedure was also performed by randomly sampling with replacement the equivalent of an entire participant’s choice set (i.e., 256 choices) from the pooled data of the six control participants within a group (see Methods for details). This procedure showed that each amygdala-lesioned participant had a significantly lower risk premium than her matched control group, S.M. t(5) = 7.76 P < 0.001; A.P. t(5) = 13.57; P < 0.001 (independent two-sample 2-tailed t tests; Fig. 4). Fig. 4. Quantification of loss aversion. Bootstrap resampling analyses were used to generate distributions of gamble expected values that imply indifference in choice (the “risk premium”) for the amygdala lesion participants and their controls. The first two panels on the Left represent the logistic fit of the participants’ choices and the gambles’ EV. (Left panels) The lesion participants are depicted in red and their respective resamples are depicted in gray. (Central panels) Matched control group means are in black and resamples are in gray. The histograms in the Right panels represent the risk premium for the lesion participant group (red) and the control group (black) generated by the bootstrap procedure (see Methods for more details). The two lesion and control distributions are completely separated and their means are significantly different for both participants. To quantify loss aversion for each participant, we calculated the parameter λ such that gambles with adjusted expected utilities of 0.5G + 0.5λ × L are estimated (from a logistic regression) to be chosen half the time. This parameter gives an indication of how heavily participants appear to weight losses compared to gains, inferred from the choices they made. This analysis yielded λ = 0.76 for S.M., and a mean λ for the S.M. control group of 1.52 (SEM = 0.19). For A.P., λ = 1.06 whereas the mean λ for the A.P. control group was 1.76 (SEM = 0.12). For more details see Table S1. The values of λ estimated by our analysis show that neither amygdala-lesioned participant exhibits loss aversion whereas the control participant λ estimates are close to those found in previous studies (17, 18). In particular, whereas A.P. is essentially loss neutral, S.M. shows a slightly loss-seeking behavior. A proportional shift toward a less loss-averse behavior is evident also in the S.M. matched control group when compared to the A.P. matched control group (Fig. 3 B–D ). Note that loss aversion is a special distaste for mixed gambles with possible losses, as if losses are overweighted compared to gains when valuing gambles. Risk aversion, by contrast, is a more general aversion to increased variation in outcomes (regardless of whether they are gains or losses). The risk premium differences shown in Fig. 4 could be due to either aversion to loss or to general aversion to taking risk. These explanations can be separated using two further analyses. The first analysis exploited the fact that in our experimental design the outcome variance (VAR) of each mixed gain–loss gamble is orthogonal to the gamble’s EV (i.e., they are uncorrelated) (Fig. 5). This feature of the design allowed us to confirm that the lesion participants’ willingness to gamble is specific to loss processing and not to a general reduction in risk sensitivity. Critically, both lesion participants exhibited a marked dislike for increasing outcome variance, given a constant level of expected value. This was manifested in a reduction in gamble acceptance rates as a function of increases in the gamble’s variance (Fig. 6). Most importantly, their dislike for increased variance was no different from that of the controls. Fig. 5. Loss aversion task: EV and VAR distribution. The heatmaps summarize how the EV (i.e., EV = 0.5G + 0.5L) and the VAR (i.e., VAR = (0.5G − 0.5L)2, where G and L are gain and loss magnitudes. Note that VAR and EV are orthogonal. The color heatmaps represent, respectively, the level of expected value (EV; Left bar) and the level of variance (VAR; Right bar) for each gamble as indicated by the two color bars on the Right of each matrix. Fig. 6. Susceptibility to increase in variance (VAR). Each graph represents the linear regression of the probability (P) of gamble acceptance for different levels of VAR. The lesion participants are represented by red lines and their respective controls are represented by black lines (note that due to the linear fit the value of P may sometimes exceed the range 0–1). The negative slopes of these linear fits for both lesion participants (and the majority of the control participants) reflect a distaste for increased variance of the gambles’ outcomes (i.e., reduction in probability of gamble acceptance as a function of VAR increase). The second analysis uses a different series of risky gambles that do not have any possible losses. Participants were asked to choose between accepting a sure amount S or flipping a coin for a “double or nothing” outcome, in which outcomes 0 and 2S are equally likely, for different values of S. In this task, there was no significant difference in the acceptance rate of each lesion participant and that participant’s matched controls S.M. t(5) = 1.16, P > 0.1; A.P. t(5) = 0.65, P > 0.1 [independent two-sample 2-tailed t tests (21)]. Both lesion participants thus showed a degree of risk aversion over gains comparable to the risk aversion of their respective control group (Fig. S1).
Discussion The goal of the current study was to test the hypothesis that the amygdala plays a necessary role in generating loss aversion during human decision making. Our findings confirmed this idea and provided additional specificity. Both amygdala-lesioned participants showed a dramatic absence of loss aversion yet they retained a normal response to reward magnitude. This pattern of behavior is consistent with evidence that monkeys with amygdala lesions maintain a stable pattern of preference among sets of food items (22), even though they will approach foods that are paired with potentially threatening stimuli more quickly than control monkeys (15). Critically, the further analysis of the response to variance in mixed gain–loss gambles, and choices of gain-only gambles, show that the lesion participants do not have an increased appetite for risk per se, because they dislike increased outcome variance and risk as much as the matched controls did. Instead, they differ only in their higher willingness to accept mixed gain–loss gambles, which is evidence of a specific reduction in aversion to loss. This finding also tentatively suggests that loss aversion and general distaste for risk may depend on partly separable neural systems. It is notable that whereas participant A.P. was essentially loss neutral, participant S.M. showed a mild loss-seeking behavior. This difference between the two lesion participants was mirrored by differences in their respective matched control groups. Differences in several sociodemographic factors may account for this variation between the two participants and their respective control populations. For example, the susceptibility to losses has been shown to change with income (23), education (24), and aging (25) [the latter behavioral effect could even be due to possible age-related reductions in amygdala volume (26)]. Furthermore, the fact that S.M. has more extensive amygdala damage than A.P. may also in part account for the difference between the two lesion participants. Our account of the findings proposes that the amygdala computes a signal of prospective loss that is integrated with other information to guide behavioral choice. More specifically, lesions to the amygdala would result in a reduced input to downstream regions that compute value through integrating across multiple inputs. In the case of evaluation of mixed gambles, this could result in a reduced aversive signal elicited by the prospect of potential loss together with normal appetitive signals triggered by the prospect of potential gain. As a consequence (in particular when the EV of the gamble is close to zero), the appetitive response to the gain component of the gamble may outweigh the aversive component in the lesion patients. This scenario would explain the mild loss-seeking behavior (i.e., λ < 1) of S.M. as well as the high acceptance rate of gambles with small magnitude but negative EV observed in A.P. (Bottom Left corner of B in Fig. 3), a type of behavior not seen in the controls. Although a number of studies have investigated the neural processing of monetary losses (10, 27), a single fMRI study (18) was specifically designed to investigate the neural underpinnings of loss aversion. That study used a protocol very similar to ours to identify a BOLD signal in the ventral striatum that correlated positively with the size of the potential gain and correlated negatively with the size of the potential loss. Critically, the slope of this signal for loss appeared higher than for gain and the signal differences showed a psychometric–neurometric match across participants with loss aversion λ inferred from the participants’ behavioral choice. However, that study did not find any evidence for the amygdala’s involvement in loss aversion. One possible explanation for the negative finding of that prior study is that the reduced range of potential losses used was insufficiently large to evoke detectable BOLD signal in the amygdala, which might have been obscured by the overall positive expected value of the gambles (18). In contrast, the range of gains and losses we used is symmetric, and twice as large as the one used in the prior study (18). A further reason why activity in the amygdala might not have been detected by fMRI in the prior study is that the amygdala’s contribution to loss aversion might be detectable using BOLD fMRI only through its inputs to other brain structures [given that BOLD signal reflects primarily synaptic processing rather than spiking output (28)]. In this view, the amygdala produces an output signal in response to prospective loss, which is conveyed to other value-sensitive brain structures such as the ventral striatum and orbitofrontal cortex. A plausible explanation that reconciles our findings with the previous fMRI study is that an initial negative anticipatory response is generated in the amygdala, influences the striatal computation of the gamble’s net value, and consequently leads to behavioral loss aversion through striatal mediation of instrumental behavior. Amygdala and striatum have a well-documented anatomic connectivity (29) and show a tight functional coupling in stimulus–reward association and stimulus–cue devaluation (30). In this regard, the amygdala’s role in mediating loss aversion may be analogous to its role in modulating caudate- or hippocampal-dependent memory (31), and choice in reversal tasks (20). In those examples, the amygdala is not the locus of memory or of choice, but it passes a signal to other brain regions for integration of such processes. Such an interpretation also fits with a study showing that patients with lesions to a variety of emotion-processing regions (including amygdala and prefrontal cortex) are much more likely to take a single gamble with possible losses (32). This idea could be tested further with future functional connectivity studies as well as with fMRI in lesion participants. Our findings could also shed some light on the nature of individual differences in loss aversion observed in many behavioral studies. There are well-known individual differences in amygdala function, some linked to specific genetic polymorphisms (33). The amygdala has also been shown to encode a reference-dependent value signal, when the same net outcomes are framed as either losses or gains from a shifted reference point (34). A recent genetics-fMRI study extending this finding (35) has shown that a common polymorphism in the serotonin transporter changes amygdala reactivity and modulates how reference point changes affect perceived losses. That finding, and our present results from lesion patients, suggest that individual variance in amygdala function might contribute, together with other socioeconomic factors, to individual differences in loss aversion, even in healthy individuals. Our findings demonstrate that the amygdala plays a necessary role in generating loss aversion and suggest that loss aversion may reflect a simple Pavlovian approach–avoidance response mediated by the amygdala (36, 37). Given the amygdala’s well-known link to caution, vigilance (13), and fear in the face of uncertainty (15), we suggest that the amygdala may implement a very general biological mechanism for inhibiting instrumental behavior when outcomes are potentially aversive—a role that is expressed in monetary loss aversion shaping everyday financial decisions.
Methods Participants. Two women with symmetrical and bilateral damage to the amygdala took part in the study. Focal lesions in both lesion participants were caused by Urbach-Wiethe disease (38), an extremely rare genetic disease that results in medial temporal lobe damage. The first participant, S.M., is a 43-year-old woman with a high-school education and normal IQ, whose lesions encompass the entire amygdala plus subjacent white matter and anterior entorhinal cortex. The second participant, A.P., is a 23-year-old woman with a college education and normal IQ. Her lesions are entirely confined to the amygdala, and occupy roughly 50% of each amygdala’s volume (see Fig. 1 for neuroanatomy). Both participants live independently, and in detailed neuropsychological and clinical assessments show no evidence of psychiatric illness. Neuroanatomy and background neuropsychology have been described in detail (9, 19, 20). Each of these two participants was compared to her own group of six neurologically and psychiatrically healthy controls, who were matched in age [A.P. controls: mean age 23.6 ± 0.7 years (SD); S.M. controls: mean age 52.8 ± 6.5 years (SD)], gender, income, and education. Note that the sample size of lesion participants (n = 2) is common in neuropsychological studies—indeed, many famous studies used only a single participant. The reason is that individuals with focal brain lesions such as the bilateral amygdala lesions here are very rare. However, in spite of this limitation, lesion studies are one of the few methods in human neuroscience to investigate causal relationships between brain function and behavior. All participants gave informed consent to participate according to a protocol approved by the California Institute of Technology Institutional Review Board. Tasks. Loss aversion task. Before starting the experiment, participants received an initial endowment of $50 in cash and were told that at the end of the experiment one trial would be randomly selected and a payment made according to their actual decision during the experiment; this is a standard procedure used in behavioral economics, which ensures that participants evaluate each gamble independently. Participants were told that their $50 endowment was given to them so that they could pay any eventual losses at the end of the experiment. Any net amount from the endowment that remained after subtracting a loss was theirs to keep, and similarly any eventual gain earned in the experiment was added on top of the initial endowment. Participants were paid these sums in cash immediately at the end of the experiment. The experiment consisted of a total of 256 trials (split into four sessions). During the task, participants were asked to accept or reject a series of mixed gambles with equal (50%) probability of winning or losing a variable amount of money. These gambles were presented on a computer screen as the prospective outcomes of a coin flip, and participants indicated their willingness to take the gamble by key press. Each gamble was on the screen for 4 seconds, and participants were required to input their response within this time. Participants were also informed that if no key was pressed within this time they would pay a penalty of $1. None of the participants missed a key press. Each trial was uniquely and randomly sampled from a gains/losses matrix with potential gains raging from +$20 to +$50 and potential losses from −$20 to −$50 in increments of $2 (Fig. 2). This task is a modification of the one used in an fMRI study (18), with the critical difference that the gains/losses matrix we used was symmetric (the range of gains and losses is the same). Double or nothing task. At the end of the experiment, participants were tested on their general risk attitude (independent from loss aversion) using a series of monetary gambles that included only gains. In each trial, each participant was presented with the choice either to accept a safe option (i.e., a variable sure monetary amount) or to play a risky gamble (i.e., flip a coin to either double this sure amount or get nothing). The sure amount was either $2, or a multiple of $5 from $5 to $50 for a total of 11 trials. Each trial was presented eight times (88 trials in total) to the participants in random order. At the end of the experiment a trial was randomly selected and a payment was made according to the participant’s decision and a random outcome. Data Analysis. The behavioral data were analyzed using MATLAB v. R2008a (http://www.mathworks.com). The 5 × 5 color-coded heatmaps of probability of gamble acceptance for each level of gain/loss (Fig. 3) were generated by averaging the probability of acceptance for groups of 16 contiguous mixed gambles. The color bar represents the probability of gamble acceptance (P) for each level of gain/loss (i.e., P = 1 in white and P = 0 in black). To calculate the individual behavioral sensitivity to gains G and losses L, the expected value of each gamble (i.e., EV = 0.5G + 0.5L) was entered into a logistic regression as an independent variable, whereas participants’ choices were the dependent variable. The response function estimates the expected value at which participants are indifferent between accepting the gamble and turning it down (i.e., the EV with an acceptance rate of 50%). Because the earnings from not gambling are zero, the computed EV, which corresponded to indifference, is known as the “risk premium.” The confidence interval for each of the amygdala-lesioned participants around this EV was estimated through a bootstrap procedure. Five hundred resamples (i.e., pseudosubjects) of the original data set were constructed by randomly sampling trials with replacements from the original choice set. Each pseudosubject was of equal size to an actual data set from a participant (i.e., 256 choices). For each of these resampled pseudosubjects a logistic regression was performed to estimate the risk premium (i.e., indifference point) following the procedure described above. This procedure gives 500 estimates of the risk premium; the variance across those estimates provides a way to use the participants’ own data to measure how reliably the risk premium from the full sample is being estimated. To calculate the mean risk premium for each control group, a logistic regression was fit to the pooled data set of all six control participants (i.e., 256 × 6 = 1,536 choices). To generate a normal distribution for each control group we performed a bootstrap of the original pooled data set by randomly sampling with replacement an entire participant’s choice set (i.e., 256 choices). This procedure (i.e., bootstrapping at individuals level) was chosen because it is a more conservative procedure than the bootstrap at trial level, as it preserves the intersubject variability present in the control group. Thereafter, to estimate the risk premium for each of the 500 pseudogroups generated by the bootstrap, we performed a logistic regression as described above. The two distributions (resampled lesion participant, resampled control group) were compared using independent two-sample 2-tailed t tests with 5 degrees of freedom. The degrees of freedom were calculated on the original data sample as df = N(Controls) − 1 (21). To calculate the behavioral sensitivity to the gamble variance (VAR), we calculated the VAR of each gamble as follows: 0.5[G − (0.5G + 0.5L)]2 + 0.5 × 0.5[L − (0.5G + 0.5L)]2 = (0.5G − 0.5L)2 (where L is a negative number denoting the potential loss). We then estimated the probability of gamble acceptance (P) for groups of gambles sharing the same variance and we calculated (using linear regression) how P is affected by the increase in VAR. Note that, given the symmetrical nature of our task (Fig S1), the gambles’ EV and VAR are fully orthogonal and groups of gambles with the same level of VAR will on average have the same EV (i.e., mean EV = 0).
Acknowledgments We thank Alireza Soltani, Vikram Chib, and Dan Knoepfle for help with the data analysis and Daniel Kahneman for insightful discussions at the time of the experiment’s design. Support was received from the Betty and Gordon Moore Foundation (R.A. and C.C.), Human Frontier Science Program (C.C.), the Wellcome Trust (B.D.M.), the National Institutes of Health (R.A.), the Simons Foundation (R.A.), and a global Center of Excellence Grant jointly with Tamagawa University from the Japanese government (C.C. and R.A.).
Footnotes 1 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: b.martino{at}ucl.ac.uk .
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: . Author contributions: B.D.M. and R.A. designed research; B.D.M. performed research; B.D.M. analyzed data; and B.D.M., C.F.C., and R.A. wrote the paper.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
This article is a PNAS Direct Submission.
This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/0910230107/DCSupplemental.
Freely available online through the PNAS open access option. ||||| The amygdala is involved in multiple aspects of fear processing, ranging from fear conditioning [] to the modulation of attention and memory for fear-related stimuli [], all the way to fear recognition [] and the induction of fear-related behaviors []. Much less is known about the amygdala's role in the conscious experience of fear, in large part because nonhuman animals with amygdala lesions are unable to verbally report on their internal subjective experience, and humans with focal bilateral amygdala damage are extremely difficult to find. An exception is patient SM, a 44-year-old woman who is one of the best-characterized human cases with bilateral amygdala damage [] (see Figure S1 available online for a description of SM's brain damage). SM's neuropsychological profile has been stable for the past two decades. She performs within the normal range on standardized tests of IQ, memory, language, and perception [] yet is severely impaired in fear conditioning [], in recognizing fear in facial expressions [], and in aspects of social behavior thought to be mediated by emotions related to fear []. Importantly, none of the previous studies specifically assessed the induction and experience of fear in patient SM, and it is these two aspects of fear that form the basis for the current report. We predicted that without the amygdala, the action sequence that constitutes a state of fear would fail to be induced in SM, thereby preempting her experience of fear.
Throughout this study, we define fear induction as the exposure to stimuli capable of triggering a state of fear. Fear experience, on the other hand, is the subjective feeling of fear, and it was measured by SM's self-report of her internal experience. The success of a fear induction was gauged based on the intensity of fear experience in addition to the presence of any overt behavioral manifestations of fear, especially signs of avoidance behavior or withdrawal in response to fear-provoking stimuli. Because much of the testing occurred in real-world settings, we did not have the opportunity to collect complementary psychophysiological data. However, we note that previous studies [] have shown impairments in SM's conditioned skin conductance response and startle reflex.
Fear Induction
11 Blanchard D.C.
Blanchard R.J. Innate and conditioned reactions to threat in rats with amygdaloid lesions. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 81 : 281-290 12 Kluver H.
Bucy P.C. Preliminary analysis of functions of the temporal lobes in monkeys. Arch. Neurol. Psychiatry. 42 : 979-1000 13 Weiskrantz L. Behavioral changes associated with ablation of the amygdaloid complex in monkeys. J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 49 : 381-391 14 Aggleton J.P.
Passingham R.E. Syndrome produced by lesions of the amygdala in monkeys (Macaca mulatta). J. Comp. Physiol. Psychol. 95 : 961-977 15 Meunier M.
Bachevalier J.
Murray E.A.
Málková L.
Mishkin M. Effects of aspiration versus neurotoxic lesions of the amygdala on emotional responses in monkeys. Eur. J. Neurosci. 11 : 4403-4418 16 Prather M.D.
Lavenex P.
Mauldin-Jourdain M.L.
Mason W.A.
Capitanio J.P.
Mendoza S.P.
Amaral D.G. Increased social fear and decreased fear of objects in monkeys with neonatal amygdala lesions. Neuroscience. 106 : 653-658 17 Kalin N.H.
Shelton S.E.
Davidson R.J. The role of the central nucleus of the amygdala in mediating fear and anxiety in the primate. J. Neurosci. 24 : 5506-5515 18 Izquierdo A.
Suda R.K.
Murray E.A. Comparison of the effects of bilateral orbital prefrontal cortex lesions and amygdala lesions on emotional responses in rhesus monkeys. J. Neurosci. 25 : 8534-8542 19 Machado C.J.
Kazama A.M.
Bachevalier J. Impact of amygdala, orbital frontal, or hippocampal lesions on threat avoidance and emotional reactivity in nonhuman primates. Emotion. 9 : 147-163 20 Chudasama Y.
Izquierdo A.
Murray E.A. Distinct contributions of the amygdala and hippocampus to fear expression. Eur. J. Neurosci. 30 : 2327-2337 When exposed to dangerous stimuli, such as potential predators, animals with amygdala lesions typically display a lack of the behaviors normally associated with the action program of fear []. We used a comparable approach in SM by directly confronting her with fear-inducing stimuli and observing her behavior while also querying her subjective state. For ethical reasons, we chose three situations capable of inducing fear with little to no risk of direct harm to the subject: (1) visiting an exotic pet store with snakes and spiders, (2) walking through a haunted house, and (3) watching film clips of scary movies. SM provided her informed written consent to participate.
12 Kluver H.
Bucy P.C. Preliminary analysis of functions of the temporal lobes in monkeys. Arch. Neurol. Psychiatry. 42 : 979-1000 The first fear-inducing situation entailed direct exposure to snakes and spiders, two of the most commonly feared species in the animal kingdom. Interestingly, for many years, SM has repeatedly told us that she “hates” snakes and spiders and “tries to avoid them.” To test her real-life behavior, we took her to an exotic pet store and focused on probing for external manifestations of fear with a particular eye toward any signs of avoidance behavior. Upon entering the store, SM was spontaneously drawn to the snake terrariums and appeared visually captivated by the large collection of snakes. A store employee asked SM whether she would like to hold a snake, and she agreed ( Figure 1 A). SM held the snake for over 3 min while displaying a wide range of exploratory behaviors: she rubbed its leathery scales, touched its flicking tongue, and closely watched its movements as it slithered through her hands. Her verbal behavior revealed a comparable degree of fascination and inquisitiveness: she repeatedly commented, “This is so cool!” and asked the store employee numerous questions (e.g., “When they look at you, what do they see?”). During this time period, we asked SM to rate her fearfulness on a scale from 0 (no fear at all) to 10 (extreme fear). Her reported experience of fear never surpassed a rating of 2. Moreover, SM displayed a compulsive desire to want to “touch” and “poke” the store's larger and more dangerous snakes, even though the store employee repeatedly told her that these snakes were not safe and could bite. In total, SM asked 15 different times whether she could touch one of the larger snakes. She also attempted to touch a tarantula ( Figure 1 B), but had to be stopped because of the high risk of being bitten. When asked why she would want to touch something that she knows is dangerous and that she claims to hate, SM replied that she was overcome with “curiosity.” The disconnection between SM's verbally stated aversion to snakes and spiders and her actual real-life behavior was striking. She did not display any signs of avoidance, but instead exhibited an excessive degree of approach (a pattern highly reminiscent of the behavior in monkeys with Kluver-Bucy syndrome []). We note that SM's behavior was not merely the result of her feeling comfortable in the relatively safe environment of the pet store, because we later discovered that, in the past, SM encountered a large snake outdoors and behaved in a similar manner (see Supplemental Data ).
Figure 1 Fear Induction in Patient SM Show full caption (A–C) Still-frame photos of SM handling a snake (A), the tarantula that SM tried to touch (B), and the Waverly Hills Sanatorium Haunted House (C).
In the second fear-inducing situation, we attempted to scare SM in a setting professionally designed for such a purpose. During Halloween, we took SM to the Waverly Hills Sanatorium ( Figure 1 C), ranked as one of the “most haunted” places in the world ( http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Waverly_Hills_Sanatorium&oldid=324971912 ). On an annual basis, the sanatorium hosts a haunted house, elaborately decorating the inside with eerie scenes, airing scary music and loud noises, and featuring people dressed as monsters, murderers, and ghosts. Upon arrival, SM and the research team were paired with a group of five women (all of whom were strangers). From the outset, SM voluntarily led the entire group through the haunted house, showing no signs of hesitation while walking around corners or into dark hallways. As the other members of the group lagged behind her, she would repeatedly call out, “This way guys, follow me!” The hidden monsters attempted to scare SM numerous times, but to no avail. She reacted to the monsters by smiling, laughing, or trying to talk to them. In contrast, their scare tactics typically elicited loud screams of fright from the other members of the group. More than showing a lack of fear, SM exhibited an unusual inclination to approach and touch the monsters. Ironically, SM scared one of the monsters when she poked it in the head because she was “curious” as to what it would feel like. Before, during, and after the haunted house, SM was queried about her current level of fear. She never reported experiencing any elevations in fear, and her fear ratings were at 0 throughout. She did, however, report feeling a high level of excitement and enthusiasm. When asked to elaborate, she said her excitement was similar to the feeling she gets while riding on a rollercoaster, an activity she claims to enjoy. In sum, SM was highly aroused by the haunted house, but did not feel any sense of fear, showed no signs of nervousness or apprehension while walking through dark passageways, and was never visibly frightened by any of the numerous attempts to scare her.
27 Gerrards-Hesse A.
Spies K.
Hesse F.W. Experimental inductions of emotional states and their effectiveness: A review. Br. J. Psychol. 85 : 55-78 28 Rottenberg J.
Ray R.R.
Gross J.J. Emotion elicitation using films.: 9-28 Oxford University Press , New York ; Lastly, we used a film induction procedure, widely considered one of the most effective and reliable ways to induce emotions in a laboratory setting []. SM viewed a set of ten different fear-inducing film clips ( Table S2 ). Interspersed between the fear clips were films aimed at inducing other types of emotion, including disgust, anger, sadness, happiness, and surprise. During the non-fear-related films, SM exhibited behaviors compatible with those emotions (e.g., laughter during happiness, shouts of revulsion during disgust) and reported experiencing high levels of the appropriate emotion ( Figure S2 ). By contrast, SM exhibited no fear responses and reported experiencing little to no fear across the entire battery of fear-inducing films ( Figure 2 ). Nonetheless, she found the fear films to be exciting and entertaining, and in one case, she inquired about the name of the movie so she could rent it from the video store later that day. Of note, SM commented that most people would likely feel scared by the content of the films, even though she did not; this provides evidence that her impoverished experience of fear cannot be fully accounted for by a fear recognition deficit or a failure to understand the concept of fear (see Supplemental Data ). |||||
What is a summary?
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– Would it be like to live a life completely void of fear? NPR's Invisibilia tackled that question in its second episode by talking to Antonio Damasio, a University of Southern California neuroscientist who has treated a woman—referred to as SM—with an inability to feel fear. SM suffers from Urbach-Wiethe disease, placing her among a group of only about 400 people on the planet with the condition. It's one that could leave her vulnerable to threats, so much so that SM has never spoken with a journalist out of concern her identity would somehow leak. But she had been the subject of published studies: One that ran in Current Biology in 2011 confirmed her fearlessness even after exposing her to snakes, a haunted house, and horror films; another study a year earlier explored her willingness to make risky gambling moves. But in a first, SM did participate in the NPR interview, answering a list of questions penned by Invisibilia hosts and posed to her by another of her doctors, who recorded her answers. The disease caused SM's amygdala (a part of the brain whose function relates to fear) to be completely calcified sometime in her teens; she reveals she has one memory of being slightly afraid, while not wanting to touch a catfish caught while fishing as a child. Her amygdala can't tell her that her palms should be sweating—even when she's been held at gunpoint (twice) and knifepoint (also twice). But she does have logic, so she understands that if a car is barreling down the street, she should try to get out of its way. Damasio explains that because she doesn't register these moments as traumatic, she's hasn't experienced trauma—mostly. In a 2013 study that touched on the threat of suffocation, SM inhaled carbon dioxide via gas mask and panicked after feeling like she couldn't breathe.
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– In an apparent effort to lessen its reliance on Google Maps, rideshare company Uber will be "doubling down on our investment in mapping." That amounts to pumping $500 million into an "ambitious global mapping project," the Financial Times reports. Uber has already unleashed mapping vehicles in the US and Mexico, and the effort will expand to other countries in the future. Heading up the project is Brian McClendon, who once ran Google Maps. "Accurate maps are at the heart of our service and the backbone of our business," McClendon says in a blog post. Existing maps contain information irrelevant to Uber, such as oceans, he says, and Uber wants to know more about traffic patterns and pick-up and drop-off locations. "Moreover," McClendon adds, "we need to be able to provide a seamless experience in parts of the world where there aren’t detailed maps—or street signs." In developing countries, Uber drivers often have to call passengers to get a pickup location, per the Times. Google invested in Uber early on. But, PC Magazine notes, the companies "[seem] headed for a great business clash," as they both explore driverless car technology. Also, Google is reportedly started to charge more to Use Google Maps. According to PC, Uber has started a partnership with DigitalGlobe, which owns satellites so powerful they can discern an object that is just one foot by one foot in size.
Let's expand this into a news article: Posted by Brian McClendon
Behind every successful Uber ride is a technology many of us take for granted: maps. Mobile maps and GPS allow us to match you with the closest available driver, navigate the fastest path to your destination, and give you an accurate ETA. Accurate maps are at the heart of our service and the backbone of our business.
In fact, Uber wouldn’t exist if comprehensive interactive digital maps hadn’t been created first. For over a decade, I helped lead that effort as the head of Google Maps. Today I lead Uber’s mapping efforts to ensure we can provide a safe, reliable ride — no matter where you are. To do that, Uber uses a mix of mapping technologies (including our own) to provide the underlying infrastructure for our apps.
Existing maps are a good starting point, but some information isn’t that relevant to Uber, like ocean topography. There are other things we need to know a lot more about, like traffic patterns and precise pickup and dropoff locations. Moreover, we need to be able to provide a seamless experience in parts of the world where there aren’t detailed maps — or street signs.
The ongoing need for maps tailored to the Uber experience is why we’re doubling down on our investment in mapping. Last year we put mapping cars on the road in the United States. This summer they hit the road in Mexico. Our efforts are similar to what other companies including Apple and TomTom are already doing around the world.
The street imagery captured by our mapping cars will help us improve core elements of the Uber experience, like ideal pick-up and drop-off points and the best routes for riders and drivers. Although our imagery collection efforts are focused now in Mexico, we plan to expand these efforts to other countries soon.
Over the past decade mapping innovation has disrupted industries and changed daily life in ways I couldn’t have imagined when I started. That progress will only accelerate in the coming years especially with technologies like self-driving cars. I remain excited by the prospect of how maps can put the world at our fingertips, improve everyday life, impact billions of people and enable innovations we can’t even imagine today. ||||| Gain a global perspective on the US and go beyond with curated news and analysis from 600 journalists in 50+ countries covering politics, business, innovation, trends and more. |||||
– When a rickety fishing boat smuggling more than 500 passengers across the Mediterranean capsized on Oct. 3, 2015, the world took notice. More than 350 people, many refugees from Eritrea, drowned, and European leaders promised action, reports the New York Times. But when 243 passengers, again largely refugees from Eritrea, were supposed to be aboard an Italy-bound boat and disappeared without a trace less than a year later, on June 28, 2014, the press, and the world, turned a blind eye, reports Eric Reidy on Medium. Reidy tries to follow the story of one Eritrean woman named Segen who was supposed to be on the "ghost boat," which was to depart from Libya. She survived the perilous journey across the country with her baby Abigail in her arms; the last time her husband spoke with her was the day she was supposed to board the boat—if the refugees ever boarded it. Reidy notes that "?experts say there would almost certainly be evidence" of a maritime disaster so large, and there are no records of such a boat arriving in Europe, sinking, or being aided. One activist heard word that the 243 were potentially being held in a Tunisian jail; "her findings were inconclusive." Says Segen's husband, who stayed in neighboring Sudan with their now 4-year-old girl Shalom: "If you remember Charlie Hebdo in Paris ... The world stopped for 14 people, but white people, Europeans," he says. "But in our case, nothing…. Because we are black? I don’t know why. It’s really hard. What can I say? We are human." Read Reidy's full account here.
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Let's expand this into a news article: Photo Advertisement Continue reading the main story
SANDVIKEN, Sweden — As tens of thousands of migrants run the gantlet of dangers to reach Europe, Natanael Haile, a refugee from Eritrea now living in Sweden, is struggling to get over his nightmarish journey.
He was kidnapped twice by desert gunmen, who extorted more than $20,000 from his family. He narrowly survived the sinking of a smugglers’ flimsy fishing boat off the Italian island of Lampedusa on Oct. 3, 2013, swimming through waters clogged with the bodies of more than 350 drowned passengers.
“When I think of the price that I and my family had to pay, it was definitely not worth it,” Mr. Haile, 28, said. “I went through hell.”
“I was not looking for heaven in Europe,” he added, “but it is not what you expect.”
Mr. Haile and other migrants who arrived on Lampedusa that day said they feel isolated in their new countries, find the local languages difficult, worry about jobs and have few family connections or friends beyond fellow migrants.
Even so, they had no intention of returning home, saying they believed they could make a new start. They included one migrant who was arrested last month in connection with a gang-rape investigation in Sweden.
Photo
The 2013 sinking of the boat, packed with more than 500 migrants, was a signal moment in Europe’s migration crisis, a calamity that riveted the world’s attention on the mounting toll in the Mediterranean and that elicited promises of united action from European leaders.
Since then, Europe’s migrant crisis has only grown, and the harrowing but ultimately successful quest for new lives by Mr. Haile and other migrants on the boat helps explain why efforts to slow the tide of migrants to Europe have done little so far.
Over the weekend, Germany and Austria cleared the way for thousands of migrants hoping for more secure lives.
Mr. Haile and the others are a revealing representation of the hardships that migrants endure, and of the ways they nimbly outmaneuver slow-moving bureaucracies.
Some survivors burned their fingertips to avoid having their prints taken and registered in databases that would prevent them from reaching richer countries like Germany or Sweden, often their preferred destinations. If fingerprints are not taken, a migrant can move on and seek asylum elsewhere.
Now that their journeys are over, the survivors expressed disillusionment and disappointment about the countries in which they now live, though none could quite articulate what they had hoped to find in Europe.
Still, they gushed with gratitude for the money and help their host nations had provided.
Mr. Haile said he frequently received calls from friends and relatives in Eritrea who wanted to know if they should attempt the same risky journey that brought him to Europe.
He said he had given up trying to offer advice, even though only 26 of the 131 Eritreans with whom he set out to cross the Libyan desert and catch a boat to Italy survived.
“I know what I went through, but they won’t listen,” he said at the housing complex packed with migrants where he shares an apartment with two others who left Africa. “I didn’t listen, either, when people warned me about the dangers.”
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Would-be migrants, Mr. Haile said, do not want to know about the perils of his journey, but instead about his secondhand car, the government allowances he receives and his plans to find work as a welder once he finishes a two-year language course.
There is no point in telling them not to come, he said.
The struggles of adjusting to an unfamiliar land pale in comparison with the threat of death or persecution in places like Afghanistan, Syria or Eritrea, which has an isolated and repressive government.
Despite the dangers, the high walls, the barbed wire or other obstacles thrown in their paths, the migrants keep trying to reach Europe, lured by even the slimmest prospect of a new start.
“At least here we are not slaves and have a little hope for the future,” said Fanus Agby, 19, another survivor with Mr. Haile who made it to Sweden, where she hopes to become a nurse.
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Of the 155 migrants who survived the Lampedusa shipwreck, around 100 made it to Sweden. Because they first arrived in Italy, under European Union rules, they should have been fingerprinted and had their requests for asylum taken there. And they should have remained there while their applications were being processed.
The failure of governments, wary of an anti-immigrant backlash as right-wing parties gain support, to follow these rules has now moved to the center of disputes between European leaders over how to handle the migration crisis.
Migrants themselves have also undermined the rules. Ms. Agby, the 19-year-old Lampedusa shipwreck survivor who made it to Sweden, said she had been so desperate to avoid being forced to stay in Italy that she had burned a plastic bag and rubbed her fingers in the molten goo to make her fingerprints unreadable.
Only one survivor of the October crossing, a young man who asked to be identified only by his first name, Tadese, got stuck in Italy, where his fingerprints were taken after he was hospitalized because of his injuries. The 50 or so other survivors mostly ended up in Norway, Germany and Denmark.
Mr. Haile said he had nothing against Italy. But throughout his ordeal, it was the dream of reaching Scandinavia, famous among migrants for generous welfare and asylum policies, that kept him going.
“Italians are the nicest people,” Mr. Haile said, “but their system for refugees is terrible.”
It took seven months for the Swedish authorities to process and approve Mr. Haile’s application for asylum. But the procedure often takes only three months, far shorter than in Italy, where it can drag on for years, he said.
Mr. Haile said that he had originally planned to go to Norway, which has the highest cash benefits for refugees, but that he eventually traveled to Sweden because he had contacts here.
So that he could board a plane to Milan from Rome and on to Stockholm, he paid a smuggler in Italy 1,200 euros, or about $1,340, for a fake Italian passport.
“It looked really good, brand new,” he said.
His journey from Eritrea, which he fled to escape open-ended mandatory military service after serving four years in the army, began in 2008 and lasted five years, with long spells in Sudan, where he drove a taxi, and months in captivity with two different bands of kidnappers.
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Sweden, Mr. Haile said, is hardly paradise. He said that people in Sandviken, while rarely hostile, were cool and distant, and that they “only really talk when they are drunk.” He longs to see his son, who was born in Eritrea after he left.
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But in many ways, he has achieved the dream that is drawing so many people toward Europe today. He is a registered refugee, attends free language classes provided by the state and receives a monthly living allowance of more than $700.
Sweden’s minister in charge of immigration, Morgan Johansson, said his country remained committed to helping migrants, despite the rising popularity of the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats party, but he added that other countries needed to pull their weight.
“It cannot be only Sweden and Germany,” he said in an interview. “Everyone must share responsibility.”
Mr. Johansson said that he knew of no specific decision by Swedish immigration officials to accept many survivors of the Lampedusa tragedy of October 2013, but he added that Eritreans often qualified for asylum. Their country, he said, is “one of the world’s toughest dictatorships.”
Another survivor of that sinking who is now in Sweden, Tesfamichael Gazgel Hagos, said he had burned all his fingertips with a cigarette lighter to make sure he could make it to Sweden, which quickly approved his asylum request.
The ruse worked, but after buying a fake passport in Rome and traveling to Sweden, Mr. Hagos landed in deep trouble.
He was arrested in August in connection with the gang rape of a Swedish woman in the Ludvika apartment he shared with another Eritrean. He was not charged, was released after a week and denied any involvement in the crime.
Sweden, “is not what I expected,” said the thin 25-year-old in an interview a day after his release. “It is not as easy as I thought.”
Even while under investigation for a serious crime, he still receives a monthly allowance of 6,500 krona, about $770, and has resumed language classes, also provided by the state. He plans to get a job as a car mechanic.
The Ludvika rape case, along with the alleged murder by an Eritrean refugee of a mother and her son in the kitchenware section of an Ikea store in the nearby town of Vasteras, stirred public outrage and have been seized on by the Sweden Democrats to press for an end to the country’s welcoming policies toward asylum seekers.
“It makes no difference to me whether he nearly died in Lampedusa or not,” said Benny Rosengren, the head of the party in Ludvika.
The Swedish news media and national politicians “always want to find an excuse,” he added. “They present the refugees as victims, and then use people’s pity to excuse things like rape.”
Other survivors of the crossing have tried to keep their heads down and stay out of trouble.
Mohamed Kasim, a melancholy 40-year-old who now lives in Tommestrup, a Danish village south of Copenhagen, cycles to language classes in a nearby town every day, and he takes a train to the region’s only mosque for Friday Prayer. Otherwise, he stays home.
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Mr. Kasim said that he had a hard time making contact with locals, but that his spirits were lifted by the recent arrival of his wife from Eritrea. The Danish government pays his rent, as well as a living allowance. All the same, he said he advises friends not to risk following his example.
“I tell them, ‘No — 100 percent no,’ ” he said, “but nobody listens.”
Mr. Kasim, who is older than most of those who survived the sinking off Lampedusa in 2013, says he misses his home country and cannot forget the four hours he spent at sea, surrounded by bodies, after the boat sank. “I can’t swim, so just did this,” he said, waving his arms clumsily.
Samhar Adhanam, a 25-year-old living on a monthly government allowance of nearly $1,500 in Larvik, Norway, was in such bad condition when she was rescued at sea that she spent two weeks in a Sicilian hospital recovering from her injuries.
After obtaining a forged passport, she headed toward Norway by train, and spent much of the journey hiding in the restroom. After months in a reception center near the Arctic Circle, she received approval to stay in the country, and she moved south to Larvik.
“I never thought it would be like this,” Ms. Adhanam said. “Everything is so different.”
But as strange as the new country is, she said, “I can say I am happy because I am still alive.” ||||| Yafet and Segen had met nine years earlier at a neighborhood café in Asmara, the Eritrean capital. He was in 10th grade, she was a year behind him, the coffee shop was a popular hangout for their school friends. It was frowned on for girls and boys to socialize too much, so larger groups of teenagers would often get together to provide cover for a couple who were dating. That’s how Yafet and Segen met: They were accompanying two friends who were seeing each other secretly. And when those friends needed a little privacy, Yafet and Segen would fill the time by chatting with each other. Slowly, he started to fall for her. “When we started to talk… not actually in one day, but after months, I started to like so many things about her: The way she talked; the way she laughed; the way she smiled,” Yafet says. “I fell in love, and I asked her to start a relationship.”
Photographer Gianni Cipriano documented objects abandoned by refugees that made the arduous journey from North Africa to Sicily.
Yafet was born in 1987. He was the youngest of seven children; his father was a high school physics teacher and his mother taught typing; together they all lived in a four-bedroom house in an upscale district of Asmara. Back then, Eritrea was at the tail end of a 30-year war for independence from Ethiopia, and families like Yafet’s — middle class, educated — were poised to form the backbone of the new nation. Freedom came in 1993, but the optimism didn’t last. In 1998, a new conflict with Ethiopia escalated, and within two years 100,000 people were dead. President Isaias Afwerki came under scrutiny for his leadership: He responded by cracking down on dissent, banning the country’s privately-owned newspapers, and imprisoning anyone who opposed him. He has ruled ever since. Today, Eritrea is one of the world’s most repressive states: There are extensive reports of torture, forced labor, arbitrary arrests, incommunicado detention, extrajudicial killings, and disappearances. Its primary mechanism of control is national service: Citizens are conscripted for an indefinite period and forced to work in government enterprises for almost no pay. There are restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly, and religion. Even though he was just a young teen when it happened, the crackdown sticks with Yafet. And once his eyes were open, he couldn’t look away. “I used to ask my mom, ‘Mom, why?’” he says. “My mother told me to keep quiet, don’t talk like that outside. I’m in my country. I’m just asking what happened. Why can’t I say? Later, I saw what happened to the people who asked.” Today, more than 400,000 people — one in every 16 Eritreans — have fled the country.
By September 2007, he and Segen had been dating for two years. Like everyone else in the country, he reported for six months of military training after finishing 11th grade, before returning to high school. After graduating, and just a few days before he was to be officially drafted, he took Segen aside. He was leaving Eritrea, he said. Yafet and Segen She wasn’t happy. Not because she couldn’t see the oppression — she had dropped out of school herself after 10th grade to avoid national service. The fear was that they would never have a chance to build a future together. But they understood that staying didn’t give them that chance either. “We couldn’t imagine having any future there with the government. That’s why she accepted it. I promised not to forget her. She told me that she would pray for me… and that one day we would be together and have kids.”
The border between Eritrea and Sudan is a desert of cracked earth where temperatures soar into the 100s. The only distinguishable feature marking the boundary between the two countries is a low mountain ridge that cuts across the horizon. “Beyond the mountain is Sudan. In front of it is Eritrea,” Yafet says. Reaching it meant reaching freedom. After saying goodbye to Segen and his family, Yafet reported for duty at a military camp in the west of the country. He stayed there for three days while making final arrangements before heading into the desert with eight friends. He was 20 years old, and he knew he’d never be able to go home again. “I knew where the west was, and I knew if I went to the west [I would reach Sudan],” Yafet said. But it was a two-day walk from the camp to the border, and the government did not treat deserters kindly. There was no cover — no trees, no bushes — to obscure them from sight, so they travelled mostly at night. But even after dark the moon was so bright that they didn’t have much protection. So they devised a system. Each of them would take turns walking several hundred feet in front of the others: That way, if they came across a military patrol, only the scout would be captured, and the rest of the group would have a chance to escape. It wasn’t just the Eritrean patrols that were a threat, though. There was also a chance of running into criminals or security forces on the Sudanese side who would deliver them back to Eritrean authorities in exchange for money. After walking for two nights and a day in the desert, the group reached the mountain. On the other side, they found it difficult to find their way — nobody in the group spoke Arabic, just the main Eritrean language, Tigrinya, and a little English. Then they came into some luck: A friendly Sudanese man brought them to his house. “He gave us food, water, even milk. We were wearing military clothes. He brought us civilian clothes.” The man pointed the group in the direction of a nearby refugee camp. Yafet had made it. Now he could begin his new life.
“It was the worst place I have seen in my life. There was no food service. There were no houses… There were tents that were donated by UNHCR, but it wasn’t enough for the people. There was no clean water for the refugees, there were no medical services, there was one nurse and the refugees were maybe 2 or 3,000 at that time. If you had money you could pay for food, but there were people who didn’t have money. They were really in trouble.” Yafet was in Wad Sherife, a refugee camp about 10 miles from the border. It was against the law to leave, so three months later, he paid a smuggler $100 to take him to Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, where he could think about going further — to Europe or the U.S. But Khartoum itself was another horrible shock, an unforgiving and legally precarious place, where Yafet was constantly exposed to danger and abuse. At first he relied on the help of others: One relative in the United States sent him money, another who lived locally gave him shelter. He shared a small room with five other people — it was bare, hot, and didn’t even have beds — but still, Yafet was happy. It was the first time he could process being outside of Eritrea. “It was good for us. We had freedom. We felt that we could relax. We could speak about what we wished… things that we wouldn’t dare say in Eritrea. We discussed our country. We discussed our futures. They were the things that we hadn’t ever expressed.” Things got progressively worse, though. His support network faded, his money ran out. Most nights he scraped together enough to sleep in the underground hotels run out of people’s houses; sometimes he slept outside, mingling with other homeless people and keeping away from the police. Eventually, he found a job in a bakery: The owner gave him $3.50 a day in wages and let him sleep in the back of the store at night. It was a tiny bit of stability, but not enough to build a future. So, when Segen told Yafet that she was coming to Sudan in the summer of 2009, he was not happy. “I just told her to be a little patient, to wait for me to try something,” he says. “I didn’t want to bring her and see her be in trouble and I also didn’t want to be in more trouble.” Segen decided to come anyway. She didn’t have much money, but her cousin— a people smuggler — agreed to help her escape from Eritrea if she could find three friends to come with her who would pay.
Segen finally married Yafet in September 2010 — a church service, with about 30 people in attendance. “I was happy that day because I got my dream girl and it was my wedding day,” says Yafet. Things were looking up. They moved in together, and he had a new job marketing agricultural products online, with his own office, his own computer, and a salary of $500 per month. Finally being united, however, didn’t reduce the insecurity. They argued about whether to stay or try to get out. Segen’s family was encouraging her to flee Africa altogether, either to Israel — by crossing the Sinai desert — or to Europe, by boat across the Mediterranean. Both options were dangerous. “I didn’t want to put our lives at risk in order to get a better life,” Yafet says. “That’s why I wanted to let her know that if we found a better way, a safe way, if we get resettlement or a visa and could leave by plane, that’s ok, but, no, we don’t have to risk our lives.” Then Yafet’s company closed, and he lost his job. Their first daughter, Shalom, was born a month later, on August 16, 2011. He’d work wherever, whatever way he could: cleaning houses, manual labor, restaurants, anything. Then, a few months after she gave birth to Shalom, Segen got pregnant again. Their second daughter, Abigail, was born on October 29, 2012. Nothing was steady, and Segen was more unsettled than ever. Finding a way to leave became the main topic of discussion. It was too much. “She wasn’t able to get sleep. She wasn’t able to eat food. She wasn’t able to care for the children… She used to cry without any cause. She used to get angry about small things. She was not at peace. I tried to make her feel free, to make her relax. She got worse and worse.” Then, one day, she told him she couldn’t wait anymore. The couple weighed their options. In the end they agreed: Segen would cross the desert to Libya and get on one of the boats smuggling people across the Mediterranean to Italy. Once there, she would head for Norway, which has one of the fastest asylum and family reunification processes in Europe. Yafet would follow. Initially, he wanted both of their daughters to stay with him in Khartoum. But Segen thought that having Abigail with her would help keep them both safe from abuse during the trip and maybe even win some preferential treatment, like receiving extra food and water — things which could make a big difference during the long desert crossing that lay ahead. Yafet conceded. |||||
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Write an article based on this summary:
– A polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run has pleaded guilty in an escape and food-stamp fraud case. Lyle Jeffs pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City, the AP reports. He was charged in what prosecutors call a multimillion-dollar food-stamp fraud scheme as well as his escape from home confinement. Jeffs was awaiting trial in the food-stamp case when he slipped off his ankle monitor and escaped in June 2016. He was recaptured in South Dakota this summer after pawning two pairs of pliers while apparently living out of his pickup truck. Pawn-shop workers tipped off the FBI, and he was arrested in a lakeside area near the South Dakota-Nebraska border. He had been in the area for about two weeks, running low on resources and struggling without the help of fellow sect members after falling out with his brother Warren Jeffs, who runs the group while serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of underage brides, the FBI has said. Lyle Jeffs was one of 11 members of the polygamous group charged in the case in February 2016. Prosecutors said food-stamp benefits were funneled to pay for things like a tractor and a truck. Lyle Jeffs was the highest-ranking member of the group to face charges and was accused of orchestrating the scheme. A trial had been set for Oct. 23. Jeffs is facing between three and five years in prison at a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 13 after agreeing to the plea deal.
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FILE - This Jan. 21, 2015 file photo, Lyle Jeffs leaves the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City. Jeffs, a polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run in a fraud case, pleaded guilty Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
FILE - This Jan. 21, 2015 file photo, Lyle Jeffs leaves the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City. Jeffs, a polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run in a fraud case, pleaded guilty Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — The Latest in the case against polygamous sect leader Lyle Jeffs (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
A polygamous sect leader is facing up to five years in prison after agreeing to a plea deal in a food-stamp fraud and escape case.
Lyle Jeffs pleaded guilty to two felony charges Wednesday in an agreement that also called for him to pay $1 million in restitution.
He's facing between three and five years in prison at a sentencing hearing set for Dec. 13.
U.S. Attorney for Utah John Huber calls the agreement a fair end to a hard-fought court battle. Jeffs defense attorney declined to comment.
The 57-year-old Jeffs was arrested nearly a year after he escaped home confinement while awaiting trial in the food-stamp fraud case.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit benefits fraud and failure to appear. Prosecutors dropped a money-laundering count.
___
10:38 a.m.
A polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run has pleaded guilty in escape and food-stamp fraud cases.
Lyle Jeffs entered the pleas in Salt Lake City's federal court Wednesday
He was charged in what prosecutors call a multimillion-dollar food-stamp fraud scheme and his escape from home confinement.
Jeffs was awaiting trial in the food-stamp case when he slipped off his ankle monitor in June 2016.
He was recaptured in South Dakota this summer after pawning two pairs of pliers while apparently living out of his pickup truck.
Jeffs was one of 11 members of the polygamous group charged in the case where prosecutors say food-stamp benefits were funneled to pay for things like a tractor and a truck.
The other defendants have agreed to plea deals or seen the charges dismissed.
___
9:03 am.
A polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run in a fraud case is expected to appear in court Wednesday.
Lyle Jeffs is facing federal charges in what prosecutors call a multimillion-dollar food-stamp fraud scheme as well as his escape from home confinement.
Jeffs was awaiting trial in the food-stamp case when he escaped from Salt Lake City in June 2016.
He was recaptured in South Dakota after pawning two pairs of pliers while apparently living out of his pickup truck a year later.
Jeffs was one of 11 members of the polygamous group charged in the case where prosecutors say food-stamp benefits were funneled to pay for things like a tractor and a truck.
The other defendants have agreed to plea deals or seen the charges dismissed. ||||| FILE - This Jan. 21, 2015 file photo, Lyle Jeffs leaves the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City. Jeffs, a polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run in a fraud case, pleaded guilty Wednesday,... (Associated Press)
FILE - This Jan. 21, 2015 file photo, Lyle Jeffs leaves the federal courthouse in Salt Lake City. Jeffs, a polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run in a fraud case, pleaded guilty Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017, in an escape and food-stamp fraud cases, in federal court in Salt Lake City.... (Associated Press)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A polygamous sect leader recaptured after a year on the run has pleaded guilty in an escape and food-stamp fraud case.
Lyle Jeffs pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Salt Lake City. He was charged in what prosecutors call a multimillion-dollar food-stamp fraud scheme as well as his escape from home confinement.
Jeffs was awaiting trial in the food-stamp case when he slipped off his ankle monitor and escaped in June 2016.
He was recaptured in South Dakota this summer after pawning two pairs of pliers while apparently living out of his pickup truck. Pawn-shop workers tipped off the FBI, and he was arrested in a lakeside area near the South Dakota-Nebraska border.
He had been in the area for about two weeks, running low on resources and struggling without the help of fellow sect members after falling out with his brother Warren Jeffs, who runs the group while serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of underage brides, the FBI has said.
Lyle Jeffs was one of 11 members of the polygamous group charged in the case in February 2016. Prosecutors said food-stamp benefits were funneled to pay for things like a tractor and a truck. Lyle Jeffs was the highest-ranking member of the group to face charges and was accused of orchestrating the scheme. A trial had been set for Oct. 23.
The other defendants have agreed to plea deals or seen the charges dismissed. Critics of the secretive sect have been frustrated that none of the others have served prison time.
Lyle Jeffs was charged with felony counts of benefits fraud and money laundering that carried possible 5- and 10-year sentences. He was also charged with a failure-to-appear count in connection with his time as a fugitive that carried a possible sentence of up to 10 years in prison.
The group, known as the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is based in a small community on the Utah-Arizona border. Members of the sect believe polygamy brings exaltation in heaven. The group is an offshoot of mainstream Mormonism, which disavowed polygamy more than 100 years ago. |||||
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Article:
“Battleship” is the worst humans-fighting-aliens movie I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of humans-fighting-aliens movies.
Perhaps we should have been prepared for this cosmic joke of an action-adventure, as it’s based on the classic Hasbro board game — an absurdity its filmmakers have embraced with good humor, but not hit with good aim. While the game itself accounts for maybe 2% of the content (there are battleships, and at one point there’s a grid that must be analyzed), its spirit is entirely intact: This movie is impersonal, plastic and has lots of easy-to-misplace pieces.
Taylor Kitsch is Hopper, a miscreant with a heart of gold introduced in a beer commercial-type bar, being urged to shape up by his Navy officer brother (Alexander Skarsgard) and lusting after the daughter (Brooklyn Decker) of the admiral (Liam Neeson). Some time later, he’s in the Navy, hoping to marry the admiral's daughter before shipping out for some inter-naval games that bring several thousand sailors off the coast of Hawaii.
RELATED: PETER BERG BRINGS BOARD GAME TO BIG SCREEN
That’s handy, because soon, wouldn’t you know it, aliens show up. They were hinted at in an early sequence, when bearded geeks worry about a signal sent off that invites other life forms to come and say hi. Turns out the ones who RSVP set up an invisible wall around ships in the water, then don’t react well when they’re fired upon.
The angry E.T.s send whirling buzzsaw-type objects which look like giant socket screws to cut through cities, and their spacecraft, which had plunged right into the ocean for some undisclosed reason, pop up and try to sink our battleships. Some aliens do end up on land, where one gets into a wrestling match with a double-amputee veteran.
Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna ponder the aliens’ moves in “Battleship.” ( )
These not-scary, plan-less humanoid aliens, seen with their helmets off for a maximum of perhaps five minutes, look like Mickey Rourke with a goatee made of glass, suggesting some effects designer fell asleep on the job. There’s some TV chatter overheard about a “worldwide invasion,” but that little plotline seems undeveloped.
Also wasted is Rihanna, in her movie debut, as a member of Hopper’s crew. Couldn’t someone have devised a scene where music’s slinkiest star dances for even a moment? She simply makes stern faces as she presses buttons — which puts her pretty much on par with Kitsch, also the star of “John Carter” and a guy having a not-very-good year. Neeson, for his part, is back to coasting through big-budget wastes of time after a brief uptick with “The Grey.”
Director Peter Berg (“Friday Night Lights,” “Hancock”) can’t really be blamed, since someone had to steer this thing out of port, and it seems like the map was laid out according to the “Transformers” model. (Fans of “Independence Day” and “The Abyss” shouldn’t get their hopes up for anything equivalent here.) “Battleship” is too clunky and thudding to stay afloat for even the first third of its overlong running time, though the only ones who’ll really get soaked are ticket buyers.
Magic Moment: An alien is confused by a human’s metallic legs.
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After you've seen Battleship, come back and listen to our spoiler special:
Dana Stevens Dana Stevens is Slate’s movie critic.
Battleship (Universal/Hasbro) must have prevailed in whatever war it was waging on me, because three days after seeing it all I can remember is that it’s about battleships, and is based on the board game Battleship, and is about a lot of ships that … battle. Battleship (directed by Peter Berg of The Kingdom and Friday Night Lights) is a dumb action blockbuster, but not generously, life-givingly dumb, like the Mission: Impossible movies or Roland Emmerich’s 2012 (ahhh, 2012). This is the kind of summer movie that softens your brain tissue without even providing the endocrine burst of pleasure that would make it all worthwhile. It even—please fine me for saying this—makes Michael Bay’s Transformers movies look rollicking by comparison.
Given that it spends a good 85 percent of its 130-minute running time bludgeoning the viewers’ senses with explosions and CGI naval battles and hurtling alien vessels, Battleship has a lot of nerve asking us to care about the hastily sketched human dramas unfolding on the periphery. You know how, even in a terrible movie, there’ll often be one subplot or performance that you find yourself looking forward to during the dull parts? This film offers no such respite. Every storyline, from the ne’er-do-well Navy lieutenant who suddenly finds himself in charge of defending his ship from aliens to the physical therapist scaling a mountain with her double-amputee client, is equally worthy of dread.
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In the main plot, Taylor Kitsch plays Alex Hopper, a pouty, trouble-prone bad boy whose upstanding older brother (Alexander Skarsgard) manages to man-shame him into joining the Navy on his 26th birthday. But as a sailor Alex’s rebel ways continue, and he’s on the verge of getting kicked out of the Navy by his girlfriend’s father, the daunting Admiral Shane (Liam Neeson, sort of phoning in the dauntingness). First, though, Alex and his brother must take part in RIMPAC, an international training exercise in which the navies of different countries meet to simulate battle scenarios at sea.
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But RIMPAC becomes WTFPAC when, in the middle of the first day of exercises, Alex’s ship, the John Paul Jones, encounters an inexplicable looming monolith that turns out to be the base of operations for an invasion from outer space. Thus begins a long run of poorly differentiated scenes in which the John Paul Jones pluckily, and perhaps unwisely, takes on the alien megaships. It’s all a blur, but there were a lot of shots of people looking up slack-jawed at inconceivably large and powerful objects and saying things like “Jesus God in Heaven.”
In the B-plot, Alex’s girlfriend Sam (Brooklyn Decker), an exercise therapist, tries to coax a disabled vet (Gregory D. Gadson, a real-life Iraq vet who lost both legs above the knee) to join her on a hike up a Hawaiian mountain.* As it turns out, this is the mountain the aliens are trying to get to in order to use its SETI-style satellite base to send a message back home—one that will, we may only assume, boil down to, “Send more ships.” Will Sam and Mick make it to the satellite base in time to blow it up and save the world? Or will Alex and his comrades at sea get there first? What of poor Liam Neeson, looking on impotently at both action plots while separated from them by an alien force field? Will Alex’s derring-do in battle be enough to convince the admiral to grant his daughter’s hand in marriage? (That seriously is an important plot point in the story. In Battleship II, the issue of Sam’s bride price will be hammered out.)
Complaining about the acting in Battleship seems like misplaced aggression; it’s not the actors’ fault that the lines they’re speaking are so terrible. That said, there are some performances in this movie that are not so much wooden as Styrofoam. Kitsch, who showed promise as an action hero in the less-bad-than-it-could-have-been John Carter, does what he can with the role Alex Hopper, but his character arc basically consists of jutting his jaw out with steadily increasing stubbornness. The scenes with Decker and Gadson on the mountaintop alternate between frantic and placid, as if they can’t decide how much energy to invest in the impending destruction of Earth. Rihanna is more credible as a tough-as-nails petty officer on Alex’s ship; at least, unlike Sports Illustrated model Decker, she isn’t always filmed in Megan Fox-style soft focus in front of a wind machine.
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One of Battleship’s biggest mistakes was not to spend more time exploring its aliens’ culture and physiognomy. We only see two of the invaders up close for a few brief moments, and never hear their speech or observe them aboard their own ship. There are signs throughout that the aliens observe some sort of moral code—they tend to target technology rather than living beings, and at one point deliberately bypass a Little League game that lies in their path of destruction. Yet when it’s convenient for the jingoistic boo-yah energy of the story, the aliens once again become faceless monsters whose obliteration we should cheer mindlessly. I’d welcome a summer movie with morally ambiguous villains, but these are just out-of-focus villains—it doesn’t seem to have occurred to any of the writers that it would be more fun to hiss at the reptilian-eyed invaders if we knew what we were rooting against.
I should take back the above claim that Battleship lacks any saving graces. There are at least two deliberately funny moments that hint at the existence of a zanily witty Airplane!-style spoof buried in this movie’s turgid depths. In the first, the commanders of the John Paul Jones come up with a computer program to track the movement of the underwater alien ships, and the grid on their screen precisely echoes the look of the old Battleship board game—it’s as if, in the midst of all this thunderous manliness, Berg wants us to remember he knows it’s all a silly game. The second moment of wit occurs in the climactic battle sequence, when our ragtag heroes leap aboard a decommissioned WWII ship that’s been turned into a floating museum. For no reason that’s ever explained, a group of elderly veterans is standing by on the old ship (were they docents?), and the old salts proceed to help their juniors ready the ship for intergalactic warfare. As the concessions stand is triumphantly overturned, ACDC's “Thunderstruck” kicks in to accompany a sprightly fixer-upper montage. For those brief moments Battleship becomes something different, a jaunty mélange of Top Gun patriotism and Starship Troopers looniness. If a sequel is truly inevitable, maybe Peter Berg can be encouraged to steer the ship in that direction. ||||| Come for the aliens and stay for the naval warfare, and you’ll wind up raving about the patriotic salutes. Peter Berg's 'Battleship' may be based on a board game, but it ultimately defies anything you're expecting — in the very best way
Universal Pictures / AP Taylor Kitsch, left, and Rihanna
Battleship Year: 2012 Director: Peter Berg Studio: Universal Pictures Actors: Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, Rihanna, Brooklyn Decker, Liam Neeson Related Movie Review: Battleship http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20587674,00.html
'Battleship' stays afloat in a sea of noise The Seattle Times
Based on a board game that became popular precisely for its prosaic, binary nature (hit/miss), one would expect a feature-length Battleship to be a decidedly one-note affair. But a funny thing happened on the way to mediocrity: The creative team behind this ocean-bound thriller decided to fill the narrative black hole with a few ingredients all but absent from today’s summer tent poles — namely mystery, nostalgia and a healthy dose of humility. Just as blockbusters have made the hard turn towards fantasy heroes who solemnly go about their business in high-def-but-low-impact 3D cage matches, Battleship is an unapologetically goofy, surprisingly enigmatic, refreshingly self-deprecating deviation from the norm. I hesitate to confess that I had more fun here than I did at The Avengers, because low expectations surely had a lot to do with it, but it’s the truth. Heck, I’d pay to see the thing again.
Director Peter Berg has apparently conceived of his production design as homage to (and improvement on) the works of Michael Bay — from Battleship’s militaristic grandstanding to its absurd romance, endlessly spinning action set pieces and deafening metal-on-metal sound effects. Right up top, ahead of the credits, Berg pulls a Bay in sprinting through the character introductions: You’ve got your lovable Hawaiian slacker Alex (Taylor Kitsch, Friday Night Lights) who can’t keep a job or get up the nerve to talk to the father of his girlfriend Sam (Brooklyn Decker). She’s a physical therapist on Oahu, working with wounded Navy veterans who are coping with life after amputations (her newest patient is real-life veteran and amputee Gregory D. Gadson). Complicating matters is her dad: Liam Neeson, admiral of the fleet.
Alex, you see, was brought into the Navy by his straight-laced brother Stone (Alexander Skarsgård), who thought a life of rank and discipline would benefit his younger half. And sure enough, maturity comes quickly for the bumbling bro when, on a joint Japan-U.S. naval exercise, four mysterious objects crash through Earth’s atmosphere and into the Pacific. Anyone who has encountered the film’s relentless marketing blitz knows the basic outlines of what comes next: Aliens terrorize Earth, explosions dot the horizon, and our sailors must prevent this “extinction-level event.”
(MORE: The 10 Greatest Movies of the Millennium—Thus Far)
…Only that’s not really how things play out at all. At every turn, the aesthetics and attitude of Battleship jolt us out of our comfort zone. Alex should be a plodding, predictable protagonist, a Shia LaBeouf replicant alternating between fear and vengeance. But so much of the plot hinges instead on Alex’s immaturity, his decided lack of experience and his gradual growth into a man who can lead his peers (including Rihanna, who plays a tough-as-nails naval gunner) through a crisis.
One would expect the arrival of the aliens to usher in a mindless volley of lasers and torpedoes. But while there are plenty of shots fired, and explosions to ogle, far more intriguing than the firepower is the mystery that shrouds the weaponry. In the first tense standoff, there’s a surprising level of studying and calculation at play, as the human first responders grapple to comprehend just what it is that they’ve found floating out in the middle of the ocean. Even after the aliens show their true colors and things turn hostile, the sailors — as well as the audience — begin to diagnose the weaknesses in the superior technology targeting them. Unlike most action heroes, who simply possess expert skills, Alex is learning as he goes, and we learn through his eyes. As his crew develops a new attack plan for the final climactic brawl, there’s something slightly more fulfilling about a strategy that’s evolved throughout the film.
If the alien introduction is more cryptic than we expect, the subplot playing out back on land is more inspiring. When the aliens track down the satellite array that initially brought them to Earth, they start to set up a base in rural Oahu, and that’s when Sam and Gadson join forces with a nerdy satellite operator (Hamish Linklater) to single-handedly take the array off line. A scientist, physical therapist and amputee taking out our E.T. invaders — one of cinema’s more unlikely motley crews.
As for the board game, it’s integrated into the film in surprisingly subtle ways (no one ever utters “you sunk my battleship!”). Once the aliens use a force field of sorts to separate three Navy vessels from the remainder of the fleet, we start to get closer to the actual scope of a Battleship board. And if you look and listen closely, you’ll recognize the cues: A destroyer, they say, can dish it out but can’t last as long as a battleship — which, as any player knows, can withstands two or three direct hits, but never four. When the radar goes down, the Japanese sailors teach their American counterparts a trick of the trade, using tsunami buoys to monitor displaced water. As the combined crews bring up a grid of buoys, and notice a disturbance near “Echo One-One” (that would be E11), the Battleship grid has been revived onscreen.
There’s something decidedly retro about the grid sequence, where winning the war at sea has less to do with technology than with instincts, trigger fingers and the equipment at hand. In fact, there’s something delightfully old-school about all the action in Battleship. As classic rock blasts in the background, the movie increasingly shifts its attention away from the spinning, glowing alien ships to the inner workings of mankind’s floating fortresses, paying tribute to veterans and the ingenuity of those in the armed forces. Sure, it’s slightly jingoistic, but when the aliens are calling for backup, we want to cheer for our side.
(UPDATE: Richard Corliss Expands TIME’s List of Cinematic Greats)
I have yet to even address the harrowing ways in which the history of Pearl Harbor factors into this war of the worlds. But it offers a rousing final act to a film of surprising dexterity, alternating between sibling drama, behind-enemy-lines strategizing, naval war maneuvers, big guns that go bang, alien intelligence and a goofy spirit that shows Berg and company don’t take this all that seriously after all.
Here’s an audacious, inventive and character-driven blockbuster with some wit sprinkled in for good measure. It’s fun, and filled with a surprising degree of intrigue and suspense; an unlikely mix of Independence Day, Pearl Harbor, Jurassic Park and The Hunt for Red October. If it was called anything other than Battleship, I wouldn’t feel so guilty for loving every minute. ||||| Topics: Movies, Action movies, Summer movies, Entertainment News
One of the great marketing constants of contemporary Hollywood is the idea of appealing to the 11-year-old boy within every moviegoer (whatever gender that person may manifest on the surface). Almost every American movie released during the summer season has that squirmy pre-adolescent id in view, and about two-thirds of the movies made the rest of the year. But what about a movie as baffling and incoherent and flat-out stupid as “Battleship” — an alien-invasion adventure by way of a Hasbro game, or maybe the other way round — a movie that would make your inner 11-year-old stomp out of the theater in disgust?
It’s undoubtedly gilding the lily to claim that “Battleship” is the dumbest movie I’ve ever seen — for all that I front as someone who only likes Turkish films where people stare at the landscape without talking, I’ve seen a lot of dumb movies — but it’s definitely up there. Over and above its extraordinary, mind-melting level of stupidity, “Battleship” (which is directed by actor-turned-filmmaker Peter Berg, of “Hancock” and “Friday Night Lights,” and written by action-flick brothers Erich and Jon Hoeber) is also extremely weird. Its shameless and nonsensical combination of ingredients finally won me over, after a fashion, when I realized that its gung-ho Navy-recruitment propaganda and retrograde gender politics shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than the ZZ Top, AC/DC and Billy Squier songs on the soundtrack. The only point of the whole exercise is to make small boys whoop and holler.
You know that bar over on the roughneck side of town, the one where all the jingoistic, pro-military, America-hell-yeah movies go to quaff some brewskis and swap tales about kickin’ Communist hiney? Yeah, that one. Well, when “Battleship” shows up there and starts breaking beer glasses on its head, “Top Gun” and “Red Dawn” and “The Green Berets” get to feel all grown-up and complicated and full of girly-man sensitivity. That’s how stupid it is. Come to think of it, that’s the same Oahu tavern where we first meet our handsome but headstrong hero, Alex Hopper (Taylor Kitsch, last seen fleeing the ruins of “John Carter”), who’s enjoying a birthday beverage and stern lecture, both provided by his uptight Navy officer brother, Stone (Alexander Skarsgård). Let me back up and repeat that key piece of information: Skarsgård’s character is named Stone Hopper, and I promise that if you remind me of that in three years, I’ll still think it’s hilarious. ||||| Universal Studios hopes to rake in millions of dollars this weekend with the release of its new action film Battleship, and sales of the classic board game are expected to get a nice boost, too. As readers may recall, the game play is simple: Each player arranges five ships—an aircraft carrier, battleship, cruiser, submarine, and destroyer—on a ten-by-ten grid of squares and attempts to “sink” his opponent’s ships by calling out the squares where he believes his enemy’s ships are hiding. Most players approach the game as essentially one of chance, targeting squares at random and hoping for a “hit.” But is there a better strategy? If a friend challenges you to a nostalgic game of Battleship this weekend, is there a way to increase the chances that your fleet will emerge victorious?
There is. Nick Berry, a technology consultant and president of DataGenetics, a data mining company based in Seattle, has meticulously laid out several strategies that will improve your chances of sinking your opponent’s ships before she sinks yours. These methods are battle-tested: Berry created computer algorithms to employ his strategies in hundreds of millions of simulations so he could calculate their respective success rates.
Berry started by assessing the strategy most players intuit, which he refers to as Hunt/Target. The computer begins in Hunt mode—that is, firing at random until it hits a ship. When it has a hit, it focuses fire on the adjacent squares. Once the ship is sunk, the computer reverts back to Hunt mode until it hits another target. In Berry’s simulations, it took an average of 66 moves to sink an opponent’s battleship. It’s a serviceable approach, but there’s still a lot of random guessing involved.
To improve upon the Hunt/Target method, Berry devised a tactic that combines Hunt mode with the concept of mathematical parity. Think of it this way: Imagine if the board were color-coded like a checkerboard, with white and blue squares. Even the smallest ship—the destroyer—covers two squares, and would therefore have to rest on both a white and a blue square. Fire only at blue squares and you will eventually hit every ship at least once. This method effectively allows you to reduce the number of targets on the board by half when you’re in Hunt mode. (When you register a hit you enter Target mode, and both blue and white squares are in play until you sink the ship.) This strategy yields a slightly better average than regular Hunt/Target mode: an average of 65 moves to sink your opponent’s fleet.
Berry’s most efficient approach to Battleship uses a probability density function, which takes into consideration the different ways the ships can fit across the board. Here, Berry’s algorithm considers all of the possible configurations of the five ships and calculates a probability that any given square is occupied by a ship. At the outset of the game, obviously, the ships could be anywhere—there isn’t much difference in the probabilities for each square. But as the game progresses, you eliminate more and more squares from the board, and also reduce the number of possible configurations—the five-square aircraft carrier can’t be hiding in a four-square stretch of sea. A human player can’t realistically calculate the probabilities for each square as accurately as Berry’s model, but she can keep in mind the underlying strategy here. By considering the length of each ship that remains on the board and aiming for the area of the board that has the highest probability of containing those ships, you greatly improve your hit rate. When Berry’s computer used this approach, he reduced the average number of moves per game to 44 moves. |||||
What is a summary?
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– It's got a cast full of hotshots and heartthrobs, from Taylor Kitsch to Rihanna to Liam Neeson, but Battleship is about as intellectually stimulating as its board game namesake. But despite the overwhelming critical vitriol, a few reviewers enjoyed it: "This is the kind of summer movie that softens your brain tissue without even providing the endocrine burst of pleasure that would make it all worthwhile," writes Dana Stevens at Slate. "It even—please fine me for saying this—makes Michael Bay’s Transformers movies look rollicking by comparison." "Battleship is the worst humans-fighting-aliens movie I’ve ever seen. And I’ve seen a lot of humans-fighting-aliens movies," notes Joe Neumaier in the New York Daily News. It's a lot like the game: "impersonal, plastic, and has lots of easy-to-misplace pieces." At Salon, Andrew O'Hehir calls the film "baffling and incoherent," featuring an "extraordinary, mind-melting level of stupidity." But in Time, Steven James Snyder feels very differently, citing the movie's "mystery, nostalgia," and "healthy dose of humility." It's "an unapologetically goofy, surprisingly enigmatic, refreshingly self-deprecating deviation from the norm," he writes. In quasi-related news, click to learn about how to win at Battleship—every time you play.
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Once upon a time, a family named Kardashian was hatched. They were born naked, and from that day forward, it was decided that that’s how they would stay. For example, the very pregnant Kourtney Kardashian was probably going to pose wearing something like Kate Middleton’s maternity peplum, but due to her obligations as a Kardashian, she had to pose naked–and in a very unfortunate accessory, at that.
Not content to simply wear a thigh slit that technically is a ribcage-level slit like her sister, Kourtney opted to go topless for a photo series showcasing her pregnancy in DuJour. If this plot line is starting to sound familiar, it’s because her sister Kim Kardashian did it a couple of years ago. The interview is so cleverly titled “Kourtney Kardashian Bares All” and features quotable gems like this:
“I had done a nude shoot when I was pregnant with Mason, really last minute just for myself, and I love it. The photo is hanging in the entry of my mom’s house. It actually used to be in her bedroom next to her bed but Bruce would always make a comment about having it in his room.”
I get that Kris Jenner has a weird relationship with her daughters, but it is patently strange to put a naked photo of one of them next to your bed. Or maybe I’m just being incredibly judgmental, I don’t know; I suppose I just cannot imagine featuring my own relatives nude in my bedroom.
(Related: Kourtney Kardashian Had Her Baby Shower At IHOP In Her Pajamas, Making It Her Most Relatable Move Ever)
Anyway, besides delivering the strange interview, Kourtney also posed in a few different items. I say “items” because obviously, these are not outfits, but one of them is what one might call “molting chic”:
For the record, I am by no means offended that Kourtney is naked in these photos, which are shot by photographer Brian Bowen Smith. I think nude female bodies–and most bodies, really–are hypersexualized, though you’ll have to forgive me for operating under the assumption that the Kardashians are simply posing naked all over the place in order to stand up to the patriarchy. (Plus, the first photo in this post would be straight from Girls Gone Wild if homegirl wasn’t expecting.) I’m mainly just offended by the necklace because ughhhh, it’s shedding. Why does she have a sparkly net across her sternum? Did they have to tape the feathers to her boobs to cover up her nipples?
But no worries! It’s all good because someday, Kourtney will show her kids this wet t-shirt contest of a photo shoot and they’ll all have a lovely moment:
“It’s a wonderful thing to be able to show my children these photographs one day and say, ‘This was you inside.’”
Of course, just as with all silly things she does from now on, we must simply shrug our shoulders and say, “Hey, at least she didn’t make a KKK joke.” Because somebody in her family did that. That was really a thing that happened.
To see all the photos and read Kourtney’s full interview with DuJour, check it out here! ||||| 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. ||||| View the gallery
Just when you thought you’d seen all sides of every Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian follows up sister Kim’s attempt to break the internet with a nude photo shoot conducted while nine months pregnant with her third child. Kourtney’s no stranger to exposing viewers to the wonders of childbirth, of course; who can forget, for better or worse, the memorable scene of Keeping Up With the Kardashians showing her reaching down to pull out her second child? The shoot, done in collaboration with Brian Bowen Smith, only reinforces the oldest sister’s role as the pacifying, nurturing one, though, especially since she says her decision to publicly de-robe was contingent on the fact that she’s pregnant. “It’s such an amazing feeling…this is what my body was meant to do.”
What made you want to take these pictures?
I had done a nude shoot when I was pregnant with Mason, really last minute just for myself, and I love it. The photo is hanging in the entry of my mom’s house. It actually used to be in her bedroom next to her bed but Bruce would always make a comment about having it in his room. But it was really beautiful. This time, we were shooting for our show, and everyone on our camera crew was like, “You are so comfortable just walking around naked and pregnant!” And Scott, who stopped by with Kim said the same thing to me, like “How are you fine just standing there like naked with all these people around?!”
So you’re not self-conscious as a pregnant person?
To me, nudity is not something to be ashamed of. I’m not embarrassed of my body. I’m at my best when I’m pregnant. It’s such an amazing feeling, the transformation that your body goes through. There’s something about that that’s so empowering and beautiful and I just really embrace it.
How do you hope people will react to these pictures?
I don’t know. It’s what a woman’s body is made to do, so I hope it’s maybe seen as something that’s artistic. This was something that initially I did for myself just to capture the moment in my life, but these photos are beautiful and I’m happy to share them. And I like how raw they are. It’s my body: I’m not trying to impress anybody or be something that I’m not. But in general, I don’t really care that much about what people think. It doesn’t rule my world. I did this because I wanted to and it made me happy.
Would you sit for a nude portrait if you weren’t pregnant?
I would never say never, but I don’t think so, no. What appeals to me is celebrating the shape of my body being pregnant and capturing that time in my life. I wanted to do something that felt authentic to me rather than being pushed in a certain direction by somebody else. The appeal was to be involved in something I would say I had more control over than other photo shoots. No one telling me this is how you’re going to look and how you’re going to pose. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to show my children these photographs one day and say, “This was you inside.”
RELATED: Kim Kardashian’s Pregnancy Photos for DuJour |||||
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– The latest celebrity to jump on the "naked pregnancy photos" bandwagon: Kourtney Kardashian. She's not just pregnant, but nine months pregnant in the Du Jour photos, one of which features the reality show star wearing only what appears to be some sort of elaborate feathered necklace. A second shows her in a wet white wrap, and the third in an open robe. "We were shooting for our show, and everyone on our camera crew was like, 'You are so comfortable just walking around naked and pregnant!'" she says regarding her inspiration for doing the shoot. "To me, nudity is not something to be ashamed of. I'm not embarrassed of my body. I'm at my best when I'm pregnant." As for whether she might ever pose nude while not with child, "I would never say never, but I don't think so, no," she says. "What appeals to me is celebrating the shape of my body being pregnant and capturing that time in my life. ... It's a wonderful thing to be able to show my children these photographs one day and say, 'This was you inside.'" Click to see the photos, or check out five other celebs who posed nude while pregnant.
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Write a summary based on this article:
Internet troll (and potential 2016 presidential candidate) Rand Paul celebrated Valentine's Day with a Hillary Clinton Pinterest profile he tweeted out Saturday.
If Hillary Clinton set up a Pinterest for Valentine's Day, we can only imagine it might look like this>>>https://t.co/nNfAynLJxE — Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) February 14, 2015
The profile has the hallmarks of a traditional Pinterest page with an "inspirational quotes" board...
...and one for home decor ideas.
Then there's some more pointed jabs, like a board of photos of Democrats who lost in November...
a pin about her Russian reset button...
... and another about her comment that she and Bill were "dead broke" when they left the White House and the money she makes from speaking gigs.
Trolling other 2016 hopefuls has become a past time for Paul. He's tweeted burns directed at Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush; he's not above using memes. But Paul isn't the only one using Internet culture and parody accounts to reach voters. Last month, the Democratic National Committee created a parody a Jeb Bush Instagram account to make fun of Bush's digital strategy.
Brace yourselves; 2016 looks to be the most meme-filled election in American history. ||||| Sen. Rand Paul (R., Ky) is choosing Valentine’s Day to take a jab at Hillary Clinton.
On Saturday morning, the senator’s Facebook page posted a message saying that “if Hillary Clinton set up a Pinterest page, we can only imagine it might look like this.” It included links to a mock profile on the photo-sharing site set up under Mrs. Clinton’s name.
The profile includes several references to moments that Mrs. Clinton likely would not highlight in a presidential campaign. One section called “shoulda, woulda, coulda” showcases images from her unsuccessful 2008 White House bid.
The profile also takes a jab at suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams, with a picture of him interviewing Mrs. Clinton. The accompanying text reads: “You tell me your war story, I’ll tell you mine.”
Mrs. Clinton in 2008 had acknowledged making a mistake when she said she had come under hostile fire while in Bosnia. Mr. Williams is currently suspended for telling a false war story related to his time in Iraq.
This is not the first time the senator has used social media to take a jab at Mrs. Clinton or other likely White House candidates. In January, Mr. Paul’s political action committee, Rand PAC, posted an audio link of a fake phone call between Jeb Bush and Mrs. Clinton, in which actors portraying them argued over who’s “turn” it was to move into the White House. Mr. Paul’s PAC is also asking his followers to sign a petition to “say no” to Mrs. Clinton running for president.
Pinterest, a platform often used to share recipes and fitness tips, was used in the 2012 presidential campaign by Ann Romney to connect with women. Mrs. Romney’s pins were mostly recipes, patriotic photos and books.
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||||| Kentucky Senator and cool guy Rand Paul gave Hillary Clinton her dream Valentine's Day gift: Her very own Pinterest board! It's the perfect gift because ladies love Pinterest, right?
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He tweeted out the link earlier today.
What does Paul think Clinton would put on her Pinterest board?
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There are pictures of her and Bill, of course. These are, ostensibly, to indicate that Clinton feels entitled to the White House, which is cool, because it's not like Rand Paul is the son of long-time powerful politician or anything.
There's also this really "in touch" pin of a dancing, Bill Clinton doll with the caption "Lookin at the Bae all day <3." Good #brand.
Under "Friends First," Paul included this photo with the caption, "Embracing new cultures with Barack!"
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Ha! Scary.
There's also a whole section dedicated to Clinton's taste in furniture. Apparently Clinton is a huge fan of Overstock.com.
There are also some really cool Valentine's Day cards you can share with your friends.
(But seriously, if you have friends who are still really concerned about Benghazi, please go make new friends.)
The Washington Post points out that this isn't Paul's first (sad?) attempt at trolling. His earlier trolls, aimed at Florida Republicans Marco Rubio and Jeb Bush, weren't, however, nearly as elaborate.
Rand Paul: Senator, Presidential candidate, king of of sick burns.
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Images via Getty, Twitter, and Pinterest. ||||| In honor of Valentine’s Day, Sen. Rand Paul is having some pointed fun at Hillary Clinton’s expense.
The Kentucky senator tweeted out a link Saturday to a parody Pinterest page that uses some tired anti-Hillary tropes to lampoon the potential Democratic presidential nominee.
“Hillary Clinton’s new Valentine’s Day Pinterest board is worth a look,” wrote Paul. “Check it out and please RT!”
The Pinterest page, which uses the same profile image as Clinton’s genuine Twitter account, includes pictures on themes that figure to be prominent Republican attack lines should Clinton pursue the 2016 Democratic nomination for president: among them Clinton’s ties to President Obama; anxiety over the prospect of Bill Clinton’s return to the White House; and of course, Benghazi.
RELATED: Ted Cruz and Rand Paul battle for tech cred at #RebootCongress
The stunt may seem light-hearted, but it has a serious intent: to bolster Paul’s brand as a tech-savvy Republican who can appeal to young voters; to keep him in the spotlight as other potential GOP candidates like Jeb Bush and Scott Walker threaten to eclipse him; and to court conservatives by going after a perennial favorite target of the right.
It isn’t the first time Paul has taken to social media to mock the former first lady. After last November’s midterms, he sent out a series of tweets that used the hashtag #HillarysLosers and showed pictures of Clinton appearing with Democratic Senate candidates who’d just been defeated.
A spokesman for Paul didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the Pinterest page. |||||
Summary:
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– Aw, what's Valentine's Day without one possible 2016 presidential candidate trolling another? That was apparently Rand Paul's line of thinking yesterday when he set up a fake Pinterest account to deride Hillary Clinton and pull out the Internet slang, the Washington Post reports. "If Hillary Clinton set up a Pinterest for Valentine's Day, we can only imagine it might look like this," he tweeted. The account features: A "White House Remodel" board with images of furniture and a heart-shaped swimming pool—apparently mocking Clinton's passion for Overstock.com, reports Jezebel. It reads, "Can't wait to get in there and remodel!" A "Shoulda, Woulda, Coulda" board with photos of Hillary or Bill alongside Democrats who lost in November, including senatorial candidates Alison Grimes of Kentucky and Michelle Nunn of Georgia. The board reads, "#bffes who almost got there. Pined for reflection." A photo of Clinton with in-the-doghouse NBC News anchor Brian Williams and the words, "You tell me your war story, I’ll tell you mine." (Brian Williams has fessed up to a wartime fib, and Clinton admitted in 2008 that she hadn't really come under enemy fire in Bosnia, the Wall Street Journal notes.) A pic of Clinton gving a speech with the words, "Hour speech, $200,000 price tag" (clearly ridiculing her claim that she and Bill were "dead broke"). A pin of a Bill Clinton doll dancing to the words, "Lookin at the Bae all day <3." This isn't Paul's first online jab at Clinton, either: He made fun of losing Democratic Senate candidates after the November midterms with a series of tweets using the hashtag #HillarysLosers, MSNBC reports. The Journal recalls that he also posted fake audio of a phone call between actors pretending to be Clinton and Jeb Bush disagreeing over whose "turn" it was to claim the Oval Office.
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– Go the F*** to Sleep snagged the No. 1 spot on Amazon's best-seller list this week—almost a month before it hits bookshelves—and Rebekah Denn thinks she knows why. The 32-page book blends soothing rhymes with sleep-deprivation-induced obscenity, and the Internet-savvy attribute its early success to a viral PDF-sharing spree. "Nope," writes Denn, a parent of three, in the Christian Science Monitor. Her friends are all ordering copies, but it's because of the shared sense of suffering, not a sly marketing campaign. Sleepless nights drove Go the F*** to Sleep's author, Adam Mansbach, to post a Facebook update that read, “Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, ‘Go the — to Sleep'”—and the universal response drove him to actually follow through. While waxing sentimental about her thirdborn, Denn's even considering buying a copy: "I want to remind myself, that yes, [parenting] really was hard—so hard that we all laughed just at the mere idea of a book that dared to be profane about such a topic."
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The party line on piracy is that it's bad for business. But what to make of the case of "Go the Fuck to Sleep," the "children's book for adults" whose viral-pirate PDF launched the book to the number-one spot on Amazon.com a month before its release?
Something remarkable happened today. A children's book hit the No. 1 spot on Amazon.com's best-seller list. And it did so a month before the book is even slated for release.
You may have heard of the book--it's a best-seller after all. Go the Fuck to Sleep by Adam Mansbach, began its life as a joke Facebook post in June. It was a particularly trying instance of bedtime with his 2-year-old daughter, and Mansbach let off some steam in the form of a humorous status update to his friends: "Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, ‘Go the — to Sleep.' "
The response from his friends was so fierce that Mansbach decided to make his joke book a real one. Go the Fuck to Sleep, which he bills as a "children's book for adults," will hit stores on June 14, published by the Brooklyn press Akashic. If it's not even due for a month, though, how did a little 32-page book already snag a film option deal with Fox 2000 and, today, reach the pinnacle of online publishing commerce world?
The answer appears to be piracy.
There are many reasons why Go the Fuck to Sleep deserves to be a best-seller, and probably would have attained that status anyway. It's hilarious. It's honest. Humor books tend to do well in general, as do parenting books, as do short books. Not to mention it's the perfect ironic, light-hearted shower gift. Parental exhaustion is by no means an emotion exclusive to Mansbach. The book "just tapped into this nerve," Ibrahim Ahmad, Akashic senior editor, told The Bay Citizen in its excellent report on the phenomenon.
But all those factors don't seem to be sufficient to explain why this book has reached the heights that it has, as soon as it has. What seems to set this book apart, hypothesizes The Bay Citizen, is the pirated PDF copy of the book that has gone absolutely viral.
Piracy, any publisher will tell you, is bad. It's the scourge of the music industry. With the rise of e-reading, booksellers now fear it to a similar degree. Akashic has been fighting the rampant piracy of its best-seller, almost reflexively. As Ahmad told The Bay Citizen: "As the publisher of this book, our responsibilty is to tackle instances of piracy when we become aware of them...That's just doing a service to our authors, ourselves, book sellers, distributors, to everyone involved in the successful making and promotion of a book."
But in this particular case, fighting piracy may not be doing a serivce to the book. Piracy, it seems, is what has driven the book's real-world, money-making, flying-off-the-shelves success. The bootleg copy hasn't replaced the actual artifact. It has only served as a sort of free advertising. Piracy can hurt publishers, but it can also help them. Call it the double-edged cutlass.
"I'm not sure we'd think it's a bad thing," the publicity director of McSweeney's, Juliet Litman, told The Bay Citizen, of this instance of rampant piracy. May other publishers be so fortunate as to have their booty (profitably) plundered in the same manner as Akashic's.
The multi-billion-dollar question, though, is this: When does piracy work to a publisher's benefit, and when does it work to its detriment? If Go the Fuck to Sleep weren't a children's book of sorts, would parents be so eager for hard-copy versions? Or if it didn't have its irresistible illustrations? Books with artwork have a tactile, archival appeal lacking in the latest Grisham potboiler, say.
Neil Gaiman and other prominent authors have gone on the record as essentially supporting the piracy of their own work as a way of building a fanbase. But to what extent did Gaiman's pre-existing fame act as the necessary ignition to the fire of profitable piracy?
This is fertile ground for research. Publishers should scrutinize the mechanics of e-book piracy, replaying success stories like this one over and over again in slow motion, in an effort to see just what combination of variables caused the pirate's cutlass to land directly into a giant sack of doubloons.
[Images: Askashic Press]
Follow Fast Company on Twitter. Email David Zax, the author of this post, or follow him on Twitter. ||||| Adam Mansbach's “Go the [expletive deleted] to Sleep” tickles the funny bones of parents – precisely because the struggle to get your child to sleep can be anything but a laughing matter.
Adam Mansbach's "profane, affectionate, and radically honest" book about the struggle to get your child to sleep hasn't even been published yet but is already a runaway success.
The experts are weighing in on how a 32-page humor book with an unprintable title made it to the top of the bestseller lists. Based on my own expert opinion, I’d like to announce that they’re wrong.
“Go the [expletive deleted] to Sleep” by Adam Mansbach, featuring a cover that mimics a child’s board book, hit #1 on Amazon earlier this week, and the movie rights have already been optioned. “Go the [expletive deleted] to Sleep” isn't even scheduled for publication until next month. But a PDF, showing the sendup of “go to sleep, my dear baby” rhymes overlaid with foulmouthed desperation, has gone viral.
The book's publishers describe it as "a bedtime book for parents who live in the real world, where a few snoozing kitties and cutesy rhymes don't always send a toddler sailing blissfully off to dreamland." Readers are promised that the book's "profane, affectionate, and radically honest ... verses [will] perfectly capture the familiar – and unspoken – tribulations of putting your little angel down for the night.
6 best children’s books, as voted on by kids
The prevailing wisdom has it that the viral PDF hit enough reader funny bones to fuel the book’s wild ride.
No. I don't think so. I think it's more that news of the book hit enough parents. I have to believe the popularity came for the same reason that Mansbach reportedly wrote the book in the first place, that when the father jokingly posted, “Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, ‘Go the — to Sleep' ” on Facebook, he got such an overwhelming response he had to turn the joke into reality.
Sleep problems, more than anything else I know, drive new parents over to the wrong side of despair. There are reasons why perennial bestsellers in the parenting book ghetto focus on how to get your child to bed without spending hours every night with either parent or baby in tears. In the middle of those nights, it’s all about impulse control and frustration, or, personal confession, just co-sleeping, which sets up its own set of controversies. A little black humor at those times would go a long way.
Fast Company speculated that it was readers who have actually seen the PDF of Mansbach’s book that caused orders to go over the top, figuring that the mere idea of the subject matter couldn’t explain its sales figures. “Piracy, it seems, is what has driven the book's real-world, money-making, flying-off-the-shelves success. The bootleg copy hasn't replaced the actual artifact. It has only served as a sort of free advertising,” the article said.
Nope. No one I know has seen the PDF, yet all over my Facebook and Twitter feeds, friends who have simply read news accounts of the book are announcing that they’re ordering copies – for baby showers, for friends who are new parents, for themselves.
For me, my third and last and dearly beloved baby has just finally started sleeping solidly in her crib. But I might want a copy of Mansbach’s book anyway – just for posterity. I want to remind myself, in the rose-tinted years to come, that yes, it really was hard – so hard that we all laughed at the mere idea of a book that dared to be profane about such a topic.
Seattle writer Rebekah Denn blogs at eatallaboutit.com
Join the Monitor's book discussion on Facebook and Twitter.
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– Three bisexual softball players who say they were stripped of a trophy because they were deemed "not gay enough" have reached an out-of-court settlement with a national gay sports organization. San Francisco's D2 team lost its 2008 second-place trophy in the Gay Softball World Series when the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance determined through a series of "intrusive" questions about their sexuality before a panel that three members were "non-gay," and the team therefore exceeded the limit of two heterosexual players, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Though one of the three men was married at the time, all three consider themselves bisexual, but say they were told at the time: "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series," according to their lawsuit. The amount of the settlement sum was not disclosed, but part of the deal is that the second-place trophy will be restored to the team. "This is an amazing result," said the attorney for the three men. "It's also an opportunity to put a spotlight on significant discrimination in sports against the LBGT community." But an attorney for the NAGAAA stressed that US District Judge John Coughenour ruled last week in a preliminary decision that it's "reasonable that an organization seeking to limit participation to gay athletes would require members to express whether or not they are gay athletes." The judge said questions remain, however, about how the rules are applied and if questioning was intrusive, reports AP. Since the suit was filed, the organization has changed its bylaws to welcome all gays, bisexuals and transgendered players. “NAGAAA regrets the impacts the 2008 protest hearing had on plaintiffs and their team,” states the settlement document.
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A gay softball organization has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to three players who were disqualified from its 2008 Gay Softball World Series because of their perceived heterosexuality.
And as part of the settlement announced Monday, their team will be awarded the second-place trophy it was denied at the time.
The men _ Stephen Apilado, Laron Charles and John Russ _ filed the federal lawsuit against the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance last year, claiming they had been discriminated against because they were bisexual, not gay.
They had played for years on a San Francisco-based team called D2. Rumors had persisted that the team was stacked with straight ringers, and when they made it all the way to the finals of the 2008 tournament in the Seattle area, others filed a protest, accusing D2 of exceeding the limit of two heterosexual players per team.
Tournament officials convened a protest committee and brought in five D2 members for questioning. In a conference room filled with about 25 people, many of them strangers, the players were asked questions about their sexuality and private lives. The protest committee then voted on whether the men were gay.
Two were determined to be gay, but the committee found Apilado, Charles and Russ to be straight. The organization said that at the time, the men never identified themselves as bisexual, were evasive or refused to answer questions about their sexuality. Minutes of the hearing say that Charles claimed to be gay but acknowledged being married to a woman, and Apilado initially said he was both gay and straight but then acknowledged being more attracted to women.
The men said they weren't given the option of stating outright that they were bisexual, even though the organization considered bisexual players to be gay for roster purposes. They and their team were disqualified. One observer at the hearing commented, "This is not a bisexual World Series. This is a gay World Series."
NAGAA said the settlement came after the organization won a series of motions limiting what claims the players could present at trial.
The players initially asked the court to throw out the roster limit on straight players as discriminatory. But U.S. District Judge John Coughenour ruled that the organization had a constitutional right to limit the number of straight players as a means of promoting their message that openly gay, bisexual and transgendered individuals can thrive in competitive sports.
The judge said the case could proceed to trial because questions remained about the way the softball association applied its rule, including whether the questions asked at the hearing were unnecessarily intrusive. The trial was set for next month.
"We have been vindicated by the judge's First Amendment rulings," said Roy Melani, NAGAAA's commissioner. "This lawsuit threatened not only the purpose of our organization, but also its future. We fought hard to protect ourselves and our core identity and I am relieved this issue is finally behind us."
Since the lawsuit was filed, NAGAAA has added language to its rules clarifying that bisexual and transgender players are fully welcomed participants in its events. As part of the settlement, the organization said disqualifying D2 was not consistent with its goal of welcoming bisexual players.
"NAGAAA regrets the impacts the 2008 protest hearing had on plaintiffs and their team," the settlement reads.
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, which represented the men, welcomed the changes but said they should go even further. The group still wants NAGAAA to delete its roster limits on straight players, on the grounds that it encompasses gay players who are in the closet or who choose not to put a label on their sexuality.
Charles said he's looking forward to playing more softball.
"It means a lot to me that NAGAAA is going to recognize our second place finish in 2008," Charles said in a statement. "I look forward to continuing to play ball with my friends, teammates and community in NAGAAA's tournaments." ||||| Three members of an amateur San Francisco team who said they were branded "not gay enough" and stripped of their second-place finish at the Gay Softball World Series have settled their lawsuit against a national gay sports organization.
Steven Apilado, LaRon Charles and Jon Russ, who were members of D2, a team that was part of the San Francisco Gay Softball League, will receive an undisclosed sum from the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance and will get their second-place 2008 championship trophy back, said their attorney, Suzanne Thomas.
"This is an amazing result," Thomas said Monday. "It's also an opportunity to put a spotlight on significant discrimination in sports against the LBGT community, and going forward we will look at this as an opportunity to provide additional education about this discrimination."
Roger Leishman, an attorney for the alliance, said the settlement Friday came a week after U.S. District Judge John Coughenour in Seattle ruled that the group had the right under the First Amendment to limit the number of heterosexuals who could play on a team to two.
"It is reasonable that an organization seeking to limit participation to gay athletes would require members to express whether or not they are gay athletes," Coughenour wrote.
"The court dismissed all the plaintiffs' claims of discrimination," Leishman said. "It's a complete vindication of (the gay athletic alliance's) position."
Apilado, Charles and Russ sued the alliance last year in U.S. District Court in Seattle, saying the organization had violated Washington state's public accommodations laws by enforcing the cap on the number of heterosexuals who could play on a team.
The San Francisco squad made it to the championship game at the August 2008 tournament in Kent, Wash. But another team, the Atlanta Mudcats, which had lost to D2 in a semifinal game, complained that the San Francisco team had too many straights.
D2 ultimately lost the championship to a team from Los Angeles.
Afterward, officials with the gay athletic alliance called Apilado, Charles and Russ separately into a conference room for a hearing to determine whether they were heterosexual or gay, the suit said.
They were asked "very intrusive questions," including what their sexual interests and preferences were, Thomas said.
Charles, who was D2's manager, asked whether he could say he was bisexual and was told, "This is the Gay World Series, not the Bisexual World Series," the suit said.
Charles' Facebook profile said last year that he was married to a woman.
The alliance ultimately determined that the three men were "non-gay" and that D2 had broken the rules.
Thomas said the men had been essentially branded as "not gay enough."
This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle ||||| Welcome to the official site for the North American Gay Amateur Athletic Alliance (NAGAAA). Formed in 1977, NAGAAA is a 501c(3) international sports organization comprised of men and women dedicated to providing opportunity and access for the LGBT community to participate in organized softball competition in safe environments. Currently, more than 17,000 players from 45 cities across Canada and the United States participate in member leagues, and the best of these teams converge once a year for head-to-head competition at the annual Gay Softball World Series.
In 2017, NAGAAA celebrated its 40th Anniversary (1977-2017).For over four decades, NAGAAA has been a safe place for LGBT athletes to compete. Member cities compete in six divisions — A, B, C, D, Masters Classic and Masters Legends. If your city/league is interested in joining NAGAAA, please contact contact us or click here to learn more. |||||
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CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The investigation into the fatal shooting of 12-year old Tamir Rice by police is just beginning. Police say Rice reached for an airsoft-type replica gun in his waistband when asked to put his hands in the air outside Cudell Recreation Center on Saturday.
Police held a press conference this morning as people in the community began to raise questions about the events that led to death of the boy.
Refresh this post for the latest developments throughout the day.
8:30 p.m. - Dozens attended a vigil for Tamir Rice at the scene of the shooting. Check out a slideshow from The Plain Dealer's Lynn Ischay here.
7:15 p.m. - The chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, an organization that advocates for gun rights in Ohio, called the officer's decision to fire at Tamir Rice "a legitimate shoot." The chairman told reporter Sarah Dorn, "If you have someone who has a gun in a waistband and does not comply with officers' orders and instead reaches for a firearm, the officer can not wait any longer."
6:48 p.m. - Evan MacDonald answers readers' questions about the Tamir Rice shooting, including:
Why did the officer Tamir in the chest, rather than shoot to injure him?
Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Associated President Jeff Follmer said Sunday that officers are "not trained to shoot people in the leg." According to Follmer, "If we pull that trigger, we feel our lives are in danger."
6:15 p.m. - The fatal shooting of children under 13 by police is an extremely rare occurrence in U.S. criminal justice, though no real data on these types of crimes exists. John Harper found no other incident where an officer confronted and killed a child younger than 12-years-old.
5 p.m. - The second rally of the day begins at the Cuddell Recreation Center, the scene of the shooting, where dozens of protestors showed up with handmade signs.
Mary Kilpatrick reports that about about 60 people attended, including Tamir's older sister, who spoke out against her brother's killing, saying "I don't know why they did that. He was only 12. He wanted to play basketball or the NBA. He loved everybody."
Dozens gathered at Cudell Rec Center in Cleveland for #TamirRice rally. @clevelanddotcom pic.twitter.com/9zsUQAYDhc — Brandon Blackwell (@BlackwellTweets) November 24, 2014
5 p.m. - The coroner releases the cause of death for Tamir Rice as a gunshot wound to the torso with injuries to major vessels, intestines and the pelvis. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner rules Tamir's death a homicide, Evan MacDonald reports.
4:35 p.m. - Family and friends of Tamir Rice are expected at a rally at Cudell Recreation Center at 5 p.m. Get live coverage of it here.
4:30 p.m. - We're learning more about the boy's family, specifically his mother. Our Brandon Blackwell reports,
Samaria Rice was sentenced in February 2013 to two years of probation after she pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking charge. Charges for drug possession and having criminal tools were dropped when she pleaded, court records show.
4:20 p.m. - The city of Cleveland's web site continues to be down after it was hacked by the 'hacktivist' group Anonymous early this morning. The FBI is investigating.
From Mary Kilpatrick's story:
The website will remain down until the city completes an assessment.
"The city of Cleveland and our website vendor are reviewing the incident and determining proper preventative measures to be added in order to ensure future attacks are thwarted," city spokesman Daniel Ball said.
4 p.m. - Twenty years ago, East Cleveland police shot and killed 14-year-old Jeffrey Bell in a case similar to Saturday's police shooting in Cleveland that took the life of 12-year-old Tamir Rice. The result: Cleveland's law banning the brandishing of BB guns. Read more from reporter John Harper here.
3:45 p.m. - Protesters arrived at Justice Center, only to turn around and head back to Public Square.
3:10 p.m. - The protest at Public Square started. Protesters are marching to the Justice Center, chanting "No justice, no peace!" Check out a multimedia slideshow of the protest from Amanda Harnocz.
3 p.m. - Tamir Rice's gun was described by police as a "airsoft" type replica gun. It's been called everything from a BB gun, a toy gun and a fake gun. Mary Kilpatrick takes a closer look at the this type of gun:
The novelty guns shoot small plastic pellets and come in all shapes and sizes, including pistols and rifles, said Chip Hunnicutt, Marketing Manager for Crosman, a New York State-based company and one of many manufacturers that produce the guns.
2:20 p.m. - One of the many questions people have asked about this shooting is whether or not police are specifically trained for this type of situation involving children. Our Sara Dorn reports,
There are no policies for dealing specifically with armed children, Strategies for Youth founder Lisa Thurau said: "Some of it is a function of training, and some of it is a function of natural innate ability. Some officers are more attuned to the needs of young people."
2:08 p.m. - At the press conference this morning, police said Rice and the officer were less than 10 feet apart at the time of the shooting.
Last night, Rice's father Gregory Henderson told our Cory Shaffer, "Why not taze him? You shot him twice, not once, and at the end of the day you all don't shoot for the legs, you shoot for the upper body."
1:37 p.m. - Northeast Ohio Media Group reporter Evan MacDonald is answering your questions about the shooting here. For example:
Q: What regulations govern the sale or possession of imitation firearms in Ohio and in Cleveland?
A: Ohio law prohibits persons under age 18 from owning or possessing firearms, but neither state law nor federal law defines airsoft guns as firearms.
In Cleveland, it is illegal to sell "replica or facsimile firearms," including air guns. The law does not apply to a device that is distinctly colored, has an exaggerated size, or has a design feature that makes it appear different from a real firearm.
It is also illegal in Cleveland to draw, exhibit or brandish such a device in the presence of a law enforcement officer, or to "frighten, vex, harass or annoy" another person.
12:46 p.m. - Tamir Rice's family declined to see video of the shooting, Cory Shaffer reports. Read his 5 takeaways from this morning's press conference here.
12:38 p.m. - Congresswoman Marcia Fudge offered condolences to the Rice family and urged the Department of Justice to get involved, reports Sabrina Eaton.
"With the long awaited report by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) into the use of deadly force, racial discrimination and police pursuits by the Cleveland Division of Police expected soon, I urge DOJ to review this incident and continue monitoring the Police Department," she said in a release.
12:30 p.m. - Cleveland City Councilman Zack Reed says if Cleveland police had been equipped with the body cameras council approved in October, there would be fewer unanswered questions about this shooting, Ryllie Danylko reports.
12:25 p.m. - Tamir Rice did not have a juvenile criminal record, Brandon Blackwell reports.
12:15 p.m. - The tragedy should provide a teaching moment for parents and children, child psychologist at Case Western Reserve University Dan Flannery told our Patrick Cooley.
"This is why we talk about not carrying around real-looking (replica) guns to begin with," Flannery said."That's the conversation I'm going to be having with my 12-year-old daughter."
12:10 p.m. - The hashtag #TamirRice is picking up steam on Twitter. See some of the tweets and photos being posted on social media here.
12:01 p.m. - Williams said the video and scientific evidence will show exactly what happened. "There's no time a Cleveland police officer wants to shoot a kid and that's how the officer feels."
11:58 a.m. - Jackson and Williams are asked if they're prepared for potential violence in light of what's happening in Ferguson, Mo.
"We're always prepared for whatever comes," Jackson said.
"The division always has a contingency plan for Ferguson and we have a plan for this," Williams added.
Mayor Frank Jackson says Ferguson grand jury doesn't matter to him. "What matters to me is it happened to a child, and..in CLE." #TamirRice — Cory Shaffer (@cory_shaffer) November 24, 2014
11:50 a.m. - Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Timothy McGinty agrees with Tomba that the video will not be released at this time. He then reads the prosecutor's office policy regarding investigations into the use of deadly force by a police officer. Short version: their findings will be presented to the Grand Jury.
11:45 a.m. - Cleveland Police Deputy Chief Edward Tomba reveals there is video evidence of the incident and that the department will complete its investigation in 90 days.
When pressed about the video and if it will be released, Tomba said, "It's part of an ongoing investigation. Our main concern is our community, the family and the officer."
"We have to be sensitive to them before we decide what to do with it."
Tomba does reveal the officer and the boy were less than 10 feet apart at the time of the shooting. He won't release the name of the officer. Tomba says they've only talked with him briefly so far.
He also says he's not sure if dispatchers told the officers the gun may have been fake.
11:40 a.m. Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams takes the podium and also expresses condolences to the boy's family.
His main message: "Guns are not toys and we need to teach our kids that," Williams said. "The facsimile weapon in this incident is indistinguishable from a real firearm."
11:35 a.m. - The press conference begins 35 minutes late. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson makes the opening statement.
"My condolences to the Rice family for the loss of their child," Jackson said.
"There's nothing I could say that would be adequate for the suffering and pain they're going through."
11 a.m. - There are two rallies for Tamir Rice planned for today. At 3 p.m., the group Puncture The Silence is organizing a rally at Public Square. Family and friends will reportedly gather at Cudell Rec Center, Detroit and West Boulevard, at 5 p.m.
8 a.m. - The hacktivist group Anonymous is claiming responsibility for taking down the city of Cleveland's website overnight. In a video message posted on YouTube, Anonymous charges that an "untrained rookie officer" shot Tamir "in cold blood," and asks why the officer did not Taser the child.
7 a.m. - In case you missed it, listen to the 9-1-1 call received from outside the rec center around 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The caller reported seeing "a guy with a pistol" on the swing set pulling the weapon from his pants and "scaring the s--t out of everyone."
9-1-1 call
"There's a guy with a pistol, and it's probably fake," he said quickly, "but he's pointing it at everybody." ||||| Story highlights An orange tip indicating the gun was not a real firearm had been removed, police said
Deputy chief says police have surveillance video of the shooting
Officer who fired fatal shots "had no clue" Tamir Rice was 12, union official says
"You didn't give him a chance," an angry resident says of the shooting
A law enforcement officer's quick decision is once again being put under a microscope.
On Monday, Cleveland police said officers fatally shot 12-year-old Tamir Rice as the youth reached for an air pistol in his waist. Chief Calvin Williams said the air pistol was "indistinguishable from a real firearm." An orange tip indicating the gun was not a real firearm had been removed, police said.
"Our officers at times are required to make critical decisions in a split second," Williams said at a news conference "Unfortunately, this was one of those times."
The incident comes as the nation nervously awaits a grand jury decision on whether to charge the police officer who killed African-American teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, in August.
But Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson said events in Ferguson don't concern him.
JUST WATCHED 12-year-old killed by cops over air gun Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH 12-year-old killed by cops over air gun 01:55
"Ferguson being out there or not being out there doesn't matter," the mayor said at the news conference. "This is about the fact that a young boy was shot and killed in Cleveland."
The attorney for the family of the Cleveland youngster, who also was black, downplayed any possible racial connotations to the shooting. Police have not disclosed the race of the officer who shot Tamir.
"This is not a black and white issue. This is a right and wrong issue," attorney Tim Kucharski said.
Deputy Chief Ed Tomba said video showing the Saturday shooting exists, but he didn't say where the video comes from. He said representatives for Rice's family have viewed the video and the family will decide later whether to look at it.
Tomba said the video is not available for journalists now because it's part of an active investigation, which the department plans to complete in 90 days and send to the district attorney.
'There's a guy in there with a pistol'
The incident began Saturday when police were summoned to a city recreation center by a 911 caller who said someone -- possibly a juvenile -- was pointing "a pistol" at people.
"There's a guy in there with a pistol, you know, it's probably fake, but he's like pointing it at everybody," the caller said.
"He's sitting on a swing right now, but he's pulling it in and out of his pants and pointing it at people," the caller said. "He's probably a juvenile, you know?"
Police said it's not clear if the responding officers received the information about the age of the suspect or the gun being "probably fake."
When the two officers arrived, the boy did not point the air gun at them or otherwise threaten them, Tomba told reporters Sunday.
But he did reach for the air gun, Tomba said.
"The officers ordered him to stop and to show his hands, and he went into his waistband and pulled out the weapon," he said.
Tamir died early Sunday at MetroHealth Medical Center after surgery, according to the hospital and the family's attorney.
Tomba showed reporters the air gun the boy was said to be reaching for -- a large, black BB- or pellet-type replica gun resembling a semiautomatic pistol. An orange tip indicating the gun was not a real firearm had been removed, police said.
On Monday, Williams said that the "facsimile weapon in this incident was indistinguishable from a real firearm."
Both officers have been placed on leave, police said.
The head of the police union said the officers followed protocols.
"As they approached the male, they are screaming at him, 'Put your hands up, put your hands up' -- they don't want his hands to go anywhere down by the waistband," Cleveland Police Patrolman's Association President Jeff Follmer told CNN affiliate WJW.
"I can tell you the officer that fired had no clue that he was 12, he just thought it was an older male. There was more concentration on his hands because we are taught in the academy that hands will kill you," Follmer told the station.
'It was a child'
Residents reacted angrily.
"It wasn't a dog. It was a child. You didn't give him a chance. You just killed him," one man told CNN affiliate WEWS.
Someone claiming to represent the online activist group Anonymous claimed in a YouTube video to have taken down the city's website, blaming the shooting on what the speaker said was "an overzealous rookie officer" who resorted too quickly to lethal force.
"Officers are equipped with many nonlethal options such as Taser guns," the speaker said. "Why did he not use a Taser on this child? Shooting him in cold blood was not necessary with these nonlethal options available."
However, Follmer said officers had no way to know the air gun wasn't a real firearm.
"You feel bad, after the fact, that it was a 12-year-old," he said. "Nobody wants to shoot a 12-year-old, especially when they are holding a fake gun. But that's not the perception the officers had at that time."
Chief Williams said parents need to teach children that "guns are not toys," whether they're real or fake.
Police shootings of African-Americans, particularly young men, have been under rising scrutiny in recent months after Brown's shooting following a brief confrontation in Ferguson.
A grand jury there is expected to soon make a decision whether Officer Darren Wilson should face criminal charges in that incident, which resulted in widespread protests over police violence against African-Americans. ||||| 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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– Cleveland authorities say they've got surveillance video of the confrontation Saturday night that ended with a rookie cop shooting a 12-year-old boy to death, reports CNN. It will be a big part of the police investigation into the Tamir Rice case, but as of now, there are no plans to make the video public. Cleveland Police Chief Calvin Williams said today that the youth had an air gun "indistinguishable from a real gun" when police arrived at a city recreation center. A caller had reported a man with a gun, but he also told the dispatcher that it might be a juvenile and that the gun might be fake. It's not clear whether that information got relayed to the responding officer, said another police official, reports the Plain Dealer. "There's no time a Cleveland police officer wants to shoot a kid and that's how the officer feels," said Williams. The officer was about 10 feet away when he shot Tamir. Police have said the boy was reaching for the gun and disregarding orders to put his hands up. Still, the boy's father thinks police could have Tased his son rather than shooting him dead, and the hacker group Anonymous agrees. It shut down the city website this morning and criticized both the cop who shot Tamir and the city police department for a "lack of appropriate training," reports the Daily News.
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What exactly is a “sky city”? A city in the sky? A city made of vapour? A city coloured like the sky? (In that case, night sky or morning sky, clear sky or cloudy sky?) Or is it just a metaphor for an unreal city — a city that cannot or must not exist, or exist only in talk? Perhaps Calcutta is seeing the birth of a new phrase of such universal application that it will soon be in the Oxford English Dictionary. Sky City — a city that exists only in ministerial whim. The notion of a cosmetic change is taken to unprecedented heights of innovation by the idea, apparently floated by the West Bengal transport minister, that Calcutta’s taxis will be painted blue and white, in keeping with the general blueing of the city, which, in turn, is in keeping with the chief minister’s vision of the city in blue and white — the colour of the sky on a clear day. Everything, from park railings to illumination on important government buildings, is going to be painted or lighted in these key colours. The reason, as with all mystical visions, is beyond reasoning. Presumably, the mystic municipality will be at it in the next few months, and since the task is more mystical than municipal they will be better at it than they have proved to be in matters more directly municipal. Finding the right colour combination is undoubtedly the crucial first step in making a city safer, healthier, cleaner and generally more user-friendly for its inhabitants. It could, with as little doubt, sort out its core problems — chaotic healthcare, inability to implement pollution control norms, arsenic in the water, archaic sewers and garbage disposal, bad roads, killer buses for public transport, an airport falling apart and beyond dismal, priceless paintings rotting away in public art galleries, to name a few. But who said that a city is made of such unimaginatively inventoried tangibles? How much more visionary and ethereal is a city with history and songs and colour and poetry flowing in its veins. Taxis? People? Roads? Blueness conquers all. ||||| Image caption Calcutta landmarks, and the city's distinctive yellow taxis are to be painted blue
The eastern Indian city of Calcutta is to be painted blue, a local minister has said.
Government buildings, flyovers, roadside railings, and taxis should be painted a shade of light blue, a minister in the ruling Trinamul Congress government said.
Owners of private buildings will be also be requested to paint them in the same colour, the minister said.
The capital of West Bengal, Calcutta is home to more than 14 million people.
"Our leader [chief minister of West Bengal] Mamata Banerjee has decided that the theme colour of the city will be sky blue because the motto of the new government is 'the sky is the limit'," Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim told The Indian Express newspaper.
"From now on, all government buildings, whenever they are re-painted, will be done in sky blue. The owners of private buildings will also be requested to follow the same colour pattern. The necessary government orders will be issued soon."
The colour of the city's famous yellow taxis are going to be changed to light blue and white, while a number of famous landmarks are likely to be repainted too, reports say.
'Cosmetic change'
The owners of private buildings will have to pay from their own funds to repaint their premises, the minister said.
Blue is a beautiful colour and is also soothing for the eyes Sobhan Chatterjee, Calcutta mayor
"Blue is a beautiful colour and is also soothing for the eyes," Calcutta mayor Sobhan Chatterjee said.
The announcement has been criticised by opposition parties and sections of the media.
A local Congress party spokesman said the government was "preoccupying itself with non-essential issues".
The city's Telegraph newspaper said the "notion of a cosmetic change is taken to unprecedented heights of innovation by the idea" of painting Calcutta blue.
"Finding the right colour combination is undoubtedly the crucial first step in making a city safer, healthier, cleaner and generally more user-friendly for its inhabitants," the newspaper wrote in an editorial.
"It could, with as little doubt, sort out its core problems - chaotic health care, inability to implement pollution control norms, arsenic in the water, archaic sewers and garbage disposal, bad roads, killer buses for public transport, an airport falling apart and beyond dismal, priceless paintings rotting away in public art galleries, to name a few."
Other Indian cities have colour-based themes.
The northern Indian city of Jaipur is famously dubbed the Pink City after its terracotta-colour dwellings.
In 2006, Aurangabad, a crime-infested city in the state of Bihar, was painted pink in order to uplift, according to authorities, its sagging morale and spirit. |||||
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– Calcutta's new government has decided it's time to go out and paint the town ... blue. Government buildings, taxis, and footpaths are to be repainted blue and white, and owners of private buildings will be strongly encouraged to follow suit, the BBC reports. "Blue is a beautiful color, and is also soothing for the eyes," the city's mayor says. With the right color scheme in place, steps to sort out problems like "chaotic health care, inability to implement pollution control norms, arsenic in the water, archaic sewers and garbage disposal, bad roads, and killer buses for public transport," will surely follow, scoffed the Calcutta Telegraph. Opposition parties say the paint job is a waste of public funds and an attempt to scrub the city of the red of the Communists who ruled it from 1977 to 2011.
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– This year's Iditarod winner is its oldest ever—and he just happens to be the father of last year's winner, the youngest ever. Mitch Seavey, 53, and his 10 dogs finished the grueling 1,000-mile race in nine days, 7 hours, and 39 minutes, the AP reports. He also won in 2004. The runner-up this year took the No. 2 spot last year, too: Aliy Zirkle crossed the finish just 24 minutes behind Seavey, making it the fourth-closest Iditarod. "You're going to win this thing, probably more than once," Seavey told her. The two had been in tight competition. "I just now stopped looking over my shoulder," Seavey said after winning. "This is for all the gentlemen of a certain age who think it ends at 50, 'cause it doesn't," he noted, per the Anchorage Daily News. "I gotta go congratulate my lead dog, Tanner ... He’s probably the best I’ve ever had." He wins $50,400 and a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup. Zirkle will receive $47,100. "I was going for it," she said, "but that slippery little sucker, I couldn’t catch him."
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A 53-year-old former champion has won the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to become the oldest winner of Alaska's grueling test of endurance.
Mitch Seavey became the oldest winner and a two-time Iditarod champion when he drove his dog team under the burled arch in Nome on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013. He congratulates second place finisher... (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey became the oldest winner, a two-time Iditarod champion, when he drove his dog team under the burled arch in Nome on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013. Race marshal Mark Nordman is at right.... (Associated Press)
Lead dog Tanner brings Mitch Seavey's dog team into the finish chute and under the burled arch in Nome on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) LOCAL TV OUT... (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey leaves White Mountain in Alaska, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) LOCAL TV OUT (KTUU-TV, KTVA-TV) LOCAL PRINT... (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey puts boots on his dog team before leaving White Mountain in Alaska, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) LOCAL... (Associated Press)
Aliy Zirkle puts booties on her dogs prior to leaving Koyuk on Monday, March 11, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) (Associated Press)
A musher travels across Norton Sound on their way to Koyuk in Alaska during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Monday, March 11, 2013. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey leaves White Mountain in Alaska, Tuesday, March 12, 2013, during the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) LOCAL TV OUT (KTUU-TV, KTVA-TV) LOCAL PRINT... (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey became the oldest winner, a two-time Iditarod champion when he drove his dog team under the burled arch in Nome on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013. He sits with his two lead dogs, Tanner,... (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey's granddaughter Annie Seavey, 2, being held by her mother Jen, cheers under the burled arch in Nome on Tuesday evening, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Bill Roth) LOCAL... (Associated Press)
Mitch Seavey and 10 dogs crossed the Nome finish line to cheering crowds at 10:39 p.m. Alaska time Tuesday.
"This is for all of the gentlemen of a certain age," he said on a live stream posted to the Iditarod website after completing the race in temperatures just above zero. His race time in the 1,000-mile race was nine days, 7 hours and 39 minutes.
Seavey's victory came after a dueling sprint against Aliy Zirkle, last year's runner-up, along the frozen, wind-whipped Bering Sea coast. Zirkle crossed the finish line 24 minutes after her rival, who greeted her after a while.
"You did a good job," Seavey told Zirkle as a camera crew filmed them. "You're going to win this thing, probably more than once."
At a news conference after the race Zirkle gave credit to her rival's strategy.
"Mitch has this ability to sit on the sidelines and refuel because he knows he needs to refuel, while everyone else is zooming by," she said. "It's smart, and that's probably why you won."
Immediately after finishing, both mushers rushed to pet their dogs, with Seavey singling out his main leader, 6-year-old Tanner, posing for photos with the dog and another leader, Taurus, wearing yellow garlands.
Zirkle's dogs wagged their tails as she praised them. "My dog team is my heart," she said.
The pair jostled for the lead, with Zirkle never more than a few miles behind, in the final stretch.
"I just now stopped looking over my shoulder," Seavey said after winning.
Also trailing by a dozen or so miles was four-time champion Jeff King, who was followed by a cluster of contenders, including Seavey's son, Dallas Seavey. The younger Seavey at age 25 last year became the youngest Iditarod winner ever, beating Zirkle to the finish line by one hour.
Mitch Seavey first won the Iditarod in 2004. Before his Tuesday night win, King had been the oldest Iditarod champion, winning his fourth race at age 50 in 2006.
The oldies were still stellar performers in a race that ended last year with a top field featuring many finishers in their 20s and 30, noted Iditarod race spokeswoman Erin McLarnon.
"Last year, we saw a lot of those youngsters in the top 10," McLarnon said. "Some of those 45-plussers are taking back the lead this year. They are showing the young 'uns what they can really do out there on that trail."
Zirkle, 43, had hoped to be only the third woman to win the race and the first since Susan Butcher won her fourth Iditarod in 1990. Before this year's race, Zirkle noted the long time that had passed since a woman won.
"This is my 13th year, and I've wanted to win every year," she said before the race, which began March 2 with 66 teams at a ceremonial start in Anchorage.
The competitive part of the race began the following day in Willow 50 miles to the north. Since then, the race changed leaders several times. Those at the front of the field included four-time champions Lance Mackey and Martin Buser, who later fell behind.
En route to Nome, the race turned into an aggressively contested run among veterans along an often punishing trail.
Conditions on the Yukon River required dogs to go through deep snow and navigate glare ice. Above-freezing temperatures also led to overflow along the trail, a potentially dangerous situation where water has pushed up through the ice and refrozen, creating a weak top layer of ice that teams and mushers can break through.
For reaching Nome first, Seavey wins $50,400 and a new 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck. The rest of the $600,000 purse will be split among the next 29 mushers to cross the finish line under the famed burled arch on Front Street, a block from the sea.
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Associated Press writer Rachel D'Oro reported from Anchorage. Follow her on Twitter at https://twitter.com/rdoro.
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http://iditarod.com ||||| NOME — Mitch Seavey scored one for the AARP-eligible crowd Tuesday night by becoming the oldest champion in Iditarod history.
Seavey, 53, outdueled Aliy Zirkle on the final stretch of the 1,000-mile race.
“This is for all the gentlemen of a certain age who think it ends at 50, ’cause it doesn’t,” Seavey said after crossing under the burled arch with a team of 10 dogs.
The Sterling musher steadily pulled away from Zirkle on the 67-mile run from White Mountain, where just 13 minutes separated the two mushers in the afternoon.
Led by Tanner, a 6-year-old, orange-brown husky who is a kennel favorite, Seavey coasted down Nome’s Front Street at 10:39 p.m.
“I gotta go congratulate my lead dog Tanner,” Seavey said after his team came to a stop. “He’s probably the best I’ve ever had.
“Tanner is happy to be a sled dog and he makes it look easy.”
Seavey’s winning margin of 23 minutes, 39 seconds made it the fourth-closest race in Iditarod history. Seavey finished in 9 days, 7 hours, 39 minutes, 56 seconds. Zirkle finished in 9 days, 8 hours, 3 minutes, 35 seconds.
“I was going for it,” Zirkle said, “but that slippery little sucker, I couldn’t catch him.”
As she traveled from White Mountain to Nome, Zirkle watched Seavey’s winding tracks in the snow. She tried to guess if the musher was speeding up or slowing down based on whether the tracks stayed smack in the middle of the trail or drifted to the side.
“And you don’t know,” she said. “But it’s kind of fun to guess.”
“And then for about 30 miles of the trail we’re high above treeline in these rolling mountains, and every time I would come up over the hill I would see him coming back down the other side,” Zirkle said.
Zirkle, 43, said she thought she saw Seavey’s yellow sled after Safety, but it was just a hallucination.
Meantime, Seavey was imagining he was seeing Zirkle all across the tundra.
“I saw the raven Aliy, I saw the fuel tank Aliy. And the upside-down boat Aliy,” Seavey said. “Everything I was seeing back there I thought must be her … I would continue to scare myself that she was catching up to me.”
Zirkle’s time is the second fastest by a woman. Her time last year — 9 days, 5 hours, 29 minutes, 10 seconds — is the fastest.
“You’re gonna win this thing,” Seavey told the Two Rivers musher as he shook her hand.
OLDEST WINNER
Seavey replaced Jeff King as the Iditarod’s oldest champion. King, who was poised early Wednesday morning to claim third place, was 50 when he won his fourth victory in 2006.
Mitch’s son Dallas was 25 when he won last year’s race, giving the Seaveys the oldest and youngest champs in race history.
Both of those distinctions came at Zirkle’s expense. Dallas beat her by 59 minutes, 44 seconds last year.
Tuesday’s victory was the second for Mitch — he won his first in 2004 — and marked his 19th finish in 20 attempts.
“I hate to go off into the sunset knowing I only did it once in 20 tries,” he said, “so it’s sorta a validation.”
The finish was the 12th for Zirkle, who was hoping to drive her team to its second thousand-mile championship of the year. Nine of the 10 dogs she finished with — Quito, Olivia, Scruggs, Scout, Beemer, Nacho, Chica, Biscuit and Willie — helped Zirkle’s husband, Allen Moore, win the Yukon Quest last month in Fairbanks.
“My dog team is my heart,” Zirkle said. “They’re my family and they’re fantastic.”
Seavey will collect $50,400 and a new pickup truck for his victory. Zirkle gets $47,100 for second place.
PATIENCE PAYS OFF
Seavey had to ward off both King and Zirkle in the last one-third of the race.
Patience paid off for him on Monday, when he resisted the urge to follow when King blew through Koyuk to temporarily claim the lead. Seavey stayed at the checkpoint for another three hours and was able to overtake King on the run to Elim.
He owned a 48-minute lead leaving Elim on Monday night, but Zirkle came on strong during the overnight run to White Mountain and sliced 35 minutes off his lead.
Seavey did himself no favors on that run — he twice fell asleep and fell off his sled, according a Facebook post by his son Danny Seavey.
'RUN MY TUSH OFF'
Normally the 67 miles from White Mountain to Nome is a formality. If you get to White Mountain with a comfortable lead, your only job is to avoid screw-ups during the roughly 10-hour trek to the finish.
Zirkle’s plan?
“Run my tush off,” she said early Tuesday as the leaders rested in White Mountain.
Zirkle was trying to become the third woman to win the race and the first since Susan Butcher’s final championship in 1990.
Her sled dogs are a small, pixie-like team that descended from a favorite leader named Cha-Cha, are led by pink-nosed veteran Quito. (That’s short for Poquita, smallest of her litter of Spanish-named puppies.)
Though Zirkle trailed by a scant 13 minutes at White Mountain, King noted that even a lead of a few minutes there can hand the frontrunner the advantage over the final run west across rolling hills to the coast.
“You can get out of sight and the second team doesn’t have the advantage of drafting off you visually,” said King, who said he led DeeDee Jonrowe by about seven minutes out of White Mountain en route to his 1993 title, which he won by more than 30 minutes.
Nome musher Aaron Burmeister like how Zirkle’s team looked in White Mountain.
“Aliy’s team’s coming together really nicely for her. And they’re really coming on strong here late in the race,” he said. “Mitch has been racing up with me at the front of the pack for a good portion of the race, back and forth. I know his team is pretty tuckered, about like mine right now. His are tuckered because they’ve been raced hard.”
But Jonrowe and King said they watched Seavey’s team along the trail and saw formidable dogs.
“I saw (the team) going into Grayling, on the Yukon a lot. Just powered through that wet, nasty, sludgy stuff,” Jonrowe said.
EARLY CONTENDERS FADE
While former champion Martin Buser of Big Lake led at many of the early checkpoints thanks to an unheard of 20-hour run to start the race, it was after his team came off the Yukon River that Seavey staked his move.
By Elim, what had looked like a Seavey-King duel became a Seavey-Zirkle duel. Zirkle rested her dogs for about an hour less than Seavey, cutting Seavey’s lead to 48 minutes.
Zirkle got even closer on the run to White Mountain. Her headlamp alerted Seavey that she was closing in.
“I knew she was coming. I saw her light after I left Elim, when we got to the mountains,” Seavey said. “Typically my team does well in the mountains and I didn’t see her anymore until we got here on Golovin Bay.”
The clang of church bells announced Seavey’s arrival to White Mountain at 5:11 a.m. Tuesday. The musher was still unpacking at
5:24 a.m. when Zirkle slid to a stop, bouncing on her sled.
“Mitch is up for a race, aren’t ya?” Zirkle said to reporters — and a nearby Seavey — as she finished feeding her dogs.
“You calling me out?” Seavey said, heating water a few yards away. He was going to get his sneakers out for the finish, he joked.
“Can I borrow your sneakers? My boots are still wet and nasty from the rain,” Zirkle replied.
OUT OF WHITE MOUNTAIN
Hours later, snowmachines zoomed to the frozen Fish River as volunteers counted down to Seavey’s departure for Nome. Already, 11 teams were parked a few hundred yards from ski planes roaring for takeoff. Dallas and Mitch Seavey hunkered at the elder Seavey’s team.
“I don’t think I’m going to be catching up with you guys by any stretch of imagination. But I don’t think you’ll have to wait too long,” Dallas said of his ETA in Nome.
Under clear skies, Mitch resumed his race.
“Tanner! Gee! Line up!” he commanded his team of 10 dogs before driving off at 1:11 p.m.
Zirkle made last-minute inspections before following 13 minutes later. She walked down her line of dogs, rubbing their faces and checking collars. Once Zirkle was on the sled runners, she called to Quito, who began a whistling howl.
The musher and the rest of the team joined the chorus, then gave chase.
SAFE LEAD BY SAFETY
Late Tuesday, the pair was crossing the Bering Sea shore where coastal wind rakes the snow and Seavey and Tanner could be seen marching west toward Nome.
Quiot and Zirkle, kicking from the sled, followed about two miles down the trail.
By the time Seavey reached Safety, 49 miles from White Mountain and 18 miles from Nome according to the race’s GPS tracker, his lead had stretched to 25 minutes.
A race that looked too close to call just a few hours earlier belonged to him.
Kyle Hopkins reported from Nome and Beth Bragg from Anchorage.
Mitch Seavey and Aily Zirkle at Iditarod Finish Line |||||
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Vice President Joe Biden said American aid worker Jessica Buchanan's health was the reason President Obama authorized last night's special operations rescue operation in Somalia.
"They said it was the time, the opportunity. Jessica's health was, was in a word, 'failing,' and they concluded they should go at this time and the president gave a go," Biden told me on "GMA."
He wouldn't go into details, but Biden said "it's safe to say" the mission went without a hitch.
"One of the things we know from before with the bin Laden raid is the operational details are better not to be laid out and I'll let the Pentagon decide to do that," he said.
"I've been in country, in Afghanistan, in Iraq with these guys, these Special Operations Forces, they are absolutely the most incredible…it just takes your breath away, their capacity, and their bravery, and their incredible timing. These guys are amazing, and women, are amazing," Biden added.
As our Martha Raddatz reported the Navy SEALs parachuted into the compound to rescue both Buchanan, 32, and her Danish co-worker Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, who were captured in October.
The president and vice president were sitting on quite a happy secret at the State of the Union last night. As the president came down the aisle he turned to his Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, and said "Good job tonight." Perhaps in reference to the rescue mission.
Biden said he monitored the rescue operation from the situation room last night, calling it a "good moment." Following his State of the Union address Biden said President Obama called Buchanan's father to tell him the mission was a success.
"The president had the great privilege of being able to call her dad to say she was safe when she was out of the country and in good hands," he told me.
- George Stephanopoulos ||||| A little more than two hours before delivering his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, President Barack Obama learned that Navy SEALs had conducted a successful helicopter rescue mission in Somalia to free a U.S. citizen and her Danish colleague, who had been taken hostage by profiteering thugs three months earlier.
Microphones in the House chamber picked up Obama saying “Good job!”, congratulating Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey as he greeted them in the audience. But the administration did not explain the remark because the special-forces operators were not yet safely on the ground, so the mission was still considered live.
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Jessica Buchanan, a U.S. citizen employed by the Danish Demining Group, and her Danish colleague, Poul Hagen Thisted, had been kidnapped at gunpoint by criminal suspects near Galcayo, Somalia, on Oct. 25, 2011, the Pentagon said.
The president finished his speech at 10:16 p.m. At 10:32 p.m., while still at the Capitol, he phoned John Buchanan, Jessica’s father, and informed him of the successful rescue operation, according to an account provided by a senior administration official. Obama then left the Capitol at 10:51 p.m., according to a White House pool report.
Obama had authorized the mission Monday night, after receiving months of updates on Buchanan’s condition. Last week, new intelligence emerged showing that her health was deteriorating rapidly. John Brennan, the White House counterterrorism adviser, began daily briefings for the president, who eventually directed that planning proceed for a rescue.
Obama had been told of the kidnapping the day after it happened, and he asked to be kept apprised of Buchanan’s status. Over the next three months, the president was provided updates and made regular inquiries about efforts to locate her, the official said. On Nov. 23, Obama discussed the hostage situation with top White House National Security staff, and directed that efforts to find her continue.
On Monday at 9 p.m., Obama officially authorized the operation after discussing it with National Security Advisor Tom Donilon and Deputy National Security Adviser Denis McDonough.
On Tuesday, Brennan provided a half a dozen updates on movement of forces, progression of rescue operation, and extraction of hostages and forces. At 6:43 p.m., ahead of the 9 p.m. address, Brennan told the president that Buchanan and Thisted were safe. |||||
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– If President Obama was smiling last night, it's partly because just hours before the State of the Union he'd taken a phone call telling him that the Navy SEALs rescue of Jessica Buchanan and a companion had been a success, Politico reports. Some 15 minutes after the speech—without having left the Capitol—Obama called Buchanan's dad to tell him she'd been rescued and "was on her way home." Having monitored Buchanan's situation for months, Obama had ordered the raid Monday night, amid reports that Buchanan's health was deteriorating. "They said it was the time, the opportunity," Joe Biden told ABC News this morning. "Jessica’s health was, was in a word, ‘failing,’ and they concluded they should go at this time and the president gave a go." SEAL Team 6 reportedly parachuted onto the scene, the AP notes. "As commander-in-chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said today.
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Alabama’s tumultuous special Senate election will take a final unconventional turn on Tuesday, either electing a Republican facing allegations of child predation or giving Democrats their first statewide win in nearly a decade in one of the reddest states in America.
Republican Roy Moore was presumed to be the favorite, despite a history of controversial comments and actions, after defeating appointed Sen. Luther Strange in the GOP primary. But Moore’s standing fell after multiple women accused him of sexual misconduct when they were teenagers. Remarkably, Moore remained competitive despite Senate Republicans pulling their support and some calling for him to be expelled from the Senate if elected, but Democrat Doug Jones has surged into contention for Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ old seat.
Story Continued Below
Polling of the race has been all over the place, and the results will hinge on just who decides to vote in the highly unusual December special election. Jones’ campaign has made a massive push to turn out black voters and convince Republicans he’s a Democrat worth backing, while the controversy surrounding Moore has inflamed committed backers who are sticking with him.
Polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern. Here are POLITICO’s five things to watch as Moore and Jones face off:
Do black voters turn out in force for Jones?
The single biggest piece of the Democratic coalition in Alabama is the African-American vote, and Jones likely needs at least one-quarter of the electorate to be black in order to win. As a result, even as Jones kept most of the national Democratic Party at arm’s length this fall, he has campaigned with Georgia Rep. John Lewis, the civil rights legend, and other African-American politicians including New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick. Former President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden recorded late robocalls urging Jones supporters to vote. And Jones has spoken incessantly on the trail about prosecuting Ku Klux Klansmen responsible for the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing when he was a U.S. attorney.
The black vote is concentrated in Alabama’s biggest cities as well as the stretch of smaller “Black Belt” counties, like Selma’s Dallas County and Tuskegee’s Macon County, running through the middle of the state. High turnout there is a must-have building block for a Jones victory.
Morning Score newsletter Your guide to the permanent campaign — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.
How will college-educated white voters break?
College-educated whites have become a bigger and bigger part of the Democratic vote in other states around the country. But they have remained reliably Republican in Alabama — except when it comes to Roy Moore.
When the controversial Moore ran for state Supreme Court in 2012, he ran well behind GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney in Alabama’s most-educated counties, and he performed poorly there in this year’s Republican primaries, too. Since then, lawn signs backing Jones have sprouted in some more moderate Republican suburbs.
“Hoover, Vestavia [Hills], Homewood, Mountain Brook — that’s your college-educated white box,” Alabama Republican strategist Blake Harris said of several Birmingham suburbs.
Public polling has shown Jones peeling off more support from this group than from blue-collar whites, but it’s unclear just how much crossover support Jones can count on — or whether a big chunk of these voters will simply throw up their hands at both candidates and not cast ballots at all. Watch Shelby County, a big suburban county south of Birmingham. It leans heavily Republican, but it has more college degrees per capita than anywhere else in Alabama, and Jones will likely need to run well ahead of Hillary Clinton and other past Democratic presidential nominees there to win.
Will rural conservatives stick with Moore?
While Jones wants to crank up turnout in Alabama’s big cities, Moore can outdo him by piling up decisive wins in Alabama’s more numerous rural counties. That’s where Moore drew his strength from in both this year’s Republican primaries and in his past runs for statewide office, thanks in part to strong support from religious conservatives.
“He's got a real solid core of supporters who are going to stick with him come hell or high water. You're just not going to be able to pry any of those folks away,” said Democrat Bob Vance, who lost to Moore in the 2012 state Supreme Court race.
Moore’s path looks much like President Donald Trump’s in that sense — and Trump gave him a late boost in the campaign, affirming his support with days left and prompting the Republican National Committee to reengage in the race. (The RNC had previously pulled out of Alabama after the sexual misconduct allegations against Moore.) Trump’s help, including a last-minute get-out-the-vote robocall, could be critical.
“If Judge Moore does not carry the rural counties, which are his stronghold, within about a 57-60 [point] margin, then he’s probably going to have a more difficult time than he would expect to have,” said Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a Republican.
Does the write-in vote hurt Moore?
While Trump went all-in for Moore, other Republican leaders — including Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby — have declared that they can’t support him, and a large write-in vote from voters who typically support the GOP could have a big effect if the race is close.
“I couldn't vote for Roy Moore. I didn't vote for Roy Moore,” Shelby said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “But I wrote in a distinguished Republican name. And I think a lot of people could do that. Will they do it? I'm not sure.”
Shelby’s call has been joined by Romney and others, and Democrats are also stoking the write-in flames. The Democratic opposition research organization American Bridge has also released a video urging voters who can’t bring themselves to vote for Jones or Moore to write-in University of Alabama football head coach Nick Saban. Over past elections, Saban has received hundreds of write-in votes, according to the Tuscaloosa News.
How will the Republican Party react to the results?
Trump is sure to herald a Moore win if it comes to pass, as he has with other special election victors this year. But other than that, it’s hard to say how the rest of the GOP will react Tuesday night, whether Moore or Jones wins the election.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee pulled its support from Moore last month, and its chair, Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, called for him to be expelled if he were elected to the Senate. Many other Republican senators want nothing to do with Moore. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he wished Moore had dropped out of the race and reiterated that Moore should expect to face an ethics inquiry if he is elected. Moore has explicitly run against the GOP Senate leader during his campaign. Needless to say, their relationship may be a difficult one if Moore goes to D.C. For example: If Moore is elected and sworn in as a senator, the Senate Republican Conference doesn’t have to assign him to committees, though he could still vote and offer amendments on the floor.
But a Jones victory would present plenty of other problems for Washington Republicans, reducing their Senate majority to a spare 51 seats and putting control of the chamber up for grabs in the 2018 midterms. And either way, the special election could cause the GOP to accelerate deliberations on its tax bill while Strange, a reliable Republican vote, is still in the Senate. (It may take weeks for Alabama to certify the results and seat the new senator.)
||||| Everything You Need To Know About Alabama’s Senate Election This one was tough to poll.
Follow our live coverage of Alabama’s special election for U.S. Senate.
Alabama’s long and strange special election for U.S. Senate comes to a close on Tuesday. Democrat Doug Jones and Republican Roy Moore face off in their bids to fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the remainder of the term. Moore is the favorite, according to the polls, but Jones is just a normal polling error away from winning.
Let’s talk about where the race stands, what to keep an eye on after the polls close at 8 p.m. Eastern time and how today’s results could affect the national political landscape.
1. The race has been volatile
President Trump won Alabama by 28 percentage points in 2016. Alabama is a very red state, so this race really shouldn’t be close. Moore, however, was a divisive figure in Alabama politics before this campaign. He was already significantly underperforming Trump’s margin in surveys before The Washington Post first reported, on Nov. 9, that Moore had been accused of sexual misconduct. Since that Post report, the polls have swung to Jones and back to Moore again, and now they’re a bit muddled.
Alabama Senate polls since the first Moore allegations Surveys taken after accusations of sexual misconduct against Roy Moore were first reported by The Washington Post on Nov. 9 POLLSTER DAYS SINCE ACCUSATIONS DOUG JONES ROY MOORE MOORE MARGIN Opinion Savvy 0 46% 46% 0 Gravis Marketing 1 46 48 +2 – Change Research 2 40 44 +4 – Emerson College 2 40 49 +9 – JMC Analytics 2 48 44 -4 – Strategy Research 4 43 49 +6 – Fox News 6 50 42 -8 – Gravis Marketing 6 47 42 -5 – Change Research 7 46 43 -3 – Strategy Research 11 45 47 +2 – Emerson College 18 47 53 +6 – Change Research 18 44 49 +5 – JMC Analytics 19 44 49 +5 – Washington Post 21 50 47 -3 – YouGov 22 43 49 +6 – Emerson College 23 46 49 +3 – Gravis Marketing 24 48 44 -4 – Strategy Research 25 43 50 +7 – Change Research 28 44 51 +7 – Trafalgar Group 28 46 51 +5 – Gravis Marketing 29 45 49 +4 – Monmouth U. 30 46 46 0 Emerson College 30 44 53 +9 – Fox News 31 50 40 -10 – SurveyMonkey 32 50 48 -2 – Change Research 32 45 51 +6 – Monmouth University and SurveyMonkey data is taken from an average of their likely voter turnout models.
The polling swings have roughly tracked with voter interest in the Moore scandals. According to Google Trends data, the volume of Alabamians’ searches for Moore dropped off about a week after the Post’s Nov. 9 story. That lines up well with when Jones’s polling surge stopped and Moore began to recover.
Moore was also probably helped by President Trump giving him a quasi and then a full-throated endorsement. Surveys taken before and after Trump got involved show that Moore’s margin over Jones among Trump supporters jumped by 10 to 15 percentage points. Given Trump’s national unpopularity, that jump might not have been a big deal in many states, but it’s a huge deal in Alabama, where Trump is still fairly popular.
All told, an average of polls conducted over the final 21 days of the campaign has Moore up by a few points, 49 percent to 46 percent. But there’s a big spread in results, everything from Moore +9 points to Jones +10 points. These divergent results make sense because …
2. This is a tough race to poll
Senate polling conducted within three weeks of an election has historically been decent, though by no means perfect. Since 1998, Senate polling averages that use at least 10 polls (like the Alabama race) have been off by an average of 3.5 percentage points. In other words, an average polling error in his favor could hand Jones the win.
There’s also reason to believe that there’s a higher-than-usual chance for error in Alabama. Perhaps because of the lower turnout usually associated with elections that are held on days other than the traditional November Election Day in a midterm or presidential year, Senate polls for these races have had an average error that’s nearly a point higher than the average error for those November races.
Indeed, no pollster really knows what turnout is going to look like in Alabama. In addition to the fact that this is a special election occurring two weeks before Christmas in an off-year, there hasn’t been a major competitive statewide general election in Alabama since 2002. SurveyMonkey, The Washington Post and YouGov all have Moore doing better among likely voters than registered voters. Fox News shows the opposite. SurveyMonkey has also demonstrated how weighting for different factors (including past voting patterns) can make a big difference in who a poll shows as being ahead. (My colleague Nate Silver wrote a more in-depth story about what’s going on with pollsters’ assumptions.)
Additionally, the way pollsters are conducting their surveys seems to be having an impact on their findings in Alabama. Only three pollsters who meet FiveThirtyEight’s gold standard have conducted polls in Alabama since Nov. 9: Fox News, Monmouth University and The Washington Post. Fox News gave Jones his largest lead of the campaign. Monmouth and The Washington Post surveys were more favorable to Jones than the average. Traditionally, gold-standard pollsters have been more accurate than other pollsters.
It’s also possible, though, that the non-gold-standard polls will be more predictive in this campaign. To meet the FiveThirtyEight gold standard, one thing a pollster must do is use a live interviewer to conduct its surveys. It’s plausible that some voters may not want to admit to another person that they plan to cast a ballot for someone accused of child molestation. They may feel more comfortable saying they are voting for Moore to a recorded voice or to a computer, which is how the vast majority of polls in Alabama have been conducted.
Either way, there’s a lot of reason to be uncertain about how predictive the Alabama polls will be.
3. Jones must win big in the cities — really big
No Democrat has won a statewide race in Alabama since 2008. During that losing streak, Democrats have tended to do their best in two types of places: counties where a large share of the population is black and cities.
But to win the Alabama Senate race, Jones will have to do even better than a typical Democrat — after all, Democrats usually lose in Alabama. He’ll probably need to run up even larger margins than normal in the black belt and win handily in counties with significant population centers, such as Jefferson (Birmingham), Madison (Huntsville), Mobile and Montgomery. Beyond that, it’s difficult to pinpoint how well Jones will need to do in each county to win — we don’t have a string of competitive statewide elections to get a sense of the baseline.
So instead of one baseline, let’s use three that each share some characteristic with today’s election: a federal race, a race with Moore on the ballot, and a combo of the two. Below, I’ve created a table of the three county benchmarks, estimating how well Jones needs to do according to each to win the statewide Senate race. The first is based on the 2016 presidential election results. The second is based on the vote share margin between the 2012 Democratic candidate for state Supreme Court chief justice and Moore, who won that race. And the third is an average of the first two. To take one example, if Jones is winning Madison County (average benchmark Jones +9.5 points) by more than 9.5 points, that’s a good sign for his chances of winning statewide.
The benchmarks Doug Jones needs to beat in Alabama Jones’s target margins over Moore based on the 2016 presidential election and Moore’s performance in a 2012 Supreme Court race BENCHMARKS COUNTY ▲ ▼
SHARE OF 2016 VOTE ▲ ▼
2016 PRESIDENTIAL ▲ ▼
2012 SUPREME COURT ▲ ▼
AVG. ▲ ▼
Winston 0.5% -53.3 -54.0 -53.7 Blount 1.2 -53.2 -49.8 -51.5 Cleburne 0.3 -49.3 -49.4 -49.4 Geneva 0.6 -44.3 -54.0 -49.2 Cullman 1.8 -49.4 -46.4 -47.9 Marion 0.6 -48.1 -44.4 -46.3 St. Clair 1.8 -40.1 -40.0 -40.1 Covington 0.8 -40.5 -37.0 -38.8 Lamar 0.3 -41.0 -35.4 -38.2 Chilton 0.9 -38.6 -37.8 -38.2 DeKalb 1.2 -41.2 -32.0 -36.6 Marshall 1.7 -41.2 -31.4 -36.3 Cherokee 0.5 -41.3 -29.2 -35.3 Fayette 0.4 -37.2 -30.4 -33.8 Walker 1.4 -39.3 -27.0 -33.2 Coffee 1.0 -28.4 -32.4 -30.4 Bibb 0.4 -27.5 -30.6 -29.1 Franklin 0.6 -32.7 -25.0 -28.9 Clay 0.3 -32.8 -24.4 -28.6 Baldwin 4.5 -29.4 -25.8 -27.6 Jackson 1.0 -34.3 -19.0 -26.7 Dale 0.9 -22.4 -28.6 -25.5 Randolph 0.5 -25.4 -24.8 -25.1 Shelby 4.8 -21.7 -23.0 -22.4 Houston 2.0 -19.4 -24.6 -22.0 Elmore 1.8 -23.8 -20.0 -21.9 Morgan 2.4 -24.1 -18.8 -21.5 Limestone 1.9 -20.9 -19.4 -20.2 Autauga 1.2 -21.3 -15.8 -18.6 Henry 0.4 -13.7 -18.8 -16.3 Washington 0.4 -15.3 -16.8 -16.1 Crenshaw 0.3 -17.7 -12.2 -15.0 Lawrence 0.7 -20.9 -8.6 -14.8 Etowah 2.1 -22.0 -6.0 -14.0 Lauderdale 1.9 -17.7 -9.4 -13.6 Tallapoosa 0.9 -13.8 -10.4 -12.1 Calhoun 2.3 -13.3 -8.0 -10.7 Escambia 0.7 -8.2 -9.8 -9.0 Colbert 1.2 -10.2 -2.6 -6.4 Coosa 0.2 -2.8 +0.4 -1.2 Lee 2.8 +5.1 -2.0 +1.6 Talladega 1.6 +2.3 +1.4 +1.9 Pike 0.6 +7.7 +3.6 +5.7 Monroe 0.5 +13.5 +3.0 +8.3 Tuscaloosa 3.9 +8.4 +8.4 +8.4 Pickens 0.4 +12.1 +5.8 +9.0 Chambers 0.7 +12.9 +5.4 +9.2 Madison 7.7 +11.3 +7.6 +9.5 Clarke 0.6 +17.0 +4.6 +10.8 Choctaw 0.3 +14.0 +8.8 +11.4 Mobile 8.1 +14.4 +10.4 +12.4 Butler 0.4 +14.3 +11.0 +12.7 Barbour 0.5 +22.1 +17.6 +19.9 Conecuh 0.3 +22.6 +18.8 +20.7 Russell 0.9 +29.6 +19.6 +24.6 Marengo 0.5 +31.2 +21.6 +26.4 Jefferson 14.3 +35.0 +29.6 +32.3 Hale 0.4 +47.6 +38.0 +42.8 Montgomery 4.5 +53.6 +45.4 +49.5 Dallas 0.9 +65.2 +47.0 +56.1 Wilcox 0.3 +70.1 +56.8 +63.5 Perry 0.2 +73.5 +58.0 +65.8 Lowndes 0.3 +74.6 +60.8 +67.7 Bullock 0.2 +78.4 +61.0 +69.7 Sumter 0.3 +77.0 +62.8 +69.9 Greene 0.2 +92.7 +75.4 +84.1 Macon 0.4 +94.8 +76.0 +85.4 Source: DAVE LEIP’S ATLAS OF U.S. PRESIDENTIAL Elections
Broadly speaking, the three benchmarks are similar. However, there are some differences. For one, the 2016 benchmarks show that Jones needs to do a lot better in heavily black counties like Bullock, Dallas and Macon than the 2012 benchmarks show. The 2012 benchmarks have Moore underperforming the usual Republican vote share in his home county of Etowah and the surrounding Cherokee and DeKalb counties, so if you go by those, Jones needs to do better in those areas. The 2012 benchmarks also have Jones needing to make up a disproportionate amount of ground in counties that are on the periphery of statistical areas (as defined by the federal government) such as Jackson and Lawrence, which are in the Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Huntsville, Alabama, statistical areas respectively.
It’s not clear which of these provide the best baseline. On the one hand, 2016 was a federal election, as is Tuesday’s election. On the other, Moore is a unique candidate, so it could be best to look at an election in which he was a candidate. For now, the best bet is probably to look at some average of the two.
4. This election has national implications
There will be a lot of talk about what a Moore win or loss says about the Republican Party. But the most immediate potential effect of the election would be from a Moore defeat, which would: (i) make Republican efforts to pass legislation in the current Congress more difficult and (ii) make Democratic efforts to take over the Senate in 2018 easier.
Republicans currently have 52 seats in the U.S. Senate. A Jones win puts that majority at just 51 seats. That means that Republicans could afford to lose only one GOP vote on legislation — two would be enough to sink any bill that is universally opposed by Democrats. Given all the trouble that Republicans have had passing legislation with a two-seat margin for error, it’s likely that they would struggle even more with a one-seat cushion.
Meanwhile, in 2018, Democrats hope to take control of the Senate, but they have limited opportunities. There are only two Republican-held seats up for election in states where Democrats are normally competitive: Arizona and Nevada. If Republicans have 52 seats heading into next year, Democrats will have to win those two seats and at least one additional GOP-held seat to take control of the Senate in 2019. If, however, Jones wins, the path to a Democratic-controlled Senate in 2019 gets a lot easier.
Finally, no matter who wins, Alabama’s Senate race will almost certainly be another special election this year in which Democrats outperform the presidential lean of the district or state. Although there are obviously some particular circumstances in Alabama, that Trump’s approval rating (even if still relatively high in Alabama) is below his percentage of the vote in last year’s election hasn’t helped Moore’s cause. Moore’s likely very poor performance versus Trump’s 2016 showing adds to the evidence that the national environment favors the Democrats heading into 2018. ||||| Twice ousted as state Supreme Court chief justice, criticized nationally for opposing the rights of LGBT Americans, Muslims and women, and accused of pursuing sexual relationships with teenage girls while in his 30s, the Republican could still be in position to win a Senate seat in the special election to replace former Attorney General Jeff Sessions
Moore faces Democrat Doug Jones as the nation watches the end of a contest that has roiled the Republican Party and dominated the national dialogue.
Here's what to watch:
1. Does Moore's history matter?
Even before the allegations of pursuing sexual relationships with teens, Moore was the most controversial major-party Senate nominee in recent memory.
He was booted as an Alabama Supreme Court chief justice for refusing to remove a two-ton statue of the Ten Commandments he'd ordered placed on state property. He was elected back to the job, but ousted again in 2016 for refusing to institute the US Supreme Court's decision legalizing same-sex marriage.
Moore has said being gay should be a criminal offense. He's said the United States would have been better off stopping at 10 amendments to the Constitution -- ignoring the reality that those abolishing slavery and establishing the voting rights of women and minorities came later. And he's said Muslims (such as Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson) should not be allowed to serve in Congress.
On the trail, Moore campaigns aggressively against transgender rights.
In recent weeks, several women accused Moore of pursuing sexual relationships with them while they were teenagers and he was in his 30s. One was 14 at the time. Others have alleged that Moore sexually assaulted them.
Tuesday's election will gauge whether any of that matters -- or whether Alabama's evangelical base and his party label prove more important.
2. The Trump effect
The tradeoff for national Republicans is fairly clear: If Moore wins, he's a reliable vote in a Senate that's split 52-48 -- which could pay off on tax reform and more. He could also be a lasting headache that could taint the party everywhere.
The Republican who thinks it's all worth it: President Donald Trump.
Moore and his allies -- most notably former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon -- have attempted to turn the race into a choice for the Republican base between the popular Trump and the unpopular Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
Trump held a campaign-style rally in Pensacola, 25 miles from the Alabama border, on Friday night, and repeatedly tweeted his support for Moore, saying Jones is weak on immigration, national security and would vote against the GOP tax bill. The President has also questioned the credibility of Moore's accusers and cast Jones -- who made his name prosecuting two Ku Klux Klan members for a Birmingham church bombing that killed four African-American girls -- as soft on crime.
If Moore wins, it'll give Trump a firm claim on control of the Republican Party, its base and its message headed into the 2018 midterms. He will undoubtedly seek credit for helping the controversial candidate over the top.
But he has a lot to lose as well should Moore fail. It will be evidence a scorched-earth campaign doesn't guarantee a GOP win, and a reminder for Republicans that the President with only a 32% approval rating can be a major drag on their re-election chances in 2018.
JUST WATCHED Jones says he was unaware of Obama robocall Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Jones says he was unaware of Obama robocall 00:45
In a sign that Trump hasn't swayed all Republicans to vote for Moore, the state's senior senator, Richard Shelby -- the last Democrat elected to a Senate seat from Alabama, in 1992, before he switched parties -- said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union" that he didn't vote for Moore.
"I'd rather see the Republican win, but I'd rather see a Republican write-in. I couldn't vote for Roy Moore. I didn't vote for Roy Moore," he said.
Why? For the reason Moore's campaign fears: the sexual allegations.
"I think, so many accusations, so many cuts, so many drip, drip, drip -- when it got to the 14-year-old's story, that was enough for me. I said I can't vote for Roy Moore," Shelby said.
3. Did the massive (but quiet) national Democratic operation work?
Former President Barack Obama cut a robocall for Jones that went out Monday. It was a boon to the Jones campaign's efforts to turn out African-American voters -- but to hear the candidate tell it Monday morning, the whole thing was a mystery.
"The only robocall I know about for sure is the one from my wife," he told reporters at a Birmingham diner.
That's how Democrats played the entire special election in Alabama.
A shadowy super PAC called Highway 31 pumped more than $4 million into the race to support Jones without disclosing much about its origins. On Monday, Politico reported that it was a joint project of the Senate Majority PAC and Priorities USA Action, the two massive national Democratic super PACs.
Jones' campaign was even shy about its focus on turning out African-American voters, who make up 27% of the state's registered voter pool and on whom Jones is counting on a massive turnout.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis of Georgia led a weekend of high-profile surrogate events through the state. But Jones' campaign, aware it needs at least around one-third of white voters' support to stand a chance, insisted that it was equally concerned about turning out voters of all ethnicities.
If it works, it could give Democrats some new tactics to use when its candidates find themselves in close races in reliably red states where the national Democratic brand would alienate voters.
4. As Mobile goes, so goes Alabama?
There's a reason Trump's event was in Pensacola, and Moore closed his campaign with big rallies in Fairhope a week from election day and Midland City on Monday night: They're all in the Mobile media market.
The region is home to scores of more affluent, moderate, business-type Republicans -- that is, those most likely to abandon Moore and vote for Jones, write in someone else or stay home altogether.
JUST WATCHED National politicians jump into the Alabama Senate race Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH National politicians jump into the Alabama Senate race 05:32
If Jones is going to win, he can't rely purely on turning out his base and hoping Republicans stay home. He'll need some white, conservative supporters, and the Mobile region is his best chance to win some.
Those are the voters Moore's supporters have targeted with a message that the election is a referendum on Trump's agenda.
"It's an up-or-down vote tomorrow between the Trump miracle and the nullification project," Bannon said Monday night in Midland City.
5. A sign of primary trouble for Republican incumbents?
The Moore campaign did Bannon a massive favor by leaning on him as the leader of the army of "deplorables."
If Moore wins, Bannon will get a lot of the credit -- even though his engagement in the Alabama race lasted just about four months, while Moore has been a public figure and controversy magnet in the state for nearly four decades.
Bannon envisions Moore's defeat of Sen. Luther Strange in the primary -- and, he hopes, subsequent victory -- as the first of many dominoes to fall in the 2018 midterm cycle.
He's aggressively backing a primary challenger to Nevada Sen. Dean Heller. He helped chase Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake into retirement. And he's backing candidates in primaries in 2018 battlegrounds like Montana and West Virginia.
The whole thing could give the GOP establishment a huge headache -- and a Moore victory would lend Bannon's grandiose plans some credibility. A loss could send Republicans back to the drawing board in search of new ways to handle the reality of an unpopular president leading their party. ||||| Alabamians and the rest of the country should know today whether Roy Moore or Doug Jones will be the state's next U.S. Senator.
The exact time the final decision will be announced remains to be seen.
Polls close tonight at 7 p.m.
During September's runoff between Moore and Republican challenger Luther Strange, the race was called around 9 p.m. CT. Turnout for the Republican runoff was about 14 percent statewide, down 4 points from the August Senate primary. The August Senate primary was called around 9:30 p.m.
Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said early projections for today's race puts turnout at around 25 percent, translating to more votes to count and the possibility it will take longer to do so.
Merrill said heavy turnout does not necessarily benefit one candidate over the other, however.
"I'm hearing that the turnout in certain areas that might benefit Doug Jones are complemented by heavy turnout in other areas, in some rural parts of the state that would probably complement Judge Moore. So, I think that's going to balance itself out if that trend continues," Merrill said.
Write-in votes are also expected to increase in this election. That shouldn't slow tonight's results down, however.
The Alabama Legislature passed a law in 2016 so that write-in votes are not counted on election day. The law stipulates that write-in votes for a particular contest are not counted unless the total number of write-in votes is greater than the difference in the number of votes received by the first place and second place candidates.
If that takes place, write-in votes are counted on the seventh day after the election. If the number of write-ins doesn't mean that threshold, they are not counted.
The winner of tonight's contest will fill out the remainder of former Senator Jeff Sessions' term, due to end on Jan. 3, 2021 after the 2020 election. ||||| GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore on Tuesday arrived to vote in the Alabama Senate race on horseback.
Videos posted by multiple news outlets showed the GOP candidate arriving at his polling place in Gallant, Ala., riding his horse, Sassy.
Moore and his wife, Kayla, typically ride horses to elections where Moore is a candidate.
They also rode horseback to the Alabama run-off, where Moore beat out Sen. Luther Strange Luther Johnson StrangeCrowley surprise tops huge night for left Races to watch in Tuesday’s primaries Loyalty to Donald Trump is new normal for the Republican Party MORE to become the GOP nominee.
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Moore is facing off in the Alabama Senate race against Democrat Doug Jones.
He currently holds a 2.2-point lead over Jones in the RealClearPolitics average of polls.
Moore is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. A woman accused Moore of initiating a sexual encounter with her when she was 14 and he was 32.
Other women have also alleged Moore had inappropriate contact with them when they were teenagers.
Moore has repeatedly denied the allegations against him.
President Trump Donald John TrumpMike Huckabee: If Trump nominated Moses to the Supreme Court Dems would still be unhappy Trump admin likely to detain migrant families for months during immigration proceedings: report ICE chief to protesters: We're not the ones separating families MORE last week endorsed Moore. He also recorded a robocall in support of the GOP candidate. |||||
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– Roy Moore and Doug Jones have cast their respective votes in the Alabama Senate race, and the rest of the state must wrap things up before the polls close at 8pm Eastern. Moore made a few last-minute headlines by riding to his voting site on his horse, Sassy, notes the Hill. Polls remain tight, with Moore hanging on to a slight edge of about 2 points in the Real Clear Politics average of polls. Still, as FiveThirtyEight notes, this race has been difficult to poll for various reasons, and the difference right now falls within the statistical margin of error. It's doubtful the race will be called early, especially if turnout is relatively heavy, as expected, notes Al.com. Politico highlights some keys to the race: If Jones hopes to win, he'll need to get heavy turnout from black voters, while Moore can counter that with heavy turnout among rural conservatives. One big X factor, however: whether write-in votes will hurt Moore. CNN, meanwhile, observes that the key for both candidates might be performing well in Mobile. The city is home to "scores of more affluent, moderate, business-type Republicans—that is, those most likely to abandon Moore and vote for Jones, write in someone else or stay home altogether."
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Denmark's Minister of Integration from the Liberal Party Inger Stoejberg sits in Parliament, in Copenhagen on Tuesday Jan. 26, 2016. Denmark's Parliament is expected to vote allow police seizing valuables... (Associated Press)
Denmark's Minister of Integration from the Liberal Party Inger Stoejberg sits in Parliament, in Copenhagen on Tuesday Jan. 26, 2016. Denmark's Parliament is expected to vote allow police seizing valuables worth more than $1,500 from asylum-seekers to help cover their housing and food costs while their... (Associated Press)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish lawmakers voted Tuesday to let police seize valuables worth more than $1,500 from asylum-seekers to help cover their housing and food costs while their cases were being processed.
After more than three hours of debate, the minority Liberal Party government's bill was adopted in a 81-27 vote, with the support of the opposition Social Democrats and the anti-immigration Danish People's Party — Denmark's two largest parties. One lawmaker abstained and 70 others were absent.
Amendments were made, including raising the value of items the asylum-seekers can keep from 3,000 kroner ($440) to 10,000 kroner ($1,500). That brings it in line with welfare rules for Danes, who must sell assets worth more than 10,000 kroner before they can receive social benefits.
Denmark received about 20,000 asylum-seekers last year while its neighbors Germany got 1.1 million and Sweden 163,000.
"We are talking about a real exodus," said Martin Henriksen, immigration spokesman for the populist Danish People's Party. "More needs to be done: we need more border controls. We need tighter immigration rules."
Opponents criticized the government for tightening Denmark's immigration laws and called for a common European solution to the continent's immigration crisis.
"This is a symbolic move to scare people away" from seeking asylum in Denmark, said Johanne Schmidt-Nielsen of the opposition left Red-Green Alliance that opposed the law.
Denmark is not the only country taking such action. Some German states do take fund from refugees and Switzerland requires asylum-seekers to hand over cash of more than 1,000 francs ($996).
The bill was part of a raft of measures that included extending from one year to three the period that family members must wait before they can join a refugee in Denmark. Denmark already tightened its immigration laws last year, reducing benefits for asylum-seekers, shortening temporary residence permits and stepping up efforts to deport those whose applications are rejected. ||||| (CNN) A controversial proposed law in Denmark that would see the government seize refugees' valuables to finance their asylum has been deeply misunderstood, a spokesman for the ruling Liberal Party says.
"No, we are not going to take the jewelry away from people," Jakob Ellemann-Jensen told CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. "I mean, this is outrageous. We would never do this."
But he didn't deny the essence of the bill: that people seeking refuge in Denmark may, if they have the means, be forced to contribute some of their wealth -- and therefore belongings -- to the Danish government.
The proposal has come under heavy criticism since it first surfaced late last year. The Danish Parliament debated the issue this week, and a vote is expected soon.
Migrants, many from Syria, walk to police vans last week in Padborg, Denmark.
Bent Melchior, the former chief rabbi of Denmark, said the initial plan "had the character of what was actually in force during the Nazis' persecution of minorities," according to the Times of Israel , citing the Danish news agency Ritzau.
But to Ellemann-Jensen, the proposal is fair -- naturalizing newcomers to Denmark's generous welfare state.
"All Danish citizens and refugees coming here receive universal health care; you receive education from preschool to university, and you receive elderly care; you receive language training and integration training free of charge, paid for by the government," he said.
"The only thing, the only demand that we set to measure this is if you have the means to pay for your housing and for your food -- regardless of whether you are a Dane or whether you are a refugee -- then you should.
"And if you can't do this, then the government will provide for you. This is the essence of this bill."
Danish police in Padborg prepare to board a train from Germany to check passengers' identity papers.
The shadows of the Holocaust remain strong for many -- images of Nazi soldiers ripping wedding rings off helpless hands.
It's a perception the Danish government has desperately tried to fight.
"As the Prime Minister said, this is probably the most misunderstood piece of legislation in Danish history," Ellemann-Jensen said.
Under the proposed law, the Danish government could seize cash more than 10,000 Danish kroner ($1,460) and any valuables worth that amount or more, according to the Danish Ministry of Immigration, Integration and Housing.
After the initial wave of criticism, the proposed law was altered to raise the threshold for seizure from 3,000 to 10,000 kroner.
The ministry said that items of "special sentimental value" such as "wedding rings, engagement rings, family portraits, decorations and medals" would be exempted, but that "watches, mobile phones and computers" could be subject to seizure.
A Syrian hoping for Danish asylum lets his daughter rest in a German train station near Denmark.
"I think many people, also here in Denmark (have) had an interest in spreading the wrong history regarding this," Ellemann-Jensen said.
"We are an open people, we are a generous people, and we receive people who come here ... in need of aid."
To many observers, the proposal is part of a rightward shift across Europe over the past year following both an influx of refugees from Syria and elsewhere and terrorist acts that have tested the continent's resolve and infrastructure.
Denmark's right-leaning Liberal Party took office last year. From France to Poland, right-leaning (or outright far-right) parties have been gaining in strength and taking power.
Switzerland, which is not a member of the European Union, said local authorities may seize any refugee's belongings valued at more than 1,000 francs (nearly $1,000), according to the Swiss State Secretariat for Migration.
(The office told CNN it has so far only been applied to 120 of 66,000 asylum seekers, and it is the same policy that is applied to any Swiss national seeking benefits.)
Countries across Europe have, by turns, instituted temporary border controls to get a handle, they say, on the refugee crisis.
Sweden and Denmark, two of the most generous countries when it comes to asylum, have both recently extended their temporary border controls.
The moves have brought into doubt the future of Schengen , the system of open internal borders essential to the EU. In November, Benedicte Frankinet, Belgium's ambassador to the United Nations, told Amanpour that the end of Schengen "has been put on the table."
"We need to be able to control what is going on with the people coming to Denmark," Ellemann-Jensen said. "And therefore, we are passing legislation that, yes, tightens up a bit.
"But we are still a very generous people (compared) to almost the rest of the world." |||||
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– Those seeking asylum in Denmark with more than $1,500 in assets can now expect to part with anything above that amount thanks to a new law. Advancing what the country's PM has deemed "the most misunderstood bill in Denmark's history," Danish lawmakers voted 81-27 Tuesday to pass the bill, allowing authorities to confiscate assets from asylum seekers to help pay for housing and other expenses, CNN reports. The value of assets migrants can keep was amended from about $440 to the $1,500 mark, per the AP, but anything from money, jewelry, and watches to mobile phones, and computers can be seized, per the Danish immigration ministry (a rep who spoke to the Independent somewhat contradicted that, saying "assets … necessary to maintain a modest standard of living," such as watches and phones, could be kept). Exempt are "sentimental" items such as wedding rings and medals. Those for the law say it holds migrants to the same standard as citizens, who must sell assets over $1,500 before they can collect social benefits, the AP notes. In exchange for this "payment," refugees get the same access to universal health care, education, and other benefits as citizens, a Liberal Party rep told CNN earlier this month. (The rep added, "We are not going to take the jewelry away from people. … [That] is outrageous.") The AP notes some German states and Switzerland have similar laws. But human rights groups are decrying the measure, with Amnesty International saying it's the latest step in a "dismal race to the bottom" of dealing with the migrant crisis. "To prolong the suffering of vulnerable people who have been ripped apart from their families by conflict or persecution is plain wrong," a rep says, per CNN. "Today's mean-spirited vote … seeks not only to pilfer the possessions refugees cling to." The new law also boosts the waiting period for refugees to apply to bring family over from one year to three, per the Independent.
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Tweet with a location
You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| 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. ||||| Update: Three hours after the publication of this story, Schneiderman resigned from his position. “While these allegations are unrelated to my professional conduct or the operations of the office, they will effectively prevent me from leading the office’s work at this critical time,” he said in a statement. “I therefore resign my office, effective at the close of business on May 8, 2018.”
Eric Schneiderman, New York’s attorney general, has long been a liberal Democratic champion of women’s rights, and recently he has become an outspoken figure in the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment. As New York State’s highest-ranking law-enforcement officer, Schneiderman, who is sixty-three, has used his authority to take legal action against the disgraced film mogul Harvey Weinstein, and to demand greater compensation for the victims of Weinstein’s alleged sexual crimes. Last month, when the Times and this magazine were awarded a joint Pulitzer Prize for coverage of sexual harassment, Schneiderman issued a congratulatory tweet, praising “the brave women and men who spoke up about the sexual harassment they had endured at the hands of powerful men.” Without these women, he noted, “there would not be the critical national reckoning under way.” Now Schneiderman is facing a reckoning of his own. As his prominence as a voice against sexual misconduct has risen, so, too, has the distress of four women with whom he has had romantic relationships or encounters. They accuse Schneiderman of having subjected them to nonconsensual physical violence. All have been reluctant to speak out, fearing reprisal. But two of the women, Michelle Manning Barish and Tanya Selvaratnam, have talked to The New Yorker on the record, because they feel that doing so could protect other women. They allege that he repeatedly hit them, often after drinking, frequently in bed and never with their consent. Manning Barish and Selvaratnam categorize the abuse he inflicted on them as “assault.” They did not report their allegations to the police at the time, but both say that they eventually sought medical attention after having been slapped hard across the ear and face, and also choked. Selvaratnam says that Schneiderman warned her he could have her followed and her phones tapped, and both say that he threatened to kill them if they broke up with him. (Schneiderman’s spokesperson said that he “never made any of these threats.”) A third former romantic partner of Schneiderman’s told Manning Barish and Selvaratnam that he also repeatedly subjected her to nonconsensual physical violence, but she told them that she is too frightened of him to come forward. (The New Yorker has independently vetted the accounts that they gave of her allegations.) A fourth woman, an attorney who has held prominent positions in the New York legal community, says that Schneiderman made an advance toward her; when she rebuffed him, he slapped her across the face with such force that it left a mark that lingered the next day. She recalls screaming in surprise and pain, and beginning to cry, and says that she felt frightened. She has asked to remain unidentified, but shared a photograph of the injury with The New Yorker. In a statement, Schneiderman said, “In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity. I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”
Manning Barish was romantically involved with Schneiderman from the summer of 2013 until New Year’s Day in 2015. Selvaratnam was with him from the summer of 2016 until the fall of 2017. Both are articulate, progressive Democratic feminists in their forties who live in Manhattan. They work and socialize in different circles, and although they have become aware of each other’s stories, they have only a few overlapping acquaintances; to this day, they have never spoken to each other. Over the past year, both watched with admiration as other women spoke out about sexual misconduct. But, as Schneiderman used the authority of his office to assume a major role in the #MeToo movement, their anguish and anger grew. In February, four months after the first stories about Weinstein broke, Schneiderman announced that his office was filing a civil-rights suit against him. At a press conference, he denounced Weinstein, saying, “We have never seen anything as despicable as what we’ve seen right here.” On May 2nd, at the direction of Governor Andrew Cuomo, Schneiderman launched an investigation into the past handling of criminal complaints against Weinstein by the Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus Vance, Jr., and the New York City Police Department. (In 2015, Vance declined to bring criminal charges against Weinstein, saying that he lacked sufficient evidence—a decision criticized by activist groups.) In a speech, Cuomo explained that “sexual-assault complaints must be pursued aggressively, and to the fullest extent of the law.” The expanding investigation of the Weinstein case puts Schneiderman at the center of one of the most significant sexual-misconduct cases in recent history. Schneiderman’s activism on behalf of feminist causes has increasingly won him praise from women’s groups. On May 1st, the New York-based National Institute for Reproductive Health honored him as one of three “Champions of Choice” at its annual fund-raising luncheon. Accepting the award, Schneiderman said, “If a woman cannot control her body, she is not truly equal.” But, as Manning Barish sees it, “you cannot be a champion of women when you are hitting them and choking them in bed, and saying to them, ‘You’re a fucking whore.’ ” She says of Schneiderman’s involvement in the Weinstein investigation, “How can you put a perpetrator in charge of the country’s most important sexual-assault case?” Selvaratnam describes Schneiderman as “a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” figure, and says that seeing him lauded as a supporter of women has made her “feel sick,” adding, “This is a man who has staked his entire career, his personal narrative, on being a champion for women publicly. But he abuses them privately. He needs to be called out.” Manning Barish notes that many of her friends attended the N.I.R.H. luncheon. “His hypocrisy is epic,” she says. “He’s fooled so many people.” Manning Barish includes herself among them. She says that she met Schneiderman in July, 2013, through mutual friends. She had become a blogger and political activist after opposing her younger brother’s deployment to Iraq and working with groups such as MoveOn.org. Amicably divorced from Chris Barish, a hospitality-industry executive, she was a single mother with a young daughter and socially prominent friends. Schneiderman, who was rising in Democratic politics after being elected attorney general, in 2010, was also divorced. His ex-wife, Jennifer Cunningham, a lobbyist and political strategist at the firm SKDKnickerbocker, currently serves as one of his political consultants. They have a grown daughter. Manning Barish says that she fell quickly for Schneiderman and was happy to be involved with someone who seemed to share her progressive idealism and enjoy her feistiness. Page Six chronicled the romance, calling her a “ravishing redhead” and noting that, at a fund-raiser, the television producer Norman Lear had introduced her as Schneiderman’s “bride-to-be.” But Manning Barish began to see signs of controlling and abusive behavior. Soon after she started dating Schneiderman, he told her to remove a small tattoo from her wrist; it wasn’t appropriate, he said, if she were to become the wife of a politician. The process of having it removed was painful and expensive. In retrospect, she says, it was the first step in trying to control her body. “Taking a strong woman and tearing her to pieces is his jam,” she says. About four weeks after they became physically involved, she says, Schneiderman grew violent. One night, they were in the bedroom of his Upper West Side apartment, still clothed but getting ready for bed, and lightly baiting each other. As she recalls it, he called her “a whore,” and she talked back. They had both been drinking, and her recollection of their conversation is blurry, but what happened next remains vivid. Schneiderman, she says, backed her up to the edge of his bed. “All of a sudden, he just slapped me, open-handed and with great force, across the face, landing the blow directly onto my ear,” Manning Barish says. “It was horrendous. It just came out of nowhere. My ear was ringing. I lost my balance and fell backward onto the bed. I sprang up, but at this point there was very little room between the bed and him. I got up to try to shove him back, or take a swing, and he pushed me back down. He then used his body weight to hold me down, and he began to choke me. The choking was very hard. It was really bad. I kicked. In every fibre, I felt I was being beaten by a man.” She finally freed herself and got back on her feet. “I was crying and in shock,” she says. She recalls shouting, “Are you crazy?” To her astonishment, Schneiderman accused her of scratching him. At one point—she can’t remember if it was at this moment or in a later conversation—he told her, “You know, hitting an officer of the law is a felony.” After the incident, Manning Barish left the apartment, telling him that she would never come back. “I want to make it absolutely clear,” she says. “This was under no circumstances a sex game gone wrong. This did not happen while we were having sex. I was fully dressed and remained that way. It was completely unexpected and shocking. I did not consent to physical assault.” In the following days, Manning Barish confided to three close female friends that Schneiderman had hit her. All of them have confirmed this to The New Yorker. “She was distraught,” one of the friends, a high-profile media figure, says. “She was very, very upset. This wasn’t a gentle smack. He clocked her ear. I was shocked.” She notes, “Michelle had mentioned that he drank a lot, and that he changed under the influence of alcohol, but I’d never anticipated that he would be violent.” The friend describes Manning Barish as having seemed “sad” and “torn,” because “she’d really wanted the relationship to work.” The novelist Salman Rushdie, who dated Manning Barish before Schneiderman did, and who has been her close friend for nearly fifteen years, says that she confided in him as well. “She called me and told me he had hit her,” Rushdie recalls. “She was obviously very upset. I was horrified.” In his view, Schneiderman’s behavior does not fall into the kind of gray area that should remain private. “It was clear to me that it crossed a line,” he says. Rushdie, who describes Manning Barish as “a very truthful person, in my experience,” advised her to stay away from Schneiderman. But Manning Barish went back to him, a decision that she regrets. After the attack, she says, Schneiderman “called and called” her. A few days later, on a weekday afternoon, his security detail drove him to her apartment, and he showed up at her door with an armload of flowers and a case of wine. She found the wine surprising, given the fact that alcohol had fuelled his violent behavior. She recalls saying over and over, “You hit me! You hurt me! You should never hit a woman!” But he didn’t want to talk about having hit her. “The hitting was not an issue for him,” she says. Before long, they reconciled. Manning Barish says that her ear bothered her for months. It often felt painful and clogged, and she kept hearing odd gurgling sounds. Once, blood trickled out, reaching her collarbone. Eventually, Manning Barish sought medical help from Dr. Gwen Korovin, an ear, nose, and throat specialist. Manning Barish shared her medical records with The New Yorker. They confirm that, on September 13, 2014, Korovin found and removed “dried bloody crust” from Manning Barish’s ear. Manning Barish thought that the slap might have caused the injury, but when Korovin asked her what had happened she said that she might have injured herself with a Q-tip. “I was protecting Eric,” Manning Barish says. “And I was ashamed. For victims, shame plays a huge role in most of these stories. I want people to know that.” Korovin was asked by The New Yorker if the injury could have been caused by a slap. “Yes, it could be consistent with a slap,” she said. “You could perforate an eardrum in a lot of ways, with a Q-tip or with a slap.” Manning Barish and Schneiderman were together, off and on, for nearly two years. She says that when they had sex he often slapped her across the face without her consent, and that she felt “emotionally battered” by cruel remarks that he made. She says that he criticized how she looked and dressed, and “controlled what I ate.” Manning Barish, who is five feet seven, lost thirty pounds, falling to a hundred and three. In a photograph from the period, she looks emaciated; her hair, she recalls, started to fall out. Nevertheless, he squeezed her legs and called them “chubby.” Manning Barish says that Schneiderman pressed her to consume huge amounts of alcohol. She recalls, “I would come over for dinner. An already half-empty bottle of red wine would be on the counter. He had had a head start. ‘Very stressful day,’ he would say.” Sometimes, if she didn’t drink quickly enough, she says, he would “come to me like a baby who wouldn’t eat its food, and hold the glass to my lips while holding my face, and sweetly but forcefully, like a parent, say, ‘Come on, Mimi, drink, drink, drink,’ and essentially force me—at times actually spilling it down my chin and onto my chest.” Schneiderman, she recalls, “would almost always drink two bottles of wine in a night, then bring a bottle of Scotch into the bedroom. He would get absolutely plastered five nights out of seven.” On one occasion, she recalls, “he literally fell on his face in my kitchen, straight down, like a tree falling.” Another evening, he smashed his leg against an open drawer, cutting it so badly that “there was blood all over the place.” She bandaged it, but the next day she went to his office to change the dressing, because the bleeding hadn’t stopped. Manning Barish says that Schneiderman also took prescription tranquillizers, and often asked her to refill a prescription that she had for Xanax, so that he could reserve “about half” the pills for himself. (Schneiderman’s spokesperson said that he has “never commandeered anyone’s medications.”) Sometimes in bed, she recalls, he would be “shaking me and grabbing my face” while demanding that she repeat such things as “I’m a little whore.” She says that he also told her, “If you ever left me, I’d kill you.” Evan Stark, a forensic social worker and an emeritus professor at Rutgers, is the author of a landmark book, “Coercive Control,” in which he argues that domestic abuse is just as often psychological as it is physical. Abusive men, he writes, often “terrorize” and “control” their partners by demeaning them, particularly about the traits or accomplishments of which they are proudest. Manning Barish says that Schneiderman often mocked her political activism. When she told him of her plan to attend an anti-gun demonstration with various political figures and a group of parents from Sandy Hook Elementary School, he dismissed the effort, calling the demonstrators “losers.” He added, “Go ahead, if it makes you feel better to do your little political things.” When she was using her computer, he’d sometimes say, “Oh, look at little Mimi. So cute—she’s working!” He told Manning Barish that, because she had childcare, she wasn’t “a real single mother.” Manning Barish broke up with Schneiderman a second time, and then got back together with him. He’d been talking about marrying her, she says, and she somehow convinced herself that the real problem between them was her fear of commitment. In January, 2015, she ended the relationship a third time, feeling degraded. After that, they got together romantically a few more times, but since 2016 she has been in touch with him only sporadically. Since the #MeToo movement began, Manning Barish has been active on social-media platforms, cheering on women who have spoken out, including those whose accusations prompted the resignation of the Minnesota senator Al Franken, a widely admired Democrat. Once, she made an oblique reference to Schneiderman on social media, in connection with a political issue. He called her and, in a tone that she describes as “nasty,” said, “Don’t ever write about me. You don’t want to do that.” Manning Barish says that she took his remarks as a threat, just as she took seriously a comment that he’d once made after she objected to him “yanking” her across a street. She recalls saying to him, “Jaywalking is against the law,” and him responding, “I am the law.” Manning Barish says, “If there is a sentence that sums him up, it’s that.”
Schneiderman was elected to the New York State Senate in 1998, and served for twelve years. He wrote many laws, including one that created specific penalties for strangulation. He introduced the bill in 2010, after chairing a committee that investigated domestic-violence charges against the former state senator Hiram Monserrate, a Democrat, who was expelled from the legislature after having been convicted of assaulting his girlfriend. During the hearings, the legislators learned that New York State imposed no specific criminal penalty for choking, even though it is a common prelude to domestic-violence homicides. Not only did Schneiderman’s bill make life-threatening strangulation a grave crime; it also criminalized less serious cases involving “an intent to impede breathing” as misdemeanors punishable by up to a year in prison. “I’m just sorry it took us so long in New York State to do this,” Schneiderman declared at the time. “I think this will save a lot of lives.” Jennifer Friedman, a legal expert on domestic violence, says that she cannot square Schneiderman’s public and private behavior. Anyone knowledgeable about intimate-partner violence, she says, knows that choking is “a known lethality indicator.” She adds, “I cannot fathom that someone who drafted the legislation on strangulation is unfamiliar with such concepts.” She also says, “A slap is not just a slap—it reverberates through the rest of the relationship, making her afraid of setting him off.” She adds, “People aren’t usually prosecuted for it, but, in the state of New York, slapping is assault when it results in pain or physical injury.” In the summer of 2016, the attorney general may have crossed this line again. He went to a party in the Hamptons, where he drank heavily, and invited another guest—a woman he’d known for some time—to join him at an after-party. An accomplished Ivy League-educated lawyer with government experience, she had worked closely with his office in the past, and supported him politically. She says that she agreed to let a man in Schneiderman’s security detail drive them to the next destination. But, when they arrived at the house, there was no party; it was where Schneiderman was staying. The security officer left the property. The lawyer and Schneiderman began making out, but he said things that repelled her. He told the woman, a divorced mother, that professional women with big jobs and children had so many decisions to make that, when it came to sex, they secretly wanted men to take charge. She recalls him saying, “Yeah, you act a certain way and look a certain way, but I know that at heart you are a dirty little slut. You want to be my whore.” He became more sexually aggressive, but she was repulsed by his talk, and pulled away from him. She says that “suddenly—at least, in my mind’s eye—he drew back, and there was a moment where I was, like, ‘What’s happening?’ ” Then, she recalls, “He slapped me across the face hard, twice,” adding, “I was stunned.” Schneiderman hit her so hard, she says, that the blow left a red handprint. “What the fuck did you just do?” she screamed, and started to sob. “I couldn’t believe it,” she recalls. “For a split second, I was scared.” She notes that, in all her years of dating, she has never been in a situation like the one with Schneiderman. “He just really smacked me,” she says. When she told him that she wanted to leave, she recalls, he started to “freak out,” saying that he’d misjudged her. “You’d really be surprised,” he claimed. “A lot of women like it. They don’t always think they like it, but then they do, and they ask for more.” She again demanded to be taken home. They got into his car, and it quickly became apparent how intoxicated he was. As he drove, weaving along back roads, she was terrified that he’d kill not just her but another driver. She says that Schneiderman “broke the law at least once that night.” (“This is untrue,” Schneiderman’s spokesperson said.) The next day, she told two friends, and sent them a photograph of the mark on her face. (Both women corroborate this.) Another photograph of the lawyer, taken later that day at a family birthday party, shows faint raised marks splayed on her cheek. One of the friends says of Schneiderman, “He seemed not to know what the word ‘consent’ means.” Given the woman’s prominence in the legal sphere, Schneiderman’s actions had exposed him to tremendous risk. Yet she took no official action against him. “Now that I know it’s part of a pattern, I think, God, I should have reported it,” she says. “But, back then, I believed that it was a one-time incident. And I thought, He’s a good attorney general, he’s doing good things. I didn’t want to jeopardize that.” She notes that he did not hit her again, after she protested. Nevertheless, she says of the assault, “I knew it was wrong,” adding, “Our top law officer, this guy with a platform for women’s rights, just smacked away so much of what I thought he stood for.”
Tanya Selvaratnam is the author of “The Big Lie: Motherhood, Feminism, and the Reality of the Biological Clock,” which explores infertility issues; she is also an actor and a film producer, as well as a supporter of feminist and progressive social causes. She, too, is divorced. In 2016, she attended the Democratic National Convention, in Philadelphia, where Schneiderman introduced himself to her. She says that their first encounter felt “like kismet.” They had both gone to Harvard: she as an undergraduate and a graduate student, he as a law student. She was impressed when he expressed an interest in meditation and Buddhism. They had both studied Chinese, and, when he asked, in Mandarin, if she spoke the language, she answered, “Wo shuo keshi bu tai liuli”—“Yes, but not fluently.” They began dating, and appeared to be a happy couple. Selvaratnam all but lived in his apartment, attending political functions and dinners with his friends and donors, and brainstorming with him on speeches and projects. But, as she puts it, “it was a fairy tale that became a nightmare.” Although Schneiderman often doted on her, he demanded that she spend more and more time with him, and he began physically abusing her in bed. “The slaps started after we’d gotten to know each other,” she recalls. “It was at first as if he were testing me. Then it got stronger and harder.” Selvaratnam says, “It wasn’t consensual. This wasn’t sexual playacting. This was abusive, demeaning, threatening behavior.” When Schneiderman was violent, he often made sexual demands. “He was obsessed with having a threesome, and said it was my job to find a woman,” she says. “He said he’d have nothing to look forward to if I didn’t, and would hit me until I agreed.” (She had no intention of having a threesome.) She recalls, “Sometimes, he’d tell me to call him Master, and he’d slap me until I did.” Selvaratnam, who was born in Sri Lanka, has dark skin, and she recalls that “he started calling me his ‘brown slave’ and demanding that I repeat that I was ‘his property.’ ” The abuse escalated. Schneiderman not only slapped her across the face, often four or five times, back and forth, with his open hand; he also spat at her and choked her. “He was cutting off my ability to breathe,” she says. Eventually, she says, “we could rarely have sex without him beating me.” In her view, Schneiderman “is a misogynist and a sexual sadist.” She says that she often asked him to stop hurting her, and tried to push him away. At other times, she gave in, rationalizing that she could tolerate the violence if it happened only once a week or so during sex. But “the emotional and verbal abuse started increasing,” she says, and “the belittling and demeaning of me carried over into our nonsexual encounters.” He told her to get plastic surgery to remove scars on her torso that had resulted from an operation to remove cancerous tumors. He criticized her hair and said that she should get breast implants and buy different clothes. He mocked some of her friends as “ditzes,” and, when these women attended a birthday celebration for her, he demanded that she leave just as the cake was arriving. “I began to feel like I was in Hell,” she says. Like Manning Barish, Selvaratnam says that Schneiderman routinely drank heavily—a bottle and a half of wine, or more. He also took sedatives, she says, and pushed her to drink with him, saying, “Drink your bourbon, Turnip”—his nickname for her. In the middle of the night, he staggered through the apartment, as if in a trance. “I’ve never seen anyone that messed up,” she recalls. “It was like sleeping next to a monster.” The next morning, she says, he’d seem fine, but often berated her for not having kept him away from the alcohol. His emotional state seemed to worsen after the 2016 Presidential election. He had counted on forging an ambitious partnership with a White House led by Hillary Clinton. Instead, the Presidency had gone to Donald Trump. Earlier, Schneiderman’s office had sued Trump University for civil fraud, and Trump had countersued Schneiderman personally. On the morning of January 19, 2017, the day before Trump’s Inauguration, Schneiderman called Selvaratnam from a hospital emergency room. She recalls, “He told me that he’d been drinking the night before, and he fell down. He didn’t realize he’d cut himself, and got into bed, and when he woke up he was in a pool of blood.” Selvaratnam rushed to the hospital. Schneiderman had several stitches above his left eye; his face was puffy and bruised. He had her send his press secretary a photograph of the injury, and they agreed to cancel a public appearance. In the image, which was shared with The New Yorker, Schneiderman has a black eye and a bandage across the left side of his forehead. Schneiderman then called Cunningham, his ex-wife and political consultant, and they agreed that he and Selvaratnam should tell anyone who asked about the injury that he had fallen “while running.” (A spokesperson for Schneiderman said, “One morning, Mr. Schneiderman fell in the bathroom while completely sober, hit his head, and had to go the E.R. for stitches. Because he was embarrassed to tell his staff he fell in the bathroom, he told them he fell while running.” Cunningham, in a statement issued shortly after this story was published online, said, “I’ve known Eric for nearly thirty-five years as a husband, father, and friend. These allegations are completely inconsistent with the man I know, who has always been someone of the highest character, outstanding values, and a loving father. I find it impossible to believe these allegations are true.”) Selvaratnam understands how incomprehensible it may seem that she stayed in such an abusive relationship for more than a year. But, she says, “now I see how independent women get stuck in one.” The physical abuse, she notes, “happens quickly”: “He’s drunk, and you’re naked and at your most vulnerable. It’s so disorienting. You lose a little of who you are.” She kept telling herself that she could help him change, and tried to get him to see a therapist. At times, she blamed herself for his behavior. “I was scared what he might do if I left him,” she says. “He had said he would have to kill me if we broke up, on multiple occasions. He also told me he could have me followed and could tap my phone.” It’s unclear if Schneiderman was serious when he made such remarks, but Selvaratnam says that she felt intimidated. Jacquelyn Campbell, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing, is the author of a danger-assessment checklist that helps authorities gauge the likelihood of homicide in domestic-violence situations. She says, “It’s often true that women don’t know whether to take threats to kill seriously. But we should always take threats seriously. It’s categorized as a violent act, and you can report someone to the police for it.” Selvaratnam began to spend more time apart from Schneiderman, and last fall she ended the relationship. She’d been suffering from ringing in her ears, and sometimes had vertigo. After the breakup, she, like Manning Barish, sought medical help from an ear, nose, and throat specialist. The doctor could find no specific cause for her ailments. The writer Danzy Senna, a close friend of Selvaratnam’s, recalls, “She was thin, fragile, and shaky.” Selvaratnam confided to Senna about the abuse, and Senna was so shocked that she wrote down the details and e-mailed the account to her husband, so that there would be a dated copy of it should any harm come to her friend. Senna’s document, which she shared with The New Yorker, is dated September 16, 2017, and says, in part, “She told me that her boyfriend of a year, Eric Schneiderman, the Attorney General of New York, has been choking, beating, and threatening her for the entirety of their relationship, and that several times he threatened to have her killed if she ever tried to leave him. She said he knows that she has a lot of really damning information about him, his alcoholism, sexual deviance, and drug use, and she worries about her safety.” Senna advised Selvaratnam to retrieve her belongings from his apartment. On November 3, 2017, she did so, with another friend—Jennifer Gonnerman, a staff writer at this magazine. As they carried her things outside, they talked about the fact that Selvaratnam couldn’t possibly be the only woman who had seen this side of Schneiderman. Gonnerman asked her who else he had dated. Selvaratnam knew of one former girlfriend—not Manning Barish—and described where she had worked. The next day, Gonnerman happened to run into a male friend who had once worked with the former girlfriend. Gonnerman asked him if he’d ever known anyone who had dated Schneiderman. He said yes: a close friend of his had. Without divulging anything, Gonnerman asked, “So how did that work out?” He answered, “He used to spit on her and slap her during sex.” Gonnerman told Selvaratnam about the other victim. “She was very traumatized,” Gonnerman recalls. “On the one hand, she was relieved to learn it had happened before, but on the other it was, like, ‘Why hasn’t anyone stopped him?’ ” Selvaratnam says, “I wished someone had warned me. And I wondered, Who’s next?” She notes, “I was not planning to come forward, until I found out there was another woman. The silence of women before me meant that I’d suffered, too. I felt, I will not be able to live with myself if I hear of him doing this to another woman years or months from now.” Selvaratnam reached out to the former girlfriend, and they agreed to meet. In February, Selvaratnam recalls, they sat outside on a bench for ninety minutes, and their stories came flooding forth. Selvaratnam says that she was astounded to discover how similar their experiences had been. Selvaratnam kept notes about her exchanges with the former girlfriend, and she described them to The New Yorker. According to these notes, the former girlfriend told Selvaratnam that she had been in love with Schneiderman, but that in bed he had routinely slapped her hard across the ear and the face, as tears rolled down her cheeks. He also choked her and spat at her. Not all the abuse had taken place in a sexual context. She said that Schneiderman had once slapped her during an argument they’d had while getting dressed to go out. The blow left a handprint on her back; the next day, the spot still hurt. When the former girlfriend objected to this mistreatment, he told her that she simply wasn’t “liberated” enough. Just as Schneiderman had done with the other women, he had pushed her to drink with him and to set up a threesome, and he had belittled her work and appearance, saying in her case that she had fat legs and needed Botox. After the former girlfriend ended the relationship, she told several friends about the abuse. A number of them advised her to keep the story to herself, arguing that Schneiderman was too valuable a politician for the Democrats to lose. She described this response as heartbreaking. And when Schneiderman heard that she had turned against him, she said, he warned her that politics was a tough and personal business, and that she’d better be careful. She told Selvaratnam that she had taken this as a threat. The former girlfriend told Selvaratnam she found it “shameless” that Schneiderman was casting himself as a leading supporter of the #MeToo movement. She promised to support Selvaratnam if she spoke out, but she wasn’t sure that she could risk joining her. The former girlfriend told Selvaratnam she’d once been so afraid of Schneiderman that she’d written down an extensive account of the abuse, locked the document in a safe-deposit box, and given keys to two friends. |||||
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– The New Yorker published its story alleging that New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman physically abused four women at 6:47pm Eastern on Monday, and Schneiderman announced his resignation at 9:46pm, not quite three hours later, notes CNN media writer Brian Stelter. It was a "stunning" turn of events, he writes, given that Schneiderman has been a leading voice in the #MeToo movement and his office is suing Harvey Weinstein. Schneiderman "strongly contests" the allegations that he hit and choked the women without their consent during relationships, but his last day on the job is Tuesday. Critics pounce: Schneiderman's enemies are reveling in the news, particularly allies of President Trump, notes the Washington Post. Donald Trump Jr. and Kellyanne Conway both called attention to Schneiderman's statement last year that "no one is above the law, and I’ll continue to remind President Trump and his administration of that fact everyday." Conway tweeted "Gotcha" and Trump Jr. tweeted "You were saying?"
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[UPDATED at 6 p.m. EST]
View Photo Gallery: Former Redskins defensive coordinator Gregg Williams ran a bounty system that paid out cash bonuses for big hits during his time in Washington and most recently with the New Orleans Saints.
The Washington Redskins had a bounty system for big hits on opponents under former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams that was similar to the one revealed by an NFL investigation of the New Orleans Saints, four players who played under Williams said Friday.
Three of the players described a coach who doled out thousands of dollars to Redskins defenders who measured up to Williams’s scoring system for rugged play, including “kill shots” that knocked opposing teams’stars out of a game.
“You got compensated more for a kill shot than you did other hits,” said one former player, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
[Click the links to read Mark Maske’s full report on the Redskins’ bounty system and Mike Wise’s column on Gregg Williams.]
Of the four players interviewed, only Philip Daniels, a former defensive lineman, was willing to be quoted on the record. He defended Williams’s coaching. Daniels now serves as the team’s director of player development.
Players said compensation ranged from “hundreds to thousands of dollars,” with the biggest sum any player received believed to be about $8,000.
“I never took it for anything [but] just incentive to make good, hard plays,” said a current player, who requested anonymity. “But I’m pretty sure it did entice some guys to do more to a player than normal when it came to taking them out. I mean, that’s cash. Let’s just be honest about it.
“If you took the star player out, he’d hook you up a little bit.”
The Redskins declined to comment through team spokesman Tony Wyllie.
Daniels said he believed Williams began the program with money from fines collected from players for being late for meetings or practices. “Rather than pocket that money or whatever, he would re-distribute it to players who had good games or good practices.”
He said the most he ever received was $1,500 for a four-sack game against the Dallas Cowboys in 2005.
“I think it is wrong the way they’re trying to paint [Williams],” Daniels added. “He never told us to go out there and break a guy’s neck or break a guy’s leg. It was all in the context of a good, hard football.”
He acknowledged Williams’s system for awarding players’ cash featured more money for what Williams’ deemed “physical play.” “Sean Taylor made a lot,” he said of the hard-hitting safety who was killed in his Miami home in 2007.
The other three players interviewed portrayed Williams as a “coach who just took it a little too far,” in the words of one.
“He actually had a saying, ‘If you cut the snake’s head off, the body will die,’ that was his motto,” said the player. “It was made clear that he was talking about not just running backs who turned their heads the opposite way and how they would go down, but also about other stars on offense that were the best players on that team.”
The NFL announced Friday that the Saints operated an improper bounty program that paid players as much as $1,500 for hits that injured opposing players.
The program, administered by Williams, also a former defensive coordinator there, paid $1500 for a “knockout” hit and $1000 if an opponent was carted off the field between 2009 and 2011, the NFL said. Most of the money was contributed by players, but Williams also donated to the fund.
In a statement, Williams apologized for what he called a “pay for performance” program while he was with the Saints.
“It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it,” Williams said in the statement, which was published on nola.com. “Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role.”
The NFL’s investigation found that between 22 and 27 players participated in the bounty program. Coach Sean Payton was not a direct participant but was “aware of the allegations” and “failed to stop the bounty program,” according to the league’s announcement.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will determine what disciplinary action to take, according to the league’s announcement. According to the NFL, the sanctions could include fines, suspension and the forfeiture of draft choices by the team.
“The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for ‘performance,’ but also for injuring opposing players,” Goodell said in a written statement released by the league. “The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity.
“It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated. We have made significant progress in changing the culture with respect to player safety and we are not going to relent. We have more work to do and we will do it.”
Williams, now defensive coordinator of the St. Louis Rams, did not immediately respond to a telephone message seeking comment.
Saints owner Tom Benson said in a written statement released by the team: “I have been made aware of the NFL’s findings relative to the “Bounty Rule” and how it relates to our club. I have offered and the NFL has received our full cooperation in their investigation. While the findings may be troubling, we look forward to putting this behind us and winning more championships in the future for our fans.”
Saints players knocked Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner out of a playoff game and injured Minnesota Vikings’ quarterback Brett Favre in another during their 2010 Super Bowl season.
Staff writers Mike Wise and Jason Reid contributed to this report.
More on NFL bounties:
Redskins offered bounties for big hits under Williams
NFL will investigate claims that Redskins had a bounty program
Mike Wise: Gregg Williams’s true nature exposed
Joe Gibbs: “I would never ask a player to hurt another player’
NFL statement on New Orleans Saints
How widespread are bounties? ||||| This is the full statement the NFL released Friday afternoon:
A lengthy investigation by the NFL's security department has disclosed that between 22 and 27 defensive players on the New Orleans Saints, as well as at least one assistant coach, maintained a "bounty" program funded primarily by players in violation of NFL rules during the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons, the NFL announced today.
The league's investigation determined that this improper "Pay for Performance" program included "bounty" payments to players for inflicting injuries on opposing players that would result in them being removed from a game.
The findings - corroborated by multiple independent sources - have been presented to Commissioner Roger Goodell, who will determine the appropriate discipline for the violation.
"The payments here are particularly troubling because they involved not just payments for 'performance,' but also for injuring opposing players," Commissioner Goodell said. "The bounty rule promotes two key elements of NFL football: player safety and competitive integrity.
"It is our responsibility to protect player safety and the integrity of our game, and this type of conduct will not be tolerated. We have made significant progress in changing the culture with respect to player safety and we are not going to relent. We have more work to do and we will do it."
The players regularly contributed cash into a pool and received improper cash payments of two kinds from the pool based on their play in the previous week's game. Payments were made for plays such as interceptions and fumble recoveries, but the program also included "bounty" payments for "cart-offs" (meaning that the opposing player was carried off the field) and "knockouts" (meaning that the opposing player was not able to return to the game).
The investigation showed that the total amount of funds in the pool may have reached $50,000 or more at its height during the 2009 playoffs. The program paid players $1,500 for a "knockout" and $1,000 for a "cart-off" with payouts doubling or tripling during the playoffs.
The investigation included the review of approximately 18,000 documents totaling more than 50,000 pages, interviews of a wide range of individuals and the use of outside forensic experts to verify the authenticity of key documents.
The NFL has a longstanding rule prohibiting "Non-Contract Bonuses." Non-contract bonuses violate both the NFL Constitution and By-Laws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement. Clubs are advised every year of this rule in a memo from the commissioner. Citing Sections 9.1(C)(8), and 9.3(F) and (G) of the Constitution and By-Laws, the memo for the 2011 season stated:
"No bonus or award may directly or indirectly be offered, promised, announced, or paid to a player for his or his team's performance against a particular team or opposing player or a particular group thereof. No bonuses or awards may be offered or paid for on field misconduct (for example, personal fouls to or injuries inflicted on opposing players)."
"Our investigation began in early 2010 when allegations were first made that Saints players had targeted opposing players, including Kurt Warner of the Cardinals and Brett Favre of the Vikings," Commissioner Goodell said. "Our security department interviewed numerous players and other individuals. At the time, those interviewed denied that any such program existed and the player that made the allegation retracted his earlier assertions. As a result, the allegations could not be proven. We recently received significant and credible new information and the investigation was re-opened during the latter part of the 2011 season."
The additional investigation established the following facts:
1. During the 2009, 2010 and 2011 seasons, the players and other participants involved used their own money to fund a "Pay for Performance" program. Players earned cash awards for plays such as interceptions or fumble recoveries. They also earned "bounty" payments for "cart-offs" and "knockouts." All such payments violate league rules for non-contract bonuses.
2. Players were willing and enthusiastic participants in the program, contributing regularly and at times pledging large amounts. Between 22 and 27 defensive players contributed funds to the pool over the course of three NFL seasons. In some cases, the amounts pledged were both significant and directed against a specific opposing player.
3. The bounty program was administered by defensive coordinator Gregg Williams with the knowledge of other defensive coaches. Funds were contributed on occasion by Williams.
4. Saints owner Tom Benson gave immediate and full cooperation to the investigators. The evidence conclusively established that Mr. Benson was not aware of the bounty program. When informed earlier this year of the new information, Mr. Benson advised league staff that he had directed his general manager, Mickey Loomis, to ensure that any bounty program be discontinued immediately. The evidence showed that Mr. Loomis did not carry out Mr. Benson's directions. Similarly, when the initial allegations were discussed with Mr. Loomis in 2010, he denied any knowledge of a bounty program and pledged that he would ensure that no such program was in place. There is no evidence that Mr. Loomis took any effective action to stop these practices.
5. Although head coach Sean Payton was not a direct participant in the funding or administration of the program, he was aware of the allegations, did not make any detailed inquiry or otherwise seek to learn the facts, and failed to stop the bounty program. He never instructed his assistant coaches or players that a bounty program was improper and could not continue.
6. There is no question that a bounty program violates long-standing league rules. Payments of this type - even for legitimate plays such as interceptions or fumble recoveries - are forbidden because they are inconsistent with the Collective Bargaining Agreement and well-accepted rules relating to NFL player contracts.
Commissioner Goodell has advised the Saints that he will hold further proceedings to determine the discipline to be assessed against individuals and the club. This will include conferring with the NFL Players Association and individual player leaders regarding appropriate discipline and remedial steps.
The discipline could include fines and suspensions and, in light of the competitive nature of the violation, forfeiture of draft choices. Any discipline may be appealed as provided for in the Constitution and By-Laws and Collective Bargaining Agreement. Any appeal would be heard and decided by the commissioner. ||||| The New Orleans Saints were accused of being dirty by numerous players last season.
Turns out those accusations actually have some merit.
Apparently, former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams placed a bounty on injuring opponents while he was with the team.
Adam Schefter of ESPN tweeted on Friday, "NFL security determined between 22 and 27 defensive players on the Saints, as well as at least one asst. coach, maintained a bounty program."
According to Schefter, the NFL's investigation began in 2010 when allegations were made that the Saints were targeting quarterbacks such as Brett Favre and Kurt Warner. The Saints reportedly face fines, suspensions and forfeiture of draft choices.
After the news broke on Friday, Saints owner Tom Benson released a statement, per the Times-Picayune:
"I have been made aware of the NFL's findings relative to the "Bounty Rule" and how it relates to our club. I have offered and the NFL has received our full cooperation in their investigation. While the findings may be troubling, we look forward to putting this behind us and winning more championships in the future for our fans."
Williams himself would eventually speak on the matter, apologizing for his actions and taking full responsibility.
Via Pro Football Talk:
I want to express my sincere regret and apology to the NFL, Mr. Benson, and the New Orleans Saints fans for my participation in the ‘pay for performance’ program while I was with the Saints. It was a terrible mistake, and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it. Instead of getting caught up in it, I should have stopped it. I take full responsibility for my role. I am truly sorry. I have learned a hard lesson and I guarantee that I will never participate in or allow this kind of activity to happen again.
It just so happens that right after Williams was busted on Friday, the Washington Post reported that the Washington Redskins also had a bounty on injuring opponents while Williams was with the team from 2004 to 2007.
Williams was with the Saints from 2009 to 2011. In December 2011, Tennessee Titans receiver Nate Washington accused Saints safety Roman Harper of being a dirty player after Harper prevented Damian Williams from scoring by pulling his face mask.
Washington said, via TitanInsider, "Honestly, he's a dirty player. We watched film on him, he's dirty. And I don't appreciate it, I'm going to step out in public and say it: He's dirty."
A week later, Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, who was coming off a high ankle sprain that caused him to miss three weeks, said Saints cornerback Jabari Greer twisted his ankle while he was at the bottom of the pile in Week 15.
Are you surprised by this news? Yes No Submit Vote vote to see results Are you surprised by this news? Yes 38.9%
No 61.1% Total votes: 2,165
Peterson said, via the Times-Picayune:
I came into the game kind of expecting that coming back from a high ankle sprain. Guys are going to try to take their shots when we're on the pile and try to twist it up and things like that. I felt like it kind of got overboard. I got up and kind of got in his face. Thank God I was able to keep my composure.
There's being dirty and then there's being dirty. All signs point to the latter for the Saints.
Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about dirty NFL teams. |||||
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– NFL coach Gregg Williams is known for his tough defenses, and now we know one of his secrets: He paid his players extra if they injured an opposing player. After the league announced today that about 25 members of the New Orleans Saints took part in such a bounty program the last three seasons, Williams fessed up that he was the coach responsible. "I am truly sorry," he said. The program was a "terrible mistake and we knew it was wrong while we were doing it." (The New Orleans Times-Picayune has the league statement here.) Williams worked as defense coordinator for the Washington Redskins before taking the same job with the Saints, which prompted the Post to look into whether he ran the same kind of program there. Answer: Yep. “If you took the star player out, he’d hook you up a little bit," says one former player. (Another defends Williams, and says the practice was meant not to injure but to encourage "good, hard football.") Bleacher Report has background on recent allegations that surfaced against Saints players. Williams is now defensive coordinator with the St. Louis Rams.
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In this undated image provided by Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living, residents, from left, Wilma Purvis, 94, Jo Pyle, 90, and Sylvia Palcic, 87, pose for a photo that appears on the cover of the Barberton,... (Associated Press)
In this undated image provided by Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living, residents, from left, Wilma Purvis, 94, Jo Pyle, 90, and Sylvia Palcic, 87, pose for a photo that appears on the cover of the Barberton,... (Associated Press)
AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The stars of a charity calendar are in their 80s and 90s, but that didn't stop the women from an assisted living facility in Ohio from showing a little skin.
Miss March, who's 88, wears a green top hat and not much else in the calendar from Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living, and the centerfolds are two women in their 90s who seem to be playing poker with strategically placed oversize cards.
Flip to February and you'll see a smiling, white-haired Dottie Rutter soaking in a bubble bath and flower petals, with chocolates and lingerie nearby.
At 87, she's the same age as the youngest of three models standing in the cover photo, where their bare feet and shoulders peek out from behind a banner they hold advertising the Barberton facility and the affiliated Pleasant View Health Care Center.
It reads: "Pleasant View, Pleasant Pointe."
Another resident in the calendar is covered only by a large exercise ball.
Administrator Teresa Morris told The Akron Beacon Journal (http://bit.ly/1x0K3x3 ) that the residents were clearly having fun the morning the photos were taken.
"The residents were like 20-year-olds — giggling, and having the time of their lives," Morris said. "I do not believe the elderly should just sit around staring at each other. I want a fun environment where I challenge them and they challenge me."
Money from the $12 calendars goes toward a fund providing shoes for children in the local schools in the city of Barberton.
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Information from: Akron Beacon Journal, http://www.ohio.com ||||| 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 |||||
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– Helen Mirren unfortunately isn't involved, but she'd likely approve of Akron's very own version of Calendar Girls. Residents of Pleasant Pointe Assisted Living—women in their 80s and 90s—have bared all in the name of charity. And as the AP tells it, the $12 calendar they've put together is a bit edgy and not without humor: Its cover reads "Pleasant View, Pleasant Pointe." Open it, and you'll find Miss January, age 98, holding a well-placed exercise ball; Miss February soaking in a tub with lingerie and chocolates nearby; and the 88-year-old Miss March wearing "a green top hat and not much else." The money that's raised will go to a fund that provides shoes for children who attend Barberton Schools. The Beacon Journal has a couple more photos.
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Google doubled the bounty it will pay for a successful exploit of its Chromebook laptop to US$100,000, sweetening the pot in hopes of drawing more attention from security researchers.
The larger reward is intended for someone who finds a persistent compromise of a Chromebook in guest mode, according to Google’s security blog on Monday.
“Since we introduced the $50,000 reward, we haven’t had a successful submission,” Google wrote. “That said, great research deserves great awards, so we’re putting up a standing six-figure sum, available all year round with no quotas and no maximum reward pool.”
In guest mode, Chromebook has its highest defenses up: A guest can download files but can’t install apps, even from Google’s store. Creating malicious applications is one way attackers can try to install malware on a person’s computer.
Google has put in place several security measures to make Chromebooks more secure. It automatically downloads software updates, runs Web pages and applications in sandboxes and does a “verified boot” on startup, which will roll back the OS if it has been tampered with by malware.
Google describes what is needed for the top reward: The compromise, delivered through a Web page, must persist in guest mode even when the Chromebook is rebooted.
The company has also added a reward for attacks that can bypass Chrome’s Safe Browsing feature, which flags potentially malicious URLs. ||||| Chrome Reward Program Rules
The Chrome Reward Program was launched in January 2010 to help reward the contributions of security researchers who invest their time and effort in helping us to make Chrome and Chrome OS more secure. Through this program we provide monetary awards and public recognition for vulnerabilities responsibly disclosed to the Chrome project.
Scope of program
Any security bug in Chrome or Chrome OS may be considered. It’s that simple!*
* well, it's almost that simple. Two key points:
We are interested in bugs that make it to our Stable, Beta and Dev channels. We discourage vulnerability hunting on canary or trunk builds, because they don't undergo release testing and can exhibit short-lived regressions that are typically identified and fixed very quickly.
We'd also love to learn about bugs in third-party components that we ship or use (e.g. PDFium, Adobe Flash, Linux kernel). Bugs may be eligible even if they are part of the base operating system and can manifest through Chrome.
Qualifying vulnerabilities
We will typically focus on critical, high and medium impact bugs, but any clever vulnerability at any severity might get a reward.
There are three rules to keep in mind:
Only the first report of a given issue that we were previously unaware of is eligible. In the event of a duplicate submission, the earliest filed bug report in the bug tracker is considered the first report.
Bugs disclosed publicly or to a third-party for purposes other than fixing the bug will typically not qualify for a reward. We encourage responsible disclosure, and believe responsible disclosure is a two-way street; it's our duty to fix serious bugs within a reasonable time frame.
If you have a fuzzer running as part of our Chrome Fuzzer Program, you will not receive a reward if one of our fuzzers finds the same bug within 48 hours.
Reward amounts
Rewards for qualifying bugs typically range from $500 to $100,000.
We have a standing $100,000 reward for participants that can compromise a Chromebook or Chromebox with device persistence in guest mode (i.e. guest to guest persistence with interim reboot, delivered via a web page).
The following table outlines the usual rewards chosen for the most common classes of bugs:
High-quality report with
functional exploit [1] High-quality report [2] Baseline [3] Low-quality report [4] Sandbox Escape [5] $15,000 $10,000 $2,000 - $5,000 $500 Renderer Remote Code Execution $7,500 $5,000 $1,000 - $3,000 $500 Universal XSS (local bypass or equivalent) $7,500 $5,000 N/A N/A Information Leak $4,000 $2,000 $0 - $1000 $0 Download Protection bypass [6] N/A $1,000 $0 - $500 $0 New Feature Special Rewards See below
[1] A high-quality report with a reliable exploit that demonstrates that the bug reported can be easily, actively and reliably used against our users.
[2] A report that includes a minimized test case and the versions of Chrome affected by the bug. You will also demonstrate that exploitation of this vulnerability is very likely (e.g. good control of EIP or another CPU register). Your report should be brief and well written with only necessary detail and commentary.
[3] A minimized test case or output from a fuzzer that highlights a security bug is present without establishing that the issue is exploitable.
[4] A report submitted with only a crash dump, without a Proof of Concept (PoC) or with a poor quality PoC (e.g. a 1MB fuzz file dump with no attempt at reduction) that is later verified to be a legitimate issue.
[5] Escaping any layer of the sandbox (including the NaCl sandbox) will be considered as a sandbox escape.
[6] Landing a blacklisted test binary (malware example, UwS example) on disk where a typical user could execute it, on Mac or Windows. The file type on disk must lead to non-sandboxed code execution after minimal user interaction with the file. See the FAQ below for more information.
The amounts listed are for good quality reports that don't require complex or unlikely user interaction. Less convincing or more constrained bug submissions will likely qualify for reduced reward amounts, as chosen at the discretion of the reward panel.
Rewards apply to Chrome on Win 7+, MacOSX v10.9+, Linux, Android 4.4+, iOS 7+ and to current versions of Chrome OS. We are also interested in bugs that affect Chrome on Windows XP and Vista, which may qualify for a reduced reward amount.
On top of these rewards, we offer either $500 or $1,337 if a well-written patch is provided with the report. The amount for this reward is determined by the panel based on the quality and the effort required to write a good patch for the bug. Significant patches can also be submitted under our Patch Reward Program.
The final amount is always chosen at the discretion of the reward panel. In particular, we may decide to pay higher rewards for unusually clever or severe vulnerabilities; decide that a single report actually constitutes multiple bugs; or that multiple reports are so closely related that they only warrant a single reward.
We understand that some of you are not interested in money. We offer the option to donate your reward to an established charity. If you do so, we will double your donation - subject to our discretion. Any rewards that are unclaimed after 12 months will be donated to a charity of our choosing.
Investigating and reporting bugs
All bugs should be reported via this form. Note that your submission is over HTTPS and does not require additional encryption. Bugs that are found in Google's server-side services should be reported under the Google Vulnerability Rewards Program instead.
When investigating a vulnerability, please, only ever target your own computers. Never attempt to access anyone else's data and do not engage in any activity that would be disruptive or damaging to your fellow users or to Google.
Note that we are only able to answer to technical vulnerability reports. Non-security bugs and queries about problems with your account should be instead directed to Google Help Centers.
Chrome New Feature Special Rewards
From time to time, we may offer increased reward amounts for bugs in newly released or soon to be released features. They will be time limited, after which bugs submitted will be considered at the usual rates above.
Site Isolation special rewards
Site Isolation ensures that each site (combination of scheme and eTLD+1) runs in its own OS process, and provides mitigation of speculative side channel attacks. It is enabled by default on Chrome 67 and above on desktop platforms.
In scope:
Bugs that cause two or more cross-site documents from the web to commit in the same process. i.e. force pre-Site Isolation behaviour.
Bugs that cause cross-site CORB-eligible responses not to be blocked. This includes HTML, XML, and JSON responses that have nosniff headers, assuming sites operators have taken the necessary steps.)
Out of scope / known issues:
Attacks that assume a compromised renderer. Site Isolation's threat model excludes such attacks at present. (Future development of Site Isolation will provide defense against such attacks.)
Known issue whereby hosted apps share processes with each other.
Note that a small percentage of users may be opted out of Site Isolation to provide a control group. Researchers should ensure the feature is enabled by using the --site-per-process command line flag.
Duration: Bugs reported via this form between July 11th 2018 and January 11th 2019 will be considered for Site Isolation special rewards.
Reward amounts:
High-quality report with proof of concept/exploit [1] Baseline [2] Site Isolation Special Reward $5,000 - $8,000 $500 - $3,000
[1] A high-quality report with an exploit that demonstrates that the bug is in scope.
[2] Other in-scope reports, e.g. if exploitation is heavily mitigated or unreliable.
Chrome Fuzzer Program
The Chrome Fuzzer Program allows you to run fuzzers on Google hardware at Google scale across thousands of cores. You receive 100% of the reward value for any bugs found by your fuzzer plus a bonus $500, provided the same bug was not found by one of our fuzzers within 48 hours. There are two ways to participate:
libFuzzer
LibFuzzer allows fuzz testing of individual components in the Chrome browser, and are just as easy to write as unit tests. Any Chromium contributor can submit libFuzzer tests to the Chromium codebase, which will be picked up and run at scale by our fuzzing automation system, ClusterFuzz.
ClusterFuzz
Fuzzers can also be written to use ClusterFuzz directly. This allows fuzzers to be written in a wide range of languages and to take advantage of ClusterFuzz's more advanced options. Previously this was only available to members of the Trusted Researcher Program but is now open to all.
Before being submitted, fuzzers using either method must:
Test features shipping in production code that are susceptible to malicious user input.
Have found at least one vulnerability in local testing and reported in Chromium tracker.
To submit a fuzzer, please provide us with a few details.
All fuzzers run at Google's discretion.
Frequently asked questions
Q: How can I maximize the potential reward for my report?
A: Our lowest reward for eligible bugs is $500. If the rewards panel finds the bug particularly severe, the value can be higher than what is listed above in the table. To date, we've given out several instances of rewards $30,000 and higher. To improve your chances, please adhere to the guidelines provided in Reporting Security Bugs.
Q: How do I find out if my bug is eligible?
A: You will see a provisional comment to that effect in the bug entry once we have triaged the bug or the "reward-topanel" label on your bug.
Q: What happens if I disclose the bug publicly before you had a chance to fix it?
A: Please read our stance on coordinated disclosure. In essence, our pledge to you is to respond promptly and fix bugs in a sensible timeframe - and in exchange, we ask for a reasonable advance notice. Reports that go against this principle will usually not qualify, but we will evaluate them on a case-by-case basis.
Q: I wish to report an issue through a vulnerability broker / someone not you. Will my report still qualify for a reward?
A: We believe that it is against the spirit of the program to privately disclose the flaw to third parties for purposes other than actually fixing the bug. Consequently, such reports will typically not qualify.
Q: What if somebody else also found the same bug?
A: Only the first report of a given issue that we were previously unaware of is eligible. In the event of a duplicate submission, the earliest filed bug report in the bug tracker is considered the first report.
Q: What about bugs present in Google Chrome but not the Chromium open source project?
A: Bugs in either build may be eligible. In addition, bugs in plug-ins that are shipped with Google Chrome by default (e.g. PDFium, Adobe Flash) are usually eligible. Bugs in third-party plug-ins and extensions are ineligible.
Q: Do I still qualify if I disclose the problem publicly once fixed?
A: Yes, absolutely. We encourage open collaboration. We will also make sure to credit you in the relevant Google Chrome release notes and the rewards Hall of Fame.
Q: What about bugs in channels other than Stable?
A: We are interested in bugs in the Stable, Beta and Dev channels because it's best for everyone to find and fix bugs before they are released to the Stable channel. However, we discourage testing against canary or trunk builds, because they don't undergo release testing and can exhibit short-lived regressions that are typically identified and fixed very quickly.
Q: What about bugs in third-party components?
A: These bugs are often eligible (e.g. libxml, image libraries, compression libraries, etc). As long as they can manifest through or affect Chrome, bugs may be eligible even if they are caused by components of the operating system or standard libraries. We're interested in rewarding any information that enables us to better protect our users. In the event of bugs in an external component, we are happy to take care of responsibly notifying other affected parties.
Q: Can you keep my identity confidential from the rest of the world?
A: Yes. If selected as the recipient of a reward, and you accept, we will need your contact details in order to pay you. However, at your discretion and if you ask us before the bug is made public, we can credit the bug to "anonymous" and remove identifying information from the bug entry.
Q: Can I submit my report now and provide a working exploit later? Is there a time limit for submitting an exploit?
A: Most definitely! We encourage this approach as it allows us to work on fixing the bug as soon as possible. It also minimizes the chance that someone else reports the same issue while you're working up an exploit. Although we don't have a set time limit, we would expect that the exploit would follow within a few weeks of the initial report. Exploits submitted outside of this time frame are unlikely to be rewarded.
Q: What is the Trusted Researcher program? Can you run my fuzzer for me?
A: The Trusted Researcher program is now part of the Chrome Fuzzer Program.
The easiest way to get an invite into this program is to submit quality bugs that are found with one of your fuzzers. If we like what we see, we’ll reach out with the details!
Q: Are bugs found by my Chrome Fuzzer Program fuzzer eligible for New Feature Special Reward amounts?
A: Only if the fuzzer specifically targets the new feature and was submitted to us during the New Feature Special Reward time period and finds in-scope bugs, as defined above. Otherwise bugs will be considered at the usual reward levels.
Q: Why are these rewards significantly less than the old Pwnium?
A: The prizes at Pwnium were large (up to $150,000) because Pwnium has significant restrictions as a competition. Former Pwniums required a physical presence at the competition location, a successful demonstration of your exploit on a future version of Chrome and the delivery of a full-chain exploit via a webpage - all while doing this on one of our latest Chromebooks in a short time window in March!
Even if you had a bug that met all of these criteria, you still ran the risk of Google fixing the bug before Pwnium or someone else reporting the issue to us if you chose to wait for the competition. As we build a more secure browser, we believe that Pwnium-style bug-chains will be significantly harder to come by, as evidenced by the handful of people who entered that competition.
Q: What about full-chain exploits on platforms other than Chrome OS?
A: We are interested in full-chain exploits against Chrome running on other platforms. For example and referring to the table above, a high-quality full-chain exploit that escapes the sandbox on non-Chrome OS platforms would likely receive at least $22,500 ($15,000 for the sandbox escape portion, $7,500 for the code execution in the renderer). In addition, any other bugs in the operating system that can manifest through Chrome are highly likely to be rewarded as well.
Q: Can I have more details about the Download Protection bypass rewards?
A: Sure! Here are all of the qualifying rules you need to consider:
Safe Browsing must be enabled on Chrome and have an up-to-date database (this may take up to a few hours after a new Chrome install).
Safe Browsing servers must be reachable on the network.
Binary must land in a location a user is likely to execute it (e.g. Downloads folder).
The user can’t be asked to change the file extension or recover it from the blocked download list.
Any gestures required must be likely and reasonable for most users. As a guide, execution with more than three reasonable user gestures (eg: click to download, open .zip, launch .exe) is unlikely to qualify, but it’ll be judged on a case-by-case basis. The user can’t be expected to bypass warnings.
The download should not send a Download Protection Ping back to Safe Browsing. Download Protection Pings can be measured by checking increments to counters at chrome://histograms/SBClientDownload.CheckDownloadStats. If a counter increments, a check was successfully sent (with exception to counter #7, which counts checks that were not sent).
The binary’s hosting domain and any signature can not be on a whitelist. You can measure this by checking chrome://histograms/SBClientDownload.SignedOrWhitelistedDownload does not increment.
The extension of the binary file must be one of those that Chrome already tracks. This list can be found here: download_file_types.asciipb
Q: Will Google reward for bugs that are not specifically listed in the table above?
A: Yes - we're interested in rewarding any information that enables us to better protect our users. All of our reward amounts are based on the quality of the report and the security impact of the bug.
Q: The black market / my friend Ned pays more for my bugs! Do these comparatively low reward levels encourage the sale of bugs to people in trenchcoats and dark sunglasses?
A: We understand that there are dark corners of the Internet that may pay you more money to purchase any vulnerabilities that you find or exploits that you develop. These people buy vulnerabilities and exploits for offensive purposes to target other users on the Internet. We believe that the reward you are getting comes with strings attached - including buying your silence and accepting that any bug you sell may be used to target other people without their knowledge. We understand that our cash reward amounts can be less than these alternatives, but we offer you public acknowledgement of your skills and how awesome you are, a quick fix and an opportunity to openly blog/talk/present on your amazing work (while still offering you a very healthy financial reward for your work!). Also, you'll *never* have to be concerned that your bugs were used by shady people for unknown purposes.
Legal points
We are unable to issue rewards to individuals who are on sanctions lists, or who are in countries (e.g. Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria) on sanctions lists. You are responsible for any tax implications depending on your country of residency and citizenship. There may be additional restrictions on your ability to enter depending upon your local law.
This is not a competition, but rather an experimental and discretionary rewards program. You should understand that we can cancel the program at any time and the decision as to whether or not to pay a reward has to be entirely at our discretion.
Of course, your testing must not violate any law, or disrupt or compromise any data that is not your own. ||||| Over the past six years, Google has paid security researchers over $6 million (over $2 million last year alone) since launching its bug bounty program in 2010. The company today expanded its Chrome Reward Program with two changes: increasing its top reward for Chromebooks and adding a new bounty.
Bug bounty programs are an excellent addition to existing internal security programs. They help motivate individuals and groups of hackers not only to find flaws, but to disclose them properly when they do, instead of using them maliciously or selling them to parties that will.
Last year, Google introduced a $50,000 reward for the persistent compromise of a Chromebook in guest mode. The company’s security team says it hasn’t received a single successful submission.
As such, Google has doubled the bounty, which was already the top Chrome reward, to $100,000. The company really wants someone to hack Chrome OS to pieces. “That said, great research deserves great awards, so we’re putting up a standing six-figure sum, available all year round with no quotas and no maximum reward pool,” Google declared.
Google has also added a Download Protection Bypass bounty. In short, the company is offering rewards for methods that bypass Chrome’s Safe Browsing download protection features. The qualifying reward rules are as follows:
Safe Browsing must be enabled on Chrome and have an up-to-date database (this may take up to a few hours after a new Chrome install).
Safe Browsing servers must be reachable on the network.
Binary must land in a location a user is likely to execute it (e.g. Downloads folder).
The user can’t be asked to change the file extension or recover it from the blocked download list.
Any gestures required must be likely and reasonable for most users. As a guide, execution with more than three reasonable user gestures (eg: click to download, open .zip, launch .exe) is unlikely to qualify, but it’ll be judged on a case-by-case basis. The user can’t be expected to bypass warnings.
The download should not send a Download Protection Ping back to Safe Browsing. Download Protection Pings can be measured by checking increments to counters at chrome://histograms/SBClientDownload.CheckDownloadStats. If a counter increments, a check was successfully sent (with exception to counter #7, which counts checks that were not sent).
The binary’s hosting domain and any signature cannot be on a whitelist. You can measure this by checking chrome://histograms/SBClientDownload.SignedOrWhitelistedDownload does not increment.
Safe Browsing provides lists of URLs that contain malware or phishing content to Chrome, Firefox, and Safari browsers, as well as to Internet service providers (ISPs). The service can also be accessed via the public API or directly by manually changing this URL to check whichever site you want. |||||
Write a summary.
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– For six years Google has been leaning on some of the world's best hackers to find problems in a wide range of its products through its bug bounty program, paying $2 million to hundreds of winners last year alone. But after announcing a $50,000 reward for the persistent compromise of a Chromebook in guest mode last year, the company has yet to receive a single successful submission—so it has doubled its reward to $100,000 in the hopes that someone, anyone, can find bugs, reports VentureBeat. "Great research deserves great awards, so we’re putting up a standing six-figure sum, available all year round with no quotas and no maximum reward pool," Google says in a statement. The company has already added several security measures to make Chromebooks more secure, reports PC World, including automatic software update downloads, verification boot-ups, and more. People can also win smaller rewards if they find ways to bypass Chrome’s Safe Browsing download protection features, which collects lists of URLs that contain malware or phishing content for several browsers and Internet service providers. (This guy has made six figures by exposing bugs.)
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– Everyone loves a good celebrity feud: And these 10, rounded up by TheRichest, are reportedly so bad that the actors involved refuse to work together. Five standout pairs: Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte's 1994 romantic comedy I Love Trouble was spark-free, and perhaps that's because they worked together so poorly they reportedly had to shoot their scenes separately. Afterward, Roberts called Nolte "completely disgusting" and he called her "not a nice person." Bill Murray starred in the first Charlie's Angels movie, and reportedly had a bit of a hissy fit on set, interrupting a scene to ask Lucy Liu, "What in the [bleep] are you doing here. You can't act!" Liu reportedly tried to attack him as the two screamed at each other, and Murray refused to come back for the sequel. While filming Terms of Endearment, Shirley MacLaine was reportedly upset with Debra Winger's behavior, said to be tied to substance abuse. At one point Winger allegedly farted in MacLaine's direction on purpose. Even in 2008, Winger confirmed she's still no fan of MacLaine. OK, this one is just sad: Apparently there's no love lost between Star Trek co-stars William Shatner and George Takei. Shatner once complained about being the only Trek cast member not invited to Takei's wedding, and Takei more recently called Shatner "the biggest douche." So there's this very interesting rumor having to do with Richard Gere and a gerbil, and Gere has reportedly accused Sylvester Stallone of starting it. It seems when they co-starred in The Lords of Flatbush, they did not get along—to the point of fistfights and Gere allegedly pouring chicken grease on Stallone—and Stallone reportedly got Gere replaced. Click for the complete list, or check out 13 of the juiciest celebrity feuds ever.
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Several years ago, "they" say, actor Richard Gere was admitted into the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital with a foreign object lodged in his rectum. Win McNamee/Getty Images News/Getty Images
Updated January 23, 2016 .
I don't mean to sound cranky, but it's more than a bit wearisome that the first thing that pops out of some people's mouths when they learn I write about urban legends is, "What about that thing with Richard Gere and the gerbil? Is that true?"
You learn a lot about human nature in this racket. Or should I say, a lot of your worst suspicions about human nature are confirmed, time and time again.
Like, people everywhere are suckers for gossip about sex.
Weird sex. The-weirder-the-better sex. We're obsessed with it, in fact, and that seems to short-circuit our capacity for rational thought.
Gerbilling: a definition
How many here already know what "gerbilling" is? Raise your hands.
Now, how many of you actually believe that anyone really does this sort of thing on a regular basis?
continue reading below our video Highest Paid Male Actors Ever
Raise your hands.
I see. Shame on you.
For those of you still sitting in the dark, here's a definition: gerbilling (sometimes referred to as gerbil stuffing) is the practice, most often attributed to gay men, of inserting a live rodent into one's rectum (or that of a partner) for erotic pleasure.
And what are the known facts about gerbilling? In reality, it's not a "practice" of any group of people, gay or otherwise. And while the activity, dangerous as it may be (gerbils have claws!), has surely been tried by someone, somewhere, sometime — maybe even more than once — it is not, if I may repeat myself, a common erotic pastime in any known culture or subculture, gay, straight, or otherwise.
The burden of proof is on those who claim otherwise.
Richard Gere and the gerbil
The specific rumor we're here to address goes something like this:
Several years ago, "they" say, Richard Gere was admitted into the emergency room of a Los Angeles hospital with a foreign object lodged in his rectum. Some say Gere was alone when he arrived, others say he was accompanied by a friend (former love interest Cindy Crawford tops the list).
In any case, an x-ray was taken and it was determined that the foreign object was a gerbil (either alive or dead at that point, depending on who tells the story). Mr. Gere was rushed to surgery, where it literally took a team of doctors to extract the unfortunate animal. Some say the gerbil was found to have been shaven and declawed; others claim it had been encased in a special plastic pouch. I've even heard it said that the gerbil was Gere's own beloved pet (appropriately named "Tibet" in this variant). In any event, when the gerbilectomy was done the medical team was sworn to secrecy (unsuccessfully, we must conclude), and Gere went on his merry way, suffering no permanent harm other than to his reputation.
"Is it true?" you ask. ||||| Let’s face it, sometimes actors have to spend an extensive amount of time with fellow co-stars and members of their film directing crew and so, it is normal for disputes and disagreements to occur. People are bound to get on each other’s nerves, especially when they are spending more than 12-hour days together for months at a time. Compiled below is a list of the top ten celebrity feuds, actors who have refused to work together.
10 . Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts
The Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts feud began back in 1994, on the set of their romantic comedy, I Love Trouble. On camera, the two seemed to miss the mark as far as chemistry goes, and off camera it was seemingly even worse. The two had a dreadful time working together, even going so far as having to shoot their scenes separately. The quarrel apparently continued long after the movie wrapped up, with Julia Roberts describing Nick Nolte as “completely disgusting” and Nolte responding with, “she’s not a nice person, everyone knows that.” It appears as though Nolte made a lasting impression on his then co-star, because she is still talking about him years later. In a 2009 interview on the Late Show with David Letterman, Roberts lays down some details about a previous co-star of hers, that engaged in an obscene hissy-fit on set, we don’t need to wonder who she was talking about.
9 . Bill Murray and Lucy Liu
Ever wonder why Bill Murray wasn’t in the sequel to the Charlie’s Angels movie? Well it seems that there was a huge blowout on the set of the first Charlie’s Angels movie, between him and actress Lucy Liu. The word on set was that Murray stopped a scene being filmed with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu pointing at each one in order stating “I get why you’re here, and you’ve got talent, but what in the hell are you doing here. You can’t act!” Liu responded to his outburst angrily with swinging fists. This forced the crew members on set to immediately separate the two icons who were still screaming obscenities at one another. Murray would not agree to do the sequel with Liu, which is why he was replaced by Bernie Mac in the follow-up movie, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.
8 . James Franco and Tyrese Gibson
James Franco and Tyrese Gibson had their falling out in 2006, while filming on the set of the movie Annapolis. Gibson is quoted as stating “I never want to work with him again, and I’m sure he feels the same way.” His feelings are derived from Franco being rude on set and full-on hitting him when practicing boxing scenes. Franco’s defense is that he is a method actor, meaning he is in character constantly. Apparently Gibson took it personally and even told Elle magazine that if he could choose one celebrity’s house to blow up while they were at the grocery store, he would choose James Franco’s house.
7 . Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger
Though both have the reputation as being difficult to work with, these two seemed to have it in for one another on the set of Terms of Endearment. Shirley Maclaine was put off with Debra Winger’s behavior due to alleged substance abuse which was rumored to be cocaine. The dispute evolved when Winger reportedly passed gas in Maclaine’s direction as a way of giving her the middle finger. Competition arose when both actresses were nominated for Best Actress for Terms of Endearment. Maclaine ended up winning the award and many took her, “I deserve this” in her acceptance speech as an insulting “I’m better than you dig” to Winger. Apparently the feud is still up in the air as Winger confirmed on The View in 2008 that time does not heal all wounds when referring to Maclaine.
6 . Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard
When asked why he didn’t return for the last two films in the Iron Man trilogy, Terrence Howard has a lot to say. Howard who played Lt. Col. James Rhodes in the first Iron Man film is quoted as stating ” it turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man… when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out.” Howard continued to explain that Downey stole his money as Howard was supposed to be in all three of the Iron Man movies when the movie deal was initiated in the very beginning. However, he blames Downey for taking his share of the money and explains that when he received the news that he would have to take a pay cut he called his “friend” Downey who did not return his calls for three months.
5 . Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano
Bad girl, Shannen Doherty has been known to not get along with her female co-stars, think 90210. However, Shannon Doherty and Alyssa Milano have both been extremely outspoken and verbal about their feud. It was reported that Doherty left her role on Charmed due to the increased tensions between her and co-star Milano. Milano states “there were days when we would ignore each other” and the studio even went so far as to bring in a mediator to try to diffuse the situation between the two actresses. Milano recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live and spoke about Doherty’s abrupt exit from Charmed, stating the set was a reminder of what it was like in high school due to the drama that existed between the two co-stars.
4 . William Shatner and George Takei
The feud between these two has been heated since their Star Trek days as Kirk and Sulu. Back in 2008, William Shatner made a public outcry as to being the only Star Trek member not invited to George Takei’s wedding. On a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, Takei recently took the position of calling Shatner, “the biggest douche” on Star Trek and how Shatner is “very self-possessed, self-involved and everything revolves around The Captain.” Shatner added fuel to the fire when he called Takei “sick and psychotic” and made claims that nobody cared when Takei came out as gay.
3 . Bette Davis and Joan Crawford
Time apparently doesn’t heal all wounds, as evidenced by this iconic feud between these two greats. These legendary actresses had a feud between them that dated all the way back to 1935. Joan Crawford got on Bette Davis’ bad side when she married Davis’ co-star in Dangerous, Franchot Tone. Davis had fallen in love with Tone and felt Crawford stole him away from her. When the two were paired up for the movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, it was reported that Davis had a Coca Cola machine installed inside of her dressing room, in order to make a dig at Crawford since her husband at the time was the CEO for Pepsi. These two fought till the end, Crawford passed away first with Davis stating “you should never say bad things about the dead, only good…Joan Crawford is dead…good.”
2 . Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere
Have you ever wondered where the crazy gerbil rumors came about? The feud between these two powerhouse icons started when Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone were cast alongside one another in The Lords of Flatbush. Apparently these actors’ egos took precedent, and it wasn’t long before fist fights emerged while on set. Stallone claims Gere purposely spilled chicken grease on him. Further, the two actors couldn’t get their chemistry to work and it was Stallone who reportedly went and got Gere replaced from The Lords of Flatbush. Yet, the feud didn’t end there, as a highly publicized and notorious gerbil rumor started making its way around in Hollywood circles. Gere has accused Stallone for creating the crazy, yet highly untrue rumor.
1 . Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski
This crazy feud is one for the books. Polanski was directing Dunaway in his 1974 masterpiece, Chinatown when the feud ignited. The chaos began when Polanski had been noted as plucking a strand of hair from Dunaway’s head because it was ruining the shot. When Dunaway attempted to understand her character better by asking the director what the motivation was behind the character he yelled at her and responded, “say the f-ing words, your salary is your motivation.” The final straw was reportedly during one scene Dunaway had to take a bathroom break yet, Polanski would not let her. It was to his surprise when Dunaway threw a coffee cup full of urine in his face. Dunaway fails to comment on any of this and gets very upset when journalists ask her about her actions on the set of Chinatown.
13.3K Shares Share On Facebook Tweet Share Email ||||| Let's face it, sometimes actors have to spend an extensive amount of time with fellow co-stars and members of their film directing crew and so, it is normal for disputes and disagreements to occur. People are bound to get on each other's nerves, especially when they are spending more than 12-hour days together for months at a time. Compiled below is a list of the top ten celebrity feuds, actors who have refused to work together.
Continue scrolling to keep reading Click the button below to start this article in quick view 13.3K Shares Share Tweet Email Copy Link Copied
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10 Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts
The Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts feud began back in 1994, on the set of their romantic comedy, I Love Trouble. On camera, the two seemed to miss the mark as far as chemistry goes, and off camera it was seemingly even worse. The two had a dreadful time working together, even going so far as having to shoot their scenes separately. The quarrel apparently continued long after the movie wrapped up, with Julia Roberts describing Nick Nolte as "completely disgusting" and Nolte responding with, "she's not a nice person, everyone knows that." It appears as though Nolte made a lasting impression on his then co-star, because she is still talking about him years later. In a 2009 interview on the Late Show with David Letterman, Roberts lays down some details about a previous co-star of hers, that engaged in an obscene hissy-fit on set, we don't need to wonder who she was talking about.
9 Bill Murray and Lucy Liu
Ever wonder why Bill Murray wasn't in the sequel to the Charlie's Angels movie? Well it seems that there was a huge blowout on the set of the first Charlie's Angels movie, between him and actress Lucy Liu. The word on set was that Murray stopped a scene being filmed with Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu pointing at each one in order stating "I get why you're here, and you've got talent, but what in the hell are you doing here. You can't act!" Liu responded to his outburst angrily with swinging fists. This forced the crew members on set to immediately separate the two icons who were still screaming obscenities at one another. Murray would not agree to do the sequel with Liu, which is why he was replaced by Bernie Mac in the follow-up movie, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle.
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8 James Franco and Tyrese Gibson
7 Shirley Maclaine and Debra Winger
Though both have the reputation as being difficult to work with, these two seemed to have it in for one another on the set of Terms of Endearment. Shirley Maclaine was put off with Debra Winger's behavior due to alleged substance abuse which was rumored to be cocaine. The dispute evolved when Winger reportedly passed gas in Maclaine's direction as a way of giving her the middle finger. Competition arose when both actresses were nominated for Best Actress for Terms of Endearment. Maclaine ended up winning the award and many took her, "I deserve this" in her acceptance speech as an insulting "I'm better than you dig" to Winger. Apparently the feud is still up in the air as Winger confirmed on The View in 2008 that time does not heal all wounds when referring to Maclaine.
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6 Robert Downey Jr. and Terrence Howard
When asked why he didn't return for the last two films in the Iron Man trilogy, Terrence Howard has a lot to say. Howard who played Lt. Col. James Rhodes in the first Iron Man film is quoted as stating " it turns out that the person that I helped become Iron Man... when it was time to re-up for the second one, took the money that was supposed to go to me and pushed me out." Howard continued to explain that Downey stole his money as Howard was supposed to be in all three of the Iron Man movies when the movie deal was initiated in the very beginning. However, he blames Downey for taking his share of the money and explains that when he received the news that he would have to take a pay cut he called his "friend" Downey who did not return his calls for three months.
5 Shannen Doherty and Alyssa Milano
Bad girl, Shannen Doherty has been known to not get along with her female co-stars, think 90210. However, Shannon Doherty and Alyssa Milano have both been extremely outspoken and verbal about their feud. It was reported that Doherty left her role on Charmed due to the increased tensions between her and co-star Milano. Milano states "there were days when we would ignore each other" and the studio even went so far as to bring in a mediator to try to diffuse the situation between the two actresses. Milano recently appeared on Watch What Happens Live and spoke about Doherty's abrupt exit from Charmed, stating the set was a reminder of what it was like in high school due to the drama that existed between the two co-stars.
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4 William Shatner and George Takei
The feud between these two has been heated since their Star Trek days as Kirk and Sulu. Back in 2008, William Shatner made a public outcry as to being the only Star Trek member not invited to George Takei's wedding. On a recent episode of Watch What Happens Live, Takei recently took the position of calling Shatner, "the biggest douche" on Star Trek and how Shatner is "very self-possessed, self-involved and everything revolves around The Captain." Shatner added fuel to the fire when he called Takei "sick and psychotic" and made claims that nobody cared when Takei came out as gay.
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3 Bette Davis and Joan Crawford
Time apparently doesn't heal all wounds, as evidenced by this iconic feud between these two greats. These legendary actresses had a feud between them that dated all the way back to 1935. Joan Crawford got on Bette Davis' bad side when she married Davis' co-star in Dangerous, Franchot Tone. Davis had fallen in love with Tone and felt Crawford stole him away from her. When the two were paired up for the movie What Ever Happened to Baby Jane, it was reported that Davis had a Coca Cola machine installed inside of her dressing room, in order to make a dig at Crawford since her husband at the time was the CEO for Pepsi. These two fought till the end, Crawford passed away first with Davis stating "you should never say bad things about the dead, only good...Joan Crawford is dead...good."
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2 Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere
Have you ever wondered where the crazy gerbil rumors came about? The feud between these two powerhouse icons started when Richard Gere and Sylvester Stallone were cast alongside one another in The Lords of Flatbush. Apparently these actors' egos took precedent, and it wasn't long before fist fights emerged while on set. Stallone claims Gere purposely spilled chicken grease on him. Further, the two actors couldn't get their chemistry to work and it was Stallone who reportedly went and got Gere replaced from The Lords of Flatbush. Yet, the feud didn't end there, as a highly publicized and notorious gerbil rumor started making its way around in Hollywood circles. Gere has accused Stallone for creating the crazy, yet highly untrue rumor.
1 Faye Dunaway and Roman Polanski
This crazy feud is one for the books. Polanski was directing Dunaway in his 1974 masterpiece, Chinatown when the feud ignited. The chaos began when Polanski had been noted as plucking a strand of hair from Dunaway's head because it was ruining the shot. When Dunaway attempted to understand her character better by asking the director what the motivation was behind the character he yelled at her and responded, "say the f-ing words, your salary is your motivation." The final straw was reportedly during one scene Dunaway had to take a bathroom break yet, Polanski would not let her. It was to his surprise when Dunaway threw a coffee cup full of urine in his face. Dunaway fails to comment on any of this and gets very upset when journalists ask her about her actions on the set of Chinatown.
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An Idaho Fish and Game commissioner who emailed photos of himself posing with a family of baboons he shot and killed during a recent African hunting trip has led to former commissioners asking for his resignation. (Photo via Idaho governor's office)
An Idaho Fish and Game commissioner who emailed photos of himself posing with a family of baboons he shot and killed during a recent hunting trip in Africa has led to a group of former commissioners asking for his resignation.
According to emails and photos obtained by CBS 2 News through Gov. Butch Otter's office, commissioner Blake Fischer emailed several pictures of his kills to numerous people highlighting his hunting trip.
The pictures received swift backlash.
He begins the email saying he and his wife had just returned from a two-week hunting trip to Namibia.
"First day she wanted to watch me, and 'get a feel' of Africa," Fischer said in the email obtained through the governor's office. "So I shot a whole family of baboons."
In addition to the baboon picture, Fischer emailed photos of other animals that he and his wife hunted and killed while in Namibia including a giraffe, leopard, impala, antelope and waterbuck.
"I shot a Leopard," he wrote. "Super cool, super lucky. The Leopard is one of the big 5, as in one of the 5 animals in Africa that will kill you before you can kill it. Crazy cool animal. They are normally super nocturnal, so this was really unique."
The photos have garnered the attention of Gov. Butch Otter.
"Governor Otter was briefed and has seen the pictures," said Jon Hanian, the governor's spokesman. "He has expressed concern about them and we’re looking into the situation.”
The story was first reported by the Idaho Statesman.
Former commissioner Fred Trevey, in an email obtained through the governor's office, said Fischer sent the photos to about 125 people.
"My reaction to the photo and accompanying text of you smiling and holding a 'family' of primates you killed, dismays and disappoints me," Trevey said. "I have a difficult time understanding how a person privileged to be an Idaho Fish and Game Commissioner can view such an action as sportsmanlike and an example to others."
Trevey says that although the hunt may have been legal, "legal does not make it right."
"Your poor judgement has unnecessarily put the institution’s credibility, and hunting in general, at risk in a blink of an eye," he said. "My belief is you should take responsibility and resign, sooner rather than later."
The Idaho Department of Fish and Game told CBS 2 News that its commissioners are not employees of the department and therefore it has no comment.
Calls and emails to Fischer seeking comment have not been returned though he told the Statesman, "I didn't do anything illegal."
Two commissioners have declined comment to CBS 2 News, saying all media inquiries for the commissioners need to go through the governor’s office.
Steve Alder, executive director for Idaho For Wildlife, a pro-hunting group, said the hunts were despicable and that you shouldn’t exploit animals and stories like this fuel anti-hunting efforts.
"What bothers me is he’s got the family there and a little baby baboon sitting there with blood all over it, kind of like in the mother’s arms," Alder said. "You just don’t do this. It’s just not something. We don’t want to put out to the public and many of us wouldn’t even do this in the first place."
||||| RED ALER! ACTION! Commission member Blake Fischer killed an entire family of baboons & babies He bragged that his wife wanted watch him hunt "So I shot a whole family of baboons" also shot a giraffe & leopard. TAKE ACTION and contact Governor Otter demand Blake Fischer’s removalpic.twitter.com/MDUJVanMOb ||||| 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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– Another controversy is brewing about an American hunter's safari in Africa. This time it involves a Fish and Game commissioner in Idaho named Blake Fischer, who returned from a hunt in Namibia with his wife and boasted by email of all the animals he killed with a bow, reports the Idaho State Journal. The most controversial photo is of a smiling Fischer posing with four dead baboons. (Click the Journal link to the see the photo, or this tweet, but note that the image might be disturbing for some.) "Fellas," Fischer writes, explaining that his wife accompanied him because "she wanted to watch me and 'get a feel' of Africa ... so I shot a whole family of baboons. I think she got the idea quick." Fischer also provided photos of his other kills, including a giraffe, a leopard, an impala, a sable antelope, and a waterbuck, per the Idaho Statesman, which counts at least 14. Fischer's email went out to dozens of acquaintances, including former commissioners on the Fish and Game panel. So far, three of those ex-commissioners have called for Fischer to resign from the panel, whose members are not paid and are appointed by the governor. "I'm sure what you did was legal, however, legal does not make it right," wrote one of them, Fred Trevey. Fischer, however, tells the Statesman: "I didn't do anything illegal. I didn't do anything unethical. I didn't do anything immoral." A spokesperson for Gov. CL "Butch" Otter said "it's fair to say the governor is concerned." Criticism isn't just coming from animal-rights activists. "What bothers me is he's got the family there and a little baby baboon sitting there with blood all over it, kind of like in the mother's arms," the director of the pro-hunting Idaho for Wildlife group tells IdahoNews. "You just don’t do this." (This man shot a bear in Alaska; then the unheard of happened.)
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A volunteer assisting with search efforts for a missing man found a lifeless body on the hillside in an area called Pia Gulch about a half-mile northeast of the Wavecrest Resort at around 9:16 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 21, 2018.
Maui police say the body was positively identified by family members as 27-year-old Stephen Kramar. An autopsy will be scheduled to determine the official cause of death.
Kramar was last seen on Monday leaving the Wavecrest Resort in Kaunakakai, Molokaʻi. Police say Kramar was returning from a hike later in the day but never made it back.
On Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2018 at about 11 p.m., police say Jeffanie Rantung reported her husband Stephen Kramar missing. Rantung reported that Kramar left the Wavecrest Resort at about 9:30 a.m. and hiked north of the hotel. Police say she received a text message from Kramar at about 2:24 p.m. stating that he was on his way back, but he never made it back to the hotel.
Search efforts by the Maui Fire Department and Maui Police Department were conducted on the ground and by air.
A GoFundMe account has since been set up for the newlyweds to assist the family with transportation as well as other incidental expenses.
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Within the first 24 hours of being established, the account had raised $8,531 of its $50,000 goal.
According to the account details, Jeffanie and Stephen recently left on honeymoon for Molokaʻi. Stephen went missing during a hiking excursion and was reportedly was scouting the area to make sure it was safe to take his new wife with him. ||||| 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. ||||| HAWAII -- A man from Gaithersburg, Md., who was visiting Hawaii on his honeymoon, has been found dead.
Stephen Kramar's wife Jeffanie said he went out hiking, to make sure a trail was safe enough for her to join him, according to GoFundMe Page set up to help the family.
A few hours later, he texted that he was on his way back but he never returned.
After four days of searching, crews found his body in an area called Pia Gulch.
Stephen Kramar was 27 years old.
An autopsy will be conducted to determine his exact cause of death.
© 2018 WUSA |||||
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– A newlywed on his honeymoon in Hawaii was found dead at the tragic end of a 4-day search that began after he failed to return from a hiking trail. Per WUSA, Stephen Kramar of Gaithersburg, Maryland was at the Wavecrest Resort in Kaunakakai, Molokai when he told his new wife he was going to check out a trail the morning of Sept. 17 before she joined him in order to ensure it was safe. The 27-year-old texted that he was on his way back that afternoon but never returned. Per Maui Now, the days of searching, with the help of volunteers, ended Friday morning when remains were found on a hillside in an area called Pia Gulch, just a half-mile from the resort. Family members have since positively identified the body as Kramar's. An autopsy has been scheduled and no official cause of death has yet been determined. A GoFundMe account has been set up to raise money that will benefit Kramar's family by offsetting transportation costs and other fees. As of Sunday afternoon, nearly $20,000 had been raised.
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A North Korean-flagged tanker “Morning Glory” is docked at the Es Sider export terminal in Ras Lanuf, March 8, 2014. (Esam Omran Al-Fetori/Reuters)
A team of U.S. Navy SEALs boarded and took control of an oil tanker seized earlier this month by three armed Libyans, the Pentagon announced this morning.
The Libyans had apparently been trying to sell the oil on the black market.
The action, in international waters near Cyprus, was taken at the request of both the Libyan and Cypriot governments, the Pentagon said, adding that no one was hurt.
The ship appears to have been wandering around the Mediterranean piloted by unknown sailors under an uncertain flag, with at least one effort made by three men in a boat near Larnaka to buy oil from it.
According to a Pentagon statement:
“The Morning Glory is carrying a cargo of oil owned by the Libyan government National Oil Company. The ship and its cargo were illicitly obtained from the Libyan port of As-Sidra.”
Media reports earlier in the week suggested that the tanker was a North Korean-flagged vessel loaded with 200,000 barrels of oil. But a North Korean official denied that on Thursday, saying the ship-named “Morning Glory” had had its North Korean registration revoked.
Libyan government forces and loyal militia fighters claim a rival militia hoped to load the tanker with oil for export in defiance of central authorities.
A paper in Cyprus reported that authorities there are questioning three people who hired a local boat and tried to buy oil from the tanker.
Libya’s parliament ousted Prime Minister Ali Zeidan on Tuesday after rebels loaded crude onto the ship.
According to the Pentagon statement:
“The boarding operation, approved by President Obama and conducted just after 10 p.m. EDT on March 16 in international waters southeast of Cypress, was executed by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs attached to Special Operations Command Europe. “The SEAL team embarked and operated from the guided missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG-80). USS Roosevelt provided helicopter support and served as a command and control and support platform for the other members of the force assigned to conduct the mission. “The Morning Glory will be underway soon to a port in Libya with a team of sailors from the USS Stout (DDG-55) embarked. The sailors will be supervising the transit.”
According to Reuters, the Cypriot ministry of foreign affairs said the vessel was now heading west in the Mediterranean with a U.S. military escort. It was parked 18 miles southwest of Cyprus when the operation occurred around midnight Cyprus time.
The standoff over control of OPEC member Libya’s oil is one facet of wider turmoil that has engulfed the vast North African country since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi nearly three years ago. The government and nascent army have struggled to control brigades of former anti-Gaddafi fighters who have refused to disarm and have used their military muscle to make political demands on the state, often by targeting the vital oil sector.
For more stories like this visit Morning Mix ||||| Pentagon Press Secretary Rear Adm. John Kirby provided the following statement:
"No one was hurt tonight when U.S. forces, at the request of both the Libyan and Cypriot governments, boarded and took control of the commercial tanker Morning Glory, a stateless vessel seized earlier this month by three armed Libyans.
"The boarding operation, approved by President Obama and conducted just after 10 p.m. EDT on March 16 in international waters southeast of Cyprus, was executed by a team of U.S. Navy SEALs attached to Special Operations Command Europe.
"The SEAL team embarked and operated from the guided missile destroyer USS Roosevelt (DDG-80). USS Roosevelt provided helicopter support and served as a command and control and support platform for the other members of the force assigned to conduct the mission.
"The Morning Glory is carrying a cargo of oil owned by the Libyan government National Oil Company. The ship and its cargo were illicitly obtained from the Libyan port of As-Sidra.
"The Morning Glory will be underway soon to a port in Libya with a team of sailors from the USS Stout (DDG-55) embarked. The sailors will be supervising the transit.
"USS Roosevelt is homeported in Mayport, Fla. and is deployed as part of the George H.W. Bush Carrier Strike Group. USS Stout is homeported in Norfolk, Va."
- END -
||||| TRIPOLI U.S. special forces have seized a tanker that fled with a cargo of oil from a Libyan port controlled by anti-government rebels, halting their attempt to sell crude on the global market.
Gunmen demanding regional autonomy and a share of oil wealth had managed to load the ship, which escaped Libya's navy and triggered a crisis that prompted parliament to sack the prime minister.
A U.S. SEAL commando team boarded the tanker Morning Glory from a Naval special warfare rigid inflatable boat as it sat in international waters off Cyprus on Sunday night.
The seizure was approved by U.S. President Barack Obama and requested by the Libyan and Cypriot governments, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said.
No one was hurt in the under two hour operation, and no shots fired. Two AK47 rifles were found and the three Libyans holding the ship remained in U.S. control, a U.S. defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
"The Morning Glory is carrying a cargo of oil owned by the Libyan government National Oil Company. The ship and its cargo were illicitly obtained" from the Libyan port of Es Sider, Kirby's statement said.
The standoff over Libyan oil and the tanker debacle have deepened the chaos testing Tripoli since the civil war that toppled Muammar Gaddafi nearly three years ago.
With its army still nascent, a weak government has been unable to impose its will on former anti-Gaddafi fighters and militias who now use their military muscle to make demands on the state, often by targeting the vital oil sector.
At least in the short term, the tanker's seizure by U.S. forces is likely to prevent any more attempted oil sales by the rebels, who in August took control of three export terminals accounting previously for 700,000 barrels a day of exports.
"Oil is the economy's artery. The government will not allow anyone to fool around with the assets and resources of the Libyan people," the Libyan government said in a statement.
It was the second time in six months that U.S. forces have become involved in Libya. A commando team snatched a suspected al Qaeda suspect off the street as he returned home from prayers in the capital Tripoli in September.
The Cypriot foreign ministry said the vessel was now heading west in the Mediterranean with a U.S. military escort.
An American crew from the USS Stout, a guided missile destroyer, got the tanker underway toward Libya on Monday. The Stout voyage was expected to take up to four days, the officials said.
The Morning Glory had been North Korean-flagged, but the government in Pyongyang on Thursday said it had notified Libya and maritime authorities that it had severed all ties with the ship because of the vessel's contraband cargo.
So Se Pyong, North Korea's ambassador in Geneva, said on Monday he discussed the situation with his Libyan counterpart to explain, but not apologize for the situation.
He said North Korea did not buy oil from Libyan rebels, and since the Egyptian-based shipping firm had acting illegally he was not concerned about the U.S. Navy seizure.
"Whether it was captured by the Americans, or by someone else, if that ship was doing something wrong, then we don't care," So told Reuters.
There was no immediate reaction from the federalist rebels, based in eastern Libya.
Abb-Rabbo al-Barassi, self-declared prime minister of the rebel movement, said on Saturday his group was ready to negotiate an end to the port blockade, but the government needed to abandon plans to mount a military offensive.
But analysts said it was uncertain whether government troops would be able effectively to confront the heavily armed rebels, made up of soldiers who defected from an oil protection force.
LEAR JET TO CYPRUS
The tanker's escape highlighted the weakness of government forces, which had claimed several times that the 37,000-tonne ship was under their control only for the vessel to slip into international waters after a firefight.
Still, the intervention gives a boost to the fragile Libyan government in its fight to impose order. The transition to democracy has been upset by tribal, regional and political disputes.
Western powers, worried that it might fracture or slide deeper into chaos, have been training Libyan armed forces and cajoling conflicting parties in government to reach a settlement, with little progress.
A successful sale of Libyan oil outside government control, though, was always going to be complicated for the rebels.
A Cypriot police source said three men - described as two Israelis and a Senegalese - were detained for questioning on Saturday on suspicion of attempting to buy the tanker's cargo, but were freed after a court refused to issue an arrest warrant.
Two of the men carried diplomatic passports - one from Senegal and one from a central African country, the security source said.
The source said they flew a Lear Jet into Cyprus on Friday evening, chartered a vessel from a yachting marina in Larnaca and headed to the tanker.
"They spoke to somebody on board the vessel, then left. At Larnaca marina police called them in for questioning," the source said. The men left for Tel Aviv after being freed.
The Libyan navy opened fire on a Maltese-flagged tanker trying to approach Es Sider in January, but analysts say a full military confrontation with the port rebels would be unlikely.
The government fears federalism might open the door for secession and similar protests by other regions, though the rebels say they do not want to break up Libya.
Tripoli faces a budget crisis as oil production has fallen to a little over 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), from 1.4 million bpd in summer when protests at oilfields and ports started.
(Changes attribution in paragraph five to a U.S. defense official, not Kirby)
(Additional reporting by Chris Michaud, Michele Kambas, Phil Stewart and Tom Miles; Writing by Patrick Markey, editing by Dale Hudson, William Hardy and Kevin Liffey) |||||
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– US Navy SEALs boarded a hijacked oil tanker early today in international waters off Cyprus, wresting control of the vessel from Libyan rebels who were attempting to sell the oil on the black market. The Morning Glory initially sailed into a Libyan port under a North Korean flag early last week, but North Korea denied having anything to do with it, the New York Times reports. After three armed rebels seized the tanker, it "wander[ed] around the Mediterranean piloted by unknown sailors under an uncertain flag," as the Washington Post puts it. Both the Libyan and Cypriot governments had requested US help, according to a Defense Department statement, and no one was injured in the operation. The press release says the oil on the "stateless vessel" is owned by the Libyan government National Oil Company, and the tanker will return to Libya. The debacle was a severe threat to the transitional Libyan government—parliament actually got rid of the prime minister amid the embarrassment, Reuters reports. Had the oil been sold, the government's main revenue source would have taken a hit. The Times says Ibrahim Jathran is the militia leader behind the heist; he is also behind an eight-month blockade of Libya's main oil ports.
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Say what!? Joseph Gordon-Levitt has himself a secret girlfriend! The Don Jon actor revealed the news during an interview on SiriusXM's Howard Stern Show on Tuesday, Sept. 24. This marks the first time the 32-year-old has mentioned his love life in detail in public -- ever!
"I have a girlfriend but I tend not to really like to talk about it in public," he told Stern during the sit-down. "She is not in show business."
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The Dark Knight Rises star further explained why he's never spoken out before about the relationship. "I get up in movies and I play other people, so when the audience is watching me in movies, I don't want them thinking about me and who I'm dating, and blah blah blah," he said. "I want them to see the character, the story that I'm telling."
The couple met through "mutual friends," he said, but the actor wouldn't go into further detail. When asked if he's in love, the Looper actor replied, "Oh, jeez, man! Come on! This is getting private."
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Indeed, keeping private is something his girlfriend would like to do as well. "The girl that I'm with, she really doesn't want to be a part of it," he said of staying out of the spotlight. "You can imagine not wanting to have that kind of scrutiny."
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Oddly enough, the big reveal comes just two weeks after the Hollywood A-lister discussed the ever-present rumors about his sexuality to Out magazine. "That would be really tacky —- they would win if I had to clarify," he said at the time. ||||| Kate Upton and Maksim Chmerkovskiy made their first public outing as a couple when they walked hand in hand through the West Village neighborhood of NYC on Thursday. The pair seemed very happy and in love as they smiled and chatted during their stroll. Kate and Maksim, who has become famous for his work on Dancing With the Stars, were first linked in June when Kate was rumored to have celebrated her 21st birthday with the Ukranian hunk. They were reportedly spotted out on dates together around Manhattan and in the Hamptons, where Kate was filming The Other Woman with Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann, over the Summer. When Kate was asked about her relationship with Maksim at the Style Awards earlier this month, the glowing model told reporters, "We’re just friends" — but we can likely take this latest PDA-filled city spin as confirmation that the two are definitely an item. ||||| Robert Pattinson Is Dating Dylan Penn
Has Robert Pattinson found a new leading lady?Four months after splitting up with on-again, off-again girlfriend Kristen Stewart , the actor, 27, has been linked to model Dylan Penn."They've been dating a month or two," a Pattinson source confirms to PEOPLE. "He's crazy about her."The blonde beauty, 22, has quite the Hollywood pedigree: She's the daughter of Sean Penn and Robin Wright. According to media reports , Pattinson and Penn were spotted on Sept. 7 catching a show by rapper Mickey Avalon at the famed Viper Room in Los Angeles.They then reportedly hightailed it to the Chateau Marmont for post-show drinks and bites.Speculation has been swirling about whom Pattinson would date next following his split with Stewart. He was also recently seen with trainer Sydney Liebes outside Harley Pasternak's gym, where she works. But a second source shoots down any insinuation that the two are an item, telling PEOPLE that "Pattinson has trained with Liebes a few times in Harley's absence and that’s it."In May, Pattinson and Stewart, 23, called it quits after more than three years of dating, their relationship having weathered intense strain and scrutiny following her fling with her married Snow White and the Huntsman director, Rupert Sanders.The two had attempted to patch things up following her cheating scandal, attending Coachella and celebrating her 23rd birthday together before ultimately calling things off. On May 21, Pattinson was seen moving his belongings out of Stewart's Los Angeles home. |||||
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– Sorry, Kristen Stewart: Robert Pattinson is reportedly dating Sean Penn and Robin Wright's daughter, Dylan. "They've been dating a month or two," a source tells People. "He's crazy about her." Pattinson and Stewart were on-and-off for quite a while after she cheated with Rupert Sanders, but they officially broke up in May, People notes. Pattinson and Penn, 22, were first spotted together earlier this month. In other "new celebrity couple" news: Supermodel Kate Upton is dating Dancing With the Stars' Maksim Chmerkovskiy, PopSugar reports. They've been a rumored couple since June, but made their public debut walking hand-in-hand in New York yesterday (click to see the picture). Earlier this week, Joseph Gordon-Levitt revealed to Howard Stern that he has a girlfriend, Us reports. "I tend not to really like to talk about it in public," JGL said. "She is not in show business" and "really doesn't want to be a part of [the spotlight]," he added. They met through "mutual friends."
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Your wallet could soon get a little lighter — if you live in Delaware, at least.
The state is aiming to be the first in the U.S. to adopt digital driver's licenses, which residents would be able to access through a secure smartphone app, according to a report from Wilmington's News Journal.
The Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles is now studying and considering digital licenses after the legislature last week adopted a resolution asking the agency to look into it. The DMV already appears to be onboard with the idea.
"We'd like to go first," Jennifer Cohan, director of the Delaware Division of Motor Vehicles and the governor's nominee for secretary of transportation, told the News Journal. "If it works for Delaware, then it will be a new option for Delaware citizens to show proof of driver's license and identification."
If it wants to be first, Delaware will have to beat out Iowa, which is now running a pilot program to test digital driver's licenses. Both states — along with 40 others — use the driver's license vendor MorphoTrust USA, which began working on the concept of digital licenses two years ago.
As part of the plan, your virtual license would be stored inside a mobile app, which is expected to launch in 2016, the report notes. The app would show all the information on your typical driver's license – name, birthdate, address, signature, and photo. For added security, it would require a personal ID code as well as facial, fingerprint, or voice authentication to ensure you're the only one with access to your ID.
If you're not one to adopt new technology right away, don't be alarmed. The Delaware DMV is not planning to get rid of hard plastic licenses. You would just have the option of using a digital version, in addition to the physical copy of your license.
The plan comes after Delaware last year started letting drivers show electronic proof of insurance during traffic stops. At this point, more than 30 states allow drivers to show electronic proof-of-insurance during a traffic stop. ||||| For all the recent talk of moving to digital wallets, you can't really ditch the old-school kind yet -- you still need to carry physical copies of your driver's license and other forms of ID. If you live in Delaware, though, you may eventually have one less reason to worry when you leave your purse or wallet at home. The state's Senate recently passed a resolution asking the Division of Motor Vehicles to research a digital driver's license that you would store in an app on your phone. While many of the details still have to be worked out, you'd use some kind of biometric security (such as your face, fingerprint or voice) to get access on top of a code. There's no timetable for when Delaware would test these licenses, but it may not take long given that the state's development partner, MorphoTrust, has been working on the technology for a while. |||||
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– Delaware is aiming to become the first state where you can just hand over your phone when asked for your driver's license. State lawmakers have asked the Delaware Department of Motor Vehicles to look into adopting digital licenses that can be accessed through a secure smartphone app. "We'd like to go first," the agency's director tells the News Journal. "If it works for Delaware, then it will be a new option for Delaware citizens to show proof of driver's license and identification." Iowa is planning to roll out a similar program in 2016, and both states are among more than 30 that now allow drivers to show electronic proof of insurance during traffic stops, reports PC World. The proposed digital licenses will have security features including facial, voice, or fingerprint recognition, but old-school licenses aren't going anywhere, writes Jon Fingas at Engadget. He notes that officials have already pointed out many potential problems, like phone theft and battery death and predicts that virtual licenses will "mostly serve as a convenience for those times when you already have your phone in hand." (Guess what? The feds are probably tracking your car.)
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– A Wheel of Fortune contestant put one letter on the board—then correctly guessed the entire puzzle, reports Huffington Post. Caitlin Burke of New Jersey won a trip to the Caribbean for figuring out the (oh-so-appropriate) phrase, “I’ve got a good feeling about this,” with the letter L as her only clue. Burke, a fashion editor, told NJ.com that she grew up “super competitive” in a family of game show fans. (Click here for more Wheel of Fortune news.)
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North Hunterdon High School grad takes a spin on 'Wheel of Fortune'
Published: Thursday, November 04, 2010, 8:27 AM
It’s “Wheel Loves L.A.” week on the popular game show. Tomorrow fans learn if the wheel also loves ’02 North Hunterdon grad Caitlin Burke.
Burke can’t say how she did until the show airs tomorrow on ABC at 7:30 p.m., but she can talk about how she got to spin the wheel on a show recorded on Sept. 3 in Los Angeles.
Burke and brother Tom IV grew up in Clinton Township, often watching games shows “Jeopardy” and “Wheel of Fortune” during dinner and competing against parents Robin and Tom. “I was always super competitive,” says Burke, and was regularly frustrated by her father’s skill at answering Jeopardy questions.
Successful contestants on “Wheel of Fortune,” she realized, had puzzle-solving skills that didn’t require a bank of stored knowledge, leveling the playing field. “After a while my parents told me I was really good at it,” she says of her ability to zero in on the right work or phrase.
One day in high school classmates took turns talking about their goals. "Someone would say, ‘I want to be a vet,’" says Burke. “I said, ‘I want to go on Wheel of Fortune.’"
But she also went off to college — Penn State, majoring in advertising with a minor in business — where she kept applying online to get on the show. It bothered her that the application called for name, address and phone number only; potential contestants have no room to explain their attachment to the game show.
After applying “dozens of times” and signing up for text alerts if the show were taping nearby, Burke was excited six months ago to learn that she’d been chosen for a “Wheel of Fortune” audition. On the appointed day and time she showed up, along with a “couple of hundred other people” at a hotel conference area. “I think this is what ‘American Idol’ is like,” she said of the crowd and its expectations.
Unlike the talent search TV show, the Wheel auditions started with group rounds followed by cuts then quizzes followed by cuts. Burke, a former competitive cheerleader, advanced far enough to finally get the opportunity to talk about herself. “Be yourself,” Burke advises. “Let your enthusiasm shine through.”
She said that the “handful” of people left at the end expected to hear from the show within a week if they’d been tapped for a taping in Las Vegas, or within a month if they were headed to Los Angeles.
Thirty days came and went and when there was no phone call or letter, Burke admits that she was so disappointed that she stopped watching the show. Then a thin envelope arrived. Fearing that it was a rejection letter, Burke opened it to learn that her taping would take place the Friday before Labor Day, two weeks away.
Contestants on “Wheel of Fortune” pay their own travel expenses and are allowed four guests in the audience. Burke’s mom, dad and brother all booked a flight, along with her boyfriend. Burke travels frequently to Los Angeles on business — she’s a fashion editor for international editions of Hearst publication magazines — and had a free flight because she’d been bumped from an overbooked plane.
Competing in front of an audience was just as exciting as Burke had imagined. “The wheel is so iconic. It’s something I always wanted to do!” she said. That prize wheel is also “very heavy:” contestants are coached on the “dos” and “don’ts.” For instance, no slippery hand lotion or rings on the hand that will spin the wheel. Lean in, pull it, then push away. “I was in a skirt and I was worried about having to lean over so much, but you don’t want a wimpy spin,” said Burke.
Extremely nervous before the cameras started rolling, Burke said that she knew that was her biggest hurdle to overcome. She did it by pretending that she was home, playing the game in her living room with friends. Then her competitive personality kicked in and she had to remind herself that “everyone can win,” telling herself to “wish everyone well” while hoping that she would do the best. ||||| This has to be the luckiest (and most ironic) "Wheel Of Fortune" guess ever made. With just one letter "L" and the clue "phrase," a contestant named Caitlin makes a bold move (by "WoF" standards) and asks to solve the puzzle. The shocked look on Pat Sajak's face when she gets it right is priceless. Hey, she just had a really good feeling about it! ||||| Voice Behind 'Wheeeeeeel of Fortune' Dies at 78
Email This Charlie O'Donnell, the announcer whose voice has opened 'Wheel of Fortune' for decades, has died. He was 78. Agent Fred Wostbrock said Monday that O'Donnell -- the voice of the game show even before hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White appeared -- died late Sunday at his Los Angeles home. The cause was unclear.
O'Donnell was a popular radio DJ in New York before starting his television career in Philadelphia with Dick Clark on 'American Bandstand.'
He also served as announcer for Oscar and Emmy telecasts and other game shows, including 'The Newlywed Game.'
Charlie O'Donnell, the announcer whose voice has opened 'Wheel of Fortune' for decades, has died. He was 78. Agent Fred Wostbrock said Monday that O'Donnell -- the voice of the game show even before hosts Pat Sajak and Vanna White appeared -- died late Sunday at his Los Angeles home. The cause was unclear.O'Donnell was a popular radio DJ in New York before starting his television career in Philadelphia with Dick Clark on 'American Bandstand.'He also served as announcer for Oscar and Emmy telecasts and other game shows, including 'The Newlywed Game.'
http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=822797&pid=822796&uts=1288704979 http://www.popeater.com/mm_track/popeater/music/?s_channel=us.musicpop&s_account=aolpopeater,aolsvc&omni=1&ke=1 http://cdn.channel.aol.com/cs_feed_v1_6/csfeedwrapper.swf Recently Departed Celebrities James MacArthur, Oct. 28: The steely-eyed actor, who gained worldwide fame in the 1970s as "Danno" in the iconic TV series, 'Hawaii Five-O,' died at his home in Florida of natural causes. He was 72. CBS / Getty Images CBS / Getty Images Recently Departed Celebrities
His signature phrase, "Wheeeeeeel of Fortune," could be heard on the show from its beginning with host Chuck Woolery in 1975. He worked on the show until 1980, and again from 1988 until his death. |||||
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– Bad day? Tell it to 19-year-old Krista McCann. She was feeling a little edgy about the wildfire still smoldering near her place in Colorado Springs and decided to pack up the car and head to her dad's home in Oregon. On the way, she clipped another car, went off the interstate, and set off a 2,000-acre blaze in Idaho, reports KTVB7. On the bright side, she and the other driver are fine, and the Idaho fire is out. "I know I got out and I saw that the field was on fire and at that point I was just ... I was pretty devastated," she says. "I didn't want to do anything like that."
Let's expand this into a news article: Driver crashes, starts wildfire in Idaho -- after escaping Colorado wildfire
Krista McCann thought she'd escape the Waldo Canyon wildfire in Colorado Springs by driving to visit her family in Ontario, Ore. She ended up starting a wildfire in Idaho after wrecking her Subaru near Boise.
ONTARIO, Ore. - Idaho State Police say a Subaru was passing a Jeep when the Subaru's driver had a mechanical problem, lost control, clipped the Jeep and went off the interstate.
Bureau of Land Mangement says the accident sparked a wildfire which would burn a total of about 2,000 acres. They declared that fire controlled Wednesday night.
But the chain reaction of events didn't end there. The driver of the Subaru that started a wildfire on Interstate 84 tells KTVB how it all happened.
Krista McCann was living in the Colorado Springs, Colorado area when she evacuated due to the Waldo Canyon Fire.
On her drive to Ontario to surprise her dad, she didn't make it past milemarker 66 on I-84 when her car started a wildfire.
"This is everything I own now," said McCann as she showed us the few possessions from inside her purse.
At the age of 19, she's escaped two fires.
McCann lived in the same house in Colorado Springs since she was nine. When the Waldo Canyon fire neared her neighborhood, she decided to leave.
"I was afraid that something might happen, or the wind might change in Colorado and my house would be in danger again."
She loaded up her car with all the things she hoped to save from the Colorado wildfires, like her mom's wedding dress.
"I just couldn't go straight anymore and I ended up clipping the car next to me."
McCann said she lost control of her car, and drove off the road. She grabbed her purse as her car burned. Everything she owned went up in flames.
"The adrenaline was going through me for a while, but after that started to fade it hit me pretty hard," said McCann.
After running from the wildfire in Colorado Springs, she watched her car start a wildfire off the interstate.
"I know I got out and i saw that the field was on fire and at that point I was just...I was pretty devastated. I didn't want to do anything like that," she said.
McCann said she is glad no one was hurt. Now she is looking to the future.
"This is a chance to start completely over. I have nothing. So I'll start with a new wardrobe and a new car, and a new state of mind. And I'll just move forward."
McCann wants to move to a new city and create something beautiful. She says has auto insurance, and is working things out with the driver of the other car. ||||| Thirty-seven homes that were evacuated during Colorado's Waldo Canyon Fire were burglarized, and authorities are offering up to $50,000 for information on the culprits.
Colorado Springs police spokeswoman Barbara Miller on Wednesday said 28 vehicles, many packed with evacuee's belongings, also were broken into after residents fled the fire reported June 23.
An anonymous donor provided the reward money.
Officials this week declared the 29-square-mile Waldo Canyon Fire completely encircled. Officials say smoke may still be visible as areas inside the perimeter of the fire continue to burn.
The fire killed two people and destroyed nearly 350 houses when it burned into northwest Colorado Springs. The cause is still under investigation. |||||
– 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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Let's expand this into a news article: 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.
[Walmart Sponsor Ad]
Announcer: And by contributions to your PBS station from viewers like you. Thank you. |||||
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Oscar-nominated Japanese anime director Isao Takahata, who co-founded the Studio Ghibli and was best known for his work "Grave of the Fireflies", has died aged 82, according to Japanese media reports
Oscar-nominated Japanese anime director Isao Takahata, who co-founded Studio Ghibli and was best known for his work "Grave of the Fireflies", has died aged 82, the studio said on Friday.
The winner of many awards domestically and internationally, Takahata was considered one of the greats of Japanese animated film and is often linked with long-term Studio Ghibli collaborator Hayao Miyazaki.
He enjoyed a career spanning several decades, producing both films and work for the small screen and his latest production, "The Tale of the Princess Kaguya", earned him an Academy nomination for best animated feature.
An adaptation of a popular tale from the 10th century -- considered one of the founding texts of Japanese literature -- the film was also selected for a slot in the Directors' Fortnight sidebar to the main Cannes film competition in 2014.
It also won rave reviews, with the New York Times in 2014 describing it as "exquisitely drawn with both watercolour delicacy and a brisk sense of line."
However, most consider Takahata's 1988 film "Grave of the Fireflies", a moving tale of two orphans during World War II, to be his best work.
In 2000, famed reviewer Roger Ebert wrote that the movie "belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made."
Born in 1935 in Mie prefecture in central Japan, his early life was marked with violence when U.S. forces bombed his hometown in June 1945 as World War II was coming to a close.
In an interview with the Japan Times, he described fleeing with his sister barefoot and still in his pyjamas.
On his way back to the family house, he recalled seeing piles of bodies in the street. "We were lucky to get out alive," he told the newspaper.
Takahata started his career in animation at the Toei studio in 1959, where he eventually met long-term collaborator and rival Miyazaki.
With Miyazaki, he co-founded in 1985 the Japanese animation Studio Ghibli, which went on to produce several blockbusters.
With more complex and occasionally more violent plots than depicted in the average Disney cartoon film, these films have at times confused audiences outside Japan, who largely consider animation to be primarily for young children.
However, this has not stopped the films being lucrative box-office smashes.
Takahata and Miyazaki were often described as friends and rivals at the same time.
"We would never criticise each other face-to-face because it would just cause a fight. However, I know he has criticised my work," Takahata told the Japan Times.
Over a long and distinguished career, Takahata produced around 20 films, including "Only Yesterday" (1991) and "Pom Poko" (1994).
He also produced the Miyazaki-directed 1984 film "Kaze no Tani no Naushika" ("The Valley of the Wind"), a science fantasy adventure that describes the relationship between nature and human beings.
He is also well-known for animation series "Alps no Shojo Heidi" ("Heidi, Girl of the Alps") and "Lupin Sansei" ("Lupin the Third").
Perhaps inspired by his early trauma, he was an avid anti-war campaigner and in 2013 co-signed with around 250 other film celebrities a petition against a controversial state secrets law.
According to a statement from Studio Ghibli, he died in the early hours of Thursday in a Tokyo hospital after a battle with lung cancer.
"We pray that he rests in peace," the studio said, adding that he would be buried in a private ceremony attended by close family.
After studying French literature at university, Takahata enjoyed a long relationship with France and was awarded the Order of Arts and Letters honour in recognition of his work in 2015.
"France is the country I have travelled in most and I am extremely happy to have been decorated by the nation to which I feel closest," he said in his acceptance speech.
© 2018 AFP ||||| Isao Takahata, co-founder of Japan’s Studio Ghibli, and acclaimed animation director, died on Thursday in a Tokyo hospital. He was 82.
According to local media, Takahata had been in declining health since last summer. A Studio Ghibli statement said he died of lung cancer.
Takahata joined Toei Animation after college and made his feature directing debut with the 1968 “Horus: Prince of the Sun.” In 1971 Takahata, together with Hayao Miyazaki and Yoichi Kotabe, left Toei for Shin-Ei Animation studio. His best-remembered TV work was “Heidi, Girl of the Alps,” that he directed for Nippon Animation.
In 1985, together with Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki, Takahata launched Studio Ghibli. His “Grave of the Fireflies,” was released together with Miyazaki’s “My Neighbor Totoro” in 1988. The two films did modest business, but later grew in esteem as classics of the animated form.
Takahata enjoyed greater success with “Pom Poko,” a 1994 fantasy-adventure that was chosen as Japan’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.
After the flop of 1999’s “My Neighbors the Yamadas,” he took a long hiatus from directing. He returned with the 2013 “The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.” Based on the classic folktale “The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter,” the film was animated with a water-color-like beauty and fluidity seldom seen in commercial animation.
Though Takahata was not an animator, he was an innovator, constantly seeking fresh storytelling methods and artistic approaches, while aiming for realism of emotion and setting. |||||
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– Isao Takahata, co-founder of the prestigious Japanese animator Studio Ghibli, which stuck to a hand-drawn "manga" look in the face of digital filmmaking, has died. He was 82. Takahata, who directed Grave of the Fireflies, a tragic tale about wartime childhood, died Thursday of lung cancer at a Tokyo hospital, according to a studio statement. Takahata started Ghibli with Oscar-winning animator Hayao Miyazaki in 1985, hoping to create Japan's Disney. Takahata and Miyazaki, whose studio created several blockbusters, are often described as having been friends and rivals at the same time, AFP reports. Takahata produced around 20 movies over his long career. His last film, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya, based on a Japanese folktale, was nominated for a 2015 Oscar for best animation feature, although it did not win. He is also known for the 1970s Japanese TV series Heidi, Girl of the Alps, based on the book by Swiss author Johanna Spyri. Takahata, who studied Japanese animation's roots in traditional literature and art, was an "innovator, constantly seeking out fresh storytelling methods and artistic approaches, while constantly aiming for realism of emotion and setting," writes Mark Schilling at Variety.
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Summarize this article:
UC San Diego police are investigating an incident in which a rope resembling a noose was found suspended in a campus stairwell.
The thin piece of rope, crudely fashioned into a loop, was found July 21 in a stairwell in Mandeville Hall, an auditorium that hosts recitals and other performing arts.
So far, police have no leads on who might have created the noose and are seeking help identifying witnesses.
It is the latest incident with racial overtones to emerge on the campus in recent months. Another dangling noose was found in a campus library in February, drawing condemnation and sparking a protest rally attended by hundreds of students. A student later admitted to and apologized for hanging the rope and was suspended.
Racial tensions also were heightened earlier this year by an off-campus party, termed a “Compton Cookout,” that mocked Black History Month. That incident also set off protests and drew national attention to the campus, where African American students comprise fewer than 2% of undergraduates. ||||| UC San Diego investigating report of another noose
UCSD police are investigating a report that a noose was found on campus July 21 suspended from a stairwell in Mandeville Hall.
A noose also was found on campus in late February.
The thin piece of rope found last week was “crudely fashioned in a loop resembling a noose,” said Jeffrey Gattas, executive director for university communications and public affairs.
“The police put out a campus notice on an internal list and posted some signs ... the university takes these events very seriously and will take appropriate action,” Gattas said Wednesday night.
The UCSD Police Department is investigating and seeking witnesses. Anyone with information is asked to call the department at (858) 534-4359, or send an e-mail to [email protected].
A rash of racially charged incidents at UCSD began in early February when a group of students held an off-campus party mocking Black History Month. That event and the discovery of the first noose and a KKK-style hood in the heart of the campus prompted demonstrations and a temporary takeover of the chancellor’s office.
On Feb. 25, a noose was found on the seventh floor of the Geisel Library. An unidentified student told the campus newspaper that she had placed it there and that it was a “stupid mistake.” She was suspended.
On March 1, the KKK-style hood was found draped over a statue of Theodor Seuss Geisel, the children’s author for whom the library is named. |||||
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– For the second time this year, an object resembling a noose was found at UC San Diego, raising concerns about racism on campus. The crudely fashioned rope loop was found near a performing arts venue, reports the Los Angeles Times. In February, a similar object was found in a campus library and in March a KKK-style hood was placed over a school statue, notes the Union Tribune. These incidents, combined with an off-campus party that allegedly mocked Black History Month, have sparked student protests and drawn national media attention. Hanging a noose with "intent to terrorize" can bring up to a year in jail, notes the Times.
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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 ||||| Christina Applegate Welcomes a Daughter
Email This can add a new role to her resume: mommy. The actress gave birth to a baby girl last week, her rep told
"Christina Applegate and fiance, musician Martyn LeNoble, welcomed daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, in Los Angeles," her rep said in a statement. "Mother and daughter are doing great."
According to a source close to the couple, they are over-the-moon with the new addition to their family.
"She's a beautiful little girl, and they are so happy and in love with her," the source said. Christina Applegate can add a new role to her resume: mommy. The actress gave birth to a baby girl last week, her rep told PEOPLE "Christina Applegate and fiance, musician Martyn LeNoble, welcomed daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble on Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011, in Los Angeles," her rep said in a statement. "Mother and daughter are doing great."According to a source close to the couple, they are over-the-moon with the new addition to their family."She's a beautiful little girl, and they are so happy and in love with her," the source said.
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Applegate and LeNoble became engaged in February 2010 after two years of dating. She announced her pregnancy last July.The couple waited to find out about the sex of their baby, something that proved a bit difficult when it came to decorating the nursery."It's gender neutral because we don't know [if it's a boy or girl]," she told PEOPLE . "I'm trying. It's becoming a bigger project than it was supposed to be, unfortunately."As for her parenting style, Applegate said she was going to take a page out of her own mom's book."I'll take from what my mother did, which was way hippie and like, 'Do what you wanna do,' and bring some things that I know from watching my friends raise their kids. An amalgamation of sorts," she said.This the first child for both Applegate and LeNoble. ||||| Christina Applegate Engaged to Martyn LeNoble
Email This is ready to walk down the aisle!
She and her musician boyfriend, Martyn LeNoble, are engaged, her rep confirms to
"The couple, who have been dating for two years, got engaged on February 14, 2010," her rep said. "There is no set date for the wedding at this time."
Both Applegate and LeNoble have been married before. The 'Samantha Who?' star and her first husband, Johnathon Schaech, divorced in 2007. Christina Applegate is ready to walk down the aisle!She and her musician boyfriend, Martyn LeNoble, are engaged, her rep confirms to Usmagazine.com "The couple, who have been dating for two years, got engaged on February 14, 2010," her rep said. "There is no set date for the wedding at this time."Both Applegate and LeNoble have been married before. The 'Samantha Who?' star and her first husband, Johnathon Schaech, divorced in 2007.
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Christina spoked of Marty's support through her recent battle with breast cancer last May. "I have a small but mighty support system and Martyn has really been an incredible part of my life," she said. "Without him, I don't know if I could've gone through any of it. He kind of came around at a time when there was a lot of loss in my life on many levels, so he's been a really incredible help."The actress is filming 'Hall Pass' and the musician is a member of Porno for Pyros. |||||
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– Christina Applegate and her fiancé welcomed a daughter Thursday, her rep confirms to People. Applegate has been dating musician Martyn LeNoble for almost three years and got engaged on Valentine’s Day. She and daughter Sadie Grace LeNoble “are doing great,” says her rep in a statement. A friend adds, "She's a beautiful little girl, and they are so happy and in love with her." Click for more, including what type of mom Applegate expects to be.
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Photo: HBO
The producers of Game of Thrones are making up for this season’s super-short season (just seven episodes) by supersizing Sunday’s finale. HBO confirmed Tuesday that the final installment of season seven will run just shy of 80 minutes (79 minutes and 43 seconds for you time nerds out there), easily making it the show’s longest episode ever. While media reports (and advanced program listings) had hinted for weeks this season would feature a record-long episode, the network didn’t make the news official until today.
The biggest bit of brand-new information revealed Tuesday was the title of the finale: “The Dragon and the Wolf.” Those five words appear to be a reference to both the pivotal relationship between Dany (the Targaryen dragon) and Jon Snow (the Stark wolf, or at least that’s who he thinks he is), as well as Jon’s status — potentially — as the son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Whatever the meaning, there’s a good chance the episode will end up as the most-watched GOT, if this season’s current rating trends are any indication. The show is now regularly averaging over 10 million same-day viewers and has set series-best ratings records three of the six weeks it has aired this summer. Sunday’s finale will go head-to-head with MTV’s Video Music Awards, but odds are, the dragon show won’t have any problem obliterating its competition. ||||| This season of Game of Thrones has been an odd one. HBO has loudly proclaimed far and wide that its fantasy series is now the most popular in the world, and—despite leak after leak—the network has continued to announce each drop of new information with much pomp and circumstance. From the reveal of the Season 7 premiere date (which had fans and impatient journalists literally watching ice melt on Facebook) to a very special announcement of the finale title, HBO has maintained a sense of occasion even for information as seemingly minor as episode titles. At first, the newly announced Season 7 finale title—“The Dragon and the Wolf,” which presumably refers to to our love-struck heroes Daenerys Targaryen and Jon Snow—seems as expected. But is there another meaning hiding behind the obvious?
Before we get there, let’s take a moment to appreciate how close we are to unlocking all the major mysteries of George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. According to a new interview with Business Insider, way back during the filming of Season 1 in 2010, Martin revealed to director Alan Taylor that Jon and Daenerys were the most important characters in the story. Taylor recalls: “The show wasn’t a big deal yet, and we weren’t being very secretive because nobody cared yet, and [Martin] just sort of mentioned in passing, ‘Oh, well, it’s all about Dany and Jon Snow.’ And at the time I thought, ‘Really? I thought it was about Sean Bean and Robb Stark?’”
This is an expected revelation for everyone now—and, really, book readers had already figured out by then who the “fire” and “ice” in the series title referred to. But it would have been a potential bombshell for show-watchers at the time, so kudos to Taylor for keeping it under his hat. So, should we consider this Season 7 title essentially a remix of A Song of Ice and Fire?
Well, yes and no. The title may also refer to Jon Snow alone, given his hidden Targaryen ancestry. He is both wolf (from his mother, Lyanna Stark) and dragon (from his father, Rhaegar Targaryen).
Speaking of which, the title could easily have a third and more exciting meaning. Jon Snow’s mother, Lyanna, was revealed via flashback to Bran in last season’s finale. But despite the fact that actors from the show have referred to Rhaegar as Jon’s father, the show itself has yet to reveal this fact. Gilly read about Prince “Raggar’s” annulment and re-marriage (to Lyanna) down in Oldtown earlier this season—but is that really the last we’ll hear of it this year? “The Dragon and the Wolf” could very well refer to another pair of young lovers: Rhaegar and Lyanna.
Months and months back, long before any leaks started circulating, overly-inquisitive fans of the show believed they had put together who would be playing Jon’s tall, handsome, blonde dad in a potential Season 7 flashback. Some pieces of evidence included the fact that Aisling Franciosi, who plays Lyanna, started following that actor on Twitter when the show was in production last September. His name is Wilf Scolding, and he looks like this.
Loading View on Instagram
Not a bad mach for younger Targaryen brother Viserys (Harry Lloyd):
“The Dragon and the Wolf” will be the longest episode in Game of Thrones history—81 minutes, to be precise—and will feature a large-scale meeting between almost the entire cast. What else does it have in store? Tune in on Sunday, August 27 to find out.
Get Vanity Fair’s HWD Newsletter Sign up for essential industry and award news from Hollywood. E-mail Address Subscribe |||||
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– For any Game of Thrones fan already feeling sadness over the looming end of season 7, some solace: Sunday's finale will be the show's longest episode to date. Vulture reports that it clocks in at 79 minutes and 43 seconds. It wasn't the only tidbit to drop on Tuesday. The episode's title has also been given as "The Dragon and the Wolf." Warning: Speculative spoilers if you read on. Vulture sees a double meaning: a reference to the Targaryen dragon, Daenerys, and the Stark wolf, Jon Snow, and the likelihood that Snow is actually a Targaryen (son of Rhaegar) and a Stark (son of Lyanna). Writing for Vanity Fair, Joanna Robinson sees what's potentially a "third and more exciting meaning," that the title refers not to the offspring of the dragon and the wolf, but the dragon and the wolf themselves, who could appear in a flashback. Aisling Franciosi already appeared in a season 6 flashback as Lyanna; Robinson digs up some evidence that a Rhaegar was cast when the show was in production in the fall.
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Using cameras installed in bars and facial-detection software, the new app SceneTap scans the faces of patrons to determine age and gender makeups of crowds. SceneTap
A new smartphone app called SceneTap made a big splash with its recent launch, but not all of the reviews were entirely favorable. The app employs facial-detection software and cameras placed strategically in bars and nightclubs to tell users the age and gender makeup of an establishment they're thinking of visiting. The problem is that the patrons being scanned by cameras don't necessarily know that they're being monitored. Some privacy advocates call it "creepy." Is it an invasion of privacy for your neighborhood watering hole to install cameras and scan your face? Here, a brief guide to the controversy:
How does the app work?
The people behind SceneTap have installed cameras in bars in San Francisco; Austin, Texas; Athens, Ga.; Bloomington, Ind.; Chicago; Gainesville, Fla.; and Madison, Wis. The cameras use facial-detection software, which unlike facial-recognition software, only picks up on basic data about people and can't specifically identify faces. SceneTap uses this information to come up with a rundown of ages and sexes, so the app can give users real-time updates on which nightspots are full of women, or men, and how old or young the crowd is.
What's the point?
SceneTap CEO Cole Harper says the app helps people find places that offer the type of crowd they're looking for. That, fans of the app say, would help people avoid the hassle of going out of their way to get to a bar, only to be disappointed by the human prospects. "If I was a single dude living in the city, I would use it," says Sean Silva of San Francisco, where the app launched on Friday in two dozen bars.
Is that really so bad?
According to privacy advocates, yes, it is. Let's be honest, says Violet Blue at ZDNet, this "bro-app" is designed to help "brotards" get liquored up and go straight to the bars "with the most chicks in them," which is "sure to make women feel a little more like hunted prey" than they do already. News of the launch in San Francisco provoked so many complaints that several bars that had planned to participate backed out. Critics compare SceneTap to the controversial "stalker app" Girls Around Me, which uses information from Facebook and Foursquare to tell users what spots around town are filled with young women.
What will SceneTap users know about you?
Harper promises that the service won't collect any personal information. "It's not recorded, it's not streamed, it's not individualized," Harper says. According to SceneTap, "You actually give up more information when you hand a bouncer your ID at the door." Sure, for now, says Jennifer Van Grove at Venturebeat, but who's to say SceneTap — which a colleague recently called a "sewer of an app" — "won't start collecting other traits such as height, weight, ethnicity, or wealth" down the road?
Sources: Ars Technica, Consumerist, Eater, Venturebeat, ZDNet ||||| Summary: San Francisco denizens are angry that facial-detection cameras placed in bars by nightlife startup app SceneTap go live on Friday.
When locals heard that Scenetap's facial detection cameras are going live in over a dozen San Francisco bars this Friday, the new startup received the opposite of a San Francisco welcome.
SceneTap was not met with a Ritual Roasters latte and welcome basket of organic olive oil, sourdough bread, bespoke vegan artisan cupcakes and a complimentary set of rainbow condoms.
Instead, fledgling startup app SceneTap got a sound flogging on every local blog that covered it, in addition to a thrashing on locals' Facebook/Twitter streams.
Needless to say, it wasn't the sexy kind of spankings we SFians prefer to give, either, with the shiny boots and stuff.
Hey guys, ultra-creepy @scenetap is coming to SF.Here's a handy list of places to never go again: scenetap.com/san-francisco — Josh Myer (@xek) May 14, 2012
Right now SceneTap is backpedaling, but still coming up short with its responses. What went so horribly wrong in SF for baby startup SceneTap?
So many things.
Step #1: Launch an app that makes people feel spied on by technology
SceneTap bills itself as a Chicago-founded, Austin-based "nightlife startup." It's now being compared to "stalker app" Girls Around Me.
The SceneTap Apple and Android apps gather information from cameras that SceneTap has placed in participating bars and clubs. SceneTap claims to have already tracked over 8.5 million people.
Their cameras combine what they see with facial detection software and SceneTap's app - to provide SceneTap app users a specific, real-time data set on bar patrons. FastCompany writes,
SceneTap looks at a variety of characteristics to determine gender and age: the nose, the eyes, the jaw structure, mouth and overall face shape, forehead and skeletal structure. "It almost takes your face and creates a grid, matching general facial features to males or females, before determining how old you are," [CEO Cole] Harper explains. "In a certain sense, it's trying to find your look-alike in an anonymous database."
Step #2: Launch a spyware app for "bros" in San Francisco
Sounds awesome, right? No, no it doesn't.
Not to anyone that's in San Francisco, the epicenter for earthquakes, technology, sexual tolerance, stuck-up coffeehouses, prima donna chefs and... privacy.
Unless you're really that one guy. You know the one. The one who keeps saying that you shouldn't ever do anything on the internet that you'd ever be embarrassed about. Where is he from? (Oh right, he's from Facebook...)
SceneTap's name can be interpreted in many ways, but its modus operandi, and the way the startup's PR is framed - as a "hookup hotspot app" - the app doesn't seem very female-friendly.
For venue owners, it's a gender measuring tool; for the target market it's a "tap that ass" app, plain and simple.
But it's not just any bro-app, it's flavor-enhanced by video cameras, sure to make women feel a little more like hunted prey as we imagine a bunch of tech scene brotards getting liquored up in the Marina (or Marina lite, aka SOMA), skimming Mission bars for ones with the most chicks in them, and then showing up as if on an exotic safari.
One where we women are the game animals.
That scenario doesn't make me want to "SceneTap" - it makes me want to double-tap, to be sure.
Step #3: Act like nothing is wrong with nonconsensual surveillance
Cameras. In bars. Scanning your face. Sending information it gathers about you to a database.
Giving that information to anyone that signs up - or anyone this startup partners with for data brokering.
The likely eventual sale of this, and every startup on the planet, to Facebook. Or, the failure of hare-brained startup idea #5678388 launched in San Francisco, the fire sale of its database and cameras to whoever, and the further use of those cameras by whoever.
Yup, this will end well.
Look, some of us still see Kozmo.com messenger bags being worn around town. Right now, the way most SFians are finding out about SceneTap is by friends sharing articles about the app - as a handy list of places to boycott.
When press about your new startup hits and results in local businesses being actively targeted as a place for locals to avoid giving their business to, perhaps it's not a good time to dismiss their concerns in the raging comment thread of a primary local blog.
SceneTap's (now blood-drenched) PR is currently knee-deep in comments on various websites trying to defend itself against accusations ranging from mild to wild about what their cameras can and can't do.
They're also trying to gentle down perceptions of what kind of information on patrons is being scraped and disseminated. SceneTap insists that it's only gender, age, crowd size in venues, drink specials and "no personal data whatsoever."
Right. Gender profiling in San Francisco bars. I hereby suggest they partner exclusively with Asia SF.
Step #4: Fail to acknowledge why people are upset
It's really not helping that SceneTap is in comments telling San Franciscans they don't know what they're talking about if they haven't downloaded the app.
Especially when San Franciscans, in particular, are well versed in the tech behind invasive technologies and have been contending with their public use for years.
Commenter netik asked SceneTap,
ID scanners at the door are sold as devices to "protect the venue against underage drinking" but really are designed to skim data off of the back of the ID for marketing, demographic, and advertising purposes. That data's stored. What's to stop you from taking the image of my face, which you now have from your database and passing that to another image search to correlate my face with my social networking profile? You don't need to share pictures to mine them for demographics. Do you correlate faces visit-to-visit? Your site clams that you never store images or share them. How can we be so sure?
SceneTap responded,
Individual privacy is a huge concern, to be sure. We actually met with the FTC on this very issue a few months back to help start the conversation. Bottom line - this technology is new, and it needs to be used responsibly.
SceneTap did not elaborate on that responsible use of the technology would be, or what "responsibly" means in SceneTap's world - although they were asked to. And then there was this:
Retweeting an astroturf account only reduces your credibility @scenetap. — Ed Hunsinger (@edrabbit) May 15, 2012
Meanwhile, some local club goers on Twitter are discussing playful ways to prank SceneTap.
Step #5: Can SceneTap recover?
SceneTap is an idea at its core that lets you know the guy-girl ratio in clubs and if the club is busy. It is for when your decision about going out is based on whether or not you want a sausage party or clambake, and if the club is "worth it."
I can't generalize about whether or not this is what SFians want - because you just can't generalize about what San Franciscans want any night of the week.
That's a huge hurdle for SceneTap to overcome (in any major city). That and the fact that as a "tap that" style app, women in the tech scene around here now feel repulsed by it.
The people who work hard in San Francisco to make Twitter go, keep the lattes flowing, the parks clean and the gays gaying love to play just as hard - we are a town that loves our nightlife (and wishes we had more).
The people here care about our bars and clubs, we care about each other, and we take our privacy seriously around here. We also know a lot about tech, so a startup that rolls in to carpetbag an invasive app space into clubbing is - in most ways - doomed to fail.
There isn't much SceneTap could have done to smooth over the idea of putting cameras into bars - in this city, anyway. And perhaps with growing national awareness about Facebook privacy concerns, our increasing TSA exhaustion, and upswing of unease about living in a surveillance society (IDs with chips, credit card databases)...
Perhaps cameras weren't the right method of execution for this idea? SceneTap could do a couple of things right now. They could make a clear statement that addresses the serious concerns being raised by San Franciscans (instead of dismissive answers - or non-answers telling people to read positive articles about the startup on tech blogs regurgitating SceneTap's PR).
It could take an aggressive stand to outline its definition of responsible use of facial recognition technology - SceneTap could partner with a respected entity in tech and privacy (EFF?) and use this as an opportunity to write a groundbreaking "best practices" for emergent businesses in the consumer sector that want to use these technologies.
This "best practices" could focus on privacy, the rights of consumers, has an end date (so it's not left hanging and forgotten), and has a data use policy that is crystal clear.
SceneTap could do everything it can to show it will not be irresponsible with the data it scrapes and gathers, and show that it deletes the data in a timely manner.
Or, SceneTap could ignore everyone here and blunder forward until someone buys it, absorbs it, and then haunt SF like the ghosts of 2001 past.
We're pretty used to that around here. |||||
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– A new app designed to enhance a user's bar-hopping has tipplers raising a stink over privacy concerns, and the Week offers an overview: SceneTap works by syncing up with cameras installed inside bars in various cities. The cameras use facial-detection software to scan the crowd, determine the genders and ages of the patrons, and report back to the app. In theory, this would allow the app user to figure out the best bar to head to, but many people are slamming SceneTap as creepy and an invasion of privacy. Blogger Violet Blue at ZDNet, for example, calls SceneTap a "bro-app" that will merely help "bro-tards" zero in on the bars "with the most chicks in them," which is "sure to make women feel a little more like hunted prey." A few bars backed out of the launch in San Francisco after receiving complaints. SceneTap's CEO says the facial information is not collected. "It's not recorded, it's not streamed, it's not individualized," he says, though critics think the app and others sure to follow are at the top of a slippery slope. Click for more on the app.
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David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, FCPP
Dr. David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, FCPP, is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), Assistant Professor of Medicine in Translational Medicine & Human Genetics at the University of Pennsylvania, and Associate Director, Patient Impact for the Penn Orphan Disease Center. Dr. Fajgenbaum is also a patient battling idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD). As common as ALS and as deadly as lymphoma, iMCD involves the immune system attacking and shutting down the body's vital organs (liver, kidneys, bone marrow, heart). He became ill during his third year of medical school in 2010, spent five months hospitalized, had his last rites read, and has had four deadly relapses since. In 2012, Dr. Fajgenbaum began conducting Castleman disease research at Penn and co-founded the CDCN, through which he has spearheaded the "Collaborative Network Approach." He currently leads the Castleman Research Program at Penn as PI of 18 translational research studies, including an international natural history study and the first-ever NIH R01 grant studying iMCD. As a result of his work, Fajgenbaum is currently in his longest remission ever thanks to a treatment that he identified (click here for a video describing this), which had never been used for iMCD. Check out the below video or click here for a TED-style talk by Dr. Fajgenbaum about his battle and the CDCN during the 2017 Forbes Healthcare Summit.
His 2014 publication in the journal, Blood, initiated a paradigm shift in the iMCD disease model and classification system. He has co-authored several key papers including two in The Lancet Haematology on iMCD and the "The Collaborative Network" approach as well as the largest-ever series on the newly-described TAFRO Syndrome in the American Journal of Hematology, the first-ever diagnostic criteria for iMCD in the journal, Blood and a systematic evaluation of serum proteins in iMCD in the American Journal of Hematology. He is applying business-inspired solutions to drive forward iMCD research and working to turn this innovative model into a blueprint for accelerating rare disease research.
Before the CDCN, Dr. Fajgenbaum co-founded the National Students of AMF Support Network, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting college students grieving the illness or death of a loved one. Since 2006, the nonprofit has launched over 200 campus chapters and supported over 3,000 grieving students. He recently co-authored a book, “We Get It: Voices of Grieving College Students and Young Adults.”
Dr. Fajgenbaum’s work has been highlighted by the New York Times, Science, the Today Show (and the Today Show for AMF), Reader's Digest, and Forbes Magazine's 2015 30 Under 30 list for Healthcare. He is the youngest Fellow ever elected to the College of Physicians of Philadelphia since its founding in 1787. He received the 2013 Distinguished Service Award from the University of Colorado, 2015 RARE Champion of Hope: Science award by Global Genes, 2016 RareVoice: Federal Advocacy Award from Rare Disease Legislative Advocates, and the honor of giving the 2017 Georgetown University Senior Convocation.
Dr. Fajgenbaum received an MBA from The Wharton School, where he was the Irwin D. Mandel Fellow, William Kissick Scholarship, Joseph Wharton Award, Eilers Health Care Management Award recipient, and Commencement Speaker. He earned his MD from the Raymond & Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a 21st Century Gamble Scholar. He studied for a Masters (MSc) in Public Health from the University of Oxford as the 2007 Joseph L. Allbritton Scholar. He received a BS in Human Sciences with Distinction from Georgetown University during which time he was a Rhodes Scholar finalist and awarded USA Today's 2007 Academic All-American First-team honors.
Click here for a TED-style talk by Dr. Fajgenbaum about his battle and the CDCN during a 2016 Medidata Solutions Conference.
Click here for a TED-style talk by Dr. Fajgenbaum about his battle and the CDCN during the 2015 Wharton Health Care Business Conference.
Dr Fajgenbaum giving the 2015 Wharton Student Commencement Address:
Check out a video of Dr Fajgenbaum accepting the 2015 RARE Champion of Hope: Science Award:
RARE Champion of Hope - Science from Global Genes on Vimeo.
Photo credit on previous page: Rebecca McAlpin - www.rebeccamcalpin.com ||||| Mileva Repasky
In 2010, Dr. David Fajgenbaum was a third-year medical student at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania when suddenly, his health took an unexpected turn. Over the course of a few weeks, he began experiencing symptoms he couldn’t place at first — everything from fatigue to night sweats to weight loss. His condition worsened, and he ended up spending more than six months in critical condition at Penn’s intensive care unit. It got so bad that he was even given last rites in November 2010.
“It was as frightening a time [as] I’ve ever had in my life,” Fajgenbaum told CBS News.
He was eventually diagnosed with a rare condition: the idiopathic multicentric (iMCD) subtype of Castleman disease (CD), an immune system disorder that is poorly understood by the medical community. Castleman disease — also known as giant lymph node hyperplasia and angiofollicular lymph node hyperplasia — is not a cancer, but impacts the lymph nodes and related tissue and can be life-threatening. Fajgenbaum’s is one of three subtypes of the disease.
Fajgenbaum suffered three episodes of relapse and took a year off from medical school during this health crisis. He returned to school, only to suffer another relapse. After this fourth relapse, he went through intense chemotherapy treatment, which put the disease in remission.
He went on to complete his medical studies, graduating in 2013, and also earned his MBA in 2015.
Fast forward six years from his diagnosis, and Fajgenbaum is now leading the charge to raise awareness of the disease and provide resources to others who are affected. In October, it was announced that he would head up the first-ever web-based registry of patient-reported data for further research on the disease. The project is called ACCELERATE, which stands for Accelerating Castleman Care with an Electronic Longitudinal registry, E-Repository, And Treatment Effectiveness research.
ACCELERATE is a partnership between the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), the University of Pennsylvania, and the research arm of Janssen, the drug manufacturer that developed SYLVANT, the first and so far only FDA-approved treatment for multicentric Castleman disease. (Multicentric means that multiple lymph nodes and tissues are affected; another type of the disease, called unicentric, affects a single lymph node and can often be cured with surgery.)
According to the University of Pennsylvania, there are approximately 6,500 to 7,700 new Castleman disease diagnoses each year in the United States. About 35 percent of patients with Fajgenbaum’s subtype die within five years of their initial diagnosis. To put that in perspective, that is about the same as the average mortality rate for all kinds of cancer.
Understanding a rare disease
The ACCELERATE registry is part of a larger trend where big data solutions are being applied to health care. For instance, the Jeopardy-winning IBM Watson cognitive computing system has been used to aggregate massive quantities of data to better understand rare diseases. Similarly, this Castleman disease registry could help provide a breakthrough for physicians trying to treat the disease.
“We saw this as an opportunity to, number one, enhance the understanding of the natural history of the disease and also use this data to support a standardized criteria for diagnosing the disease,” said Dr. Craig Tendler, Janssen Research and Development’s vice president of late-stage development and global medical affairs for oncology, hematology, and supportive care. “The end goal would be to have a source of data to inform treatment decisions, raise the visibility of the disease amongst physicians to see a constellation of symptoms, and look for signs of a possible diagnosis of Castleman Disease.”
Of course, a major goal of this project would be to develop more and better treatments. Right now, SYLVANT is approved in 45 countries, but it is only used to treat one form of the disease.
Beyond data points and drug research, the main thrust behind ACCELERATE is a personal one. When Fajgenbaum has an episode, it can be very serious.
Fajgenbaum said that the disease’s symptoms were deceptive at first. With his first episode, he experienced flu-like symptoms. Then, his lymph nodes swelled up before he began to experience organ failure. He then experienced bone marrow, liver, and kidney failure. It was during his second episode where he came closest to death.
“My typical case is particularly severe. I’m conscious for such a short amount of time, and it’s so scary that the little bit of brain function that I have is me thinking to myself ‘I want to get help somehow.’ I want to think through things but, of course, I don’t have any higher brain function,” he said. “It’s really really tough. But I’ve kind of tried to overcome that fear when I’m out of the hospital and in remission. I try to be in as advanced a state of understanding as much as I can.”
Now, Fajgenbaum works as an assistant professor of medicine at the Perelman School as well as the associate director of patient impact at the Penn Orphan Disease Center, which focuses on treating rare diseases. Of course, Castleman disease is central to his work. He is the co-founder and executive director of the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network (CDCN), which was founded in 2012 to accelerate research and the development of treatments.
A “surrogate uncle”
The network has been crucial for patients who, like Fajgenbaum, were initially blindsided by a diagnosis for a condition they knew little about.
Mileva Repasky’s 5-year-old daughter Katie is one of the youngest people ever diagnosed with Castleman disease. Katie was diagnosed about three and a half years ago, and her mom stressed that it was incredibly disorienting when her initial doctor didn’t seem to know much about the disease.
“My husband is in the military and we were diagnosed in Kansas. We went to the doctor and when he walked in with the diagnosis, he said ‘Well, I’ve never really seen much of Castleman disease before and I printed off this information from the internet. If you have any questions after you read it, just let me know,’” Repasky told CBS News.
Having your doctor look up disease information on Google is never reassuring, and Repasky said it was a relief when she and her husband tracked down Fajgenbaum’s name while investigating the disease themselves.
They contacted the CDCN and Fajgenbaum sent them more information. Katie has been something of a “guinea pig,” her mother said, because most of the treatments used and tests conducted in the past have been centered on adults. Less is known about pediatric cases.
“Katie knows that she has something that makes her different than a lot of the normal kiddos and she knows that she goes to a lot of doctors, but she’s very fluent in the kind of medicine that she takes and the routine that we have,” Repasky added.
One of the best outcomes from the diagnosis has been Fajgenbaum, himself. Repasky said that the doctor has become a “surrogate uncle” to Katie and the two of them chat on the phone and FaceTime one another.
For Repasky, the director of the Castleman Warrior Program, a national support group, it helps that her daughter has a doctor who is also a patient and can understand exactly what she’s going through. While their family is currently in Texas, Repasky said they’re looking to move to the Philadelphia-Washington D.C. area so that they “can be by Dr. David.”
“I don’t want to do this forever”
Like Repasky, Shannon Baker didn’t quite know what to think when she heard the term “Castleman disease.” Baker, a certified medical assistant, never heard of the disease before and initially thought she had bronchitis or pneumonia. In May 2013, she was admitted to the Bronson Methodist Hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan, because her body wasn’t responding to any antibiotics. After about another month of exhaustive tests, she was finally diagnosed. She said she was so swollen she looked “10 months pregnant.”
“I don’t want to do this forever, with it being such a rare disease, and I don’t want someone to go through the pain and all the hospitalization and treatments that I’ve gone through,” Baker told CBS News. “I want to help spread awareness to other people, to get the Castleman disease name out there in general, so that it can help someone out in the long run.”
Like Fajgenbaum, Baker added that it was surreal to go from being a health care provider to a patient.
“I learned about heart failure back in schooling, but to undergo it myself, I was just in denial. I thought, ‘I’m too young to have this.’ I’m 35 now. I was 31 when I started experiencing the symptoms,” she said. “It’s been challenging.”
Baker, a mom to a young daughter named Quinn, stressed that it’s crucial more is uncovered about the disease.
“I’m just scared that I’m not going to be around for my daughter,” she said. “I’m on a treatment that — it’s honestly working, but I pray that it’s going to work. I’m sad that it doesn’t work for two-thirds of patients. I feel so blessed that I’m here.”
Right now, there are 18 patients enrolled in the ACCELERATE database program.
Eventually, Fajgenbaum said that he hopes there will be a drug that “works for every single patient with Castleman disease, even within subtypes.”
“At the heart of this, I’m a patient and also an investigator. With this project, there is a patient perspective to this approach to research,” Fajgenbaum explained. “We, as patients — well, no one wants to figure out what is going on with diseases as much as the patients do. We don’t always have the tools at our disposal. With this, we are giving patients the tools and the power to be part of changing the course of history. The work that we are doing will change the course of history, the course of understanding Castleman disease so that we can better treat, better diagnose.” ||||| Credit: Cell (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.10.017 (Phys.org)—Dr. David Fajgenbaum is the founder of Castleman Disease Collaborative Network. Its goal is to organize patients with Castleman disease (CD), find an explanation for this rare and enigmatic immunological disorder that involves the immune system attacking vital organs, and beat it. As an orphan disease researcher at Penn, and a sufferer of CD himself, David's first-person, n-of-1 approach to a medical brick wall has emerged as the new, and only viable blueprint for moving the bar forward in real time.
In order to make progress for rare diseases, David tells me, he realized that if he didn't drive things forward than no one would. After being given his diagnosis as a medical student concentrating on oncology, David switched gears and made CD his first order of business. When he observed all the hurdles in the way of progress, he decided to get an MBA at Wharton, developing business contacts and funding sources for the network of CD researchers he was building. He created a community for patients and physicians to collaborate and share high-potential research ideas. In parallel, he began to conduct CD research at Penn and identify top experts to conduct other priority projects. More recently, the CDCN launched a registry of people with CD so they could share patient records and unpublished cases of the disease.
An immediate consequence of these efforts was a redefinition of the more deadly form of CD disease—the so-called 'multicentric' form that involves several regions of enlarged lymph nodes as opposed to just one. The former consensus held that benign lymph node tumors secreted Interleukin-6 (IL-6), which in turn hyperactivated the immune system and caused widespread organ dysfunction. The new explanation is pretty much the opposite. In other words, an overactive immune system is what seems to cause the tumors, flu-like symptoms and organ system dysfunction in the first place. The job is therefore to first explain the cause of hyperactivation of different proinflammatory cells and proteins (including Il-6), and then identify ways to stop them.
In this view, multicentric CD can be seen as a common endpoint that can be expressed by traversing different paths. In some cases it is due to infection with the HHV-8 virus. This particular pathogen happens to express its own Il-6 type protein that, despite having just 40% sequence homology with our own Il-6, still manages to cause havoc. HHV-8 causes about half of the multicentric form of CD and provides one of many important clues. Other cases, which are called "idiopathic multicentric CD", may be due as yet unknown viral infection, purely autoimmune mechanisms, or even germ-line disturbances in innate immune regulation. One thing that could be a complication involved in the latter is the increasingly common finding of individuals possessing mosaic and chimeric germ lines.
Genetic sequencing and subsequent functional proteomics will be one valuable source of new information here. Once suspect genes are identified they can potentially be expressed in different cells to see what effects different mutants may have on function. These days, it is perhaps just as likely that advanced simulation tools based on molecular dynamics will give the first functional clues about changes in protein folding or function in the cell.
David mentioned that 15 patients, himself included are now getting whole genome sequencing done. This is much more useful than the commonly done 'exome sequencing' which can miss many important details including polymorphism in the promoter and other regulatory regions that get spliced out before the exomes are generated. Other critical aberrants like gene duplications will generally be missed in exome sequencing as well.
A recent series of papers in Cell takes a functional genomics approach to understand variation in human cytokine production. After challenging cells from hundreds of different people with various bacterial, fungal, viral, and non-microbial stimuli, researchers comprehensively identified the cytokine 'quantitative trait loci' that influence the major cytokines (Il-6 included) in whole blood, in blood mononuclear cells, and in macrophages. These studies also looked at other different host and environmental factors, like for example, the influence of the gut microbiome. If reformulated more directly to CD patients important information at the individual scale may be obtained. Among other things, this could include better ways to take critical measurements. For example, developing a more uniform sampling protocol that takes into account the known daily, seasonal, and other natural rhythms of the body's many organ and systems.
David is just one of many researchers at Penn, and elsewhere, who are now taking matters into their own hands. I am reminded of Scott Mackler, a former Penn researcher I consulted for some time ago. When diagnosed with ALS, Scott repurposed his labs efforts to focus on his this devastating disease. In checking now, Scott passed back in 2013 after a 15 year battle, but his legacy lives on. Today, several other home grown efforts are achieving incredible results. In one notable case, a mother with no previous medical background, and no initial funding, was able to found a company called Lysogene that in just a few years developed an FDA approved genetic therapy for the Sanfilippo disease that affected her newborn.
Another instance is the case of Shirley Pepke, a genomics researcher who developed machine learning tools to tailor treatments for combating her ovarian cancer. In remission now, Shirley took what seemed like a big chance in going against her oncologist's recommendation of standard chemotherapy to try a new (an non-FDA approved) immuntherapy drug. Although it may not be possible to fully disambiguate exactly which of the Shirleys many different treatments 'worked', the important thing for her is that she is in fact now in remission. This general philosophy is in stark contrast to the 'drug trial centric' approach where the study is the goal rather than the individual.
Perhaps an even more high profile case is that of Tom Marsilje, a research at Novartis who codeveloped an anti-cancer ALK inhibitor now marketed as Zykadia. Tom needed to get into a trial to treat his own colon cancer but was triaged out of it because he happened to have a pre-existing melanoma. A somewhat fortuitous but perhaps inevitable circumstance brought Tom together with Craig Venter who was promptly able to whole genome sequence Tom's cells. Using the data rendered they are now developing a personalized neoantigen vaccine, an immunotherapy, that may be able to stimulate his own immune cells to attack tumor.
In another fortunate turn of events, the Castlemen network is pleased to be partnering with Janssen Research and Development, and Penn, to create the first global patient registry for CD. Fajgenbaum is serving as principle investigator on this new initiative to help defeat Castlemen disease once and for all.
Explore further: Immune system B cells play a role in tackling liver cancer and provide a marker for patient prognosis
More information: Yang Li et al. A Functional Genomics Approach to Understand Variation in Cytokine Production in Humans, Cell (2016). DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2016.10.017
Abstract
As part of the Human Functional Genomics Project, which aims to understand the factors that determine the variability of immune responses, we investigated genetic variants affecting cytokine production in response to ex vivo stimulation in two independent cohorts of 500 and 200 healthy individuals. We demonstrate a strong impact of genetic heritability on cytokine production capacity after challenge with bacterial, fungal, viral, and non-microbial stimuli. In addition to 17 novel genome-wide significant cytokine QTLs (cQTLs), our study provides a comprehensive picture of the genetic variants that influence six different cytokines in whole blood, blood mononuclear cells, and macrophages. Important biological pathways that contain cytokine QTLs map to pattern recognition receptors (TLR1-6-10 cluster), cytokine and complement inhibitors, and the kallikrein system. The cytokine QTLs show enrichment for monocyte-specific enhancers, are more often located in regions under positive selection, and are significantly enriched among SNPs associated with infections and immune-mediated diseases.
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– When David Fajgenbaum's mother died of brain cancer, the Georgetown University student founded Students of Ailing Mothers and Fathers in 2007 to cope. Now a doctor who's been diagnosed with a rare and deadly disease, he's founded another organization, the Castleman Disease Collaborative Network, where he works with fellow patients to advance understanding of the disease. But he barely made it to this point; after a 2010 flu-like illness that landed him in an ICU for six months and got so bad his last rites were read to him, the then-medical student was diagnosed with a subtype of an immune system disorder known as Castleman disease, reports CBS News. In spite of multiple relapses, he graduated in 2013 and went on to earn his MBA in 2015. "At the heart of this, I’m a patient and also an investigator," says Fajgenbaum. "We, as patients—well, no one wants to figure out what is going on with diseases as much as the patients do." Around 7,000 people are diagnosed with Castleman disease every year in the US, according to the University of Pennsylvania, where Fajgenbaum went to med school and is now an assistant professor of medicine. Thanks in large part to his research, it's now understood that the "multicentric" subtype involving multiple regions of enlarged lymph nodes is triggered by the immune system overreacting, per a post at Phys.org. Now Fajgenbaum and 14 patients are sequencing their whole genomes to look for which genes are the culprits. Fajgenbaum ultimately hopes to find a drug that "works for every single patient with Castleman disease." (Few kids fully recover from this rare disease.)
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Media Misperceptions
Venezuela: The Spin vs. The Truth
As demonstrated in numerous examples in “South of the Border,” major U.S. media outlets have distorted their audiences’ perceptions of Venezuela and the government of Hugo Chávez. Most media reports on Venezuela frame their stories in ways that are likely to make American audiences distrustful and apprehensive of Venezuela. These frames are reinforced by commonly repeated media myths and inaccuracies that further tend to portray the Venezuelan government as an enemy of the United States, and as an increasingly totalitarian government that is stifling dissent, cracking down on the press, and eroding democratic freedoms. These frames and myths – “spin,” in public relations-speak – overlook an abundance of evidence to the contrary.
Spin: Hugo Chávez is a dictator.
Truth: The government of Venezuela has held, and Chávez and his party have won, repeated elections throughout his time in office. These elections have been considered free and fair by the Organization of American States (OAS), the European Union (EU) and the Carter Center — three major electoral observation bodies. Some criticize the Chávez government because his political party has near total control over the National Assembly; however this is a direct result of the opposition’s actions. Just days before the 2005 legislative elections most of the opposition decided to stage a boycott of the vote. This came only a few days after their representatives had told the OAS and other electoral observers that conditions had been met for their participation. The move handed almost complete control in the National Assembly to Chávez’s allies while failing to delegitimize the legislature internationally. Prior to these elections, the opposition held significant power in the National Assembly, which allowed them to block many of the Chávez administration’s policies.
Real attacks on democracy have come from sectors of the Venezuelan opposition. In April 2002, a broad group of opposition forces directly supported and participated in a short-lived coup d’etat against the elected government. In late 2002 and early 2003, opposition groups paralyzed the oil industry and provoked a deep recession, in a second attempt to force President Chávez from power. In 2005, the country’s main opposition parties tried to provoke a destabilizing political crisis by boycotting the legislative elections. All of these undemocratic actions only succeeded in further discrediting an opposition movement that many Venezuelans identify with the failed policies of the unpopular governments of the past.
The Chávez government continues to enjoy an overwhelming majority support of voters in most national elections. In the 2006 presidential election, in which a record number of voters participated, Chávez won with 63 percent of the vote, and in the 2008 regional elections his party won in 17 of 22 states. The next legislative elections are in September, and the opposition is expected to significantly increase its presence in the National Assembly. However the opposition remains divided and trails far behind the government in terms of popular support.
Democratic participation has increased greatly under Chávez as well. For example, while turnout was around 54 percent in the 1998 elections in which Chávez was first elected, in the 2006 presidential election, voter participation jumped to 75 percent. For perspective, in the 2008 U.S. presidential election, voter participation was around 60 percent, and this was one of the highest totals in some 40 years. The Chávez administration has made it a priority to promote electoral participation within poor communities that traditionally had a low voter turnout; this has included large voter registration drives and the creation of voting centers in poor areas.
Despite media reports to the contrary Venezuelans are satisfied with their democracy. The Chilean Latinbarómetro, one of the most exhaustive and well respected polling companies in the region, consistently shows that Venezuela ranks near the top of countries in the hemisphere in terms of the level of satisfaction with democracy.
Spin: Chávez is clamping down on freedom of the press.
The Truth: Venezuela continues to have strong opposition broadcast and print media, as any casual visitor to Venezuela can plainly see. The supposed deterioration of freedom of the press under the Chávez government is a favorite theme of U.S. media coverage of Venezuela, and it is regarding this topic that the gap between reality and media claims is usually at its widest. Anyone who travels to Venezuela will easily find numerous front-page criticisms and broadcast denunciations of the Chávez government that go well beyond the sort of attacks on Obama that appear in the U.S. press. Yet that Chávez is attempting to “eliminate independent media”[1] by “muzzling the press”[2] are favorite themes for U.S. editorial pages, with news articles chiming in that “Chavez’s administration is moving to tighten its grip over Venezuela’s media industry.”[3] U.S. media coverage has often also distorted the facts regarding the Venezuelan government’s conflicts with opposition media outlets, some of which have openly supported undemocratic and extra-constitutional means to undermine or even overthrow the government.
Claims that Chávez is an enemy of press freedom reached a peak in 2007 when the Venezuelan government chose not to renew the broadcast license of opposition TV station RCTV. U.S. media and commentators claimed that RCTV was being “censored”[4] and “shut down”[5], but in reality, RCTV continued to broadcast via cable and Internet with large audience numbers, and maintaining its anti-Chávez line. While opponents of the government criticized the decision to allow RCTV’s license to expire, it is important to note that a TV station that had done even some of the things that RCTV had done would never obtain a broadcast license in the United States or any European democracy. Most importantly – as was admitted in news articles on the controversy,[6] RCTV openly supported the 2002 coup against Chávez by encouraging people to participate in opposition protests, by reporting the false information that Chávez had resigned,[7] and then, when Chávez returned to power, by airing Disney cartoons rather than report this news.[8] RCTV head Marcel Granier met with coup president Pedro Carmona during the coup, as Carmona enlisted the media’s help in attempting to ensure the coup’s success.[9] RCTV also actively promoted the oil strike (2002-2003) that attempted to topple the government, and other, legal political and electoral campaigns.
Even some observers who harshly criticized the government’s decision on RCTV admitted that the issue was much more complicated, and that RCTV was not automatically entitled to its license. “Broadcasting companies in any country in the world, especially in democratic countries, are not entitled to renewal of their licenses,” José Miguel Vivanco of Human Rights Watch explained. “The lack of renewal of the contract, per se, is not a free speech issue. Just per se.”[10]
In the years since the RCTV decision, instead of correcting its hyperbolic claims of Venezuelan censorship, U.S. media outlets have continued the theme. The new focus is on broadcaster Globovisión, routinely described as “Venezuela’s only remaining opposition TV television station on the open airwaves.”[11] This characterization is simply false, as numerous local TV stations in Venezuela have an opposition political line (and national broadcasters such as Televen continue to run programs with a strong opposition slant). The great majority of Venezuelan media continues to be privately owned, and the opposition dominates the newspaper industry as well. As Human Rights Watch – a frequent critic of freedom of the press in Venezuela – noted in a 2008 report, “the balance of forces in the print media has not changed significantly”, with the majority of Venezuelan newspapers continuing to be privately-owned and two of the three top newspapers maintaining an opposition political line (the third is neutral).[12]
U.S. press reports also frequently describe a shift among some opposition media, such as TV station Venevisión, towards being less critical of the government.[13] While U.S. media often suggests that this could be out of fear of “censorship,” Venezuela-analyst Greg Wilpert offers another theory: “I think some of the TV stations have slightly moderated [their opposition to the government] not because of intimidation, but because they were losing audience share. Over half of the population is supportive of Chávez. They’ve reduced the number of anti-Chávez programs that they used to have. But those that continue to exist are just as anti-Chávez as they were before.”[14]
Spin: Poverty has worsened under Chávez.
The Truth: Poverty has fallen dramatically in Venezuela since Hugo Chávez was elected president. While poverty did rise overall from 1999 – 2003, this was largely due to the economic impact of the coup d’etat in 2002 and the severely damaging oil lockout in late 2002/early 2003. The resulting recession was extreme: a 24 percent loss of GDP from the third quarter of 2002 until the first quarter of 2003. Media outlets in the past used poverty data from 2003 or 2004 to “prove” that poverty increased under Chávez – even when more recent poverty data was available. This distorted the reality of what happened. From the first half of 2003 to the second half of 2009 the percentage of households below the poverty line declined from 54 percent to just 24.2 percent, a 55 percent decrease. Extreme poverty has also declined precipitously, from 30.2 percent in 2003 to 7.4 percent in 2009, a decline of over 75 percent.
It is important to note that these poverty measures only include income measures and do not take into account the non-income benefits generated by numerous social programs that have benefited the poor. Access to health care, education and discounted food all contribute to improving the conditions of Venezuela’s poor. In addition, Venezuela has made important strides in reducing inequality. From 2002-2008, Venezuela led Latin America in decreased inequality, and currently has the most equitable distribution of income in the region.
Spin: Chávez’s spend-happy policies have led to dangerously high inflation, leading to serious economic problems.
The Truth: While the inflation rate in Venezuela is relatively high, it has not reached dangerous levels, as is often reported. Inflation was 31 percent in 2008, however much of this was in the first half of the year due to temporary price shocks. In 2009, inflation slowed to around 26 percent. To put this in perspective, when Chávez took office inflation was 29.5 percent, and reached 100 percent in 1996. Over the last seven years inflation has averaged roughly 21 percent per year, but this is barely over the threshold of 20 percent inflation that research has shown to negatively effect growth.
The minimum wage has also largely tracked inflation. In addition, while some goods have increased more in price than the general index, some important goods have not. For instance, since December 2007, the cost of housing, household services, clothing, communications, and education have all increased less than the general rate of inflation. While food and health have both increased more, these are areas where the government of Venezuela has increased access and affordability for the poor.
Spin: Venezuela’s economic growth is the result of an “oil boom” that’s headed for a bust.
The Truth: While the rise in the price of oil clearly contributed to Venezuela’s strong growth, it was not the only reason and there are signs that the economy can withstand fluctuations. After the oil lock-out and subsequent recession the economy took off, growing 95 percent over the following five and half years. At the same time world oil prices continued to sharply rise. This led many media commentators to claim that Venezuela’s growth is dependent on an unsustainable oil boom. However, during those five years of rapid growth it was in fact non-oil GDP that was the prime contributor to GDP growth. In fact, from 2005-2007 the oil sector was actually a drag on growth, decreasing around two percent a year, while on the other hand non-oil GDP was growing at around ten percent during the same period.
Looking at the current recession in Venezuela also provides evidence that the economy is not based on an oil boom. While Venezuela saw negative growth in 2009, this did not have to be so bad. The country has accumulated massive international reserves, and when oil prices dropped and the economy began to slow, the government could have used these reserves to fund stimulus measures to make up for the loss in demand. With relatively low levels of public debt, Venezuela also could have borrowed money internationally to finance counter-cyclical spending. Further evidence of this is that despite that the economy shrank 3.3 percent, poverty rates continued to decline and unemployment was less affected than in many other countries hit by the global recession.
Spin: Venezuela supports terrorist groups including the FARC.
The Truth: No specific proof of Venezuelan support for terrorist groups has ever been presented. Groups and individuals opposed to the Venezuelan government, both in Venezuela and internationally, have continually made allegations that the Venezuelan government supports groups on the State Department list of terrorist organizations, most commonly the FARC. Despite this, no specific, verifiable proof has ever been presented; indeed many of the allegations are based on a single, discredited source (see below). Venezuela and Colombia share a border of more than 2000 km, much of which is dense, sparsely populated jungle; it is likely that the FARC operates on both sides of the border area.
A new round of allegations of Venezuelan support for the FARC occurred after a March 2008 raid on a FARC camp in the eastern jungle of Ecuador near the Colombian border. Although the bombing raid killed 26 people and destroyed much of the camp, the Colombian military (itself responsible for horrific human rights abuses and ties to right wing paramilitaries) claims to have recovered laptops, hard drives and memory cards that were not damaged in the raid. The Colombian government has since made numerous allegations of Venezuelan (and Ecuadorean) support for the FARC based on these files. Colombian officials have leaked excerpts of the documents, exaggerating the significance of the contents for possible political purposes. Colombia also made a number of other allegations that stemmed from the laptops regarding an alleged FARC “dirty bomb” and the FARC’s ties to Ecuador, both of which were quickly proven false. Some experts expressed skepticism regarding the laptop documents in part due to how quickly Colombia appeared to find incriminating information. An Interpol analysis stated that it would take more than one thousand years to read through it all, at a rate of a hundred pages per day, yet Colombia began releasing some of what would be the most damning evidence within just days of the raid. Yet the Colombian authorities continued to claim to find evidence from the computer files linking not only the Venezuelan and Ecuadorian governments to the FARC, but also investigative journalists, activists, and others. Recently released Colombian government documents show that some of these individuals were the targets of “smear campaigns” by the Colombian presidency and the intelligence agency.
The allegation that received the most press coverage was that Chávez had offered some $300 million in support to the FARC. This turned out, however, to be based on a far-reaching interpretation of sections of the files, and it is also possible that various alleged communications between the FARC and Venezuelan government actually related to Venezuela’s role in the months just prior to the raid in negotiating the release of high-profile hostages from the FARC. After a phone call from President George W. Bush, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe abruptly ended Chávez’s official mediation role. The released hostage Pablo Moncoyo, after being freed following over a decade in captivity, thanked Chávez but not Uribe for his release.
Although the U.S. and Colombia have both cited the laptops as evidence of Venezuelan support for the FARC, most other countries and international bodies have not, and in April 2008 OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza testified before the House Subcommittee on Western Hemispheric Affairs that there was no evidence of Venezuelan support for the FARC.
An Interpol analysis of the laptops concluded that because of the handling of the evidence by the Colombian government for days before it was turned over, that it would not hold up in judicial proceedings. The computers and other devices were in control of the Colombia military for two days until they were handed over to computer experts, and then it was another week before they were given to Interpol. Interpol did not analyze the contents of the documents, in fact they had non-Spanish speakers evaluate the contents, despite that most – if not all – of the emails and other text was in Spanish.
Recently, further allegations have been made about Venezuelan support for both the FARC and the ETA (the Basque separatist group that is also labeled a terrorist organization). This made a splash in the media in March 2010 when a Spanish judge brought charges against Venezuela claiming Venezuelan support for the ETA. The evidence cited was again from the recovered FARC laptops, and during a recent hearing before the Senate Armed Service Committee, Douglas Fraser, the U.S. Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, testified that he was not aware of any evidence of Venezuelan support for the ETA. Although he later recanted these statements after meeting with the U.S. State Department, this seems more political than factual. It is unlikely that the head of the U.S. military in Latin America would not be aware of this evidence, had if it existed.
Spin: Hugo Chávez controls everything that happens in Venezuela in a “top-down” fashion.
The Truth: Venezuela’s “Bolivarian Revolution” empowers communities to make decisions and exert more control over their lives in a “bottom-up” distribution of power. Most media coverage of Venezuela focuses on the role of president Chávez, framing coverage of developments in Venezuela whereby decision-making appears to be unilaterally made by Chávez. This ignores, however, the efforts that have been made in Venezuela to increase political participation and empower grassroots organizations, not to mention the role of the legislature, the judiciary, government agencies, and political parties – both Chávez’s and independent parties.
Democratic participation has increased greatly under Chávez. As noted above, voter participation increased from 54 percent to 73 percent from the 1998 presidential election to the 2006 election. This was the result of policies such as voter registration drives that allowed millions of previously disenfranchised voters to have a voice in politics.
Participation extends beyond elections, with community councils being a main source for grassroots empowerment. The new Constitution in 1999 formed the legal basis for a participatory democracy through the codification of Local Public Planning Councils. In 2006 the law was modified to give more power and control directly to Community Councils; there are an estimated 20,000 of these in Venezuela. The councils can plan and implement community projects, and can request funding from the state. They have drastically changed the previous system, where the decision-making process in such projects was concentrated in the hands of local and national authorities.
Self-organization has been a dominant theme throughout the Chávez administration, and was the primary force that overturned the April 2002 coup d’etat. After the military ousted Chávez in April 2002, and the coup leaders dissolved the nation’s institutions, it was the grassroots that took to the streets demanding that democracy be respected. The successful mobilization led to the rapid overturning of the coup and the return of the democratically-elected Chávez to power.
The roots of these grassroots efforts come from an event in 1989 in Venezuela which became known as the Caracazo. Former president Carlos Andrés Pérez, at the urging of the International Monetary Fund, implemented austere economic policies in the face of high inflation and high unemployment. When bus fares were raised in the capital city of Caracas, popular protests ensued. The government responded with a harsh military crackdown, resulting in the death of at least 450 Venezuelans.
Resources:
Online:
Venezuela Analysis
Jules Boykoff, “Devil or Democrat? Hugo Chávez and the US Prestige Press.” New Political Science, Volume 31, Issue 1 March 2009 , pages 3 – 26. (A shortened version of this article was posted on Venezuela Analysis.)
Dan Beeton, “Wrong Numbers: Distorting Venezuela’s record on poverty,” Extra!, November/December 2006
Lee Salter, “A Decade of Propaganda? The BBC’s Reporting of Venezuela.” Venezuelanalysis.com, December 14th 2009
Mark Weisbrot’s op-ed’s and columns on Venezuela, Center for Economic and Policy Research.
[1] The Washington Post, “Meddle With Mr. Chavez.” (Editorial) March 1, 2003. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A18965-2003Feb28¬Found=true] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[2] The Los Angeles Times, “Hugo Chavez flexes his muzzle.” (Editorial) January 26, 2010. [http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/26/opinion/la-ed-rctv26-2010jan26] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[3] Darcy Crowe, “Venezuela’s Chavez Moves to Tighten Control Over Private Media.” The Wall Street Journal. July 9, 2009 [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124717745352519889.html] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[4] Miguel Perez, “Muzzling the news media broadcasts a loss of Venezuela democracy.” Chicago Sun-Times. January 9, 2007. Reposted at http://www.creators.com/opinion/miguel-perez/say-adios-to-venezuelan-democracy.html . Accessed April 27, 2010.
[5] Andres Oppenheimer, “OAS silence on Venezuela censorship scary.” The Miami Herald. June 7, 2007.
Reposted at http://www.hacer.org/current/Vene145.php. Accessed April 27, 2010.
[6] Simon Romero, “Nonrenewal of TV License Stokes Debate in Venezuela.” New York Times, January 1, 2007. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/01/world/americas/01venez.html?_r=1] Accessed April 26, 2010.
[7] Carlos Chirinos, “Venezuela investiga el “Carmonazo”.” BBC Mundo, October 5, 2004. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/spanish/latin_america/newsid_3718000/3718810.stm] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[8] David Adams and Phil Gunson, “Media accused in failed coup.” St. Petersburg Times, April 18, 2002. [http://www.stpetersburgtimes.com/2002/04/18/Worldandnation/Media_accused_in_fail.shtml] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[9] On the Media (NPR), “Pulling the Plug.” May 18, 2007. [http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/05/18/05] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[10] Patrick McElwee, “Is Free Speech Really at Stake? Venezuela and RCTV.” VenezuelaAnalysis.com. May 23rd 2007. [http://venezuelanalysis.com/analysis/2398] Accessed April 26, 2010.
[11] Christopher Toothaker, “Last Anti-Chavez TV Station Faces Probe, Shutdown.” Associated Press. May 16, 2009. [http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=7604504] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[12] Human Rights Watch, “A Decade Under Chávez: Political Intolerance and Lost Opportunities for Advancing Human Rights in Venezuela.” September 18, 2008 . (footnote 184, p.74; footnote 181, p.73) [http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/venezuela0908web.pdf] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[13] Simon Romero, “Chávez Looks at His Critics in the Media and Sees the Enemy.” The New York Times. June 1, 2007. [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/world/americas/01venez.html] Accessed April 27, 2010.
[14] McElwee. ||||| When this and several other discrepancies were pointed out to Mr. Stone in the interview, his attitudes varied. “I’m sorry about that, and I apologize,” he said about the 1998 election. But he also complained of “nitpicking” and “splitting hairs” and said that it was not his intention to make either a program for C-Span or engage in what he called “a cruel and brutal” Mike Wallace-style interrogation of Mr. Chávez that the BBC broadcast this month.
“We are dealing with a big picture, and we don’t stop to go into a lot of the criticism and details of each country,” he said. “It’s a 101 introduction to a situation in South America that most Americans and Europeans don’t know about,” he added, because of “years and years of blighted journalism.”
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“I think there has been so much unbalance that we are definitely a counter to that,” he also said.
Tariq Ali, the British-Pakistani historian and commentator who helped write the screenplay, added: “It’s hardly a secret that we support the other side. It’s an opinionated documentary.”
Initial reviews of “South of the Border” have been tepid. Stephen Holden in The New York Times called it a “provocative, if shallow, exaltation of Latin American socialism,” while Entertainment Weekly described it as “rose-colored agitprop.”
Some of the misinformation that Mr. Stone, who consistently mispronounces Mr. Chávez’s name as Sha-VEZ instead of CHA-vez, inserts into “South of the Border” is relatively benign. A flight from Caracas to La Paz, Bolivia, flies mostly over the Amazon, not the Andes, and the United States does not “import more oil from Venezuela than any other OPEC nation,” a distinction that has belonged to Saudi Arabia during the period 2004-10.
But other questionable assertions relate to fundamental issues, including Mr. Stone’s contention that human rights, a concern in Latin America since the Jimmy Carter era, is “a new buzz phrase,” used mainly to clobber Mr. Chávez. Mr. Stone argues in the film that Colombia, which “has a far worse human rights record than Venezuela,” gets “a pass in the media that Chávez doesn’t” because of his hostility to the United States.
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As Mr. Stone begins to speak, the logo of Human Rights Watch, which closely monitors the situation in both Colombia and Venezuela and has issued tough reports on both, appears on the screen. That would seem to imply that the organization is part of the “political double standard” of which Mr. Stone complains.
“It’s true that many of Chávez’s fiercest critics in Washington have turned a blind eye to Colombia’s appalling human rights record,” said José Miguel Vivanco, director of the group’s Americas division. “But that’s no reason to ignore the serious damage that Chávez has done to human rights and the rule of law in Venezuela,” which includes summarily expelling Mr. Vivanco and an associate, in violation of Venezuelan law, after Human Rights Watch issued a critical report in 2008.
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A similarly tendentious attitude pervades Mr. Stone’s treatment of the April 2002 coup that briefly toppled Mr. Chávez. One of the key events in that crisis, perhaps its instigation, was the “Llaguno Bridge Massacre,” in which 19 people were shot to death in circumstances that remain murky, with Chávez supporters blaming the opposition, and vice versa.
Mr. Stone’s film includes some new footage from the confrontation at the bridge, but its basic argument hews closely to that of “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” a film the Chávez camp has endorsed. That documentary, however, has been subject to rebuttal by another, called “X-Ray of a Lie,” and by Brian A. Nelson’s book “The Silence and the Scorpion: The Coup Against Chávez and the Making of Modern Venezuela” (Nation Books), neither of which Mr. Stone mentions.
Instead Mr. Stone relies heavily on the account of Gregory Wilpert, who witnessed some of the exchange of gunfire and is described as an American academic. But Mr. Wilpert is also the husband of Mr. Chávez’s consul-general in New York, Carol Delgado, and a longtime editor and president of the board of a Web site, Venezuelanalysis.com, set up with donations from the Venezuelan government, affiliations that Mr. Stone does not disclose.
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Like Mr. Stone’s take on the Kennedy assassination, this section of “South of the Border” hinges on the identity of a sniper or snipers who may or may not have been part of a larger conspiracy. As Mr. Stone puts it in the film, “Shots were fired from the rooftops of buildings, and members from both sides were hit in the head.”
In a telephone interview this week, Mr. Wilpert acknowledged that the first shots seem to have been fired from a building known as La Nacional, which housed the administrative offices of Freddy Bernal, the pro-Chávez mayor of central Caracas. In a congressional investigation following the coup, Mr. Bernal, who led an elite police squadron before taking office, was questioned about a military officer’s testimony that the Defense Ministry had ordered Mr. Bernal to fire on opposition demonstrators. Mr. Bernal described that charge as “totally false.”
“I did not know about that, I didn’t even know it was a Chávista building,” Mr. Stone said initially, before retreating to his original position. “Show me some Zapruder footage, and it might be different,” he said.
The second half of “South of the Border” is a road movie in which Mr. Stone, sometimes accompanied by Mr. Chávez, meets with leaders of Bolivia, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba. But here, too, he bends facts and omits information that might undermine his thesis of a continent-wide “Bolivarian revolution,” with Mr. Chávez in the forefront.
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Visiting Argentina, for example, he accurately describes the economic collapse of 2001. But then he jumps to Néstor Kirchner’s election to the presidency in May 2003 and lets Mr. Kirchner and his successor — and wife — Cristina Fernández de Kirchner claim that “we began a different policy than before.”
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In reality, Mr. Kirchner’s presidential predecessor, Eduardo Duhalde, and Mr. Duhalde’s finance minister, Roberto Lavagna, were the architects of that policy shift and the subsequent economic recovery, which began while Mr. Kirchner was still the obscure governor of a small province in Patagonia. Mr. Kirchner was originally a protégé of Mr. Duhalde’s, but the two men are now political enemies, which explains the Kirchners’ desire to write him out of their version of history.
Trying to explain the rise of Evo Morales, the president of Bolivia who is a Chávez acolyte, Mr. Ali refers to a controversial and botched water privatization in the city of Cochabamba.
“The government decided to sell the water supply of Cochabamba to Bechtel, a U.S. corporation,” he says, “and this corporation, one of the things it got the government to do was to pass a law saying that from now on it was illegal for poor people to go out onto the roofs and collect rainwater in receptacles.”
In reality, the government did not sell the water supply: it granted a consortium that included Bechtel a 40-year management concession in return for injections of capital to expand and improve water service and construction of a dam for electricity and irrigation. Nor is the issue of water collection by the poor exactly as Mr. Ali presents it.
“The rainwater permit issue always comes up,” Jim Shultz, a water privatization critic and co-editor of “Dignity and Defiance: Stories of Bolivia’s Challenge to Globalization” (University of California Press), said in an e-mail message. “What I can say is that the privatization of the public water system was accompanied by a government plan to require permits in order to dig wells and such, and that it could have potentially granted management concessions to Bechtel or others.”
But “it never got that far,” he added, and “it remains unclear to me to this day what type of water collection systems would have been included.” He concluded: “Many believed that would have included some rain collection systems. That could also easily be hype.”
Asked about the discrepancy, Mr. Ali replied that “we can talk about all this endlessly,” but “the aim of our film is very clear and basic.” In “South of the Border,” he added: “We were not writing a book, or having an academic debate. It was to have a sympathetic view of these governments.” ||||| New York Times reporter Larry Rohter turned in a factually challenged fact-check of Oliver Stone's new film South of the Border. So Stone and the film's co-writers Mark Weisbrot and Tariq Ali wrote a devastating rebuttal. A reader passed along a link to that piece to Rohter, suggesting that he "should be embarrassed" by his review.
Unsurprisingly, Rohter would not seem to be embarrassed at all, judging his reply email, which FAIR has received:
Dear Mr. Fuentes: Actually, it's Oliver Stone and company who need to heed your advice. I've been scrupulously honest in my reporting and writing, and they are offended and embarrassed at having their many errors and inaccuracies disclosed. Rather than owning up to those mistakes, they've chosen to double down and up the ante. Where they might merely have been mistaken before, they are now lying outright, the letter you link to below being the prime example. Don't take my word for it. I urge you to go back and look at what Stone and his screenwriters are saying in that letter. As regards the issue of U.S. oil imports from OPEC countries, for example, go ahead and click on the two links that Stone & Weisbrot provide and look at the numbers contained there. You will see that the United States has imported more oil from Saudi Arabia than Venezuela every year since 2000. So no matter how Stone and company want to slice, dice bend or twist it, the assertion they make in the film about U.S. oil imports is simply wrong. The numbers are clear and indisputable. Same thing goes for the 1998 Venezuela presidential race. The numbers don't lie: Irene Saez got only 3 percent of the vote, compared to 40 percent for Henrique Salas Romer, yet she is Chavez's "main opponent" and he is not? Let's apply that same pretzel logic to some other elections and see what we come up with. Was George Bush's "main opponent" in 2000 Al Gore or Ralph Nader? Was Harry Truman's "main opponent" in 1948 Thomas E. Dewey or the Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond? Was Jimmy Carter's "main opponent" in 1980 Ronald Reagan or John Anderson? It's also worthwhile using a little bit of simple logic to analyze the issue of the Cochabamba water privatization. Tariq Ali's argument seems to be that there is no substantial difference between a sale and a 40 year lease. Granted that the notion of private ownership may be anathema to someone with his ideological leanings, and therefore his understanding of different property regimens may be flawed. But the outright sale of an asset is not the same as granting a concession to use that asset for a fixed period of time, as anyone who has ever leased a car knows well. The devil is in the details, and Stone and company have chosen to ignore those. I could subject each of their other wild and erroneous claims to the same kind of dissection for you, but I trust you get the picture from the examples I've cited. Thank you for writing.
Talk about doubling down.
Rohter, for some reason, decided that this passing comment in the film deserved to be debunked: "We import more oil from Venezuela than any other OPEC nations." As the film makes clear, that comment was made by an oil industry analyst in a 2002 TV appearance, though Rohter's Times piece oddly cited 2004-10 data to contradict him. Stone and co. cite 1997-2001 as a more relevant time frame; in that period, the United States did in fact buy more oil from Venezuela than from Saudi Arabia (though in 2000-01, Saudi Arabia was the bigger supplier). In his emailed response, Rohter ignores this explanation, and says the links provided by Stone, Weisbrot and Ali don't support their point. It would seem that they do. It's a strange item to seize on, anyway; the filmmakers included the oil analyst to make the point that various business interests--including oil companies--supported the coup against Chavez, which is not at all controversial.
Rohter's complaint about Chavez's 1998 election is similarly tendentious. Irene Saez was considered by many observers to be Chavez's main rival in the presidential campaign. That's what reporter Bart Jones says in the documentary; it's also what the New York Times reported shortly after Chavez's victory (12/9/98):
Until last spring, Irene Saez, a former Miss Universe, had been leading in voter surveys, peaking at 35.7 percent to Mr. Chavez's 20.6 percent. Then the price of oil, which underpins Venezuela's entire economy, fell steeply. "We went from an optimistic country to a pessimistic one," said Luis Vicente Leon, director of the Datanalysis polling agency. The following month, Miss Saez accepted a lukewarm endorsement from one of the two traditional parties. The backing compromised her claims to being an outsider and her popularity ratings slid into the single digits.
On the debate over Bolivian water rights, the matter seems hardly worth reviewing; it comes down to how one chooses to characterize a deal that would hand a private company 40-year control over a nation's water supply. Apparently in Rohter's mind, calling such a deal "privatization" is evidence that someone has the wrong "ideological leanings" to understand complex financial transactions.
Rohter assures that he "could subject each of their other wild and erroneous claims to the same kind of dissection for you." I think we've seen enough. |||||
What is a summary?
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– Oliver Stone and a New York Times movie critic are feuding over a scathing review of Stone's documentary on Hugo Chavez, South of the Border. It began when the Times' Larry Rohter wrote this piece, in which he accuses Stone of "mistakes, misstatements, and missing details." Stone fired back with this detailed rebuttal, telling Rohter to get his own facts straight. And now, of course, Rohter has responded with a rebuttal of his own, reprinted at the Huffington Post. "I've been scrupulously honest in my reporting and writing, and (Stone and company) are offended and embarrassed at having their many errors and inaccuracies disclosed," writes Rohter. Stone, meanwhile, accuses his critic of "animus and conflict of interest," because the documentary criticizes both the Times coverage of Venezuela and Rohter's own "anti-Chavez" reporting from years earlier. "The Times should apologize for having published it," he concludes.
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News article:
The head of Israel's Reform Judaism movement on Tuesday harshly criticized a letter by 30 rabbis' wives calling on Jewish girls not to date Arabs, work with them or perform national service in the same places where they work.
"Israeli society is falling into a deep, dark pit of racism and xenophobia," said Rabbi Gilad Kariv, who two weeks ago also vocally condemned a move by a number of leading rabbis who signed on a ruling to forbid the rental of homes to Arabs.
The rabbis' wives' statement was made in a letter organized by Lehava, an organization aimed at what it calls "saving the daughters of Israel" from assimilation. The group runs a shelter for Jewish women who have left their Arab partners and is calling for a boycott of a supermarket in Gush Etzion that employs Arab men and Jewish women.
Though parts of the letter refer to non-Jews in a generic way, other parts make it clear that the rabbis' wives - including Esther Lior, the wife of Rabbi Dov Lior of Kiryat Arba, and Nitzhia Yosef, the wife of Rabbi Yaakov Yosef of Jerusalem and daughter-in-law of Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef - are referring specifically to Arabs.
"Don't date non-Jews, don't work in places where there are non-Jews, and don't perform national service together with non-Jews," the letter urges.
In some of the places where Jewish girls might work, like supermarkets or hospitals, "there are no few Arab workers who use a Hebrew name," it states. "Yusuf turns into Yossi, Samir turns into Sami and Abed turns into Ami. They seek your company, try to get you to like them, and give you all the attention in the world."
But that won't last, the letter warns: "As soon as you're in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes."
The letter comes on the heels of a letter earlier this month endorsed by dozens of municipal rabbis that urged Jews not to rent or sell homes to non-Jews.
A protest in Bat Yam this month previously coupled the real estate issue with warnings that Jewish women should stay away from Arab men, though no convincing evidence was provided to indicate that such a phenomenon exists on a broad scale or that an increasing number of Jews are dating Arabs.
"Your grandmothers never dreamed or prayed that one of their descendants would commit an act that would remove future generations of her family from the Jewish people," the women's letter states. ||||| Oded Balilty, AP
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JERUSALEM -- Good Jewish girls should stay away from Arabs, according to a letter signed by 30 wives of prominent Orthodox rabbis, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported today."Don't date non-Jews, don't work in places where there are non-Jews, and don't perform national service with non-Jews," the letter states. (National service is an alternative to army service for Orthodox Jewish girls who do not believe men and women should mix freely. Most girls volunteer in schools and hospitals.)Lest you think that the target of the letter is not specifically Arabs, it continues, urging girls not to work in supermarkets or hospitals."There are no few Arab workers who use a Hebrew name. Yusuf turns into Yossi, Samir turns into Sami and Abed turns into Ami. They seek your company, try to get you to like them and give you all the attention in the world. But as soon as you're in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes."The letter was signed by prominent rabbis' wives, including Nitzhia Yosef, daughter-in-law of Shas ultra-Orthodox spiritual leader Ovadia Yosef, who has expressed harsh statements about Arabs. The Shas party has 12 seats in the 120-seat Israeli parliament, and Yosef has tremendous political power.The letter was organized by Lehava, which aims to "save the daughters of Israel from assimilation." The group runs a shelter for Jewish women who have left their Arab partners. A spokesman for Lehava refused to comment on the letter and hung up twice on AOL News.The letter also uses Jewish guilt to dissuade young women from socializing with Arabs."Your grandmothers never dreamed or prayed that one of their descendants would commit an act that would remove future generations of her family from the Jewish people," it warns young girls.There are no statistics on how many Jewish women are dating Arab men. About 20 percent of Israel's population is Arab.The letter provoked sharp criticism among liberal Israelis."If you change the word 'Arabs' to 'Jews,' this letter could have been published in a Nazi newspaper," Yaron Ezrachi, a Hebrew University political science professor, told AOL News. "These rabbis' wives are poisoning the well that both religious and secular Israelis drink from -- the well of Judaism."The letter comes just two weeks after another letter signed by dozens of municipal rabbis urging Jews not to rent or sell homes to Arabs. A survey released today found that 44 percent of Israeli Jews agreed with the rabbis' call, and 48 percent disagreed."Israeli society is falling into a deep dark pit of racism and xenophobia," said Rabbi Gilad Kariv, the head of Israel's Reform Judaism movement.Lehava also urged supporters to boycott supermarkets in the West Bank where Arabs are employed. |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– A letter in Israel signed by 30 rabbis' wives offers clear-cut dating advice to young Jewish women: Stay away from "non-Jews," and especially Arab men. "There are no few Arab workers who use a Hebrew name," warns the letter, as recounted by AOL News. "Yusuf turns into Yossi, Samir turns into Sami and Abed turns into Ami. They seek your company, try to get you to like them and give you all the attention in the world. But as soon as you're in their hands, in their village, under their control, everything changes." The letter-signers belong to a group whose stated goal is "saving the daughters of Israel" from assimilation, and it's an example of how Israel "is falling into a deep, dark pit of racism" one rabbi tells Haaretz. A political science professor at Hebrew University adds: "If you change the word 'Arabs' to 'Jews,' this letter could have been published in a Nazi newspaper."
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Here is a news article: Apple’s Lisa project might be the most loaded chapter in the company’s lore, and thanks to the Computer History Museum, you’ll soon be able to play around with one of the first graphical user interfaces in history right there on your shiny state of the art screen. And you won’t have to pay $10,000 that the original Lisa computer cost in 1983.
Al Kossow, a Software Curator at the museum, recently announced that source code for Lisa’s operating system and applications has been recovered and a conversion of the code is currently under review by Apple. He wrote that after the review is done, the museum will release a text on the significance of the Lisa project and make the code available for all in 2018.
In an incident that would kick off a feud between Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, the Apple team visited the Xerox PARC lab to check out its work on graphical interfaces. As the story goes, Xerox had essentially figured out the key to the modern PC but sat on the technology. Apple was riding high on the success of the Apple II and Jobs offered Xerox the option to buy 100,000 shares in his company at the pre-IPO price of $10 apiece in exchange for allowing his engineers to play around with Xerox’s tech for three days. The engineers took what they learned from Xerox and created the Lisa.
GIF
Lisa was a cutting-edge machine and one of the first to offer consumers a GUI, mouse, and file system, but it was prohibitively expensive and didn’t catch on. Adjusted for inflation, it cost almost $25,000 at the time. And while the Steve Jobs legend paints him as a marketing genius, check out this sleepy commercial for the Lisa starring Kevin Costner. The message of the ad boils down to pay us 25 grand and you’ll be so productive, you’ll have time to eat breakfast. It’s a far cry from Ridley Scott’s clip for the Macintosh that would blow the world away one year later.
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Walter Isaacson later chronicled the feud between Bill Gates and Jobs that would arise when Microsoft moved forward with Windows. Jobs accused Gates of stealing from Apple, but Gates had seen the work at the Xerox PARC lab as well. He told Isaacson that his reply to Jobs’ tantrum was, “I think it’s more like we both had this rich neighbor named Xerox and I broke into his house to steal the TV set and found out that you had already stolen it.”
Isaacson would also use the origin of the Lisa name as a way of humanizing the often monstrous Apple founder. The official explanation for the name was that it was an acronym for “Local Integrated System Architecture,” but Jobs later admitted that it was named after his oldest daughter Lisa Nicole Brennan. That narrative device would go on to be put to particularly saccharin use in the film adaptation of Isaacson’s biography.
In the Apple narrative, Lisa’s failure and internal squabbles between Jobs and his handpicked CEO John Sculley led to Sculley removing Jobs from the project and putting him on the Mac team. Though the Macintosh was a hit, the groundwork for Jobs’ ouster from the company had already been paved.
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Anyways, that’s some good background to have in mind when the Computer History Museum finally releases the code for Lisa’s OS next year. In the meantime, you can play around with a bunch of emulators from the golden age of the Macintosh collected by the Internet Archive. And watch another weird-ass commercial for the Lisa below.
[Business Insider Singapore] ||||| Before there was an iPhone, iMac or Macintosh computer, Apple had Lisa.
The Lisa computer — which stands for ” “Local Integrated Software Architecture” but was also named after Steve Jobs’ eldest daughter — was a flop when it released in 1983, due to its astronomical price point at $10,000 — $24,700 when adjusted for inflation. But in the grand scheme of Apple’s history, the Lisa computer’s software laid the groundwork for what was to be the macOS operating system.
Some time next year, Apple fans will be able to relive the company’s early days — back when it was still a Cupertino startup led by Jobs and Steve Wozniak — thanks to the Mountain View-based Computer History Museum.
The museum’s software curator, Al Kossow, announced in a public mailing list that the source code for the Lisa computer has been recovered and is currently with Apple for review. Once Apple clears the code, the museum plans to release it to the public with a blog post explaining its historic significance.
However, not every part of Lisa’s source code will be available, explained Kossow.
“The only thing I saw that probably won’t be able to be released is the American Heritage dictionary for the spell checker in LisaWrite (word processing application),” said Kossow.
The Lisa computer was the first computer with graphics user interface aimed at business users — hence its prohibitive cost. With a processor as fast as 5 MHz and 1 MB of RAM (the newest 13-inch MacBook Pro can process as fast as 4 GHz and a 64 MB of an evolved version of RAM), the Lisa gave users the breakthrough of organizing files by using a computer mouse.
Apple spent $150 million on development of Lisa and advertised the Lisa as a game-changer, with actor Kevin Costner in the commercials. But Apple sold only 10,000 units of Lisa in 1983 before pivoting to create a smaller and much cheaper successor, the Macintosh, which was released the next year.
“The Lisa was doomed because it was basically a prototype — an overpriced, underpowered cobbled-together ramshackle Mac,” author and tech journalist Leander Kahney told Wired in 2010. “Lisa taught the Mac team they’d need to articulate a clear purpose for the Mac.”
The Lisa computer also set off another chain of events, which helped define Apple’s history, according to Wired. Jobs was promptly kicked off the Lisa development team by CEO John Sculley and joined the Macintosh team. Sculley’s move against Jobs helped create the legendary fissure between the two which led to Job’s ouster from Apple in 1985 and his return in 1997. ||||| You’ll soon be able to take a huge trip down memory lane when it comes to Apple’s computer efforts. The Computer History Museum has announced that the source code for the Lisa, Apple’s computer that predated the Mac, has been recovered and is being reviewed by Apple itself…
Sylvania HomeKit Light Strip
The announcement was made by Al Kossow, a Software Curator at the Computer History Museum. Kossow says that source code for both the operating system and applications has been recovered. Once that code is finished being reviewed by Apple, the Computer History Museum will make the code available sometime in 2018.
While you’ve been able to run emulators of the Lisa operating system before, this is notable as it’s not just a third-party hack solution, but rather Apple is directly involved and the full code will be available for everyone.
Kossow explains:
Just wanted to let everyone know the sources to the OS and applications were recovered, I converted them to Unix end of line conventions and spaces for Pascal tabs after recovering the files using Disk Image Chef, and they are with Apple for review. After that’s done, the code that is cleared for release by Apple will be made available in 2018. The only thing I saw that probably won’t be able to be released is the American Heritage dictionary for the spell checker in LisaWrite.
The Lisa was released back in 1983 for $10,000, which as Gizmodo notes, is around $25,000 when adjusted for inflation. The machine was notable for being the first to feature a graphical user interface and support for a mouse, but ultimately only sold 10,000 units.
Despite its flop on the market, the Lisa is a major piece of Apple history. It’s largely the reason Steve Jobs left Apple and caused a huge rift between Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates. After Lisa’s rather public failure, Jobs founded NeXT Computer – which was ultimately acquired by Apple, bringing him back to the company.
Once the code for Lisa’s operating system and applications is released next year, everyone will be able to tinker with it and try it out. Some details remain unclear as Apple reviews the code, but we’ll keep you updated. Are you excited for this release? Let us know down in the comments. |||||
A summary of this is?
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– The source code for Apple's 1983 computer that cost $10,000, may have led to the ouster of Steve Jobs, and is widely seen as the tech giant's biggest ever flop could soon be yours. Al Kossow, software curator at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, announced to a public mailing list that the code for the Lisa computer has been recovered and will be shared publicly once Apple gives approval to do so, which is expected to happen sometime this year, the Mercury News reports. 9to5Mac points out that while Lisa emulators exist, "this is notable as it’s not just a third-party hack solution" but an Apple-involved effort. Kossow adds that "the only thing I saw that probably won't be able to be released is the American Heritage dictionary for the spell checker in LisaWrite." Named after Jobs' eldest daughter, the Lisa was one of the earliest computers to use a graphical user interface and mouse. Despite costing $150 million to develop and an ad campaign that featured Kevin Costner, only around 10,000 units were ever sold (the Mercury News points out that in today's dollars, the Lisa cost an eye-popping $24,700). Following the failure, Jobs was moved off the project by Apple CEO John Sculley, likely creating the rift that led to Jobs' 10-plus-year exile from the company starting in 1985. It also caused a second rift, between Jobs and Bill Gates, a story that involves Xerox and 100,000 shares of Apple; Gizmodo details it here. However, like Jobs, the Lisa would later prove to be a success in the form of its smaller, cheaper and wildly popular successor: the Macintosh.
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Summarize this article:
This was the second straight year that allowed lawmakers to conduct their business without the cloud of budget deficits that plagued California for years. But a series of ethics scandals roiled the Capitol, leading to the suspension in March of three Democratic senators charged with crimes. ||||| California lawmakers narrowly approved a sweeping plastic bag ban Friday, leaving Gov. Jerry Brown to decide the fate of the controversial bill in an election year.
The ban, the subject of years of debate, was one of the most heavily lobbied issues in the final days of the legislative session, with back-and-forth votes this week. The Senate approved the measure 22-15 on Friday.
The measure could be politically difficult for Brown, a longtime champion of environmental causes but a relatively moderate Democrat, especially on issues of concern to business.
In addition to banning lightweight plastic bags from grocery stores, the bill would have customers pay at least a dime for a paper or reusable plastic bag.
“The most simple elegant solution to avoid paying a 10-cent fee at a grocery store would be to bring a reusable bag, and that is the ultimate objective of this bill,” said Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Los Angeles, who carried the measure.
Opponents in the plastic and paper bag industries focused their attacks on the fee, characterizing it as a windfall for grocers. A prominent grocers union temporarily withdrew its support for the legislation after citing concerns that money from the fee would inflate store profits.
When Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, promoted the bill in his house, Jon Fleischman, the conservative blogger and former state GOP executive director, responded on Twitter with a hashtag: “NANNYSTATE.”
“This is big government taking over local agencies’ responsibilities,” said Sen. Jean Fuller, R-Bakersfield.
The bill reflected a compromise between some industry groups and environmentalists. It allows plastic manufacturers to apply for grants from a $2 million state fund to change their operations to make bags sanctioned by the new bill.
But manufacturers nationwide remained opposed, saying it would put bag makers out of work.
Padilla said he had not spoken with Brown about the plastic bag ban and that “we’re taking nothing for granted.”
Still, Padilla said he “worked extensively” with Brown administration officials on the grant program and content of the regulation. More than 90 California cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have already banned single-use plastic bags, suggesting signing the bill may not be as difficult politically as it once might have been.
“We’ve seen a groundswell of support in city after city,” Padilla said.
Proponents argue the plastic bag ban will significantly reduce garbage and damage to wildlife.
Statewide legislation was rejected by lawmakers last year but revived with a provision including money to convert plastic bag plants to new uses. The Assembly passed the bill on Thursday, just days after it failed an initial test in the lower house.
Brown’s Republican opponent in the gubernatorial race, Neel Kashkari, said on Twitter on Thursday that the plastic bag ban effort was “embarrassing.”
“Poverty? Jobs? Education? Rebuilding the middle class?” wrote Kashkari, a former U.S. Treasury Department official. “Nope. Plastic bags.”
The plastic bag ban is one of hundreds of bills the governor will act on in coming weeks. His office typically does not comment on pending legislation, and it declined to comment Friday on the bag bill.
Call David Siders, Bee Capitol Bureau, (916) 321-1215. Follow him on Twitter @davidsiders. Staff writer Laurel Rosenhall contributed to this report.
Read more articles by David Siders ||||| Paper or plastic? In California, the latter may soon no longer be an option and the former may come at a cost.
On Friday, the state Legislature passed a bill banning the use of plastic bags at California grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and other businesses. If signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, the bill would institute the first statewide ban on plastic bags in the U.S. A spokesman for the governor said he hasn't taken a position... |||||
Summary:
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– California's legislature has approved what will be a national first if Gov. Jerry Brown goes along—a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags in supermarkets and other stores, reports the Los Angeles Times. Lawmakers narrowly approved the measure yesterday in the name of reducing litter on streets and beaches. It would apply to supermarkets next July and to convenience and liquor stories the following year. Customers would be able to pay a dime or so for a reusable plastic bag or a paper bag. Brown hasn't taken a position on the ban, which is generally opposed by Republicans as a big-government move that would amount to a tax on shoppers, reports the Wall Street Journal. And while Brown has a long history of supporting green initiatives, this one is no slam dunk given that it's an election year, reports the Sacramento Bee. Some of California's biggest localities, including Los Angeles County and San Francisco, already have such bans in place.
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All 22 of the victims who were killed in the attack on the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester have been named.
Among them are parents who were coming to greet their children after the concert and take them safely home, as well as excited youngsters attending their first ever concert.
The youngest victim was eight years old.
Here is all we know on the victims of the atrocity.
Megan Hurley
The final victim of the Manchester terror attack has been named as 15-year-old Megan Hurley from Halewood.
She was named as dead by her aunt Maxine Benson, as her parents are believed to be at the hospital bedside of her brother Bradley, who was injured in the attack. ||||| People lay flowers in St Ann's Square after relocating them from Albert Square in Manchester, England on May 24, 2017. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
People lay flowers in St Ann's Square after relocating them from Albert Square in Manchester, England on May 24, 2017. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
People lay flowers in St Ann's Square after relocating them from Albert Square in Manchester, England on May 24, 2017. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
Police officers guard closed areas near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack on Monday night that killed 22 and injured 64. The attack occurred at the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
Britain's top domestic defense official said Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi "likely" had accomplices as focus turns to his visits to Libya and possibly Syria. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
Police guard closed areas near Manchester Arena following a deadly terror attack. Britain's top domestic defense official said Manchester Arena bomber Salman Abedi "likely" had accomplices as focus turns to his visits to Libya and possibly Syria. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
A police cordon surrounds Manchester Arena on Tuesday one day after England's deadliest terrorist attack since 2005. Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said authorities are investigating a "network" following the bombing. Photo by Mushtaq Mohammed/UPI | License Photo
May 24 (UPI) -- Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said authorities are investigating a "network" of people who may have played a role in Monday's Manchester Arena bombing, which killed 22 people.
Hopkins' statement is the strongest yet by an official in confirming accused suicide bomber Salman Abedi did not act alone.
"We are carrying out extensive searches at premises across Manchester," Hopkins said at a press conference Wednesday."I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating and it continues at pace and there's extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester."
The Manchester Evening News reported police believe the man responsible for making the bomb used in the attack is still at large.
Twelve of the 22 fatalities have so far been identified as Saffie Roussos, 8; Martyn Hett, 29; Olivia Campbell, 15; Kelly Brewster, 32; John Atkinson, 28; Georgina Callander, 18; Jane Tweddle-Taylor, 51; Nell Jones, 14; Angelika Klis, 40; Marcin Klis, 42; Alison Howe, 45; and Lisa Lees, 47.
British Home Secretary Amber Rudd said Abedi "likely" had accomplices and she criticized the U.S. government for leaking information about his identity.
Rudd, Britain's top domestic defense official, told BBC News on Wednesday that Monday's attack was a "devastating occasion."
In addition to the fatalities, another 64 people were wounded, several of whom remain hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.
The Islamic State claimed responsibility, and Rudd suggested Abedi did not work alone. She did not reveal details of whom he may have worked with.
"It was more sophisticated than some of the attacks we've seen before, and it seems likely -- possible -- that he wasn't doing this on his own," Rudd said.
RELATED Death toll rises to 140 after attack at Libyan airbase
British police identified Abedi, a 22-year-old British citizen of Libyan descent, as the Manchester Arena bomber on Tuesday. Authorities were working to determine whether Abedi possibly received training from the Islamic State when he traveled to Libya to visit his parents, who had moved back to their home country.
French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told BFMTV that Abedi had traveled to Syria as well as Libya and that he had "proven" links with the Islamic State.
Rudd also expressed frustration with the U.S. government, as news of Abedi's identity was first revealed in the United States. She said Britain wanted to control the flow of information to "keep the element of surprise" as security forces launched raids and made arrests in the wake of the attack, Britain's worst since 52 people were killed in the July 7, 2005, bombings targeting public transportation.
"The British police have been very clear they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity -- the element of surprise -- so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources, and I've been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," Rudd said, adding she had been very clear with leaders in Washington, D.C., "that it should not happen again."
British police have so far arrested four men in total. Abedi's older brother was detained Tuesday and shortly before Wednesday's press conference three additional men were taken into custody. It was not clear why police had arrested any of the men.
In Libya, counterterrorism authorities said they arrested at least two members of Abedi's family, including a younger brother suspected of preparing an attack in Tripoli.
Many of those killed and injured in the Manchester attack include children and adolescents.
British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday raised the terror alert from "severe" to "critical" -- the top level that indicates another terrorist attack could be imminent.
"It is a possibility we cannot ignore, that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack," May said.
The critical terror alert level permits British officials to deploy armed forces to secure potential target areas and to support police officers. May said soldiers would be placed in key public locations such as Buckingham Palace, Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster to support police.
May on Tuesday said a "single terrorist" -- prior to the revelation of Abedi's identity -- detonated an explosive device near an Manchester Arena exit at about 10:30 p.m. Monday, just after an Ariana Grande concert ended. She said the attacker chose the time and place "to cause maximum carnage and to kill and injure indiscriminately."
Britain's main political parties on Wednesday announced they would resume local and national campaigns for the June 8 general election on Thursday and Friday. ||||| The police officer is one of the 22 victims of the attack.
The identity of the family is not yet known.
Steve White, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales , responded to the confirmation an off-duty policewoman was killed in Monday's terrorist attack. The unnamed officer, whose husband and two children were also reportedly injured in the blast, is the second to be killed by terrorism in less than three months, coming after Keith Palmer was stabbed during the March Westminster attack. ||||| Armed police officers patrol a police cordon near the Manchester Arena in Manchester, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Britons will find armed troops at vital locations Wednesday after the official threat level... (Associated Press)
Armed police officers patrol a police cordon near the Manchester Arena in Manchester, Wednesday, May 24, 2017. Britons will find armed troops at vital locations Wednesday after the official threat level was raised to its highest point following a suicide bombing that killed more than 20, as new details... (Associated Press)
LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the bombing at a pop concert in Manchester that left 22 people dead (all times local):
3:13 p.m.
Manchester's police chief has told reporters that it is clear "this is a network we are investigating" as he gave an update on the probe into the bomb attack at a pop concert in the city.
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said Wednesday that police are carrying out extensive searches across Manchester as part of their probe.
Hopkins declined to comment on whether police have found the alleged maker of the explosive device used in Monday night's attack.
His comments followed media reports that the alleged bomber, Salman Abedi, acted as a "mule" for others.
Hopkins says a serving police officer was among the 22 people confirmed killed in the attack.
He confirmed that a total of four suspects have been detained so far.
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3:05 p.m.
Witnesses say they heard explosions as police raided a block of flats in central Manchester following Monday's attack.
Manchester Police said officers briefly closed a railway line on Wednesday to carry out a search as part of the investigation into the deadly bombing at the Ariana Grande concert Monday.
Residents described how armed police and men clad in balaclavas stormed the Granby House building, an apartment block where rented apartments are popular with students and young professionals.
Muye Li, a 23-year-old student who lives on the third floor, says he heard an explosion as police stormed an apartment on his floor.
He says officers knocked on his door and "asked me if I had seen the lady next door," and believed police were looking for a woman.
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3:00 p.m.
A former Libyan security official says the father of the alleged Manchester arena bomber was allegedly member of a former al-Qaida-backed group in Libya.
Former Libyan security official Abdel-Basit Haroun said Wednesday he personally knew Ramadan Abedi, the father of Salman Abedi, and that the elder Abedi was a member of the Libyan Islamic Fighting group in the 1990s. The group had links to al-Qaida.
Although the LIFG disbanded, Haroun says the father belongs to the Salafi Jihadi movement, the most extreme sect of Salafism and from which al-Qaida and the Islamic State group hail.
Haroun says Abedi, also known as Abu Ismail, had returned to the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
Ramadan Abedi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from Tripoli that his family "aren't the ones who blow up ourselves among innocents."
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2:35 p.m.
The father of the alleged Manchester arena attacker denies his son is linked to militants or the suicide bombing that killed 22 people.
Ramadan Abedi says he spoke to his 22-year-old son, Salman Abedi, five days ago and he was getting ready to visit Saudi Arabia and sounded "normal."
He said that his son visited Libya a month-and-a -half ago.
The elder Abedi told The Associated Press by telephone from Tripoli: "We don't believe in killing innocents. This is not us."
He said his other son, Ismail, was arrested in England on Tuesday morning.
He said Salman was planning to head from Saudi Arabia to Libya to spend the holy month of Ramadan with family.
Abedi fled Tripoli in 1993 after Moammar Gadhafi's security authorities issued an arrest warrant and eventually sought political asylum in Britain.
Now, he is the administrative manager of the Central Security force in Tripoli.
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2:15 p.m.
Manchester United fans are congregating in Stockholm's city center, dominating bars and singing songs ahead of their team's match against Ajax in the Europa League.
A flag outside a bar in the Swedish capital displayed the words: "United against terrorism. Lest we forget 22.05.17" — the date of Monday's suicide bombing in the English city of Manchester.
The final will kick off at Friends Arena on Wednesday, less than 48 hours after a deadly bomb attack at a pop concert in Manchester killed 22 people.
There will be a huge security presence at the venue. A police helicopter was flying above the city center Wednesday afternoon.
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2:05 p.m.
Premier League champion Chelsea has called off its victory parade because of the concert attack in Manchester.
Chelsea says it would be inappropriate to hold a parade in London this weekend following Monday's bombing at a concert in Manchester and adds "we are sure our fans will understand this decision."
The club says "given the heightened security threat announced by the government, and recognizing that this is a developing situation, we have given this careful consideration."
Chelsea also says it does not want to divert emergency services.
English soccer champions traditionally celebrate by driving through the city streets on an open top bus, with players holding trophies and waving to fans.
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1:05 p.m.
Manchester police made an arrest early Wednesday at a house just a 10-minute walk from the home of suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
Omar Alfa Khuri, who lives across the street, said he was awakened at 2:30 a.m. by a loud noise and saw police take away the father of the family that lives there in handcuffs. He said the man is named Adel and is in his 40s, with a wife and several children.
He says "there was a policeman, armed policeman, shouting at my neighbor ... and I realized there is something wrong here ... they arrested the father, and I think the rest of the family kind of disappeared."
He said he immediately suspected the arrest might be linked to Monday night's concert bombing. He said he knew the man from the neighborhood and the mosque.
He says "in the last 15 years, I haven't seen him in trouble at all. I haven't seen police come to his house."
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12:45 p.m.
British police say they are now confident they know the identities of all the people who lost their lives in Monday's concert attack in Manchester.
But Greater Manchester Police said Wednesday that it could not formally name the victims until forensic post-mortems are concluded. The force said because of the number of victims, that is likely to take four to five days.
It said all the families affected have been contacted and trained officers are supporting them.
Officials said 22 people were killed in the suicide bombing of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena, including teenagers and children. Some of them have been named by friends and family. The youngest victim was 8-year-old Saffie Roussos.
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12:05 p.m.
A school near Manchester says it is "in shock" and heartbroken as it announced that one of its students, teenager Olivia Campbell-Hardy, was killed in the Manchester concert attack.
Tottington High School, in Bury near the city of Manchester, said in a statement that Olivia, reportedly 15, had been with a friend during Monday night's attack on the Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena. The friend has undergone surgery to treat injuries from the bombing.
Her mother, Charlotte Campbell, who had been appealing online for news of Olivia, wrote in a Facebook posting early Wednesday: "RIP my darling precious gorgeous girl Olivia Campbell taken far far too soon, go sing with the angels and keep smiling mummy loves you so much."
Police and health officials say 22 people were killed and 119 wounded in Monday's attack.
— This story corrects the high school's name to Tottington.
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11:40 a.m.
Manchester health officials have raised the number of wounded in the concert bombing, saying 119 people sought medical treatment at the city's hospitals after the suicide attack Monday night.
The Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership gave the higher figure on Wednesday.
Jon Rouse of the agency said 64 people were still hospitalized. He said the number of overall wounded was raised due to the "walking wounded" who came in hours after the attack.
Rouse said many of those hospitalized had serious wounds that would require "very long term care and support in terms of their recovery."
The attack after the Ariana Grande concert also killed 22 people.
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11:20 a.m.
Officials say no decision has been reached yet on whether to postpone planned London concerts by pop singer Ariana Grande.
The American pop singer's next two concerts are scheduled for Thursday and Friday night at London's 02 Arena.
Representatives of 02 Arena said Wednesday they are in contact with her promoters but haven't made a final decision. They say a decision will be made shortly.
Grande's concert in Manchester on Monday night was targeted by a suicide bomber who killed 22 people and wounded 64. The singer was not injured but said later she was "broken" by the attack.
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11:05 a.m.
The head of Britain's domestic intelligence agency has canceled his attendance at an international anti-terrorism meeting.
MI5 chief Andrew Parker pulled out of the upcoming meeting in Berlin following the deadly attack on a pop concert in Manchester.
British authorities believe a suicide bomber carried out the attack that killed 22 and wounded dozens in the city in northwest England on Monday.
Germany's domestic intelligence agency confirmed Parker's cancellation to The Associated Press on Wednesday.
The May 29 meeting in Berlin is titled "Western democracies' responses to the threat of Islamist terrorism" and also features senior intelligence officials and experts from Europe and Israel.
Parker's attendance at the meeting would have been a rare public appearance for the MI5 chief.
10:55 a.m.
Britain's defense ministry says the changing of the guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace has been cancelled so that police officers can be re-deployed in the wake of the Manchester concert attack.
The traditional ceremony at the palace in London is a major attraction that draws crowds of tourists.
Officials also announced Wednesday that the Palace of Westminster, which houses the British Parliament in London, will be closed to all without passes. That comes after Britain's national security threat level was raised to "critical," the highest level, following Monday's attack in Manchester.
All tours and events at Parliament were immediately cancelled until further notice.
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10:35 a.m.
Police in Manchester say they have arrested three more men in connection with the suicide bombing at a pop concert that killed 22 people.
They said Wednesday the arrests had been made in the south of the city, where a day earlier a 23-year-old man was also arrested and a number of homes were searched.
Police are trying to establish if bomber Salman Abedi acted alone or whether there could be a risk of further attacks.
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10:05 a.m.
Israel's defense minister says he doubts the devastating bombing in Manchester will have any impact on European counterterrorism tactics because of the continent's "politically correct" character.
Avigdor Lieberman says every bombing in Europe results in much talk, but little action. He told Israel's Army Radio Wednesday the problem is extremism among Muslim youths who are not integrated into society.
He said nothing will change until these residents are ready to adopt "universal, European values."
At least 22 people were killed in Monday evening's attack at an Ariana Grande concert. The bomber, Salman Abedi, was British-born and of Libyan descent. The official threat level in Britain has since been raised to its highest point.
Lieberman says Israel and Britain enjoy close intelligence cooperation and Israel offered its assistance following the attack.
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9:55 a.m.
Prime Minister Theresa May is chairing a meeting of her emergency security cabinet, known as Cobra.
The Downing Street meeting is dealing with intelligence reports about the investigation into Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi.
Police and intelligence agencies are trying to determine if he was part of a network that may be planning further attacks in the coming days.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has criticized U.S. officials for leaking information about Abedi to the press as the investigation is unfolding.
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9:35 a.m.
Poland's foreign minister says that a Polish couple were killed in the concert blast in Manchester.
Witold Waszczykowski said Wednesday the couple came to collect their daughters from the Ariana Grande concert Monday night. The daughters were unharmed.
He did not give the couple's names, but the daughter of Marcin and Angelika Klis has been publicly searching for them since the explosion.
Waszczykowski also said that another Polish citizen was wounded and had undergone surgery in a hospital.
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9:05 a.m.
Germany's interior minister has ordered that flags on federal government buildings be flown at half-staff following the attack in Manchester.
Thomas de Maiziere's ministry said Wednesday that flags will be lowered to half-staff for the day on Wednesday. It described the order as "a signal of sympathy and solidarity after the cruel attack in Manchester."
At least 22 people were killed in Monday evening's attack at an Ariana Grande concert.
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8:55 a.m.
British Home Secretary Amber Rudd says Manchester suicide bomber Salman Abedi was known "up to a point" to the British intelligence services and police.
She said Wednesday the investigation is continuing and declined to provide further details about Abedi, whose improvised bomb killed 22 people at a pop concert in Manchester.
Rudd says Britain's increased official threat level will remain at "critical" as the investigation proceeds.
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8:45 a.m.
France's interior minister says that the suicide bomber who targeted Manchester is believed to have traveled to Syria and had "proven" links with the Islamic State group.
Gerard Collomb said on BFM television Wednesday that British and French intelligence have information that British-born attacker Salman Abedi had been to Syria. He did not provide details, and said it is unclear whether Abedi was part of a larger network of attackers.
Collomb, who spoke with British Prime Minister Theresa May after the attack at an Ariana Grande concert that killed 22, said the two countries should continue cooperating closely on counterterrorism efforts despite Britain's pending exit from the European Union.
With France still under a state of emergency after a string of IS attacks, French President Emmanuel Macron is holding a special security council meeting Wednesday.
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8:30 a.m.
Britons will find armed troops at vital locations after the official threat level was raised to its highest point following a suicide bombing that killed 22.
Officials say soldiers will be deployed to places like Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street and Parliament. They will replace armed police as Operation Temperer takes effect Wednesday.
Officials believe this will free up police to fight the threat of further extremist action against civilian targets, amid fears that another attack may be imminent
Police are trying to determine whether suicide bomber Salman Abedi acted alone when he set off his explosives at the end of a pop concert at a Manchester arena. The government Tuesday night raised the threat to "critical", its highest level, following an emergency Cabinet session. ||||| Image caption Salman Abedi has been named by police as the Manchester bomber
Police have named 22-year-old Salman Ramadan Abedi as the person who carried out the suicide bomb attack at Manchester Arena on 22 May.
It is thought many of his actions prior to the attack were carried out alone, but police have yet to rule out whether he was part of a larger network.
What more do we know about him?
Abedi was born in Manchester on New Year's Eve 1994 to Libyan parents. They fled Libya after becoming opponents of Colonel Gaddafi's regime.
Having spent a few years in London, the family moved to Manchester where Abedi's father did the call to prayer at a mosque in Didsbury.
Friends remember him as a good footballer, a keen supporter of Manchester United and a user of cannabis. He had a sister and two brothers.
Abedi attended Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester between 2009 and 2011, before going to The Manchester College until 2013. He went to Salford University in 2014.
He also attended football coaching sessions put on by the Manchester United Foundation. The foundation, which runs street projects, said it could not comment for "data protection reasons".
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Ramadan Abedi, the father of the Manchester suicide bomber, spoke to Reuters two days after the attack
A former classmate of Abedi told the BBC "he was a very jokey lad" but at the same time was "very short tempered", and would lose his temper over "the littlest thing".
The man, who does not want to be identified, said: "What I realised was he had a short temper but apart from that was a very sound lad."
He said Abedi was "away at random times throughout the year - but I don't know if that was because he was out the country, or just didn't show up to school, because he did hang around with the wrong crowd and was very, very gullible".
"You could tell him anything and he would pretty much fall for it," he added.
Another, who also did not want to be named, told the BBC Abedi did not "come across as an intelligent person".
Asked whether he thought Abedi might have been manipulated by more intelligent people, he replied: "A hundred percent... I can't imagine the idea that he would be able to go through with such a complicated procedure. He must have had help."
"I wasn't shocked," the classmate added. "He fits the profile for a suicide bomber."
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Salman Abedi's cousins say the bomber "betrayed his family"
The bomber's two cousins, Isaac and Abz Forjani, were both arrested the day after the attack and questioned by police for seven days.
The pair said Abedi had never admitted extremist views, and thought that he may have been radicalised abroad.
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption BBC Newsnight understands Abedi fought against the Gaddafi regime in Libya
Aged 16, Abedi is believed to have fought against the Gaddafi regime with his father Ramadan during the school holidays, according to BBC Newsnight.
A Libyan businessman, Adel Alrayni, told BBC Arabic that Abedi's father supported the radical cleric, Abu Qatada, and used to meet him in London.
Abu Qatada was deported from Britain in 2013, but was later cleared of terrorism charges in Jordan.
By the time Abedi left Burnage Academy for Boys - formerly Burnage High School - in 2011, he had become "more and more religious", later cutting ties with former classmates.
It was while at Manchester College two people who knew Abedi made separate calls to an anti-terrorism hotline to warn police about his extremist views.
A community support worker, who did not wish to be named, said they contacted the authorities after he publicly said "he was supporting terrorism" and "being a suicide bomber is OK".
Greater Manchester Police said it had not found a record of the phone calls, but added had been arrested in 2012 for minor offences including theft and assault.
However, he said he had not been known to the government's Prevent anti-extremism scheme, which aims to deradicalise young people or prevent others from being radicalised.
Abedi's family lived at more than one address in the city, including a property at Elsmore Road, in the Fallowfield area, that was raided by police on 23 May.
His mother and father are now back living in Libya, where his father and younger brother Hashem, 20, are being held by special forces linked to the interior ministry in the Libyan capital Tripoli.
For a while Abedi left the UK too, but he returned in the days before the bombing. During his trip back from Libya he briefly stopped off at Düsseldorf Airport, having reportedly been in Prague, but remained in the airport's transit zone.
The BBC also understands Abedi was in Manchester earlier this year, when he told people of the value of dying for a cause and made hardline statements about suicide operations and the conflict in Libya.
Greater Manchester Police would not comment on the claims.
His sister, Jomana, has said she believed her brother may have been reacting to US-led strikes in the Middle East.
"He saw the explosives America drops on children in Syria, and he wanted revenge.
"Whether he got that is between him and God," she reportedly told the Wall Street Journal.
It is also being reported that a Libyan government spokesman said 15 minutes before he blew himself up, Abedi called his mother and brother.
Image caption Twenty-year-old Hashem Abedi, Abedi's younger brother, was detained in Tripoli
Manchester is home to one of the largest Libyan communities in the UK. Neighbours have talked about the family having a Libyan flag flying in its house at certain times of the year.
BBC home editor Mark Easton said the area was known to have been home to a number of Islamist extremists in recent years; some with links to Syria and Libya; some alive and some dead.
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption A property in Whalley Range, Manchester, was among two addresses searched by police on Tuesday
Hamid El-Sayed, who worked for the UN on tackling radicalisation and who now works at the University of Manchester, said Abedi had a "really bad relationship" with his family.
"Eventually he was doing very bad at his university, at his education, and he didn't complete, and they tried to take him back to Libya several times. He had difficulties adjusting to a European lifestyle," he said.
'The face of hate'
A trustee of the Manchester Islamic Centre, also known as the Didsbury Mosque, told the Press Association it was likely Abedi had attended there.
Fawaz Haffar said while Abedi's father used to perform the call for prayer at the mosque, one of his brothers had also been a volunteer there.
Mr Haffar described the mosque as moderate, modern and liberal, and said he was a member of an organisation liaising with police.
Image caption Salman Abedi was born in Manchester on New Year's Eve 1994 to Libyan parents
Mohammed Saeed El-Saeiti, the imam at the Didsbury Mosque, remembers Abedi as a dangerous extremist, the Daily Telegraph newspaper reports.
"Salman showed me the face of hate after my speech on Isis [an acronym for the Islamic State group]," said the imam.
"He used to show me the face of hate and I could tell this person does not like me. It's not a surprise to me."
Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said Abedi had been part of a network of collaborators and Home Secretary Amber Rudd confirmed he had been known to security services.
However, the police investigation has found it most likely that Abedi assembled the bomb himself.
It is less clear whether he acted alone in buying the components needed to make the device.
Abedi left Britain on 15 April and travelled to Libya before returning to the UK on 18 May.
It seems he was intent on committing the attack within days of his return, as CCTV has shown him purchasing more items for the bomb soon after he came back.
These included nuts from a DIY store that were used for shrapnel, said Russ Jackson, head of the North West counter terrorism unit.
Abedi was also tracked going to and from the Banff Road area of Rusholme, where a white Nissan Micra was found.
The Micra - which was bought on 13 April - contained materials for bomb making and Abedi is forensically linked to the car, say police.
Meanwhile a search is continuing at a landfill site for a blue suitcase thought to contain items Abedi discarded after assembling the device.
A Whitehall source said Abedi was one of a "pool" of former subjects of interest whose risk remained "subject to review" by the authorities.
The self-styled Islamic State group issued a statement after the attack claiming it had been carried out by one of its members, but that has not been verified. ||||| MANCHESTER, England — The police accelerated their hunt Wednesday for co-plotters of the Manchester concert bombing, making at least a half-dozen arrests in Britain, searching for a possible clandestine bomb factory and extending the investigation to Libya, where two of the bomber’s relatives were detained.
The developments indicated that the bomber, Salman Abedi, 22, was part of a wider and more sophisticated plot than was initially thought and that finding the bomb’s origins had now become a priority in a country still reeling from the terrorist attack, the worst in Britain in more than a decade.
New details about the bomb, based on forensic photographs from the blast site, showed it may have been hidden in a blue backpack, had been made with cunning care to inflict horrific shrapnel damage, and had even been equipped with a backup detonation system. ||||| Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The sixth person to be held in the UK following Monday's deadly attack, was arrested in Wigan
A seventh person has been arrested in the UK over the Manchester Arena bombing, as police said they were investigating a "network".
Police said they arrested the man in Nuneaton, Warwickshire, following searches.
Suicide bomber Salman Abedi killed 22 - including children - and injured 64 at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday.
The bomber's father, Ramadan, and younger brother, Hashem, have been detained by militia in Libya.
His older brother, Ismail, was detained in Chorlton, south Manchester, on Tuesday.
Image caption Hashem Abedi, the bomber's 20-year-old brother, was detained in Tripoli
The fifth UK arrest on Wednesday - in Wigan - involved a man who was carrying a package that is now being "assessed", police said.
Eyewitness Connor Britton told the BBC the man had been held by "undercover armed police".
He said workers in his office had been told to stay inside and lock their windows, and that a red package had been "moved to a clear part of the street".
The UK terror threat level is now at its highest level of "critical", meaning more attacks may be imminent.
Military personnel are being deployed to protect key sites after the UK's terror threat level was raised on Tuesday night.
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said: "[Monday's attack] was more sophisticated than some of the attacks we've seen before, and it seems likely - possible - that [Abedi] wasn't doing this on his own."
Image copyright New York Times Image caption The New York Times says this evidence was gathered at the scene of the attack
Meanwhile, the New York Times has obtained photos which it says were gathered by UK authorities at the scene of the attack, including the remnants of a backpack, nuts and screws, and a device identified as a "possible detonator".
The paper says the alleged evidence suggests "a powerful, high-velocity charge, and a bomb in which its shrapnel was carefully and evenly packed".
UK authorities have reacted with anger to the publication of the leaked pictures.
One Whitehall source told the BBC there was "disbelief and astonishment" across Whitehall.
A counter terrorism policing spokesperson said it was a breach of trust that undermined relationships with "trusted intelligence, law enforcement and security partners around the world" and undermined the confidence of victims, witnesses and their families.
"This damage is even greater when it involves unauthorised disclosure of potential evidence in the middle of a major counter terrorism investigation," the spokesperson added.
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner said that the bomber is thought to have been a "mule", using a device built by someone else.
In other developments:
Ariana Grande has cancelled forthcoming concerts in London, Belgium, Poland and Germany, saying she wanted to "pay proper respect to those lost"
A minute's silence will be held at 11:00 BST on Thursday in remembrance of those who lost their lives or were affected by the attack, the government has announced
The Conservatives and Labour will resume local general election campaigning on Thursday, and national campaigning on Friday
A silence will be held before the FA Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea on Saturday, with a wreath laid by FA president Prince William
What's happening with the investigation?
Image caption Abedi's father Ramadan was held in Tripoli
Seven people were arrested in the UK since Monday night, including Abedi's older brother Ismail, 23. He has since been released without charge.
Younger brother Hashem, 20, was held by militia in the Libyan capital Tripoli, as was their father.
Speaking on Wednesday afternoon, Greater Manchester Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating.
"And as I've said, it continues at a pace. There's extensive investigations going on and activity taking place across Greater Manchester, as we speak."
As part of their investigation, police raided a block of flats near Manchester Piccadilly station in the city centre, requiring them to carry out a controlled explosion and briefly close the railway line.
Police carried out another controlled explosion in the early hours of Thursday morning at an address in the Moss Side area of Manchester.
Anyone with information about the attack can call the anti-terror hotline on 0800 789321.
Who are the victims?
Image caption Clockwise, from top left: Georgina Callander, Saffie Roussos, Olivia Campbell, Martyn Hett, Michelle Kiss, Sorrell Leczkowski, Alison Howe, Lisa Lees, Jane Tweddle-Taylor, Nell Jones, Marcin Klis, Angelika Klis, Kelly Brewster and John Atkinson
The victims include 14-year-old Sorrell Leczkowski, from Leeds, whose grandmother is critically injured in hospital.
Others who died are mother-of-three Michelle Kiss, Nell Jones, 14, eight-year-old Saffie Roussos, Alison Howe, Lisa Lees, Jane Tweddle-Taylor, 51, Martyn Hett, 29, and Olivia Campbell, 15.
Kelly Brewster, 32, John Atkinson, 28, Georgina Callander - thought to be 18 - and Marcin and Angelika Klis, a Polish couple from York, have also been named.
South Shields couple Chloe Rutherford, 17, and Liam Curry, 19 have been named among the dead. Family members paid tribute to the teenagers and in a statement issued by police said: "They wanted to be together forever and now they are".
Some of the victims had been making their way outside at the end of the gig when Abedi detonated his "nuts-and-bolts" bomb.
Others had been waiting in the foyer to pick up children and family.
A serving Cheshire police officer - off-duty at the time - was also among those killed. She has not yet been named.
The BBC understands her partner is critically ill and his two children were injured.
Of the 64 injured, 20 are in a critical condition. Twelve of them are children.
Mr Hopkins said the families of all those injured had been contacted.
Who was the attacker?
Image caption Salman Abedi was described by a former classmate as short-tempered and gullible
Salman Abedi is understood to have been a 22-year-old born in Manchester to Libyan parents, and a former University of Salford student.
He attended Burnage Academy for Boys in Manchester between 2009 and 2011, and The Manchester College until 2013.
Hamid El-Said, who worked for the UN on tackling radicalisation and now works at Manchester Metropolitan University, said Abedi had had a "really bad relationship" with his family and his parents had tried but failed to keep him on the "right path".
"Eventually he was doing very bad at his university, at his education, and he didn't complete, and they tried to take him back to Libya several times. He had difficulties adjusting to European lifestyle," he said.
A former classmate of Abedi's told the BBC that he was a "very jokey lad" but also "very short tempered" and would get angry at "the littlest thing".
The man, who did not want to be identified, said Abedi had hung around "the wrong crowd and was very, very gullible".
Before leaving Burnage Academy in 2011, Abedi had become "more and more religious", the man added.
A Muslim community worker, who did not want to be identified, has told the BBC that two people who had known Abedi at college had made separate calls to a hotline to warn the police about his extremist views.
He said they had been worried that Abedi was "supporting terrorism" and he had expressed the view that "being a suicide bomber was ok".
The calls are thought to have been made five years ago, he added.
What does a 'critical' threat level mean?
Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Soldiers on the streets: How security is being stepped up around the country
Prime Minister Theresa May said soldiers are being placed at Buckingham Palace, Downing Street, embassies and the Palace of Westminster to support armed police in protecting the public.
Military personnel may also be seen at other events over the coming weeks, such as concerts, Mrs May said, in what she is calling a "proportionate and sensible response".
Home Secretary Amber Rudd said 984 troops had been deployed in the first instance. Up to 3,800 are available.
She said she expected the raising of the threat level to critical to be temporary, adding that the bomber had been known "up to a point" by the intelligence services.
The highest threat level has been reached only twice before: in 2006 during an operation to stop a plot to blow up transatlantic airliners, and a year later when security chiefs were hunting for the men who tried to bomb a London nightclub and attacked Glasgow Airport.
The Metropolitan Police says it has increased its presence across London, and freed up an extra 1,000 armed officers to patrol crowded places, key sites and transport hubs across the UK.
The Palace of Westminster has been closed to the public following police advice, and will not re-open until further notice, its website said. |||||
Write a summary.
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– Authorities in Britain are more sure than ever that Salman Abedi didn't act alone when he detonated a suicide bomb at the Ariana Grande concert. But they're also ticked at the US that the world knows Abedi's name. The leak to the media originally came from a US source, and British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has expressed her frustration to Washington, reports UPI. "The British police have been very clear they want to control the flow of information in order to protect operational integrity—the element of surprise—so it is irritating if it gets released from other sources, and I've been very clear with our friends that that should not happen again," she said. In other developments: Brother arrested: A total of four people have been arrested in connection with the attack, including Abedi's older brother, Ismael. The BBC reports that authorities think the younger Abedi was a "mule" who set off a bomb built by others. "I think it's very clear that this is a network that we are investigating," says Chief Constable Ian Hopkins. Father denies: Ramadan Abedi, father of Salman, doesn't think his son is a bomber or a militant. "We don't believe in killing innocents," the elder Abedi, who now lives in his native Libya, tells the AP. "This is not us." He said he spoke to Salman less than a week ago, and he sounded "normal." Worried parents: But a friend says Salman Abedi's parents were so worried about his radicalization that they took his passport and returned it only when he said he planned to visit the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, reports the New York Times. Instead, he flew from Libya to England, where he grew up. (Salman had traveled to Libya recently to visit his parents.) Profile: The BBC pulls together what's known about Salman Abedi, who dropped out of college, went to work in a bakery, and seemed to grow "more and more religious," says a former classmate. Victims: The Telegraph continues to compile bios on the 22 people killed. An off-duty police officer was among them, while her husband was critically injured.
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What is a shorter version of the above article?
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Shorter version: – A marriage certificate shows hip-hop stars Cardi B and the Migos' Offset were quietly married months ago, per AP. Sunday night while accepting best group award at the BET Awards, Offset raised some eyebrows when he said, "I thank my wife, you should thank yours." Cardi B confirmed the marriage in a tweet Monday. A marriage certificate shows that Cardi B and Offset, whose real names are Belcalis Almanzar and Kiari Cephus respectively, were wed Sept. 20 in Atlanta, but only announced their engagement in October. A month after the marriage, Offset proposed to Cardi on stage at Power 99's Powerhouse concert, shocking fans. Grammy-nominated Cardi B shared that she was pregnant during a performance on "Saturday Night Live" in April.
Q: Article:
It was a terrifying end to Halloween night after a masked gunman shoots and injures two people — one teen girl and one man — in Washington Heights. Police are still searching for the gunman. Ida Siegal with the latest.
What to Know A shooter wearing a "Scream" mask wounded a 17-year-old girl and 24-year-old man in Manhattan
Police say both victims were taken to a hospital in critical condition, but they are expected to survive
It's not clear what prompted the shooting on West 163rd Street between Broadway and Fort Washington Avenue
Somebody wearing a "Scream" mask is on the loose after shooting a teenage girl and a man in Manhattan, cops say.
Gunshots rang out just before 2 a.m. Thursday on 163rd Street in Washington Heights right as Halloween festivities were winding down, the NYPD said.
Police initially said the gunman had definitely been wearing a Michael Myers mask, the trademark of the villain in the "Halloween" slasher films, but later said it could have been confused for the villain from "Scream."
Images of America's 'Creepiest' Abandoned Mall in Missouri
Witnesses confirmed the mask was "Ghostface," the longfaced, sunken-eyed haunt adopted by several characters of the cult horror series "Scream."
Police say he shot a 17-year-old girl once in the torso and shot a 24-year-old man twice -- once in the leg and torso.
Both victims were taken to a hospital in critical condition. There was no immediate update on their condition hours later, but cops said they were both expected to survive.
Shocking Photos Show Inside Abandoned Lincoln Mall in Illinois ||||| “She’s a beautiful person, very kind,” Domingo, 53, said. “She doesn’t have any problem with anybody. But I heard she was hanging around people who had problems with each other and she got shot.” |||||
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– A scary and all-too-real Halloween night incident played out in Manhattan just before 2am Thursday: Someone in a "Scream" mask shot two people—and is still on the loose. Police initially said the gunman was wearing a Michael Myers mask from the Halloween film franchise, but witnesses later confirmed it was a Ghostface mask from the Scream movies, NBC New York reports. A 17-year-old girl was shot once in the torso and a 24-year-old man was shot twice, once in the leg and once in the torso, on 163rd Street in Washington Heights. A friend tells the New York Daily News the teen had been attending a Halloween party just before she was shot. Both victims were in critical condition, but expected to survive. (Thieves in animal masks caused chaos in a Vegas casino.)
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Here is a news article: Photo: AP
Papua New Guinea, a nation of over 8 million, has announced that it will shut down Facebook for a month. The PNG government says that the shutdown will give it time to assess the spread of objectionable content on the site like porn and fake news. The government also said that it’s exploring the creation of its own social media site to replace Facebook.
“The time will allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed,” Communications Minister Sam Basil told PNG’s Post Courier newspaper. “This will allow genuine people with real identities to use the social network responsibly.”
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Facebook is already officially blocked in countries like China, Iran, and North Korea, though some users are able to get around the block with technical workarounds like VPNs that route traffic through other countries. China has a sophisticated network of censors policing internet content, so workarounds are increasingly difficult to use.
Basil said that the looming shut down of Facebook is in accordance with Papua New Guinea’s Cyber Crime Act, passed in 2016. But he also floated the idea that his country might work on creating a state-run social network that could be an alternative to Facebook.
“We can also look at the possibility of creating a new social network site for PNG citizens to use with genuine profiles as well,” Basil told the Post Courier.
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“If there need be then we can gather our local applications developers to create a site that is more conducive for Papua New Guineans to communicate within the country and abroad as well.”
Image: Geography lesson (Google Maps)
Basil has previously noted that countries like Papua New Guinea haven’t been able to properly assess the damage that Facebook has done after it was revealed in March that the company mishandled the user data of millions. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has faced congressional and parliamentary inquiries in the U.S. and Europe in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, but the social media company has millions of users around the world outside of the U.S. and Europe. Zuckerberg was in Europe last week, testifying in front of European Parliament and meeting with France’s president Emmanuel Macron.
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Facebook has recently faced criticism in southeast Asia for it role in spreading hate speech in Myanmar. Tens of thousands of Rohingya people, a Muslim ethnic group in Myanmar, fled to Bangladesh last year after facing genocide in the country. Facebook was used as a platform for demonizing the Rohingya people.
According to research obtained by The Guardian, just 12 percent of the PNG population uses Facebook, which will likely mean that public resistance to the ban will be minimal. Indonesia threatened to ban Facebook in April after the Cambridge Analytica breach was reported, but a ban in that country would likely face major backlash. Roughly 140 million people use Facebook in Indonesia, making the country one of Facebook’s largest markets along with India, the U.S. and Brazil.
Facebook did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment. We’ll update this post if we hear back.
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[Post Courier via The Guardian]
Update, 1:50pm: A Facebook spokesperson finally got back to Gizmodo, saying “We have reached out to the government to understand their concerns.” So I guess we’ll see how that goes for them. ||||| Analysts will explore how fake news and pornography spreads, and assess whether country needs its own version of the platform
The Papua New Guinean government will ban Facebook for a month in a bid to crack down on “fake users” and study the effects the website is having on the population.
The communication minister, Sam Basil, said the shutdown would allow his department’s analysts to carry out research and analysis on who was using the platform, and how they were using it, admits rising concerns about social well-being, security and productivity.
Facebook offers plan to tackle fake news ahead of US midterms Read more
“The time will allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed,” Basil told the Post Courier newspaper. “This will allow genuine people with real identities to use the social network responsibly.”
Basil has repeatedly raised concerns about protecting the privacy of PNG’s Facebook users in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica revelations, which found Facebook had leaked the personal data of tens of millions of users to a private company. The minister has closely followed the US Senate inquiry into Facebook.
“The national government, swept along by IT globalisation, never really had the chance to ascertain the advantages or disadvantages [of Facebook] – and even educate and provide guidance on use of social networks like Facebook to PNG users,” said Basil last month.
“The two cases involving Facebook show us the vulnerabilities that Papua New Guinean citizens and residents on their personal data and exchanges when using this social network.”
“We can also look at the possibility of creating a new social network site for PNG citizens to use with genuine profiles as well,” said Basil. “If there need be then we can gather our local applications developers to create a site that is more conducive for Papua New Guineans to communicate within the country and abroad as well.”
Basil said the risks and vulnerabilities of Facebook were wider than the potential threat of data breaches, and included the possibility of Facebook acting as an unchecked advertising platform, a threat to people’s productivity – especially among children and employees – and wider issues of cyber-security.
The PNG government said it would be studying how other countries were handling Facebook around the world, and the impact of government policies on private users of the network.
Dr Aim Sinpeng, an expert in digital media and politics from the University of Sydney, said the ban raised some troubling questions, because when Facebook had been banned in other countries it was usually in the run-up to elections, or banned indefinitely, like in China.
“One month is an interesting time limit for a ban, I am not exactly sure what they think they can achieve, and why a ban is necessary. You can do Facebook analysis without it. And what data are the government collecting? If they are concerned about fake news there are many ways to do it without issuing a ban on a platform,” she said.
Dr Sinpeng said the most recent statistics she had seen put internet penetration at just 12% in PNG, and Facebook penetration was closely related to internet access; meaning it was likely the platform wasn’t used by the vast majority of people.
“Politically I think they will be able to get away with the ban because internet penetration is not high, a ban is not viable in countries with 60-70% penetration. These issues with Facebook are being spoken about in a number of other countries, so the fact that PNG is on the bandwagon shows how widespread concerns have become.”
Facebook has been contacted for comment. ||||| Posted by Staff Reporter : PNG Today on 4:15 PM. Filed under all, Tech . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Share this Article
Papua New Guinea plans to shut down Facebook for a month for research purposes. The country's Communications and Information Technology Department will implement the shutdown to carry out research and analysis of its use.Thereports that, Communication Minister Sam Basil has revealed the planned shutdown of the social media giant. Minister Sam Basil said that the shutdown would enable the department and PNG National Research Institute to conduct further research on how the social network was being used by users.“The time will allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed.“This will allow genuine people with real identities to use the social network responsibly,” Mr Basil said.The Minister said that the department could better analyse the positive impact it would have on the population during the month-long shutdown and weigh the impact of progress without or with its use.Mr Basil said that his Ministry was trying to enforce the Cyber Crime Act which was legislated in 2016.“The Act has already been passed, so what I’m trying to do is to ensure the law is enforced accordingly where perpetrators can be identified and charged accordingly. We cannot allow the abuse of Facebook to continue in the country.“I will now work closely with the Police for them to be properly trained and informed to fully enforce the Cyber Crime Act.”Mr Basil said the positives of the social network were there for the people to embrace.“We can also look at the possibility of creating a new social network site for PNG citizens to use with genuine profiles as well.“If there need be then we can gather our local applications developers to create a site that is more conducive for Papua New Guineans to communicate within the country and abroad as well,” he said.Mr Basil said that a time had not been set as yet to implement the options but he would advise depending on assessment of the usage of the site over time......read more on PNG Technology Site: PNG EHOW Post courier/PNG Today |||||
A summary of this is?
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– Residents of Papua New Guinea may have to forget about using Facebook for a while, the Guardian reports. The country's communication minister, Sam Basil, says his government plans to shutter the social media site for a month to cull out "fake users" and see how Facebook is affecting people's lives. "The time will allow information to be collected to identify users that hide behind fake accounts, users that upload pornographic images, users that post false and misleading information on Facebook to be filtered and removed," he tells the Post-Courier. Basil has also expressed concern about the Cambridge Analytica scandal and unfettered advertising on Facebook. What will happen to Facebook fakers isn't clear, but Basil says he plans to "work closely with the police" and enforce a cyber-crime act passed in 2016. He also says Papua New Guinea could hire local tech developers to create a home-grown social-networking alternative. Considering the history of other countries banning Facebook—think North Korea, China, and Iran, notes Gizmodo—at least one analyst is raising an eyebrow at Papua New Guinea's plan. "I am not exactly sure what they think they can achieve, and why a ban is necessary," says Aim Sinpeng, a digital-media and politics expert in Australia. "You can do Facebook analysis without it. And what data are the government collecting?"
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– With George Papandreou set to step down in favor of a unity government, officials from both parties have a new leader in mind: Lucas Papademos, former vice president of the European Central Bank. Many insiders see Papademos as an appropriate choice for compromise between the parties, but some remain skeptical. Some within Papandreou’s Pasok party are calling for a “political person,” while the opposition “wants a technocrat,” a Pasok official tells the Wall Street Journal. The opposition wants to reshuffle several ministries, but current Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos will likely retain his position. "There has to be continuity on who the eurozone is talking to," the Pasok official says. But not everyone is happy with the plan. A meeting of Greece’s president and all party leaders has been canceled after the Communist party and a leftist party, angered over the absence of elections for the unity government, boycotted the gathering, ekathimerini.com notes. “Are we saved?” a taxi driver asks Reuters. “I don't think so if nothing is done to stop this practice of slapping more and more taxes, because people's pockets will be empty.”
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ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek party leaders are struggling to agree on a new prime minister, despite EU demands that the political class commit itself fast to the nation's financial salvation and end the chaos threatening the entire euro project.
Monday came and went without any accord on who will lead a new national unity coalition, despite plenty of talk that a former vice president of the European Central Bank, Lucas Papademos, would get the job.
The cabinet was due to hold an emergency session Tuesday and officials said negotiations were under way on the "100-day coalition" which must win parliamentary approval for a euro zone bailout and save the country from bankruptcy.
But after an early burst of compromise as the EU turned the screws on both sides, the drive by the socialist and conservative parties to create a government which will rule only until February appeared to be losing momentum.
Frustration was apparent in Brussels where officials said the new government had to show it was serious about implementing promises Athens has made to its EU and IMF lenders in return for the 130 billion-euro bailout.
"It is essential that the entire political class is now restoring the confidence that had been lost in the Greek commitment to the EU/IMF program," said EU Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn.
Prime Minister George Papandreou provoked chaos last week by calling a referendum on the bailout, a vote which would probably have rejected the package due to its demands for austerity. Papandreou backed down, but was forced into agreeing to make way for the unity coalition.
BROKEN PROMISES
Weary of past broken promises from Athens, Rehn said the coalition must "express a clear commitment on paper, in writing, to the EU/IMF program."
The stakes could not be higher. Greece faces bankruptcy in December when big debt repayments are due, unless it can get hold of more emergency funding soon. For the euro zone, it is a question of credibility with international financial markets.
For two years it has labored to solve the problems of Greece, a very small part of the bloc's economy, leading to doubts about how it would manage if the debt crisis engulfed the far bigger Italian or Spanish economies.
What is now a regional crisis could hit the global economy if it goes unchecked, and the United States weighed in with a demand that Greece live up to its responsibilities. "We urge the government to move as quickly as possible to fulfill the commitments," said White House press secretary Jay Carney.
Greek party officials were tight-lipped about why the naming of the new prime minister, which had been expected Monday, had not happened yet.
Papademos remained a frontrunner for prime minister. An aide said the Greek economist, who left the ECB last year, had arrived in Athens Monday from the United States where he is a Harvard academic.
Papandreou has been in touch with Papademos, a senior government official told reporters.
Papademos oversaw the nation's adoption of the euro in 2002 as Bank of Greece governor before moving to the ECB, and is a well-known figure in European capitals.
Some Greek media speculated that he was setting tough conditions, demanding greater powers than Papandreou or conservative leader Antonis Samaras were prepared to give.
A source at the New Democracy party which Samaras leads said it would support the new government but wanted no cabinet posts.
Current Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos, a member of the PASOK socialist party, could stay in his post for the sake of continuity at a time of crisis, said the source, giving the first indication of who would occupy any of the cabinet posts.
New Democracy would back the 2012 budget and a bond swap plan contained in the bailout package, under which the value of banks' holdings of Greek government debt will be halved.
However, PASOK had to hand certain major ministries -- including any involved in running next February's elections -- such as justice, the interior and even defense to non-party technocrats, he said.
Some Greek media said such demands were a sticking point, with PASOK unwilling to let New Democracy duck out of a government which must take unpopular decisions to tackle a huge budget deficit and make the economy more competitive.
Greeks have suffered immensely in the two years that Papandreou has run the country. International lenders have demanded wave after wave of pay and pension cuts, plus tax increases and job losses in return for emergency aid. This has helped to keep Greece in four successive years of recession.
The Communist PAME labor group will hold a rally in Athens on November 10 to oppose a new government which it said "has the task to save the monopolies and crush the popular movement."
"They want to vote through the new bailout ... which will leave Greek people with their hands tied for many years."
(Additional reporting by Dina Kyriakidou and George Georgiopoulos, Reuters Brusssels bureau; Writing by David Stamp; Editing by Andrew Roche) ||||| 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
ATHENS—Greek officials will announce a new head of an interim government Tuesday, officials said, as the country's top parties continued to wrangle late into a day they had hoped would end under the stewardship of a new prime minister.
Illustrating the amount of work that likely lies ahead, names of more potential interim leaders emerged late Monday. International Monetary Fund director Panagiotis Roumeliotis, a former finance minister, was among the possible new leaders, said a Socialist party official.
Just a few hours earlier, officials from the ruling Socialists and its chief rival, the conservative New Democracy party, had said they ... |||||
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– The Chattanooga mayor's original tweet about a "horrific situation" is proving true: The AP reports that four Marines were killed today when a gunman opened fire on two separate military facilities in the city. The gunman also was killed, and two others were injured, including a police officer. Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam confirmed that "lives have been lost from some faithful people who are serving our country," though he didn't give details. US Attorney Bill Killian called it an "act of domestic terrorism," reports the Tennessean, though he later backtracked and said it's too early in the investigation to use that label, notes the New York Times. The gunman first opened fire on a military recruiting center and then at a Navy and Marine reserve facility about 7 miles away. The victims were hit while inside the latter location, and a witness tells CNN that she saw a man firing a high-powered rifle from his car. In the first shooting, an Army sergeant who was there estimated that the gunman fired 30 to 50 shots before leaving the scene. (Update: The gunman has been identified.)
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (AP) — The latest on the Chattanooga shooting (all times local):
2:50 p.m.
The death toll in the Chattanooga shootings includes four U.S. Marines and the sole gunman believed responsible, a U.S. official told The Associated Press, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The official said two others, a soldier and a police officer, were wounded.
The shootings happened at two military recruiting offices in Chattanooga on Thursday, sending troops scrambling for safety.
___
Associated Press writer Ted Bridis in Washington contributed to this report.
2:35 p.m.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam says people serving their country have lost their lives in the attacks on two military facilities there.
Haslam did not say how many people were killed or provide further details about who was among the dead on Thursday.
Chattanooga police say the active shooting is over, but they have not said what happened to the suspect or suspects.
Mayor Andy Berke said earlier at a news conference that there was "an officer down" at a military reserve center.
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2:30 p.m.
An active duty Army recruiter in Chattanooga says he was at his office when someone opened fire and he heard 30 to 50 shots.
Sgt. 1st Class Robert Dodge, 36, was working at the Armed Forces Career Center off Lee Highway. There are also offices for Air Force, Navy and Marine Corp there.
"We heard one single shot, which kind of sparked our attention. Shortly after that, just a few seconds, the shooter began shooting more rounds. We realized it was an actual shooting, so we then initiated our active shooter drill: getting down low to the ground, moving to a safe location. And we waited until everything seemed to be clear."
He said he did not see the shooter or a vehicle.
Chattanooga police say the active shooting is over, but they have not said what happened to the shooter.
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2 p.m.
President Barack Obama has been briefed by his national security team on the shooting involving two military sites in Tennessee.
White House spokesman Eric Schultz says that the president will continue getting updates from his staff as needed.
Chattanooga police say the active shooter situation is over, but they have not said what happened to the suspect or suspects.
Obama was in Oklahoma to speak about criminal justice reform at a federal prison at the time of the shooting. He plans to return to Washington on Thursday afternoon.
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1:45 p.m.
Shootings have been reported at two locations in Chattanooga.
One of them took place at the Armed Forces Career Center off Lee Highway. Television images of a door to the center in a strip mall showed more than a dozen bullet holes in the glass.
About 7 miles away, another shooting happened at the Navy Operational Support Center and Marine Corps Reserve Center.
That center sits between the highway and a pathway that runs through Tennessee RiverPark, a popular park at a bend in the Tennessee River northeast of downtown Chattanooga. It's in a light industrial area that includes a Coca-Cola bottling plant and Binswanger Glass.
The two entrances to the fenced facility have unmanned gates and concrete barriers that require approaching cars to slow down to drive around them.
Police say the active shooting situation is over, but there is no word what happened to the suspect or suspects.
___
1:30 p.m.
Chattanooga police say the active shooting that apparently took place at two military facilities is now over, but there is no word yet on what happened to the suspect or suspects.
Police said in a tweet: "Active shooter situation is over. Details forthcoming."
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said earlier at a news conference that it was a "very terrible situation." He did not release any other details. Berke said there's "an officer down" at a military reserve center.
It was not immediately clear how many people may have been hurt, or how many shooters may have been involved.
___
1 p.m.
A woman who says she witnessed the shooting in Chattanooga says she heard a barrage of gunfire near one of the shooting sites.
"It was rapid fire, like pow pow pow pow, so quickly. The next thing I knew there were police cars coming from every direction," said Marilyn Hutcheson, who works at a Binswanger Glass.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said at a brief news conference that police were pursuing an active shooter and there was an officer down.
Hutcheson says she ran inside, where she remains with other employees and a customer. The gunfire continued with occasional bursts she estimated for 20 minutes.
"We're apprehensive," Hutcheson said. "Not knowing what transpired, if it was a grievance or terroristic related, we just don't know." ||||| Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez was carrying 30-round magazines when he opened fire, according to a source briefed by law enforcement. Abdulazeez kept police at bay for some time with the amount of ammunition he had, according to the source.
The shooting suspect was armed with an AK-47 style weapon at the time of the attack according to two law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.
[Previous story, posted at 10:30 p.m. ET Thursday]
(CNN) -- Who was the gunman accused of killing four Marines in a shooting rampage Thursday at two military centers in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and why did he open fire?
Suspected shooter Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, is dead, the FBI said. But -- publicly, at least -- investigators haven't said much more about him.
Witnesses saw Abdulazeez spray a hail of bullets at the glass doors of a military recruiting center in a strip mall. Then the gunman, who according to a law enforcement official was driving in a rented silver Ford Mustang convertible, moved on to his next target more than seven miles away: a Naval reserve center. There, he rammed into a gate at some point during his shooting rampage and was eventually killed by police, a U.S. official said.
Now, with the FBI in the lead, a terrorism task force is investigating, a law enforcement source said.
Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee An FBI investigator works outside a military recruiting center where a gunman opened fire Thursday, July 16, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Authorities say Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, 24, opened fire first on the recruiting station and then moved to a U.S. Navy facility seven miles away. At the Navy facility, he fatally shot four U.S. Marines and wounded three other people before he died in police gunfire. A U.S. Navy sailor later died from his wounds. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee Abdulazeez was born in Kuwait and had Jordanian citizenship, law enforcement officials said. He was a naturalized U.S. citizen. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee A woman places a balloon and flowers at a makeshift memorial outside the military recruiting center on Friday, July 17. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee The Rev. Drew McCallie prays during a church service in Chattanooga on July 16. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee Members of the FBI gather evidence at the scene of the recruiting center shooting on July 16. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee A police car blocks the entrances to the U.S. Navy Reserve Center on July 16. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee A car believed to be driven by Abdulazeez is seen on the grounds of the Navy facility. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee WTVC's Drew Bollea heard gunshots on Amnicola Highway near the Navy facility. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee The gunman first opened fire at this military recruitment office located in a strip mall off Lee Highway in Chattanooga. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee The entrance to the military recruiting office is seen riddled with bullet holes on July 16. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee Blue evidence markers, believed to be the location of spent shell casings, can be seen here. Gina Mule, a server at a restaurant who took this photo, said she saw a man in a car firing a "high-powered rifle" at the recruiting offices at about 10:50 a.m. ET Thursday. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Deadly shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee An officer patrols the parking lot of the recruitment center. Hide Caption 12 of 12
Authorities "have not determined whether it was an act of terrorism or whether it was a criminal act," Ed Reinhold, FBI special agent in charge, told reporters. "We are looking at every possible avenue, whether it was terrorism -- whether it was domestic, international -- or whether it was a simple, criminal act."
A key detail will help them make that determination: finding out the suspect's motive.
Who was the suspect?
Authorities say Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez attacked two military centers in Tennessee. Four Marines were killed.
In the neighborhood where Abdulazeez is believed to have lived, police cars and an ambulance were on the streets. Residents were blocked from reaching their homes. A woman was escorted in handcuffs from the area, but it was unclear whether she was connected to the alleged gunman.
"We will treat this as a terrorism investigation until it can be determined that it is not," Reinhold said. U.S. Attorney Bill Killian earlier told reporters that authorities were treating the shooting as an "act of domestic terrorism."
Authorities have released few details about the alleged gunman, but some details have begun to emerge about his past.
Abdulazeez was arrested in April for allegedly driving under the influence. He had been scheduled to appear in court later this month.
Abdulazeez was not in any U.S. databases of suspected terrorists, a U.S. official said. He was born in Kuwait and had Jordanian citizenship, two law enforcement officials said. He was a naturalized U.S. citizen, one official said.
And he may have traveled back to the Middle East in recent years.
Almir Dizdarevic, who was Abdulazeez's mixed martial arts coach when he was a teenager, said his former student's father told him about two years ago that his son had left the country to "move back home." Since then, Dizdarevic said when he ran into Abdulazeez at a Tennessee mosque several times, his former student told him he was teaching wrestling and doing well.
Neighbor Dean McDaniel said he'd known the family for most of his 17 years living in the Chattanooga suburb of Hixson, Tennessee. He first crossed paths with Mohammad Abdulazeez when he was an elementary school student, and later would see him from time to time when he visited his sisters while they were baby-sitting McDaniel's children.
"He was a good kid. ... They're good people," he said. "I've never had any kind of conflict with them."
Abdulazeez graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in 2012 with a degree in electrical engineering, university spokesman Chuck Cantrell said.
Kevin Emily, his former high school wrestling coach, described him as "a great student" who sometimes missed practice to pray.
"He always contributed, always did what I asked him to do. I never had any problems out of Mohammad," Emily told CNN's "Erin Burnett OutFront." "He was very humble when he was in high school. He'd always listen to me, looked me in the eye. He was just -- in high school he was a great kid."
A quote appeared beside his photos in his high school yearbook: "My name causes national security alerts. What does yours do?"
For years, Samantha Barnette sat next to him in class, but now she said she feels like she never really knew him.
"He was also incredibly intelligent, which really makes me wonder about his true motives for doing this," said Barnette, who posted a photo of the yearbook page on Facebook. "He was always getting recognized for his high grades and getting awards all throughout school. It's upsetting to see him waste it all."
Injured sailor in 'serious condition'
Shootings were reported Thursday at a naval reserve center and a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The shootings unfolded at two sites over 30 minutes, Reinhold said.
The suspected gunman started spraying bullets at the glass doors of a strip mall military recruiting center around 10:45 a.m. ET, witnesses said. From there, he headed to another location more than seven miles away, an operational support center operated by the U.S. Navy. That's where the four victims and the gunman were killed, Reinhold said.
At least three people were injured: a police officer, a Marine Corps recruiter and a sailor.
The police officer, who was injured when he was shot in the ankle, was treated at the hospital, Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke said. Officer Dennis Pedigo was one of the first responders on the scene, a law enforcement source close to the investigation said.
The recruiter, who was wounded in the leg, was treated and released from the hospital, the U.S. Marines said.
The sailor who was shot, whom a Pentagon official initially indicated was female but later said is male, is in "pretty serious condition" after surgery, the official said.
What was security situation?
The shooting left the city reeling and raised questions about the security at the military centers.
"Today was a nightmare for the city of Chattanooga. ... We had someone viciously attack, at two different locations, people who proudly serve our country," Berke said.
Authorities haven't released details yet about where at the centers the victims were shot or how the gunman gained access.
U.S. President Barack Obama said the FBI director had briefed him on the shootings.
JUST WATCHED Obama: Chattanooga shooting a 'heartbreaking circumstance' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Obama: Chattanooga shooting a 'heartbreaking circumstance' 02:01
"We take all shootings very seriously. Obviously when you have an attack on a U.S. military facility, then we have to make sure that we have all the information necessary to make an assessment in terms of how this attack took place and what further precautions we can take in the future," he said, vowing that the investigation would be "thorough and prompt."
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said authorities were stepping up security at "certain federal facilities, out of an abundance of caution" after the shootings.
'It was very loud and very fast'
April Grimmett said she was working at a hair salon near the recruiting center when she looked out a window and saw a man ducking in between cars.
"Shortly after that, we heard the (shots). It was very loud and very fast," she said.
A photo that she took shows glass doors damaged by the gunfire.
"I could not believe how many bullet holes were in that door. It was insane," she said.
JUST WATCHED Witness: 'I was in shock at how many times he fired' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Witness: 'I was in shock at how many times he fired' 01:59
Gina Mule, a server at a restaurant, said she saw a man who'd been in a silver convertible Mustang, firing a "high-powered rifle" at the recruiting offices at about 10:50 a.m.
First, she heard "Pow, pow, pow!" Then, she went to a window and saw the man firing.
"He never got out of the car," she said. "He had a big, huge, high-powered rifle, and he was unloading shots right into the recruiters." |||||
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(Photo Credit: AP Photos)
President Obama took aim Thursday at one of his Republican predecessors: Rutherford B. Hayes.
Speaking about the need to develop new sources of American energy in Largo, Md., Obama used our 19th president to illustrate a failure of forward-thinking leadership.
"One of my predecessors, President Rutherford B. Hayes, reportedly said about the telephone: 'It’s a great invention but who would ever want to use one?'" Obama said. "That's why he's not on Mt. Rushmore."
"He's looking backwards, he's not looking forward. He's explaining why we can't do something instead of why we can do something," Obama said. "The point is there will always be cynics and naysayers."
(Also on POLITICO: Contra Obama, Rutherford B. Hayes loved the telephone)
Obama was speaking about the need to be forward-thinking in developing new sources of American energy — and how "unnamed" Republicans running for a "certain office" had positioned themselves against alternative energy. ||||| Obama Pressures Congress on Oil Subsidies
In the most spirited defense yet of his record on energy policy, President Barack Obama today dismissed his critics as playing politics by promising cheap gas without real solutions, and asked his supporters to pressure Congress to end subsidies for oil companies.
At an event in Largo, Md., Obama said people “running for a certain office, who shall go unnamed” have been “talking down new sources of energy” and have dismissed his plan to double vehicle mileage standards by 2025.
“I guess they like gas guzzlers,” he said.
Obama said he expects Congress to vote in the next few weeks on ending subsidies for oil companies.
“It is time for this oil industry giveaway to end,” he said. “I guess you can stand up for the oil companies ... or you can stand up for the American people.”
The president said the $4 billion a year in oil industry subsidies could be redirected to other sources of energy. He dismissed critics as pursuing an unsustainable oil-only future instead of investing in new technologies such as wind, solar and biofuels.
“There have always been folks like that. There have always been folks who are the naysayers and don’t believe in the future,” Obama said.
He singled out President Rutherford B. Hayes for questioning why anybody would want to use the telephone when it was invented, saying that’s why “he’s not on Mount Rushmore.”
Obama again defended his record, saying that on his watch America has expanded drilling every year, but he said drilling alone can’t solve the problem of high gas prices or reliance on foreign oil.
The president said the administration has approved dozens of new pipelines — although he did not mention the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline — and has opened up millions of new acres on land and offshore for drilling.
“There are a few spots where we’re not drilling,” he said. “We’re not drilling on the National Mall. We’re not drilling in your house. ... I suppose we could have 200 oil rigs in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay,” he said to boos.
Obama said his administration is pursuing additional drilling in ways that protect health and safety.
Republicans, however, said the president continues to mislead the public by blocking drilling in many areas of the country on and offshore and blocking the Keystone pipeline from Canada to Texas. And they pinned the blame on Obama for the doubling of gas prices on his watch. |||||
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– President Obama has never shied away from attacking his Republican predecessors, but this time he's really going back a ways. Obama roasted our 19th president, Rutherford B. Hayes, for his "backward" thinking, Politico reports. "President Rutherford B. Hayes reportedly said about the telephone: 'It’s a great invention, but who would ever want to use one?'" Obama told a crowd in Maryland in a speech on new energy options. "That's why he's not on Mt. Rushmore." "He's looking backwards, he's not looking forward," as we must do to find new energy sources, Obama said. "The point is there will always be cynics and naysayers," like people "running for a certain office, who shall go unnamed." These people, he said, have been "talking down new sources of energy." Obama also called on Congress to end oil industry subsidies, saying a vote was likely soon, Roll Call notes. "I guess you can stand up for the oil companies ... or you can stand up for the American people."
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COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A 41-year-old Swedish man was convicted of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for coercing young teenagers in Canada, Britain and the United States to perform sexual acts in front of webcams by threatening them or their families.
A court in Uppsala, Sweden found Bjorn Samstrom guilty of online sexual offenses involving 27 juvenile victims between 2015 and early 2017. Samstrom threatened to post photos of the 26 girls and one boy on pornography sites or to kill their relatives unless they performed sex acts as he watched from Sweden, prosecutors said.
The court said that while Samstrom never met his victims in person, he was guilty of rape, sexual coercion and other charges.
It was the first time in Sweden that a person was convicted of rape for offenses that took place over the internet. Under Swedish law, rape doesn't have to include intercourse, but can be an act considered equally violating.
Samstrom admitted coercing the teens — all under age 15 at the time — but denied his actions constituted rape.
"He has been convicted of crimes which he does not consider he is guilty of. So it is very possible that he appeals," defense lawyer Kronje Samuelsson told Swedish news agency TT.
Samstrom also was convicted of child pornography possession because he saved recordings of his victims, according to the court's written ruling.
The court also ordered him to pay damages to victims who have been identified and claimed compensation, totaling 1.1 million kronor ($131,590.)
Samstrom's 20-day trial was held behind closed doors to protect the victims' identities. Prosecutor Annika Wennerstrom had requested a 10-year prison sentence.
Samstrom lived alone near Uppsala, some 70 kilometers (43.4 miles) north of Stockholm. The court noted he also drank "large amounts of alcohol."
The Swedish case came to light when Samstrom was being investigated for another alleged sex crime and police found videos at his home of girls speaking English.
Swedish investigators contacted counterparts in Canada, Britain and the United States, who located 18 of the 26 girls and interviewed them. None were present at the trial, but their videos recording their testimony were played in court.
The other nine victims never were identified. ||||| A verdict is handed out to media at Uppsala District Court, Uppsala, Sweden Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. A court in Sweden has sentenced a Swedish man to 10 years in prison for coercing teenagers in Canada,... (Associated Press)
A verdict is handed out to media at Uppsala District Court, Uppsala, Sweden Thursday Nov. 30, 2017. A court in Sweden has sentenced a Swedish man to 10 years in prison for coercing teenagers in Canada,... (Associated Press)
COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Swede convicted of rape over the internet after coercing teenagers in Canada, Britain and the United States to perform sexual acts in front of webcams, will appeal the verdict.
Defense lawyer Kronje Samuelsson told The Associated Press Friday that Bjorn Samstrom "has been convicted in a way that we do not think is correct."
On Thursday, a court found Samstrom, 41, guilty of online sexual offenses against 27 children between 2015 and early 2017 after threatening to post photos of his victims on porn sites or kill their relatives unless they performed for him. He denies rape.
Samstrom has admitted making contact with the children but claims he cannot recollect asking them to perform for him.
His conviction for online rape was the first of its type in Sweden. |||||
What is a one-paragraph summary of the above article?
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– A 41-year-old Swedish man was convicted of rape and sentenced to 10 years in prison Thursday for coercing teens in Canada, Britain, and the US to perform sexual acts in front of webcams by threatening them or their families. A court in Uppsala, Sweden, found Bjorn Samstrom guilty of online sexual offenses involving 27 victims under age 15 between 2015 and early 2017, reports the AP. Samstrom threatened to post photos of the 26 girls and one boy on pornography sites or to kill their relatives unless they performed sex acts as he watched from Sweden, prosecutors said. The case marks the first time in Sweden that a person was convicted of rape for offenses that took place over the internet. Under Swedish law, rape doesn't have to include intercourse, but can be an act considered equally violating. Samstrom also was convicted of child pornography possession because he saved recordings of his victims, according to the court ruling. The court also ordered him to pay damages to victims who have been identified and claimed compensation, totaling $131,590. Samstrom admitted coercing the teens but denied his actions constituted rape. His lawyer tells the AP he will appeal. The case came to light when Samstrom was being investigated for another alleged sex crime and police found videos at his home of girls speaking English. Swedish investigators contacted counterparts in Canada, Britain, and the US, who located 18 of the 26 girls and interviewed them. None were present at the trial, but videos recording their testimony were played in court.
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Here is a news article: Heckler confronts Hillary Clinton over Bill Clinton's conduct
DERRY, N.H. — Bill Clinton isn't heading back to the campaign trail until Monday, but Hillary Clinton faced some shouted questions about his past conduct on Sunday.
Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien, a Republican state representative here who has made a name for herself confronting candidates, repeatedly heckled Clinton during her first town hall of 2016, telling reporters after the event that she wanted to confront Clinton about claims the former president committed sexual assault against Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey.
Story Continued Below
“I was a Democrat, but I became a Republican because of this, because of this stuff. Because of what I saw happen in the Clinton years, the hypocrisy of so-called women who fight for women,” said Prudhomme-O’Brien, who has interrupted Clinton events previously.
Bill Clinton’s past recently surfaced as a campaign topic yet again, as Donald Trump, in particular, raised past allegations and the Monica Lewinsky scandal in an attempt to drag down Clinton's wife. Last week, after Hillary Clinton called out his alleged “penchant for sexism,” Trump warned that her husband’s infidelity and the Clinton marriage as a whole were “fair game.” He later called Bill Clinton “one of the great abusers of the world.”
But Clinton herself didn’t bite on Sunday, instead telling Prudhomme-O’Brien, who repeatedly yelled over other questioners, “You are very rude, and I’m not going to ever call on you." ||||| Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton shut down questions from State Rep. Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien (R) about Bill Clinton's sexual history at an event in Derry, N.H., on Jan. 3. This comes days after Republican contender Donald Trump spoke about his misconduct. (Reuters)
DERRY, N.H. — One day before former president Bill Clinton arrives in New Hampshire to campaign for his wife, Hillary Clinton, she was confronted with questions about allegations involving his sexual history at a town hall meeting in the state on Sunday.
State Rep. Katherine Prudhomme-O'Brien (R) repeatedly interrupted Clinton during the meeting, which was held in a middle school gymnasium.
Prudhomme-O'Brien has for years followed the former first lady, peppering her with questions about allegations of past sexual misconduct by Bill Clinton. The state lawmaker's outbursts startled an otherwise friendly and even-tempered town hall audience. It is unclear whether Clinton was able to hear her comments.
After Prudhomme-O'Brien's third interruption, Clinton responded angrily: "You are very rude, and I'm not ever going to call on you."
Later, Prudhomme-O'Brien told reporters that she wanted to raise the issue of Bill Clinton's alleged sexual misconduct and was incensed by "the hypocrisy of the so-called women fighting for women."
Rep's name is Katherin Prudhomme O'Brien and she has tried questioning Hillary Clinton abt Juanita Broaddrick before https://t.co/BJuT7rF0rr — Abby D. Phillip (@abbydphillip) January 3, 2016
The allegations of misconduct that have swirled around the former president for years have reemerged in the campaign recently, thanks to GOP businessman Donald Trump, who has said that those allegations are fair game on the campaign trail. |||||
A photograph showing former White House intern Monica Lewinsky meeting President Bill Clinton at a White House function submitted as evidence in documents by the Kenneth Starr investigation and released by the House Judiciary Committee in 1998. (Getty Images)
On Twitter, Donald Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner, lashed out at Hillary Clinton, directly attacking her husband, the former president, for what Trump called “his terrible record of women abuse.”
If Hillary thinks she can unleash her husband, with his terrible record of women abuse, while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 28, 2015
Trump is obviously referring to the sexual allegations that have long swirled around Clinton, even before he became president. We’d earlier explored this question in 2014 when Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wrongly claimed that a half dozen women had called Clinton a “sexual predator.” But for younger voters who may be wondering what the fuss is about, here again is a guide to the various claims made about Clinton’s sex life.
We will divide the stories into two parts: consensual liaisons admitted by the women in question and allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter.
Consensual affairs
Gennifer Flowers — a model and actress whose claims of a long-term affair nearly wrecked Clinton’s first run for the presidency in 1992. (Clinton denied her claims at the time, but under oath in 1998 he acknowledged a sexual encounter with her.)
Monica Lewinsky — intern at the White House, whose affair with Clinton fueled impeachment charges. This was a consensual affair, in which Lewinsky was an eager participant; she was 22 when the affair started and Clinton was her boss.
Dolly Kyle Browning — A high school friend who said in a sworn declaration that she had had a 22-year off-and-on sexual relationship with Clinton.
Elizabeth Ward Gracen — a former Miss America who said she had a one-night stand with Clinton while he was governor — and she was married. She went public to specifically deny reports he had forced himself on her.
Myra Belle “Sally” Miller — the 1958 Miss Arkansas who said in 1992 that she had had an affair with Clinton in 1983. She claimed that she had been warned not to go public by a Democratic Party official: “They knew that I went jogging by myself and he couldn’t guarantee what would happen to my pretty little legs.”
Some might argue that because Lewinsky and Gracen had relations when Clinton was in a position of executive authority, Clinton engaged in sexual harassment. Certainly an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission claim could have been filed, though these women did not take that opportunity.
Allegations of an unwanted sexual encounter
Paula Jones — A former Arkansas state employee who alleged that in 1991 Clinton, while governor, propositioned her and exposed himself. She later filed a sexual harassment suit, and it was during a deposition in that suit that Clinton initially denied having sexual relations with Lewinsky. Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives over the matter, but acquitted in the Senate. Clinton in 1998 settled the suit for $850,000, with no apology or admission of guilt. All but $200,000 was directed to pay legal fees.
Juanita Broaddrick — The nursing home administrator emerged after the impeachment trial to allege that 21 years earlier Clinton had raped her. Through an attorney, Clinton denied the claim, and there were inconsistencies in her story. However, several of her friends backed her claim. No charges were ever brought. (Here’s a link to the Dateline NBC interview with her in 1999.)
Kathleen Willey — The former White House aide said Clinton groped her in his office in 1993, on the same day when her husband, facing embezzlement charges, died in an apparent suicide. (During a deposition in the Paula Jones matter, Willey initially said she had no recollection about whether Clinton kissed her and insisted he did not fondle her.) Clinton denied he assaulted her; an independent prosecutor concluded “there is insufficient evidence to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt that President Clinton’s testimony regarding Kathleen Willey was false.”
Note that no court of law ever found Clinton guilty of the accusations.
Peter Baker, in “The Breach,” the definitive account of the impeachment saga, reported that House investigators later found in the files of the independent prosecutor that Jones’s lawyers had collected the names of 21 different women they suspected had had a sexual relationship with Clinton. Baker described the files as “wild allegations, sometimes based on nothing more than hearsay claims of third-party witnesses.” But there were some allegations (page 138) that suggested unwelcome advances:
“One woman was alleged to have been asked by Clinton to give him oral sex in a car while he was the state attorney general (a claim she denied). A former Arkansas state employee said that during a presentation, then-Governor Clinton walked behind her and rubbed his pelvis up against her repeatedly. A woman identified as a third cousin of Clinton’s supposedly told her drug counselor during treatment in Arkansas that she was abused by Clinton when she was baby-sitting at the Governor’s Mansion in Little Rock.”
Update: We were focused on stories that emerged during Clinton’s presidency. But many readers have also urged us to include a reference to Clinton’s post-presidential travels on aircraft owned by convicted pedophile Jeffery Epstein. Gawker reported that flight logs show that Clinton, among others, traveled through Africa in 2002 on a jet with “an actress in softcore porn movies whose name appears in Epstein’s address book under an entry for ‘massages.’” Chauntae Davies, the actress, declined to discuss why she was on the flight. Clinton has not commented.
The Bottom Line
Trump’s claim is a bit too vague for a fact check. In any case, we imagine readers will have widely divergent reactions to this list of admitted affairs and unproven allegations of unwanted sexual encounters. But at least you now know the specific cases that Trump is referencing.
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Send us facts to check by filling out this form
Check out our 2016 candidates fact-check page
Sign up for The Fact Checker weekly newsletter ||||| 48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Bill Clinton served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Click through the gallery to look back at moments from his life and career. Hide Caption 1 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton was born in Hope, Arkansas, on August 19, 1946. He is seen here the following year. Hide Caption 2 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career A young Clinton shakes hands with President John F. Kennedy while other American Legion Boys Nation delegates look on during a trip to the White House in 1963. Hide Caption 3 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career In 1974, Clinton ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives seat for Arkansas' Third Congressional District. Hide Caption 4 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas in 1978. He is seen here with civil rights activist Rosa Parks and first lady Rosalynn Carter in July 1979. Hide Caption 5 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Talk show host Arsenio Hall gestures approvingly as Clinton plays Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" on the saxophone during a taping of "The Arsenio Hall Show" in 1992. Hide Caption 6 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career During his 1992 campaign for the presidency, Clinton and his Democratic running mate, Sen. Al Gore, tour a factory in Davenport, Iowa. Hide Caption 7 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton debates President George H.W. Bush and independent candidate H. Ross Perot (not pictured) at Michigan State University in Lansing, on October 19, 1992. It was their third and final debate. Hide Caption 8 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career From left, Hillary Clinton, Tipper Gore, Bill Clinton and Al Gore celebrate their successful bid for the White House from the Old State House in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 4, 1992. Clinton won with 43% of the vote to Bush's 37% and Perot's 19%. Hide Caption 9 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career The Clinton's cat, Socks, is photographed outside the Governor's Mansion in Little Rock on November 17, 1992. Hide Caption 10 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career President Ronald Reagan presents Clinton with a jar of red, white and blue jelly beans in Los Angeles on November 27, 1992. Reagan said they kept him from smoking cigarettes. Hide Caption 11 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton takes his morning jog through the National Mall in Washington on May 8, 1993. Hide Caption 12 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career James Brady, the Reagan administration press secretary who was wounded during the 1981 assassination attempt, watches President Clinton sign the Brady Bill at the White House on November 30, 1993. The bill required a five-day waiting period for handgun purchases, ending a seven-year gun-control battle. Hide Caption 13 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career From left, Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton attend the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) signing ceremony at the White House on September 14, 1993. Hide Caption 14 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton calls on a reporter during a news conference in the East Room of the White House on March 24, 1994. The President said he would release his tax returns from the late-1970s to answer questions about his Whitewater investment. Six years later, independent counsel Robert Ray closed the Whitewater investigation, clearing the Clintons of any wrongdoing in the real estate scandal. Hide Caption 15 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton rides in a 1967 Ford Mustang during a visit to the Charlotte, North Carolina, Motor Speedway on April 17, 1994. Hide Caption 16 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career White House intern Monica Lewinsky embraces President Clinton at a Democratic fund-raiser in Washington on October 23, 1996. Hide Caption 17 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton tees off on the first hole at Farm Neck Golf Club during a visit to Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts on August 22, 1997. Hide Caption 18 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Paula Jones, center, arrives at the office of a lawyer representing President Clinton in Washington on January 17, 1998. The former Arkansas state employee filed a federal civil lawsuit in 1994 accusing Clinton of making "persistent and continuous" unwanted sexual advances during a conference in 1991, when he was governor. The President agreed to an $850,000 settlement on November 13, 1998. Hide Caption 19 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career President Clinton speaks about the Monica Lewinsky scandal at the White House on January 26, 1998, as First Lady Hillary Clinton looks on. "I did not have sexual relations with that woman," he said. Hide Caption 20 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Members of the 105th Congress and guests fill the Senate chamber as President Clinton delivers his State of the Union address on January 27, 1998. Hide Caption 21 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Vice President Gore looks on as Clinton places an "0" on the board showing what the federal deficit will be after unveiling his balanced budget plan for 1999, during a ceremony at the White House on February 2, 1998. The President declared an end to "an era of exploding deficits," sent a $1.73 trillion budget to Congress that promised the first surplus in more than three decades. Hide Caption 22 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career The Clintons, and their daughter Chelsea, center, depart the White House on August 18, 1998, with their dog Buddy on their way to a two-week vacation in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Clinton gave a televised address a day before to the American people from the White House regarding his testimony earlier to a federal grand jury in which he admitted to an inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky. Hide Caption 23 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton answers questions from reporters on December 17, 1998, before the start of a meeting with his foreign policy team, including National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, left, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, Defense Secretary William Cohen and Vice President Al Gore at the White House. After a December 16 military strike on Iraq, Clinton warned Iraqi President Saddam Hussein against threatening his neighbors. Clinton also indicated his determination to complete the operations that continued the next day with renewed bombing of Iraqi sites suspected of housing parts to manufacture weapons of mass destruction. Hide Caption 24 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career The Clintons listen as House Minority Leader Dick Gephardt addresses the nation on December 19, 1998, at the White House after the House of Representatives voted to impeach the President on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice related to the Lewinsky scandal. A defiant Clinton rejected calls for his resignation following the House vote. Hide Caption 25 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton pauses while reading a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House after the Senate voted to acquit him on February 12, 1999, in Washington. Clinton apologized for the actions that led to his impeachment, saying he was "profoundly sorry." Hide Caption 26 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak, left and Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat on July 25, 2000, at Camp David at the end of a Mideast peace summit. The talks ended without an agreement. Hide Caption 27 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton leaves McDonald's after stopping for a crispy chicken sandwich, fries and a large Diet Coke following his passing of the symbolic torch as the leader of the Democratic Party to vice president and Democratic presidential candidate Gore in Monroe, Michigan, on August 15, 2000. Hide Caption 28 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton speaks at a New York Senate fund-raiser on October 22, 2000, at the Bonnie Castle Resort in Alexandria Bay, New York. Clinton attended four fundraisers throughout New York state in support of his wife's Senate campaign. Hide Caption 29 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton and daughter Chelsea wave before boarding his plane at Andrews Air Force Base as he leaves Washington following Bush's inauguration on January 20, 2001. Clinton was heading to his new home in Chappaqua, New York. Hide Caption 30 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton cheers a group of saxophone players at the conclusion of a rally on July 30, 2001, at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building in Harlem, New York. Harlem residents welcomed Clinton, who was moving into his new post-presidential office in the building. Hide Caption 31 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Dr. Craig Smith, right, answers a reporter's question about Clinton's status after Clinton's quadruple bypass surgery in September 2004. Clinton was hospitalized after suffering chest pains and shortness of breath. Doctors announced that some of Clinton's arteries had been blocked more than 90%. Hide Caption 32 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career (From right) Clinton stands with his wife, daughter, President George W. Bush, Laura Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, Barbara Bush, former President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter during the inauguration of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 18, 2004. The library and museum includes some 76.8 million pages of paper documents, 1.85 million photographs and over 75,000 artifacts from Clinton's eight years in the White House. Hide Caption 33 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton gestures as he explains to journalists that the baby being held was born just two days ago at Teureubeuh village refugee camp in Jantho, Indonesia, on May 20, 2005. Clinton visited the Indonesian ground zero of the tsunami disaster on a mission to galvanize the delivery of aid to areas still struggling to recover. Under heavy security, Clinton held talks with United Nations and government reconstruction officials at the main airport in the western province of Aceh, where more than 128,000 people lost their lives in December 2004. Hide Caption 34 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton visits with Hurricane Katrina evacuees in the Reliant Center adjacent to the Astrodome in Houston on September 5, 2005. That same day, former President George H.W. Bush and Clinton announced the formation of the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund, to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina. Hide Caption 35 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career On January 12, 2006, in New York City, Clinton announces that an agreement was reached by the Clinton Foundation that will allow the sale of anti-retroviral drugs Efavirenz and Abacavir, as well as HIV tests, at a lower cost in developing countries. Anti-retroviral drugs and rapid tests were regarded as part of the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. Hide Caption 36 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career The former President addresses the Democratic National Convention on August 27, 2008, at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. Democrats made history on August 27, installing Barack Obama as the first black presidential nominee of a major U.S. party. A state-by-state roll-call vote was dramatically suspended when Hillary Clinton appeared on the floor of the convention and called for Obama to be nominated by acclamation. Hide Caption 37 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Journalist Laura Ling speaks in front of Euna Lee, former Vice President Gore and former President Clinton after Ling and Lee arrived in Burbank, California, on August 5, 2009, after being released by North Korean authorities. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco-based Current TV, were arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border. They were pardoned by President Kim Jong-Il after a meeting with Clinton. Ling and Lee had been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Hide Caption 38 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton visits the General Hospital of Port-au-Prince on January 18, 2010, after a 7.0 earthquake sturck the country. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon placed Clinton in charge of overseeing aid and reconstruction efforts in Haiti on February 3, 2010. Hide Caption 39 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Bill Gates, co-founder and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, testifies with Clinton before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Capitol Hill on March 10, 2010. Gates and Clinton voiced their support for legislation that would increase funding for global health and outlined what they believe could be cost-effective ways to fight HIV/AIDS and poverty around the world. Hide Caption 40 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career The former President walks his daughter Chelsea down the aisle during her wedding to Marc Mezvinsky at the Astor Courts Estate in Rhinebeck, New York, on July 31, 2010. Hide Caption 41 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton welcomes President Barack Obama to the stage during a campaign rally on November 4, 2012, in Concord, New Hampshire. With only two days left until the presidential election, Obama and his opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, were stumping from one "swing state" to the next in a last-minute rush to persuade undecided voters. Hide Caption 42 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Clinton speaks to China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on November 18, 2013. Hide Caption 43 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career President Obama awards Clinton the Presidential Medal of Freedom in the East Room of the White House on November 20, 2013. The medal is considered the nation's highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. Hide Caption 44 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Bill de Blasio, right, is sworn in as New York City mayor by Clinton on the steps of City Hall in Lower Manhattan on January 1, 2014. With them are de Blasio's daughter Chiara, wife Chirlane and son Dante. Hide Caption 45 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Former Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush share a laugh during a September event launching the Presidential Leadership Scholars program at the Newseum in Washington. With the cooperation of the Clinton, Bush, Lyndon B. Johnson and George H. W. Bush presidential libraries and foundations, the new scholarship program will provide "motivated leaders across all sectors an opportunity to study presidential leadership and decision making and learn from key administration officials, practitioners and leading academics." Hide Caption 46 of 48
48 photos: Bill Clinton's life and career Hillary and Bill Clinton hold their granddaughter in September at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky is the first child of their daughter, Chelsea. Hide Caption 47 of 48 ||||| Clinton Is Innocent: Broaddrick is either a liar or has an unreliable memory.
Clinton Is Guilty: Broaddrick's initial denials indicate only that she shunned publicity. That's why she never reported the rape; rebuffed advances from Clinton's political enemies who, in 1992, urged her to go public; and lied to Paula Jones' lawyers. She eventually told the FBI the truth in 1998 only because her son--a lawyer--advised her against lying to federal investigators. (At the time, it was reasonable to suspect she'd be hauled before a grand jury.) She granted media interviews only after her name was released by Paula Jones' lawyers, and after tabloids printed wildly untrue stories about her. Given her aversion to politics and celebrity, Broaddrick would seem to have little or nothing to gain by falsely accusing Clinton of rape. Clinton, on the other hand, has plenty to gain from falsely denying her charges. |||||
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– Katherine Prudhomme O'Brien is a New Hampshire state rep, and a woman with "a history of heckling presidential candidates," reports CNN. She upheld that reputation not once but three times on Sunday at a Derry town hall Hillary Clinton was hosting, reports the Washington Post. The Republican reportedly took to her feet and started shouting at Clinton, who CNN reports "dispatched" her; after O'Brien tried a third time, Clinton replied: "You are very rude, and I'm not ever going to call on you. Thank you." It was apparently tough to hear O'Brien over the chorus of boos uttered by Clinton supporters, but the Rockingham rep afterward told reporters that she was trying to ask Clinton about Juanita Broaddrick and Kathleen Willey, Politico reports. The women alleged decades ago that Bill Clinton sexually assaulted them, and while Hillary Clinton has been asked about the women before, CNN notes she has "never responded so forcefully." Bill Clinton arrives in the state Monday, and O'Brien says she has no intention of heckling him. Another person with no intention of bothering either Clinton about the topic: Bernie Sanders. "I think we've got more important things to worry about in this country than Bill Clinton's sex life," he said Sunday on CNN.
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Heidi Klum's Beauty Secret: 'Don't Be Too Thin!'
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"The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones. When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by five or 10 years," Klum tells the mag.
But that doesn't mean getting lazy and avoiding workouts.
"One of the best parts about season eight of 'Project Runway' being taped in New York City was that I went running every morning. I had a watch that counts the miles and the little thing you put on your shoe that measures each step. Over seven weeks, I ran 120 miles! I don't love running, but I do like to see everything getting tighter and toned." Supermodel Heidi Klum reveals in the December issue of Self that the secret to keeping wrinkles at bay isn't Botox -- it's a few extra pounds."The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin! It is always better to have a little meat on your bones. When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by five or 10 years," Klum tells the mag.But that doesn't mean getting lazy and avoiding workouts."One of the best parts about season eight of 'Project Runway' being taped in New York City was that I went running every morning. I had a watch that counts the miles and the little thing you put on your shoe that measures each step. Over seven weeks, I ran 120 miles! I don't love running, but I do like to see everything getting tighter and toned."
The supermom of four says she isn't afraid of the aging process. "I don't have anxiety about it, so I'm not running to get Botox. Maybe that will change, but I don't think so. I feel comfortable in my skin and comfortable with aging, so I think it's OK that I get wrinkles," she admits.Of course, part of not stressing about life stems from her happy five-year marriage to singer Seal, who she says keeps her grounded and fulfilled."Part of why we're so good together is that, in a lot of ways, we're opposites. I'm speedy, and I don't like sitting still for long. My husband is the most patient person I've ever met. He can explain something to the children for hours, and I will just say, 'OK, this is how it is.' We're both really creative people. We may have some different passions, but we love and respect and trust each other," Klum says. ||||| How do you do it all without losing your mind?
—Laura, 38, New York City
"I'm a big believer in to-do lists. I think of five things in the shower. I set goals and get my work done, but I have to plan for fun things, too. I'm always thinking about what will make my family happier. So I set up playdates and trips. I'm planning for a safari we can all go on together. What can I do with my husband? Can we steal away to Vegas for the weekend? You shouldn't wait for other people to make special things happen. You have to create your own memories." |||||
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– Forget Botox: If you want to look young as you grow older, just gain a few pounds, according to Heidi Klum. "The ultimate beauty secret for a woman getting older is, Don't be too thin!" she tells Self. "When you are just muscle, you end up being gaunt in the face, and that makes you look older by five or 10 years." She also recommends—especially for new moms—lots of sleep and perhaps a spray tan to stay looking fresh. For more, including how she feels about her own wrinkles, click here.
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We have conducted a large and comprehensive study characterizing cancer rates among U.S. cabin crew relative to the general U.S. population, which adds to the relatively sparse literature regarding cabin crew health and has included profiling a wide range of cancers. Consistent with previous studies reporting on cancer incidence and mortality among flight attendants, we report a higher prevalence of breast, melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers (comprising basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas) among this occupational group relative to the general population. This is striking given the low rates of overweight and smoking among flight attendants in our study population, which we take to be indicators of general health and healthy behaviors, as well as being independent risk factors for some cancers [1, 11]. We also report associations between job tenure as a flight attendant and several cancer outcomes, consistent with previous U.S. and European studies [7–11], though we note that our reliance on cancer prevalence rather than incidence complicates the interpretation of our findings with regard to the timing of both work exposures and cancer outcomes, and the conflation of cancer incidence and survivorship. Nevertheless, our study extends the sparse literature on this important topic, confirms previous findings, and is the first study to note an increase in non-melanoma skin cancer among U.S. cabin crew (consistent with studies of European cabin crew and pilots). Our work informs future research directions regarding the health of this understudied group of workers and highlights the question of what can be done to minimize the adverse exposures and cancers common among cabin crew.
Our finding of a greater prevalence of breast and skin cancers among flight attendants is consistent with most of the epidemiologic literature on this topic to date [7–11]. As noted above, our study is the first to show an increase in non-melanoma skin cancer among U.S. cabin crew relative to the general population, which replicates findings among European flight attendants and pilots [11, 24]. We also observed that job tenure as a flight attendant was associated with the prevalence of non-melanoma skin cancer, as well as breast cancer (within parity subgroups), among females. We were also able to conduct SPR analyses among crew with in-flight secondhand smoke exposure prior to 1988 and found that some associations were strengthened among this subset of participants. Interpretation of the latter results is somewhat hampered by the fact that participants’ occupational secondhand exposures ended by 1998 at the latest, and studies regarding smoking or secondhand smoking exposures and breast and skin cancers have reported mixed results [25, 26]. However, secondhand smoke has been linked to breast and skin cancers in some studies and is certainly a potential risk factor for these cancers, and unlike for cardiovascular disease, smoking-related risk of cancer never falls to baseline, even years after cessation of the exposure [25, 26].
Our results are also consistent with cabin crews’ occupational exposures to ionizing radiation [2, 6], Circadian rhythm disruption [3], historical exposures to in-flight secondhand smoke [5], and ongoing exposures to other chemical agents [2], most of which are classified as confirmed or probable carcinogens in humans [27–29]. Ionizing radiation is a known causal factor for non-melanoma skin cancer and breast cancer [27], whereas the studies regarding melanoma in relation to ionizing radiation are more conflicted [30]. It should be noted that cabin crew have the largest annual ionizing radiation dose of all U.S. workers (e.g. 3.07 mSv vs. 0.59 mSv for U.S. Department of Energy workers) [5]. These exposures can easily exceed guidelines released by the NCRP or the International Commission on Radiological Protection [6, 31]. Although we evaluated job tenure prior to age 45 or age 40 in relation to cancer prevalence, in part to isolate the potential effects of ionizing radiation exposure at younger ages, these restrictions generally did not meaningfully alter our results. This may be because ionizing radiation exposure is also important to cancer risk at older ages, and because it is difficult to disentangle the relevant exposure years in our study population, which has a median tenure of 19 years of employment and for which cancer diagnosis date was not recorded. One possible exception is for breast cancer, for which associations were somewhat stronger when evaluating tenure prior age 45 rather than lifetime tenure. These results, while imprecise and requiring replication in a study that estimates cosmic ionizing radiation exposure directly (rather than using tenure as a proxy), may suggest that flight-related exposures are most important to breast cancer risk when occurring at earlier ages.
We report associations between duration of employment as a flight attendant and breast cancer risk among women who had three or more children, with some evidence of an association among nulliparous women as well, though the latter association was imprecise. Nulliparity is a risk factor for breast cancer, and women who are parous may be less susceptible to the effects of carcinogenic exposures on the breast due to breast cell differentiation occurring after a first pregnancy [32, 33]. Hence, our findings of a somewhat stronger association between job tenure and breast cancer among nulliparous women is consistent with the current state of biologic and epidemiologic knowledge, though it should be noted that the few relevant previous studies among cabin crew did not show increased risk of breast cancer among nulliparous relative to parous participants [20, 21, 34]. Our findings of a stronger association between tenure as a flight attendant and breast cancer among women with three or more children is, interestingly, consistent with two other recent publications on this topic among cabin crew [20, 21]. The authors of the latter studies, which evaluated breast cancer in relation to calculated cosmic radiation exposure and Circadian rhythm disruption, hypothesized that these unexpected results may be due to Circadian rhythm changes from shift work and crossing time zones [21], especially since flight attendants report a much higher rate of sleep disorders and disturbances relative to the general population [11, 12] and these effects may be exacerbated among women with young children who have greater sleep disruptions from both their home and work lives [21].
Limitations of our study include its cross-sectional design, which precludes inferences about causality, as an observed association may reflect the effect of flight attendant work on a given condition, or the effect of an outcome on a factor related to employment as a flight attendant. Use of structured questionnaires, as in our study, aims to minimize this bias. We also note a further limitation that the date of cancer diagnosis was not recorded in the FAHS questionnaire. Hence, some reported cancers may have been diagnosed prior to employment as a flight attendant, and some flight attendant work (i.e. exposure) may have occurred following a cancer diagnosis, making the direction of the potential bias unclear. These limitations are counteracted in part by our analyses evaluating job tenure prior to age 40 and 45 years in relation to cancer prevalences, as many cancers, including of the skin and breast, occur later in life. Therefore, this restriction increases the probability that the exposure of interest occurred prior to the reported cancer outcome.
Another potential limitation of our study involves the question of whether a population of flight attendants is sufficiently comparable to the general U.S. population with regard to cancer risk factors, and whether differences in risk factors may introduce bias to the SPRs. For example, we report substantial differences in racial profile, smoking status, overweight prevalence, and number of live births between the FAHS and NHANES cohorts, all of which are related to the risk of various cancers. We have counteracted this issue in part by restricting the NHANES comparison group to currently employed adults with at least a high school degree and above a certain income to poverty ratio, and by conducting sensitivity analyses restricting to non-Hispanic white participants that showed no meaningful differences from our main results. We also note that the FAHS includes a substantially smaller percentage of current smokers and overweight participants than the NHANES population, which would be expected to decrease the risk of several cancers, whereas we consistently observed increased cancer SPRs. At the same time, we should note that FAHS participants had fewer children than NHANES participants (which elevates the risk of breast cancer), though this is in part ameliorated by the fact that we observed associations between tenure as a flight attendant and breast cancer within parity subgroups. Even with the above reported sensitivity analyses, we acknowledge that the potential for residual confounding by cancer risk factor profile differences between the two study populations (such as for race and parity) still exists.
In addition, health outcomes in our study and in the NHANES were based on self-report; validation through medical records was not possible due to the scope and cost of this endeavor. Validity of self-reported health outcomes varies by study population and the outcome of interest. Sensitivity and specificity of self-reported outcomes relative to medical records or linkage to disease registries were found to be moderate to high for common cancers (including breast cancer and melanoma), particularly among those with higher socioeconomic status, such as in our well-educated cohort [35]. However, this has not been the case for non-melanoma skin cancer. We should note that non-melanoma skin cancers are excluded from most U.S. cancer registries and may be under-reported by those that do include it [36]. This may explain why non-melanoma skin cancer assessed through the California Cancer Registry was not related to flight attendant work in a previous study [9], in contrast to many other studies conducted among cabin crew and pilots, including our own research presented here [11, 24].
A further limitation of our study is that we recruited flight attendants from a mix of company rosters, on-site airport recruitment, and an online/social media presence. Recruiting volunteer participants not recruited from employee files may have contributed to selection bias. For example, volunteer participants may differ from those recruited using a more randomized approach in terms of various factors, including their socioeconomic status, attitude toward health research, and factors related to time and ability to complete online surveys (which may also be related to health), as discussed in a recent analysis with regard to online recruitment in the Heart eHealth Study relative to NHANES [37]. However, the above analysis reported that, while selection bias was likely on a variety of factors, such as gender and marital status, it was much less likely to affect internal (rather than external) validity of exposure-outcome associations [37]. This is likely to be especially true in a relatively homogenous workforce than in a general population study recruited online. It is also important to note that an online recruitment strategy has many advantages in terms of efficiency, reliability of data collection and coding, and the ability to reach a wider range of potential study participants [37].
Our study may have attracted a disproportionate number of flight attendants with cancer, leading to detection bias, as flight attendants with worse health are likely to be more motivated to participate in an epidemiological study of flight attendant health, are likely to attend regular medical check-ups (this is true for flight attendants in general), and the question of cancer risk in relation to flight exposures is well known within the aviation community. However, it is reassuring that our results are consistent with previous studies that recruited participants from employee rosters [8–10].
Additional limitations of our study include reliance on job tenure as a surrogate for occupational exposures, lack of correction for multiple testing, insufficient power to evaluate less common cancers, and insufficient information on confounders for some cancers. In particular, we were not able to control for leisure-time UV exposure when evaluating skin cancer risk, though it should be noted that a large study found no difference in sunbathing habits between flight attendants and the general population [38]. We plan to evaluate specific exposures in future individual exposure-outcome analyses. Finally, we note that our reliance on prevalence rather than incidence of cancer confuses the issues of cancer risk and survivorship in interpreting our results. This is in part ameliorated by the fact that breast and skin cancers have relatively low mortality rates (especially for basal cell carcinoma, which is not considered fatal or disabling), and that we are comparing to prevalence rates in NHANES as well. Nevertheless, the limitation remains, and it is also important to note that flight attendants may differ from the general population of U.S. workers with regard to health insurance access, paid leave policies, and other benefits that could affect survivorship, and may be more likely to have access to an urban center with better quality health care for cancer treatment. It is reassuring that our results are consistent with previous studies that relied on cancer incidence [9, 10].
Strengths of our study include access to the resources of a large cohort of cabin crew with information on a range of cancer outcomes, work experiences, and potential confounders. In addition, online questionnaires are an increasingly popular option in epidemiologic research, including high profile studies such as the Millennium Cohort and the Nurses’ Health Study 3 [39]. This mode of data collection allows for validation checks, reduced data entry and coding errors, personalized question administration, convenience to participants, equal or better validity compared to hard copy questionnaires, and the collection of metadata, such as date, time, and time to completion, which can be used for quality control and sensitivity analyses [39].
Our study findings contribute to the sparse literature on flight attendant health, which may also be applicable to passengers, especially frequent flyers. Conducting high quality studies within this group of workers is important given that U.S. cabin crew are subject to fewer protections than most workers in this country and relative to flight attendants working in the European Union (EU). For example, the EU requires airlines to monitor radiation dose, organize schedules to reduce radiation exposure, and inform workers of current studies [40]. ||||| TIME Health For more, visit TIME Health
Flight attendants are exposed to a number of known cancer-causing risks, but few studies have rigorously quantified that risk, and researchers say they are an understudied occupational group.
The Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study (FAHS), begun in 2007, addresses some of the gaps in understanding health risks among flight attendants. In the latest report, published in the journal Environmental Health, researchers found that flight attendants had higher rates of many cancers, including breast cancer and melanoma, compared to the general population.
The FAHS included more than 5,300 flight attendants who were recruited through online and mailed surveys, and given in person at airports. The flight attendants answered questions about their flight schedules, as well as any diagnoses of cancer. The researchers, led by Irina Mordukhovich, a research associate at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, then compared the responses to those from a matched group of people not in the airline profession from an ongoing national health survey.
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Mordukhovich found higher prevalence of breast, melanoma, uterine, gastrointestinal, thyroid and cervical cancers among the flight attendants compared to the general public. The study also revealed for the first time a higher rate of non-melanoma skin cancers, such as basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas, among flight attendants.
The prevalence of breast, melanoma and non-melanoma cancers were especially striking, says Mordukhovich. Flight attendants had a 51% higher prevalence of breast cancers, more than two-fold higher prevalence of melanoma and four-fold greater prevalence of non melanoma skin cancers, compared to people not in the profession.
“Flight attendants are considered a historically understudied occupational group, so there is a lot we don’t know about their health,” says Mordukhovich. “What we do know for sure is the exposures that both pilots and flight attendants have—the main one being high radiation levels because of cosmic radiation at altitude.” That exposure may not be concerning for people taking individual flights, but for people whose jobs involve flying, that risk may have a negative effect on their health, as the study results suggest.
“Little attention has been paid to job-related cancer risks for flight attendants,” says Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, a labor union group that represents 50,000 flight attendants, in a written response to TIME about the study. “The Harvard study shines light on this issue. Job-related cancer risk factors identified in the study include exposure to ionizing radiation, jet lag, pesticides, and other onboard chemicals. We will use the results to encourage airlines, airline manufacturers, and regulators to prevent exposures and change working conditions to reduce risk.”
While cosmic radiation originates in outer space, small amounts reach the earth, and greater chances of exposure occur at higher altitudes. The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer determined that ionizing radiation, like that found in cosmic radiation, can contribute to cancer in people.
The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements reports that flight crews are exposed to the largest annual dose of radiation among U.S. radiation workers. But there are no limitations or regulations in the U.S. on how much exposure is safe for flight attendants. (Other radiation workers have certain occupational safety regulations in place to protect them from exposure and restrict risky exposure.) The European Union regulates flight attendant schedules and flying time of pregnant flight attendants to limit potentially dangerous exposures.
Flight attendants also have disrupted sleep schedules, since they frequently cross time zones and aren’t able to maintain a regular circadian wake-sleep cycle. Other studies have linked shift work and disrupted circadian clocks to higher risk of breast and prostate cancers, possibly due to a reduced ability of DNA to repair itself and the way circadian rhythm processes may be connected to immune function.
Mordukhovich says that the results need to be repeated by other groups to confirm the risk, but the data should raise concerns about the risk of cancer for flight attendants. (The risk for pilots may be similar, but this study focused specifically on flight attendants.) The Association of Flight Attendants did not provide comment in time for publication.
The findings are particularly worrisome considering that according to data the study collected, flight attendants are in many respects healthier than the general public. They are, for example, less likely to smoke or be overweight, and have lower rates of heart disease.
“The fact that we are seeing higher cancer rates in this study population is definitely striking,” she says. “We hope the study highlights issues about exposures that we know are problematic for flight attendants and pilots and aren’t currently being addressed. We have known carcinogens that flight crews are exposed to, and we’re hoping that this study allows people to start thinking about what should be done to implement protections.” ||||| Flight attendants may have a higher risk of a number of cancers, a new study finds.
Researchers found that women and men on U.S. cabin crews have higher rates of many types of cancer, compared with the general population. This includes cancers of the breast, cervix, skin, thyroid and uterus, as well as gastrointestinal system cancers, which include colon, stomach, esophageal, liver and pancreatic cancers.
One possible explanation for these increased rates is that flight attendants are exposed to a lot of known and potential carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents, within their work environment, said lead study author Irina Mordukhovich, a research associate at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health. [10 Do's and Don'ts to Reduce Your Risk of Cancer]
One of those carcinogens is cosmic ionizing radiation, which is elevated at higher altitudes, Mordukhovich told Live Science. This type of radiation is particularly damaging to DNA and is a known cause of breast cancer and nonmelanoma skin cancer, she said.
Air cabin crews receive the highest yearly dose of ionizing radiation on the job of all U.S. workers, she added.
In the new study, the researchers looked at data from more than 5,300 flight attendants from different airlines who completed an online survey as part of the Harvard Flight Attendant Health Study. The analysis looked at the cancer rates in these flight attendants compared to a group of about 2,700 people who had a similar income and educational status but were not flight attendants.
The researchers found that in female flight attendants, the rates of breast cancer were about 50 percent higher than in women from the general population. In addition, melanoma rates were more than two times higher and nonmelanoma skin cancer rates were about four times higher in female flight attendants compared with women from the general population. (Nonmelanoma skin cancers include basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas.)
These elevated cancer rates were observed despite indications of good-health behaviors, such as low levels of smoking and obesity, in the flight-attendant group as a whole, the study authors said.
Cancer rates in male flight attendants were nearly 50 percent higher for melanoma and about 10 percent higher for nonmelanoma skin cancers compared with men from the general population group, according to the findings.
The potential cancer risks for flight attendants are not limited to cosmic ionizing radiation. Cabin crew members are also regularly exposed to more UV radiation than the general population, which can make these workers more vulnerable to skin cancers, Mordukhovich said.
In addition, some studies have found that circadian rhythm disruptions, such as jet lag, might be linked with an increased risk of cancer, she said. These disruptions could lead to changes in immune function and cell metabolism, which can reduce the suppression of tumors.
Another possible threat to the health of cabin crew members is chemical exposure, according to the study. The women and men who worked as flight attendants prior to 1988, when smoking was first banned on some U.S. flights, were routinely exposed to secondhand smoke while on board the aircraft.
Other chemical contaminants found in the cabin may include engine leakages, pesticides and flame retardants, which contain compounds that may act as hormone disruptors and increase the risk of some cancers, Mordukhovich said.
Further complicating matters is that flight attendants in the U.S. don't have the same occupational protections as their counterparts in the European Union. There, exposure levels to radiation as well as work schedules are routinely monitored and adjusted to make sure flight attendants don't exceed certain guidelines for carcinogen exposure, Mordukhovich said. [5 Real Hazards of Air Travel]
There has been only limited research on the health of flight attendants, but they may not be the only air travelers to experience higher rates of cancer. The rates may also be higher for pilots and people who fly often as passengers, Mordukhovich said. Studies of pilots have generally shown higher rates of skin and prostate cancers, she noted, adding that pilots also have been found to have circadian rhythm disruption, but these workers have somewhat more built-in protections around their scheduling and rest times than flight attendants do.
Although the cancer risks for frequent flyers have not yet been studied, there is no reason to suspect these people would not have similar risks as those faced by cabin crews, Mordukhovich said.
Some limitations of the study are that researchers were not able to take into consideration individual UV exposures, such as sunbathing habits or leisure-time activities, which could influence skin cancer risk. In addition, cancer rates were self-reported by study participants, and these diagnoses were not confirmed by a check of their medical records by the researchers, according to the study.
The study was published online today (June 25) in the journal Environmental Health.
Originally published on Live Science. |||||Summary:
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– Unfortunate news for flight attendants: A new study finds that they suffer from higher rates of many types of cancer than the general population. The researchers compared data from more than 5,300 flight attendants who completed a health survey to about 2,700 non-flight-attendants with similar income and educational status, LiveScience reports. Among their most striking findings: Female flight attendants had rates of breast cancer about 50% higher than women who weren't flight attendants; they also had melanoma rates more than two times higher and non-melanoma skin cancer rates about four times higher. And male flight attendants had melanoma rates of almost 50% higher than the general population of males and non-melanoma skin cancer rates of about 10% higher. Air cabin crew members were also found to have higher rates of cancers of the cervix, thyroid, and uterus, as well as gastrointestinal system cancers including colon, stomach, esophageal, liver, and pancreatic cancers. This despite the fact that the flight attendant group had, as a whole, indications of healthy behaviors including low levels of smoking and obesity. The researchers point out several possible reasons for the increased cancer risk: Flight attendants are exposed to many known and potential carcinogens, including the US' highest on-the-job dose of cosmic ionizing radiation, which is known to cause breast cancer and skin cancer. As Time explains, cosmic radiation originates in space, but small amounts make it to earth and exposure is more likely at higher altitudes. Cabin crew members are also regularly exposed to UV radiation and chemical contaminants from engine leakages, flame retardants, and more. Their circadian rhythms can be disrupted by jet lag, and such disruptions have also been linked to an increased risk of cancer. Researchers say pilots and frequent flyers may be at similar risk for the same reasons. (Here are five things airline workers would tell you if they could.)
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Here is a news article: If every era gets the sadist it deserves—wait, what does that mean?—then it makes sense we got Tina Brown, the wicked, high-spirited and slightly out-of-it editor of Newsweek and the Daily Beast. That's our Tina: She's made dupes of her readers—as well as of the highly suggestible writer Katie Roiphe—once again. This time, Tina's whips and chains can be found on the new cover of Newsweek: "The Fantasy Life of Working Women." Or as the cover story's headline puts it, more directly, "Spanking Goes Mainstream."
The bruises can be found on the brains of anyone masochistic enough to read the article.
Tina, my onetime boss, from whom in the late 1990s I learned the dark arts of buzz production, loves to seduce and betray female writers. And she's got skills. As she once proudly told the editorial team at her short-lived magazine Talk, she likes to ask lady writers to deliver humiliating "personal histories" that feature self-loathing and lurid intimate disclosures, on the promise that they can publish anonymously.
Once the droning, predictable, scandalous articles are done—Daphne Merkin likes to be spanked!!!!!—Tina appeals to the writer's vanity. The article is terse and fearless and elegant! You're Joan Didion! (always Joan Didion). You must put your name on this!
Disgrace. You want to know about gender politics during this trumped-up "war on women"? That's one way power is wielded between women—the alpha girl feigns sympathy to get her henchwoman to confess or act out and then sits back and sneers—and it's no joke. Did anyone read Merkin's 1996 tale of her "unlikely obsession" with finding men to whack her and conclude she needed a Nobel Prize for savage honesty and lapidary prose? Not as I remember it. The take-away was, Something is wrong with Daphne Merkin.
This time, something seems to be wrong with Katie Roiphe. In dismissing the all-fours crawling and the relentless smacking of "Fifty Shades of Grey" as a "watered-down, skinny-vanilla-latte version of sadomasochism," Roiphe suggests she's thrown back way too many S&M espresso shots to be trustworthy on the subject.
At the same time she's impugning her dignity and authority (a hallmark of pieces women write to please Tina), Roiphe strikes the comfortable world-weary pose of gimlet-eyed female critics. These fake Parisiennes review seemingly sexy things—here it's the best-seller "Fifty Shades of Grey," but people did it in 1992 with Madonna's sex book and in 1986 with "9 1/2 Weeks"—only to claim that they're not sexy at all. That anal beads (?) are child's play to anyone familiar with real sadism.
Just yikes.
Exhale black smoke—that's the next rhetorical move. Sneer, then, at the "older, suburban, possibly Midwestern woman" (as Roiphe dubs her) who is in theory titillated by such trifles. And that's where Roiphe enacts on the reader what's been done to her. Tina has forced Roiphe into this uncomfortable pose, and in public (does any woman really want to boast, "I'm more twisted and accustomed to sexual violence than anyone!"), and Roiphe comparably trusses up Newsweek readers. Over a series of bad-faith and gibberish paragraphs, she sets up the reader as a hayseed who is turned on by lite porn because she's never seen how they do it in Berlin or whatever; or—worse still—so unsuccessfully feminine and so outside of the charmed circle of female literary power that she's satisfied by regular guys who don't hit her. Thanks.
Giving another person false and heavily proscribed choices (would you rather be bruised or battered?) is a rhetorical trick used by polemicists all the time. It allows them to propose a third way—their own archcuriosity and cynicism, usually—and then force surrender. "Spanking Goes Mainstream" is quick-and-dirty propaganda, done on deadline at the behest of a harried and opportunistic editor. We're not talking Goebbels here. When done this sloppily, this kind of rhetoric usually inspires defiance. Sure enough, Twitter is alive today with tweets like this one: "Women don't want to be spanked. They just want to spank Katie Roiphe into hushed obscurity."
Best way to stop the S&M cycle of feminine sophistry and showboating? Just don't read the article. It illuminates nothing; it humiliates its writer. And given this article's clichés and dopey mind-control tricks, we're still no closer to getting another Joan Didion.
Virginia Heffernan is the national correspondent for Yahoo News.
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• The enlightenment of gaffes: What we learn about politicians from their inadvertent mistakes ||||| If every era gets the sadist it deserves, it may not be surprising that we have ended up with Christian Grey, the hero of the runaway bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey. He is not twisted or frightening or in possession of a heart of darkness; he was abused as a child, a sadist Oprah could have dreamed up, or as E L James puts it, “Christian Grey has a sad side.” He is also extremely solicitous and apologetic for a sadist, always asking the book’s young heroine, Anastasia Steele, about every minute gradation of her feelings, and bringing her all kinds of creams and lotions to soothe her after spanking her. He is, in other words, the easiest difficult man of all time.
Ellen von Unwerth / Art + Commerce
Why does this particular, watered-down, skinny-vanilla-latte version of sadomasochism have such cachet right now? Why have masses of women brought the book to the top of the New York Times bestseller list before it even hit the stores? Most likely it’s the happy convergence of the superficial transgression with comfortable archetypes, the blushing virgin and the whips. To a certain, I guess, rather large, population, it has a semipornographic glamour, a dangerous frisson of boundary crossing, but at the same time is delivering reassuringly safe, old-fashioned romantic roles. Reading Fifty Shades of Grey is no more risqué or rebellious or disturbing than, say, shopping for a pair of black boots or an arty asymmetrical dress at Barneys.
Katie Roiphe on 'Fifty Shades of Grey' and Feminism.
As it happens, the prevailing stereotype of the Fifty Shades of Grey reader, distilled in the condescending term “mommy porn,” as an older, suburban, possibly Midwestern woman isn’t entirely accurate: according to the publisher’s data, gleaned from Facebook, Google searches, and fan sites, more than half the women reading the book are in their 20s and 30s, and far more urban and blue state than the rampant caricature of them suggests.
The current vogue for domination is not confined to surreptitious iPad reading: in Lena Dunham’s acclaimed new series, Girls, about 20-somethings adrift in New York City, a similar desire for sexual submission has already emerged as a theme. The heroine’s pale hipsterish ersatz boyfriend jokes, “You modern career women, I know what you like ...” and his idea, however awkwardly enacted, is that they like to be dominated. He says things like “You should never be anyone’s ... slave, except mine,” and calls down from a window: “If you come up I’m going to tie you up and keep you here for three days. I’m just in that kind of mood.” She comes back from seeing him with bruises and sheepishly tells her gay college boyfriend at a bar, “I am seeing this guy and sometimes I let him hit me on the side of my body.”
Her close friend and roommate, meanwhile, has a sweet, sensitive, respectful boyfriend in the new mold who asks her what she wants in bed, and she is bored out of her mind and irritated by him; she fantasizes instead about an arrogant artist she meets at the gallery where she works, who tells her that he will scare her in bed. So nice postfeminist boys are not what these ambitious, liberal-arts-educated girls are looking for either: they are also, in their exquisitely ironic, confused way, in the market for a little creative submission.
Further signals of the current cultural interest in sexual domination include the recent movie A Dangerous Method, which safely embedded spanking in a period piece exploring the history of psychoanalysis. Keira Knightley told interviewers that she was so concerned about the spanking scene during which her character was tied to a bedpost that, in order to get through it, she drank shots of vodka beforehand.
It is intriguing that huge numbers of women are eagerly consuming myriad and disparate fantasies of submission at a moment when women are ascendant in the workplace, when they make up almost 60 percent of college students, when they are close to surpassing men as breadwinners, with four in 10 working women now outearning their husbands, when the majority of women under 30 are having and supporting children on their own, a moment when—in hard economic terms—women are less dependent or subjugated than before.
It is probably no coincidence that, as more books like The Richer Sex by Liza Mundy and Hanna Rosin’s forthcoming The End of Men appear, there is a renewed popular interest in the stylized theater of female powerlessness. This is not to mention a spate of articles on choosing not to be married or the steep rise in young women choosing single motherhood. We may then be especially drawn to this particular romanticized, erotically charged, semipornographic idea of female submission at a moment in history when male dominance is shakier than it has ever been.
In the realm of private fantasy, the allure of sexual submission, even in its extremes, is remarkably widespread. An analysis of 20 studies published in Psychology Today estimates that between 31 percent and 57 percent of women entertain fantasies where they are forced to have sex. “Rape fantasies are a place where politics and Eros meet, uneasily,” says Daniel Bergner, who is working on a book on female desire to be published next year. “It is where what we say and what is stand next to each other, mismatched.” The researchers and psychologists he talked to for his 2009 New York Times article, “What Do Women Want?” often seemed reluctant to use the phrase “rape fantasy,” and in scholarly pieces, the idea makes even the chroniclers of these fantasies extremely nervous and apologetic. Even though fantasies are something that, by definition, one can’t control, they seem to be saying something about modern women that nearly everyone wishes wasn’t said. One of the researchers he interviewed preferred to call them “fantasies of submission”; another said, “It’s the wish to be beyond will, beyond thought.”
Courtesy of Everett Collection (left); no credit
But why, for women especially, would free will be a burden? Why is it appealing to think of what happens in the passive tense? Why is it so interesting to surrender, or to play at surrendering? It may be that power is not always that comfortable, even for those of us who grew up in it; it may be that equality is something we want only sometimes and in some places and in some arenas; it may be that power and all of its imperatives can be boring.
In Girls, Lena Dunham’s character finds herself for a moment lying on a gynecologist’s table perversely fantasizing about having AIDS because it would free her from ambition, from responsibility, from the daunting need to make something of her life. It’s a great scene, a vivid piece of real-seeming weirdness, which raises the question: is there something exhausting about the relentless responsibility of a contemporary woman’s life, about the pressure of economic participation, about all that strength and independence and desire and going out into the world? It may be that, for some, the more theatrical fantasies of sexual surrender offer a release, a vacation, an escape from the dreariness and hard work of equality.
Which is not to say that baroque stories of sexual submission are new. Sadomasochism is, of course, what someone I know referred to as “a hearty perennial.” It has always existed in secret pockets, and periodically some small glimmer of it breaks into mainstream culture and fascinates us. But the S&M classics of the past make fewer compromises with normal life; they don’t traffic in things as banal or ordinary as love.
In Story of O, the famous French novel written by Pauline Réage in 1954, the heroine is elaborately trained to be a slave, after being whisked off to a chateau where masked men whip her and abuse her sexually. O’s masochism begins as an intense devotion to her lover but quickly turns into something else: O begins to vacate herself; she loses her personality in the pure discipline of pain. The cool, elegant, brutal novel culminates in a scene where O is wearing an owl mask and is led on a chain naked into a party, where it occurs to none of the guests that she is human. When Susan Sontag wrote about O, she talked about “the voluptuous yearning toward the extinction of one’s consciousness.” Which is of course a far cry from Christian emailing “Laters, baby” to Anastasia.
Every so often a book comes along that absorbs us and generates discussion about bondage and power, with eroticized scenes of rape or colorful submission: books such as The Ages of Lulu and The Sexual Life of Catherine M. What is interesting is that this material still, in our jaded porn-saturated age, manages to be titillating or controversial or newsworthy. We still seem to want to debate or interrogate or voyeuristically absorb scenes of extreme sexual submission. Even though we are, at this point, familiar with sadomasochism, it still seems to strike the culture as new, as shocking, as overturning certain values, because something in it still feels, to a surprisingly large segment of our tolerant post-sexual-revolution world, wrong or shameful.
One of the salient facts about Fifty Shades of Grey’s Anastasia Steele is that she is not into sadomasochism, she is just in love with Christian Grey (“Deep down I would just like more, more affection, more playful Christian, more ... love”), so she is willing to give beatings and leather crops the old college try. This is important for a mainstream heroine appealing to mainstream readers: she indulges in the slightly out-there fantasy of whipping and humiliation without actually taking responsibility for any off-kilter desires. She can enjoy his punishments and leather whips and mild humiliations without ever having to say that she sought them out or chose them. It’s not that she wants to be whipped, it’s that she willingly endures it out of love for, and maybe in an effort to save, a handsome man. This little trick of the mind, of course, is one of the central aspects of sexual submission: you can experience it without claiming responsibility, without committing to actually wanting it, which has a natural appeal to both our puritan past and our post-ironic present.
When Maggie Gyllenhaal appeared in Secretary, a 2002 comic commentary on a boss disciplining his assistant, she was worried about a feminist reaction against the flamboyant depiction of sexual domination. But she said, “I found women, especially of my generation, are moved by it in some way that goes beyond politics.”
Explaining the endurance of submissive sexual fantasies, the feminist Katha Pollitt says, “Women have more sexual freedom and more power than ever before in our history, but that does not mean they have a lot of either, and it doesn’t mean they don’t have complicated feelings of guilt, shame and unworthiness.” Over the years researchers and psychologists have theorized that women harbor elaborate fantasies about sexual submission because they feel guilty or skittish about claiming responsibility for their own desires: they are more comfortable being wanted than wanting, in other words. But more recent studies show that the women who fantasize about being forced to have sex are actually less prone to guilt than those who don’t. In any event, that theory seems too simple or at least too 19th-century an answer for the modern woman: it is not as much guilt over sex but rather something more basically liberating about being overcome or overpowered. The thrill here is irrational, untouched by who one is in life, immune to the critical or sensible voice, the fine education, or good job.
Feminists have long been perplexed by our continuing investment in this fantasy, the residual desire to be controlled or dominated in the romantic sphere. They are on the record as appalled at how many strong, successful, independent women are caught up in elaborate fantasies of submission (and realities, of course, but that’s another story). Gloria Steinem writes that these women “have been raised to believe that sex and domination are synonymous,” and we must learn to “finally untangle sex and aggression.” But maybe sex and aggression should not, and probably more to the point, cannot be untangled.
Recently on talk shows there has been a certain amount of upstanding feminist tsk-tsking about the retrograde soft-core exploitation of women in Fifty Shades of Grey, and there seem to be no shortage of liberal pundits asking, “Is this what they went to the barricades for?” But of course the barricades have always been oddly irrelevant to intimate life. As the brilliant feminist thinker Simone de Beauvoir answered when someone asked her if her subjugation to Jean-Paul Sartre in her personal life was at odds with her feminist theories: “Well, I just don’t give a damn ... I’m sorry to disappoint all the feminists, but you can say it’s too bad so many of them live only in theory instead of in real life.”
In her controversial and revealing meditation on her own obsession with spanking in the New Yorker, Daphne Merkin speculated about the tension between her identity as a “formidable” woman and her yearning for a sexualized childish punishment. She writes, “Equality between men and women, or even the pretext of it, takes a lot of work and may not in any case be the surest route to sexual excitement.”
It is perhaps inconvenient for feminism that the erotic imagination does not submit to politics, or even changing demographic realities; it doesn’t care about The End of Men or peruse feminist blogs in its spare time; it doesn’t remember the hard work and dedication of the suffragettes and assorted other picket-sign wavers. The incandescent fantasy of being dominated or overcome by a man shows no sign of vanishing with equal pay for equal work, and may in fact gain in intensity and take new, inventive—or in the case of Fifty Shades of Grey, not so inventive—forms. ||||| Ready to fight back? Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week. You will receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Sign up for Take Action Now and get three actions in your inbox every week.
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Katie Roiphe has written a link bait-y Newsweek cover story making an interesting claim: that the pop culture appearance of submissive female sexual fantasies, in shows like Lena Dunham’s “Girls” and pulp fiction like Fifty Shades of Grey, is somehow a backlash against women’s increasing economic power. Ad Policy
I think this is generally wrong. It’s true the advances of feminism mean women today are freer than ever to explore their sexuality in art and in their personal lives, without worrying too much about negating their power at work, in relationships or in the political sphere. In fact, it is a basic contention of sex-positive feminism that asking for what you want in bed is a feminist political act—whether you want to tie your partner up, be spanked by him/her or be tenderly made love to with lots of kissing.
Taboo-breaking sex is culturally prevalent right now not because of macroeconomic trends like the decimation of the male manufacturing sector but because we live in an age in which all sorts of sexual practices are incredibly visible and talked about. In particular, easy access to online pornography allows people, at a younger age than ever before and with more privacy, to explore non-vanilla sex, whether low-key spanking and restraints or much kinkier stuff. Female-authored erotica and sexualized fan-fiction are burgeoning genres online, as well, and e-readers have made it possible for consumers to purchase and read this material with perfect privacy. This is the world from which Fifty Shades of Grey emerged.
But these desires are as old as the human race; in every century and decade, sadomasochistic erotica has broken into the mainstream, from de Sade to Swinburne to Anais Nin to Anne Desclos to Anne Rice. Why assume, as Roiphe seems to, that some authoritative brand of feminism was ever supposed to lead to human beings losing their curiosity about power play during sex, which is, after all, a physical act? And while more women than men may tend toward submission—in part because Western culture fetishizes male strength and female fragility—one certainly can’t generalize. People of all genders harbor the fantasy of, as one sex researcher put it, “the wish to be beyond will, beyond thought”—thus surrendering power to a trusted partner. And there is anecdotal evidence that publicly powerful people of both sexes are especially prone to these fantasies, as a release from the stresses of their day-to-day work lives. Here’s how one professional dominatrix describes it:
I like to find out what a man does for a living. I see a lot of Wall Street types who go for bondage and humiliation. Lawyers, actors and entertainment executives never shut up. I have to gag them right away if I’m to have any peace. True masochists are rare—they’re usually police and ex-military. These men are such show-offs about how much pain they can take. I end up acting the role of a sadistic drill instructor, breaking canes and riding crops on their backs, which gives me a certain confidence in our armed forces.
I will admit that feminism’s forward march contributes to some people’s interest in S&M. Gender roles are more fluid than ever, and there are no longer strict rules about how men and women should act in the realms of dating and romance. There is certainly an appeal to retreating to a sexual space in which roles are much clearer.
Sadomasochism is problematic if one partner is doing it just to please the other and feels hurt by it. But I don’t think truly consensual S&M complicates women’s demands for full equality, or provides evidence of some anti-feminist backlash among the urban educated class that is consuming work like “Girls,” “Secretary” and Fifty Shades of Grey. Because many women now assume a certain level of egalitarianism at work and at home, they feel more comfortable experimenting sexually. Lena Dunham’s poignant feature-length film, “Tiny Furniture,” is articulate on this point. After a particularly degrading sexual encounter, Dunham’s character returns to her mother’s apartment and announces her ambition not to be a restaurant hostess or a masseuse or a makeup artist, but a successful filmmaker. Indeed. ||||| Katie Roiphe, a well-to-do white woman who will not shut up, has a case of mortal ennui which is relieved only by publishing cretinous trolling articles which draw sweeping pseudopsychological conclusions about womankind from a small handful of vacuous anecdotes mixed with pop culture strained through the special Katie Roiphe Psychic Sexxx Fantasyland Filter. The news today is, she is still doing that.
We are very sorry and apologize in advance for subjecting you to yet another of Katie Roiphe's... things, but it's on the cover of Newsweek and all, and it's Monday, and we do like to reward hard work around here. I'm guessing that the research for this Newsweek™-brand "Magazine"-like story about women's rape fantasies took Katie upwards of seventeen or eighteen minutes, based on this exhaustive list of sources.
A FULL AND COMPLETE LIST OF NAMED SOURCES CITED IN KATIE ROIPHE'S NEWSWEEK COVER STORY "WORKING WOMEN'S FANTASIES," FROM WHICH KATIE DRAWS SWEEPING CONCLUSIONS ABOUT WOMANKIND
1. The runaway bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey.
2. Facebook, Google, and fan sites.
3. Lena Dunham's acclaimed new series, Girls
4. The recent movie A Dangerous Method
5. Books like The Richer Sex by Liza Mundy and Hanna Rosin's forthcoming The End of Men
6. Psychology Today magazine
7. Daniel Bergner, who is working on a book on female desire to be published next year
8. Story of O, the famous French novel written by Pauline Réage in 1954
9. Susan Sontag
10. Books such as The Ages of Lulu and The Sexual Life of Catherine M.
11. The 2002 Maggie Gyllenhaal film Secretary
12. Katha Pollitt
13. Gloria Steinem
14. A New Yorker story by Daphne Merkin
TOTALS
2 books quoted
4 books name-checked but not quoted
2 movies
1 TV show
3 vague internet searches
2 magazine stories
2 quotes from other women's writing
2 quotes obtained by speaking to someone
Someone give Katie Roiphe a Ph.D in Women's Studies, written in crayon on the back of a Burger King placemat! This intensive Netflix/ Googling research has led Katie Roiphe to the conclusion that some women like rough sex and stuff. Take that, all you... unnamed straw (wo)men conveniently invented by Katie Roiphe!
Recently on talk shows there has been a certain amount of upstanding feminist tsk-tsking about the retrograde soft-core exploitation of women in Fifty Shades of Grey, and there seem to be no shortage of liberal pundits asking, "Is this what they went to the barricades for?" ... It is perhaps inconvenient for feminism that the erotic imagination does not submit to politics, or even changing demographic realities
Suck on Katie Roiphe's riding crop, all you feminists out there who are shocked and outraged that some women may like to be fucked in a submissive manner. What feminists is she speaking of? Well... recent ones. Upstanding ones. Pundit ones.
Unnamed, imaginary ones.
Katie, in the future, your rape fantasies should be presented in first person essay format rather than thinly-veiled-projection-upon-imaginary-ideological-opponents format.
[Newsweek] ||||| This must've sounded edgy to Tina Brown: Get Katie Roiphe (the Katie Roiphe) to write about 50 Shades of Grey for a Newsweek cover story and watch the media pull out their hair and keel over. Unfortunately, everyone's too busy laughing to be outraged.
"Why surrender is a feminist dream," this week's cover attempts to explain. Even that phrasing seems a bit like heavy-handed troll bait, something both Roiphe and Newsweek know all about. And maybe the cover, with the blindfolded woman and the juxtaposing bold-faced words of "Feminist" and "Surrender" just isn't shocking the way it was in 1996 when Brown did it in The New Yorker. (Yes, The New Yorker!)
Get past the cover art and you get to Katie Roiphe attempting to take her signature contrarian route and explain that, despite what the media and news outlets have told you, 50 Shades of Grey, the literary sensation of the moment, isn't actually being read by the mommy generation.
Roiphe writes, "according to the publisher’s data, gleaned from Facebook, Google searches, and fan sites, more than half the women reading the book are in their 20s and 30s, and far more urban and blue state than the rampant caricature of them suggests." Though, if you're pitting data against generalization and "rampant caricatures," wouldn't any sort of data (even if it does seem like anecdotal data at best) always win out? She adds:
It is intriguing that huge numbers of women are eagerly consuming myriad and disparate fantasies of submission at a moment when women are ascendant in the workplace, when they make up almost 60 percent of college students, when they are close to surpassing men as breadwinners, with four in 10 working women now outearning their husbands, when the majority of women under 30 are having and supporting children on their own, a moment when—in hard economic terms—women are less dependent or subjugated than before.
And for the next three (Internet) pages, Roiphe, citing HBO's Girls and 2002's Secretary, explains to us the very "shocking" revelation (if you believe the Newsweek cover) that despite feminism, women—especially those who work—have lots of sexual fantasies, one of which is being dominated or spanked. So how did the Internet (and the Twitterverse) take this very serious revelation?
Gawker's Max Read:
Looks like FEMINIST HERO GLORIA STEINEM will have to find A NEW LINE OF WORK now that KATIE ROIPHE has blown BIG FEMINISM wide open! — max read (@max_read) April 16, 2012
The Village Voice 's Maura Johnston:
okay everyone, i'm going to take the Roiphe Plunge. if i am not back by 9:30 send help, or at least someone to clean up my exploded brain — maura johnston (@maura) April 16, 2012
Bloomberg's Elizabeth Lopatto:
Hey Gen-Xers, let's cut a deal. I'll explain dubstep to you if you explain Katie Roiphe to me. — Elizabeth Lopatto (@mslopatto) April 16, 2012
And one more for final measure:
Basically, the fact that anyone treats Roiphe as more than a huge, gross joke is somewhat odd to me. — Keyana (@keyanastevens) April 16, 2012
If you'd like to read what the Internet is laughing at, head on over to Newsweek.
Want to add to this story? Let us know in comments or send an email to the author at aabadsantos at theatlantic dot com. You can share ideas for stories on the Open Wire.
Alexander Abad-Santos |||||
A summary of this is?
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– Author Katie Roiphe has whipped up a storm with her Newsweek/Daily Beast cover article on submissive female sex fantasies. Roiphe's argument: "that huge numbers of women are eagerly consuming myriad and disparate fantasies of submission"—think Girls, A Dangerous Method, Fifty Shades of Grey—"at a moment when women are ascendant in the workplace." And why is that? Because "power is not always that comfortable" and "equality is something we want only sometimes." Cue the outrage ... and amusement: "This must've sounded edgy to Tina Brown: Get Katie Roiphe (the Katie Roiphe) to write about 50 Shades of Grey for a Newsweek cover story and watch the media pull out their hair and keel over," writes Alexander Abad-Santos at The Atlantic. "Unfortunately, everyone's too busy laughing to be outraged." "I think this is generally wrong," writes Dana Goldstein at The Nation. "It’s true the advances of feminism mean women today are freer than ever to explore their sexuality in art and in their personal lives. ... But these desires are as old as the human race." Hamilton Nolan gets more personal at Gawker: "Katie, in the future, your rape fantasies should be presented in first person essay format rather than thinly-veiled-projection-upon-imaginary-ideological-opponents format." Speaking of personal: "If every era gets the sadist it deserves—wait, what does that mean?—then it makes sense we got Tina Brown, the wicked, high-spirited and slightly out-of-it editor of Newsweek and the Daily Beast," writes Virginia Hefferman at The Lookout blog. "The bruises can be found on the brains of anyone masochistic enough to read the article." Want to give poor Katie a chance? See her full article here.
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Here is a news article: Vice President Biden on Wednesday said he made "a poor choice of words" when using the term “shylocks” during a speech earlier this week.
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The vice president said in a statement that it was “right” for a top Jewish group to criticize him for the comments.
Biden made the comment during a speech to the Legal Services Corp., while telling a story about his son, Beau, providing legal assistance to fellow soldiers after they returned from war.
“People would come to him and talk about what was happening to them at home in terms of foreclosures, in terms of bad loans that were being — I mean, these shylocks who took advantage of these women and men while overseas,” Biden said.
The term, which makes reference to the Jewish villain in Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, is controversial, with some arguing it has anti-Semitic connotations.
Abraham Foxman, the national director of the Anti-Defamation League, told Yahoo News that “shylock represents the medieval stereotype about Jews and remains an offensive characterization to this day.”
“The vice president should have been more careful,” Foxman added.
“When someone as friendly to the Jewish community and open and tolerant an individual as is Vice President Joe Biden Joseph (Joe) Robinette BidenBiden slams Trump over golf gif hitting Clinton Overnight Tech: Equifax hit by earlier undisclosed hack | Facebook takes heat over Russian ads | Alt-right Twitter rival may lose domain Overnight Finance: CBO to release limited analysis of ObamaCare repeal bill | DOJ investigates Equifax stock sales | House weighs tougher rules for banks dealing with North Korea MORE, uses the term 'shylocked' to describe unscrupulous moneylenders dealing with service men and women, we see once again how deeply embedded this stereotype about Jews is in society," he continued.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Biden sad Foxman was "right."
“Abe Foxman has been a friend and advisor of mine for a long time," the vice president said. "He’s correct, it was a poor choice of words, particularly as he said coming from ‘someone as friendly to the Jewish community and open and tolerant an individual as is Vice President Joe Biden.’ He’s right.”
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Vice President Joe Biden acknowledged Wednesday he made a “poor choice of words” when he used the word “shylock” to describe nefarious lenders.
The flap occurred Tuesday when Biden, speaking at a Washington, D.C. conference marking the 40th anniversary of the Legal Services Corporation, used the word -- which many view as having anti-Semitic connotations -- to describe people who prey on vulnerable service members.
Jewish groups took offense, and Biden issued a mea culpa in a phone conversation with Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League.
Foxman hailed Biden for “turning a rhetorical gaffe into a teachable moment” and said that there was “no ill-intent here, but Joe and I agreed that perhaps he needs to bone up on his Shakespeare.”
The character appears in Shakespeare’s “Merchant of Venice” as Jewish and a ruthless miser, demanding a "pound of your fair flesh" from a merchant if he fails to repay a loan.
Foxman called Biden “a stalwart against anti-Semitism and bigotry,” adding that “he has the courage and forthrightness to admit a mistake and use it as an opportunity to learn and to teach others about the harmful effects of stereotypes.” |||||
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– Joe Biden got himself in hot water over another unscripted moment—his use of the word "shylocks" to describe greedy lenders who take advantage of US troops. Jewish groups immediately took offense to the anti-Semitic connotations, and Biden today apologized for his "poor choice of words," reports the Hill. The gaffe took place yesterday as the VP spoke to the Legal Services Corp. in DC, recounting how son Beau helped service members upon their return from war: “People would come to him and talk about what was happening to them at home in terms of foreclosures, in terms of bad loans that were being—I mean, these shylocks who took advantage of these women and men while overseas,” he said. Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League said the term perpetuates an age-old stereotype of Jews. There was “no ill-intent here, but Joe and I agreed that perhaps he needs to bone up on his Shakespeare," he said today, as quoted at McClatchy DC. The term comes from Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, which features a miserly Jewish moneylender of that name. Foxman called Biden a "stalwart against anti-Semitism" and praised him for the quick mea culpa
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Here is a news article: A flag flies at half-staff over Dealey Plaza, Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. After five police officers were killed in a shooting Thursday, a city forever haunted by the assassination of John F. Kennedy... (Associated Press)
A flag flies at half-staff over Dealey Plaza, Saturday, July 9, 2016, in Dallas. After five police officers were killed in a shooting Thursday, a city forever haunted by the assassination of John F. Kennedy is trying to not let the worst America attack on police since Sept. 11 define it again. (AP Photo/Eric... (Associated Press)
DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the shooting of police officers in Dallas (all times local):
9:50 a.m.
Police have arrested about 100 people in St. Paul during protests of the recent police killings of black men, including one outside Minnesota's capital city.
Authorities say 21 St. Paul officers and six state troopers were hurt during the fracas late Saturday and early Sunday.
St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell are condemning the violence. Axtell calls the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles and other objects "a disgrace."
The Star Tribune (http://strib.mn/29qNWkj) reports about half the arrests came during a blockade of Interstate 94 in St. Paul. About 50 arrests were made early Sunday in another part of St. Paul. The interstate reopened early Sunday morning.
The protest was among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile in suburban St. Paul and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
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9:40 a.m.
San Antonio police say shots fired overnight near the department headquarters hit the building, but nobody was hurt.
Chief William McManus says investigators are trying to determine whether the building was targeted Saturday night or if someone was randomly firing.
Police detained one person for questioning after the man was seen running from the area.
Five police officers were killed after a sniper opened fire Thursday night in Dallas during a protest against the killings of black men last week by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota.
Several San Antonio police officers who were in the headquarters Saturday night reported hearing gunshots. McManus says several shell casings were found in a nearby alley.
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9:25 a.m.
President Barack Obama says protesters who attack police officers are doing a disservice to their cause.
Obama said in Madrid after meeting with Spain's acting prime minister that one of the great things about America is that individuals and groups can protest and speak truth to power. He says the process is sometimes messy and controversial, but the ability to engage in free speech has improved America.
Obama also cautions that if protesters paint police with a broad brush, they could lose allies for their cause. At the same time, he says that when police organizations acknowledge there is a problem stemming from bias, it will contribute to solutions.
Obama is cutting his first visit to Spain a day short because of a series of deadly shootings in the U.S.
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8:50 a.m.
Dallas police chief David Brown says the suspect in the deadly attack on Dallas police officers scrawled letters in his own blood on the walls of the parking garage where officers cornered and later killed him.
Brown told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday that Micah Johnson wrote lettering in blood before heading upstairs and writing more in his own blood. He says the 25-year-old Army veteran wrote the letters "RB," and that investigators are looking through things found in his suburban Dallas home to try to figure out what he may have meant by that.
The chief defended the decision to kill Johnson using a robot-delivered bomb, saying negotiations went nowhere and trying to "get him" in some other way would have put his officers in danger.
Brown says that during the roughly two-hour standoff in the garage, Johnson lied to and taunted the police negotiators.
Authorities say Johnson killed five police officers and wounded seven others and two civilians during an attack at a protest over last week's killings by police of black men in Louisiana and Minnesota.
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1:40 a.m.
The gunman who killed five police officers at a protest march had practiced military-style drills in his yard and trained at a private self-defense school that teaches special tactics, including "shooting on the move," a maneuver in which an attacker fires and changes position before firing again.
Micah Johnson, an Army veteran, received instruction at the Academy of Combative Warrior Arts in the Dallas suburb of Richardson about two years ago, said the school's founder and chief instructor, Justin J. Everman.
Everman's statement was corroborated by a police report from May 8, 2015, when someone at a business a short distance away called in a report of several suspicious people in a parked SUV.
The investigating officer closed the case just minutes after arriving at a strip mall. While there, the officer spoke to Johnson, who said he "had just gotten out of a class at a nearby self-defense school."
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9:10 p.m.
The owner of a community social services organization says the gunman who killed five police officers at a Dallas protest march worked for his organization.
Dallas-based Touch of Kindness subcontracts with the state to provide care for people with disabilities.
Owner Jeppi Carnegie says that Micah Johnson was paid to care for his brother, who was in his early 20s.
Carnegie said Johnson, until his death this week, received an hourly wage to look after his brother at the home in Mesquite where both men lived with their mother. Carnegie said he spoke with Johnson only once by phone, for less than a minute, and only then to confirm that he would be taking care of his brother.
Johnson was killed Friday morning by police ||||| Members of the New Black Panther Party march in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters in support of justice for Alton Sterling, who was killed by police, in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday,... (Associated Press)
Members of the New Black Panther Party march in front of the Baton Rouge Police Department headquarters in support of justice for Alton Sterling, who was killed by police, in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, July 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Max Becherer) (Associated Press)
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — The Latest on protests in Baton Rouge arising from Tuesday's video-recorded shooting death of Alton Sterling (all times local):
8:15 a.m.
Authorities in Baton Rouge say more than 100 people were jailed in connection with the Black Lives Matter protests held in the Lousiana city over the weekend.
Spokeswoman Casey Rayborn Hicks of the East Baton Rouge Sheriff's Office told The Associated Press on Sunday that 101 people were being held in the parish jail in connection with the protests. No information was immediately available on what charges they faced or whether some people were later released.
Among those arrested was DeRay Mckesson, who rose to prominence with the Black Lives Matter movement after the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.
Tensions between black citizens and police have risen palpably over the past week or so amid police shootings of African-American men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation.
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1:25 a.m.
Louisiana authorities say prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson has been arrested during a protest in Baton Rouge.
An Associated Press reporter who was at the scene Saturday night confirmed Mckesson's arrest.
Mckesson was walking alongside Airline Highway when he was arrested. It was not immediately clear what prompted Mckesson's arrest.
Protesters were demonstrating against the shooting death Tuesday of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.
Mckesson is one of the most recognizable faces to emerge from the Black Lives Matter movement. The former educator built a national following after he left his then-home and job in Minneapolis in August 2014 for Ferguson, Missouri, to document the rising anger over race relations after the police shooting of Michael Brown.
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12:40 a.m.
Louisiana authorities say prominent Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson has been arrested during a protest in Baton Rouge.
Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Cpl L'Jean McKneely tells The Advocate (http://bit.ly/29wr054) that Mckesson was arrested Saturday night.
The Advocate says Mckesson was filming live video of the protest and walking alongside Airline Highway when he was arrested. It wasn't immediately clear why Mckesson was arrested.
Protesters were demonstrating against the shooting death Tuesday of 37-year-old Alton Sterling.
Mckesson is one of the most recognizable faces to emerge from the Black Lives Matter movement. Tensions between black citizens and police have risen palpably over the past week or so amid police shootings of African-American men in Minnesota and Louisiana and the gunning down of five white police officers by a black suspect in Dallas in apparent retaliation.
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10:30 p.m.
Hundreds of people are demonstrating in the streets of Baton Rouge over the death of a black man earlier this week.
Saturday night, police could be seen detaining at least three people after confiscating some weapons earlier in the day.
Riot police at one point came out in the evening and faced off against the protesters as more than 20 police cars, blue lights flashing were on the other side of the street.
The demonstrators were angry over the death of Alton Sterling, who was shot and killed during a videotaped altercation with two white police officers in a convenience store parking lot.
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8:45 p.m.
A few hundred protesters are gathered at the Baton Rouge Police Department.
The demonstrators gathered Saturday to protest the shooting death of a black man, Alton Sterling, by two white police officers at a convenience store parking lot last week.
The protest was tense earlier as police in riot gear came out, apparently to clear the road so traffic could pass through.
A police spokesman said two firearms were confiscated and several arrests made.
Police later went back inside their headquarters and traffic reopened.
Baton Rouge resident Marie Flowers came to the protest in with her three children. She said people in the north Baton Rouge neighborhood where the shooting happened are frustrated.
Protesters waved homemade signs while drivers honked their support and some stopped by with bottles of water.
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4:15 p.m.
Hundreds of people are gathered at a Baton Rouge convenience store for another day of protest at the site where a black man, Alton Sterling, died at the hands of two white police officers.
Some wore T-shirts that read, "I can't keep calm I have a black son" or "Black Lives Matter."
Lael Montgomery from Baton Rouge said the black community is demanding an end to police brutality. But Montgomery said he also doesn't want anyone to get hurt in the protests. He said he knows police are on edge after five officers died in a sniper attack in Dallas Thursday.
Some protesters headed for more demonstrations at the Baton Rouge Police Department, where overnight protests led to 30 arrests. Others waited for a scheduled evening march starting at City Hall.
___
Noon
Protests were set to resume in Baton Rouge on Saturday, hours after demonstrations over a video-recorded police shooting produced tense moments resulting in 30 arrests.
Baton Rouge police have issued a statement saying they are investigating a newspaper website's video that appears to show an officer with his weapon temporarily drawn at one point early Saturday morning as angry protesters confronted police.
More demonstrations were expected Saturday afternoon.
Demonstrations in Baton Rouge following Tuesday's shooting of Alton Sterling had been largely peaceful, but there were some tense moments Friday night and early Saturday.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff's Office released a list of 30 people arrested in the demonstrations — most for obstructing a highway, but three for inciting to riot. ||||| Video (05:02) : Police and protesters were in a long standoff after a march shut down I-94 for several hours Saturday night and into Sunday morning.
A dramatic protest late Saturday and early Sunday on Interstate 94 in St. Paul turned violent, with 21 police officers injured and more than 100 people arrested. Under occasional clouds of colored smoke, fireworks, hurled rocks and tear gas, confrontations continued until 4:30 a.m. Sunday, as demonstrators responded to the police killing in Falcon Heights of Philando Castile.
Just a few hours later, St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell stood together and denounced as “a disgrace” the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles and other items.
At an 8 a.m. news conference, Axtell said 21 officers from all law enforcement agencies on the scene were injured in the mayhem. One of them suffered a broken vertebra after a concrete block was dropped on his head; he was still hospitalized as of Sunday afternoon, police said. The State Patrol said six of the 21 were troopers who were slightly hurt by thrown objects. Steve Linders, St. Paul police spokesman, said he doesn’t know how many other officers are still in the hospital.
The all-night faceoff on a major freeway drew national attention. President Obama also weighed in Sunday, saying at a news conference during a one-day stop in Madrid that “any violence directed at police officers is a reprehensible crime.”
Obama added, “Whenever those of us who are concerned about failures of the criminal justice system attack police, you are doing a disservice to the cause.”
Gov. Mark Dayton, whose Summit Avenue residence has been the site of a protest encampment, said Sunday that “the occupation and shutting down of Interstate 94 last night were unlawful and extremely dangerous. … I urge all Minnesotans to remain calm and peaceful during this very difficult time.”
Gallery: No letup by activists angered by police killing of Philando Castile Gallery: No letup by activists angered by police killing of Philando Castile
Roughly 50 of the arrests came during the “freeway riot,” which began shortly before nightfall Saturday and continued until police cleared the freeway after 1 a.m., allowing the interstate to reopen in both directions, Linders said.
State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Troy Christianson said those arrested were likely to be held in the Ramsey County jail until Monday.
“More than 20 verbal warnings” to disperse were issued before the apprehensions began, the State Patrol said in a statement, adding that 49 adults and one juvenile could face charges of third-degree riot, a gross misdemeanor.
Another 50 or so arrests were made about 4 a.m. Sunday near Grand Avenue and Dale Street. Those demonstrators were cited with misdemeanors at the scene and released, Linders said.
The officers were hurt from demonstrators “throwing rocks, bottles, fireworks and bricks,” Linders said. Demonstrators were seen on a pedestrian overpass throwing objects including bricks and rebar at officers and dumping liquid on them.
At Sunday’s news conference at police headquarters, the mayor called the violence “shameful” and said it “doesn’t honor anyone’s memory … including Philando Castile’s.”
Echoing that sentiment was Philando’s mother, Valerie Castile. “When demonstrations become violent, it disrespects my son and his memory,” she said in a statement Sunday. “Philando was a man of peace and dignity. Please, I ask you to at all times remain peaceful in your expressions of concern regarding his death at the hands of the police. I promise that we will not rest until justice prevails.”
Axtell began his comments by holding up a chunk of concrete as an example of what was thrown at his officers.
“This is the first time in my 28 years we have observed this level of violence toward our public servants,” Axtell said. “It’s really a disgrace.”
The chief said the protesters “turned into criminals. I am absolutely disgusted, [and] I am not going to tolerate it. This is just something that doesn’t happen in St. Paul.”
Activists converged Sunday afternoon for another march, this one starting at the St. Anthony Police Department. The officer who shot Castile is a member of that city’s police force.
Unrest in the Twin Cities drew the head of the national NAACP to Minnesota. Cornell Brooks met with Dayton and other local leaders Sunday afternoon and also spoke at Progressive Baptist Church in St. Paul, calling for laws to counter racial profiling by police.
About 10 p.m. Saturday, officers had issued their 16th order to vacate the interstate, and protesters were not budging. At one point, two dozen officers in riot gear pressed on the crowd, a paddy wagon following behind.
As police advanced on I-94 near Lexington Parkway, some among the hundreds of protesters retreated up an adjacent hill and left the freeway. Some people began to march back to the tents-and-tarps encampment at the governor’s residence, where demonstrators have kept a constant presence since shortly after Castile’s death.
About 11:15 p.m., police began arresting people one by one, escorting them to a repurposed Metro Transit bus. Officers in riot gear used smoke bombs and pepper spray to disperse the crowd.
In the heat of the protest, as many as 300 people were spread across both the eastbound and westbound lanes, and about 200 police officers were present. State Patrol squad cars had the interstate blocked for 5 miles in both directions and entrance ramps sealed off from Hwy. 280 east to downtown St. Paul.
William William, a seventh grader in St. Paul, was among the children who marched with parents Sunday to support Philando Castile. About 250 people marched from Maxfield Elementary Magnet school to the JJ Hill Montessori School, where Castile worked for many years.
State Patrol Col. Matt Langer, joining the mayor and police chief at the Sunday morning news media briefing, said, “Protesters have ample safe areas to make their voices heard. The freeway is not one of these options.”
About 9 p.m. on Twitter, Black Lives Matter Minneapolis posted: “We shut down 94 for Philando. We are gonna need bail money. Please make a gift now.”
The protest quickly grew into the day’s biggest and most disruptive demonstration in the Twin Cities, following a peaceful daylong gathering at the governor’s residence and a separate rally at Loring Park that spilled into the streets of downtown Minneapolis, where protesters briefly stopped traffic at 9th Street and Hennepin Avenue, blocked an entrance at the Basilica Block Party and marched past Target Center.
Castile, a 32-year-old school cafeteria supervisor from St. Paul, was fatally shot by a police officer Wednesday night during a traffic stop in Falcon Heights. The aftermath, as he lay dying in the driver’s seat, was livestreamed on Facebook by his girlfriend sitting alongside him while her 4-year-old daughter sat in the back seat.
The girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, said Castile was shot for no reason. The officer, Jeronimo Yanez, said through his attorney that Castile was displaying a handgun and was warned to comply with the officer’s orders.
Star Tribune staff writers Claude Peck, Randy Furst and Karen Zamora contributed to this report.
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A summary of this is?
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– Police have arrested about 100 people in St. Paul during protests of the recent police killings of black men, including one outside Minnesota's capital city. Authorities say 21 St. Paul officers and six state troopers were hurt during the fracas late Saturday and early Sunday. St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Police Chief Todd Axtell are condemning the violence. Axtell calls the pelting of officers with rocks, bottles and other objects "a disgrace." The Star Tribune reports about half the arrests came during a blockade of Interstate 94 in St. Paul. About 50 arrests were made early Sunday in another part of St. Paul. The interstate reopened early Sunday. The protest was among several demonstrations nationwide following the deaths of 32-year-old Philando Castile in suburban St. Paul and 37-year-old Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La. Other news from overnight, via the AP: Authorities in Baton Rouge say more than 100 people were jailed in connection with the Black Lives Matter protests held in the Louisiana city over the weekend. Among those arrested was DeRay Mckesson, who rose to prominence with the Black Lives Matter movement after the 2014 shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson. San Antonio police say shots fired overnight near the department headquarters hit the building, but nobody was hurt. Chief William McManus says investigators are trying to determine whether the building was targeted Saturday night or if someone was randomly firing. Police detained one person for questioning after the man was seen running from the area. McManus says several shell casings were found in a nearby alley. President Obama says protesters who attack police officers are doing a disservice to their cause. Obama also cautions that if protesters paint police with a broad brush, they could lose allies for their cause. At the same time, he says that when police organizations acknowledge there is a problem stemming from bias, it will contribute to solutions. Obama is cutting his first visit to Spain a day short.
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News article:
Each new breaking news situation is an opportunity for trolls to grab attention, provoke emotions, and spread propaganda. The Russian government knows this. Fake-news manufacturing teenagers in Macedonia know this. Twitter bot creators know this. And thanks to data-gathering operations from groups like the Alliance for Securing Democracy and RoBhat Labs, the world knows this.
In the wake of Wednesday’s Parkland, Florida, school shooting, which resulted in 17 deaths, troll and bot-tracking sites reported an immediate uptick in related tweets from political propaganda bots and Russia-linked Twitter accounts. Hamilton 68, a website created by Alliance for Securing Democracy, tracks Twitter activity from accounts it has identified as linked to Russian influence campaigns. As of morning, shooting-related terms dominated the site’s trending hashtags and topics, including Parkland, guncontrolnow, Florida, guncontrol, and Nikolas Cruz, the name of the alleged shooter. Popular trending topics among the bot network include shooter, NRA, shooting, Nikolas, Florida, and teacher.
On RoBhat Labs' Botcheck.me, a website created by two Berkeley students to track 1500 political propaganda bots, all of the top two-word phrases used in the last 24 hours—excluding President Trump's name—are related to the tragedy: School shooting, gun control, high school, Florida school. The top hashtags from the last 24 hours include Parkland, guncontrol, and guncontrolnow.
Ash Bhat, one of the project’s creators, says the bots are able to respond quickly to breaking news because they’re ultimately controlled by humans. In contrast to the Russia-affiliated Hamilton 68 bots, Bhat would not speculate on who is behind the bots that RoBhat Labs tracks. In some cases, the bot creators come up with hashtags, and use their bots to amplify them until they’re adopted by human users. “Over time the hashtag moves out of the bot network to the general public,” he says. Once a hashtag is widely adopted by real users, it’s difficult for Twitter to police, Bhat says. RoBhat Labs’ data shows this happened with the hashtag MemoDay, which bubbled up when House Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes’ controversial memo was released.
In other cases, the bots jump on existing hashtags to take control of the conversation and amplify a message. That’s likely what is happening with the Parkland shooting and the hashtag guncontrolnow, Bhat says.
'Over time the hashtag moves out of the bot network to the general public.' Ash Bhat, RoBhat Labs
While RoBhat Labs tracks general political bots, Hamilton 68 focuses specifically on those linked to the Russian government. According to the group's data, the top link shared by Russia-linked accounts in the last 48 hours is a 2014 Politifact article that looks critically at a statistic cited by pro-gun control group Everytown for Gun Safety. Twitter accounts tracked by the group have used the old link to try to debunk today’s stats about the frequency of school shootings.
Another top link shared by the network covers the “deranged” Instagram account of the shooter, showing images of him holding guns and knives, wearing army hats, and a screenshot of a Google search of the phrase “Allahu Akbar.” Characterizing shooters as deranged lone wolves with potential terrorist connections is a popular strategy of pro-gun groups because of the implication that new gun laws could not have prevented their actions. On Thursday President Trump tweeted as much: “So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior.”
Meanwhile, some accounts with large bot followings are already spreading misinformation about the shooter's ties to far-left group Antifa, even though the Associated Press reported that he was a member of a local white nationalist group. The Twitter account Education4Libs, which RoBhat Labs shows is one among the top accounts tweeted at by bots, is among the prominent disseminators of that idea:
Bret Schafer, a research analyst with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, says the spike in shooting-related posts from Russia-linked bots is in line with what his group observed after last year's shootings in Las Vegas and Texas. The Russia-linked bots weigh in on any attention-grabbing news event, but seize on shootings particularly. "Because of the politicized nature of them, they are perfect fodder to take an extreme position and start spreading memes that have a very distinct political position on gun control," he says.
'I don’t think the Kremlin cares one way or another whether we enact stricter gun control laws.' Bret Schafer, Alliance for Securing Democracy
The use of pro-gun control hashtags like #guncontrolnow, along with the spread of anti-gun control links like the Politifact article, appear at first to show the Russian strategy of promoting discord on both sides of a debate. Russian-linked Twitter accounts have attempted to spread confusion and angst on topics ranging from police violence against black people, to NFL player protests, to Al Franken’s sexual misconduct accusations. (On other topics, like special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election, the bots have worked in concert to further the Kremlin's agenda.)
But in this case, Schafer suspects the use of pro-gun control hashtags like #guncontrolnow are being used sarcastically, particularly since they're often paired with the anti-gun control links. Since the Twitter accounts Hamilton 68 tracks often target right-wing audiences, Schafer believes the trolls are using the message to attract more eyeballs. "That allows them to then push content that is more directly related to the Kremlin’s geopolitical agenda," such as the Nunes memo, he says. "I don’t think the Kremlin cares one way or another whether we enact stricter gun control laws," he adds. "It's just being used as bait, basically."
Public awareness that antagonistic bots flood the Twitter debate hasn’t stopped them from achieving their goals of ratcheting up the vitriol—even amid a live tragedy like the Parkland shooting. The goal, after all, isn't to help one side or the other of the gun control debate win. It's to amplify the loudest voices in that fight, deepening the divisions between us.
Troll Takeover ||||| Facebook, Google and Twitter have, to varying degrees, announced new measures to eliminate bot accounts, and have hired more moderators to help them weed out disinformation on their platforms.
But since the election, the Russian-linked bots have rallied around other divisive issues, often ones that President Trump has tweeted about. They promoted Twitter hashtags like #boycottnfl, #standforouranthem and #takeaknee after some National Football League players started kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice.
The automated Twitter accounts helped popularize the #releasethememo hashtag, which referred to a secret House Republican memorandum that suggested the F.B.I. and the Justice Department abused their authority to obtain a warrant to spy on a former Trump campaign adviser. The debate over the memo widened a schism between the White House and its own law enforcement agencies.
The bots are “going to find any contentious issue, and instead of making it an opportunity for compromise and negotiation, they turn it into an unsolvable issue bubbling with frustration,” said Karen North, a social media professor at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. “It just heightens that frustration and anger.”
Intelligence officials in the United States have warned that malicious actors will try to spread disinformation ahead of the 2018 midterm elections. In testimony to Congress last year and in private meetings with lawmakers, social media companies promised that they will do better in 2018 than they did in 2016.
But the Twitter campaign around the Parkland shooting is an example of how Russian operatives are still at it.
“We’ve had more than a year to get our act together and address the threat posed by Russia and implement a strategy to deter future attacks, but I believe, unfortunately, we still don’t have a comprehensive plan,” said Senator Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who is the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, during a hearing this month on global threats to the United States. “What we’re seeing is a continuous assault by Russia to target and undermine our democratic institutions, and they’re going to keep coming at us.” |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– For Russia-linked Twitter accounts and bots linked to Russian propaganda campaigns, last week's horrific school shooting in Florida was just another opportunity to sow division among Americans, security researchers say. Within an hour of the shooting, hundreds of automated Twitter accounts with suspected Russian links began sending out tweets with hashtags like #NRA and #guncontrolnow, seeking to spread what analysts call "divisive propaganda" on both sides of the issue, the New York Times reports. "This is pretty typical for them, to hop on breaking news like this," says Jonathon Morgan at New Knowledge, a firm that tries to track disinformation campaigns. "The bots focus on anything that is divisive for Americans. Almost systematically." After a couple of days, some bots switched to the #falseflag hashtag, pushing theories that the Parkland shooting was a government conspiracy. Analysts say that along with race relations, gun control is a favorite target of disinformation campaigns seeking to spread confusion and anger. Bret Schafer, a research analyst with the Alliance for Securing Democracy, tells Wired that similar spikes in activity were seen after last year's mass shootings in Las Vegas and Texas. "I don't think the Kremlin cares one way or another whether we enact stricter gun control laws," he says. "It's just being used as bait, basically." He says most of the bots his group tracks target right-wing audiences, and he believes the #guncontrolnow hashtag was being used sarcastically. (President Trump says he supports beefing up the background check system.)
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Write an article based on this summary:
– In late July, human remains were found near Cap-des-Rosiers, Quebec—and archaeologists believe they may belong to people who died at sea in 1847. The story of the Carricks of Whitehaven layers tragedy upon tragedy: Passengers on the Irish ship were trying to escape the potato famine that was killing their countrymen, only to see their ship go down in a storm while en route to Quebec City. Of the nearly 200 people on the Carricks, at least 80 are believed to have died off the Gaspe coast. Parks Canada archaeologist Martin Perron says the remains, which look to belong to five adults and three kids, appear to have been quickly deposited in what the Canadian Press calls a "shallow trench"—and could potentially be a mass grave. Bones have been found in the same area before. The Globe and Mail's report on the initial May 2011 find there noted that historical accounts describe victims as being laid out on the beach before burial, but no specific location of the grave was reported. It quotes some historical writings: a magazine article from the time noting the ship "went to pieces in the course of two hours," and a 1919 book on Gaspe that stated, "For a whole day two oxcarts carried the dead to deep trenches near the scene of the disaster." A 2014 Mail article reported that the bones found in 2011 were determined to be those of three European children who experienced malnutrition—suggesting they were very likely Carricks victims. Parks Canada will be using ground-penetrating radar in a search for additional remains. (This famous Canadian shipwreck finally floats again.)
Article:
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It began with a ghoulish discovery on Quebec's Gaspé coast. A construction entrepreneur carrying out survey work came across some scattered bones near the wind-battered shoreline.
Authorities were alerted, then the intrigue began. The bones set off on a course that took them from the police to a coroner then finally to their current resting spot, a Montreal forensics lab. And that is where scientists are to undertake a tantalizing probe that could answer a historical mystery: Are the bones linked to a 19th-century maritime tragedy?
The remains were found in May on Cap-des-Rosiers, site of an 1847 wreck that took the lives of a shipload of men, women and children fleeing famine and destitution in Ireland.
Accounts have recorded the fate of the doomed ship, the Carricks, and its victims' burial in a grave close by. But archeologists say the location has never been pinpointed precisely.
The prospect of unlocking the secret of the bones' past has roiled emotions among descendants of the wreck's survivors, some of whom still live only a short drive from where their ancestors first came ashore.
The Carricks left Sligo, Ireland, with almost 200 passengers and crew, completing the transatlantic voyage before foundering off Cap-des-Rosiers. Accounts vary, but most report the deaths of as many as 120 passengers. The dead - weakened by cold, hunger and exhaustion - were said to be strewn along the beach the following day, then buried, anonymously, in a common grave nearby.
"For a whole day two oxcarts carried the dead to deep trenches near the scene of the disaster," author Margaret Grant MacWhirter wrote in a book on the Gaspé published in 1919. "In fall, the heavy storms sweep within sound of the spot. Thus peacefully, with the requiem of the waves and winds they rest."
A half-century after the disaster, the parish of St. Patrick's in Montreal erected a stone marker at Cap-des-Rosiers to the victims whose bodies were recovered and interred. "Sacred to the memory of 187 Irish immigrants from Sligo … 87 are buried here," its inscription reads.
The bones that surfaced in May were found near the monument, said Michel Queenton, a manager with Parks Canada - Cap-des-Rosiers lies within Forillon National Park. The coastline has been affected by erosion and heavy tides, the forces that exposed the human remains.
However, a Parks Canada archeologist says the precise spot of the Carricks burial ground was never documented, and it's not known if it lies at the monument site. Some accounts say the bodies were interred further up the coast in a church cemetery.
Seeking answers, Parks Canada transferred the bones to the Sûreté du Québec, which concluded the discovery wasn't a criminal matter and the bones were likely from the common grave, according to a police spokesman. The case was referred to coroner Gabriel Jean, who found sufficient grounds to order an investigation and forwarded the bones for analysis to Quebec's Laboratoire de sciences judiciaires et de médecine légale in Montreal.
The coroner believes the bones, while not making up complete skeletons, are those of four or five people in all, including at least two adults and one child.
"There is a strong probability the bones come from the communal grave," said Geneviève Guilbault, a spokeswoman for the coroner's office. "We want to be sure it's the case."
That prospect has stirred up the ghosts of history for those touched near and far by the tragedy. Georges Kavanagh grew up within walking distance of the monument to the Carricks, and for him it has always been hallowed ground. His ancestors, Patrick Kavanagh and Sarah McDonald, came to the same shores aboard the Carricks (also referred to sometimes as the Carrick, or Carricks of Whitehaven). They survived the harrowing transatlantic voyage with their 12-year-old son, but five daughters perished.
Georges Kavanagh, a unilingual francophone today, feels a strong pull to the story of his Irish forebears, and he travelled to Sligo last year to connect with his roots. He says local oral history always placed the Carricks grave next to the monument, and if the bones prove to be those of the wreck's victims, they deserve a proper burial.
"I consider that to be something of a sacred site," the 71-year-old said from his home in Gaspé, about 50 kilometres from the monument, which he visits regularly. "To think that so many perished in a shipwreck just a few steps from their promised land. I have great admiration for what they tried to do, leaving everything behind for the hope of better living conditions."
The Carricks was one of hundreds of migrant ships bound for the port of Quebec City in 1847, the darkest year of the famine in Ireland. The voyage required a stop at the quarantine station of Grosse-Île, where many refugees met their deaths from disease. Nearly 400 ships sailed that year toward Quebec, the main immigrant gateway into Canada, filled overwhelmingly with Irish passengers. One in five never made it.
The mystery at Cap-des-Rosiers seems to have the makings for an episode of the TV series Bones. And in fact the case could fall into the hands of Kathy Reichs, the author and real-life forensic anthropologist who inspired the Fox show. She works as a consultant at the Montreal forensics lab.
The lab declined a request for an interview about the Cap-des-Rosiers case. But Mark Skinner, a forensic anthropologist and forensic archeologist at Simon Fraser University, said scientists studying the remains could seek out their secrets through methods such as DNA testing or isotopic analysis that could yield clues about diet; that would help determine whether the dead were local residents or from another country such as Ireland.
"The bones should be allowed to speak, they should be allowed to tell us what they can," Prof. Skinner said.
"These people won't live again, but their story can be told. And this story is huge. It's very touching and tragic. It would be nice to at least honour them this way, so their obscure lives are not so obscure, and their lives matter. These people mattered then," he said, "and they have a story to tell now."
Thousands of Irish immigrants died on their way to Canada
While the provenance of the bones at Cap-des-Rosiers is still not yet proven, what is known is what brought the ship, the Carricks, to its shores.
The Irish began leaving their homeland in large numbers in the 1820s, driven by poverty and chronic food shortages. But it took the Great Famine of the 1840s, brought on by the failure of the staple potato crop, to spark the large-scale migrations of 1847.
The disaster drove 1.5 to two million Irish out of Ireland, hundreds of thousands of them to British North America. The years of famine were catastrophic. More than a million in Ireland died of starvation and disease. In less than a decade, the country's population of eight million shrank by a quarter.
In 1847 alone, about 100,000 migrants left Europe for Quebec City - the main port of entry into Canada - most of them of Irish origin. Already debilitated by hunger, the refugees were loaded into dank, unsanitary sailboats, often called coffin ships, where they were vulnerable to diseases such as typhus and dysentery. Of 100,000 people sailing to Quebec City, 5,000 died at sea. Another 5,400 were buried on Grosse-Île, the rocky island in the St. Lawrence River downstream from Quebec City that served as a quarantine station.
Those who didn't succumb to disease faced the terrifying perils of maritime travel. The wreck of the Carricks off the Gaspé coast in 1847 was summarily recorded in the British magazine John Bull at the time: "The vessel encountered a strong gale … and was driven, about two o'clock the next morning, on a dangerous shoal about sixty miles east of [Cap-des-Rosiers] and went to pieces in the course of two hours." The same article then went on to note the wrecks of two other Irish "emigrant ships," with their tragic loss of life - all of it breezily summed up in a single paragraph.
Report Typo/Error ||||| Human remains found last week in Quebec's Gaspe region might be those of Irish immigrants fleeing the potato famine who died in an 1847 shipwreck, Parks Canada said Wednesday.
Archaeologists found bones and skeletons of at least eight individuals — likely five adults and three children — near Cap-des-Rosiers, Que. in late July.
Parks Canada archaeologist Martin Perron said that although the remains need to be analyzed before drawing conclusions, all available evidence suggests they belong to victims from the Carricks of Whitehaven, an Irish ship that sank during a storm off the Gaspe coast while on its way to Quebec City almost 170 years ago.
Perron said the bones appear to be quite ancient, and were likely hurriedly and haphazardly placed together in a shallow trench.
The July discovery follows another one nearby in 2011, later determined to have been the remains of three European children who were also likely aboard the ship, he said.
"All these elements point towards a mass grave that is quite ancient, which could be linked to the Carricks shipwreck,'' Perron said.
The Carricks was one of many ships that carried the hundreds of thousands of Irish immigrants who came to Canada fleeing poverty and starvation in 1847-48.
Historians believe more than 80 of the almost 200 people aboard the Carricks died.
Quebec filmmaker Viveka Melki, who is working on a documentary about the wreck, believes the bones found by Parks Canada belong to the Carricks victims.
As part of her research, Melki said she discovered an obituary for a priest that tells the story of a mass grave dug on the beach and a shore strewn with bodies.
She said the discovery of the bones last month was an emotional one.
"It's not been easy for us or for the descendants (interviewed) in the film to even suppose that this might be the grave,'' Melki said.
Parks Canada has set up a security perimeter and will continue to probe the site, using ground-penetrating radar next week to look for anomalies in the soil that might suggest other graves.
Perron said analysis of the remains could teach researchers about how the dead were buried, their state of health, and possibly even their identities.
"There's a way to give a second life to these bodies and make them talk, thanks to the different analyses that can be done,'' he said.
Archaeologists continue to dig and analyze human bones and articulated skeletons found near a monument for the victims of the 1847 shipwreck. (Parks Canada) In 2011, bones were found on a Cap-des-Rosiers beach a few hundred metres away from the grave.
A coroner concluded they belonged to three young Europeans who suffered from malnutrition, potentially linked to the Maritime tragedy. ||||| The human bones arrived in a cardboard box and the investigators scrutinized them one by one: About a dozen long bones, more than 25 vertebrae, pieces of a jawbone.
Laid out on a long, rectangular table, the remains held a tale of human tragedy. The investigators – anthropologists working for Parks Canada – began to piece that tale together, helping bring some resolution to a mystery that straddles time and two continents.
Canada has determined the historic Franklin Expedition shipwreck discovered in the Arctic last month is in fact the HMS Erebus. CBC7GC England, London, Greenwich, National Maritime Museum Video Video: Franklin wreck: See new photos from the HMS Erebus discovery
The bones have found an identity – at least, as close to one as they will ever get.
The partial skeletons were discovered near the surface of a stony beach on Quebec’s Gaspé peninsula three years ago. Now, officials have determined they are those of three children from Europe who showed signs of malnutrition. They believe they were almost certainly Irish migrants who died in a 19th-century shipwreck in Canadian waters as they fled poverty in search of a better life.
“They are witnesses to a tragic event,” said Pierre Cloutier, an archeologist at Parks Canada. “You can’t have a more tangible witness to tragedy than human remains.”
The findings are poignant for Georges Kavanagh, a resident of Gaspé who traces his ancestors to some of the victims and survivors of the shipwreck. He has been carefully following the story of the bones since they were found. He wants to ensure they get a proper reburial.
“I have a link to these people – I almost consider them my family,” Mr. Kavanagh said. “Who wouldn’t want their ancestors to get a peaceful rest?”
The quest to trace the origins of the bones began in 2011.
A passerby discovered the remains on the shoreline of Cap-des-Rosiers, within the boundaries of the Forillon National Park, 700 kilometres northeast of Quebec City. Erosion had exposed them to the elements and disturbed the resting place of three children who likely had little rest in their short lives.
Officials believe the three were probably victims of the wreck of the Carricks, one of the many “coffin ships” that crossed the Atlantic carrying Irish migrants fleeing famine in their homeland. The Carricks was heading to Quebec City, but foundered in a violent storm off Cap-des-Rosiers in 1847.
Reports of the death toll vary, but about 100 bodies washed ashore after the storm and were buried in a mass grave; survivors were taken in by local families. Montreal’s St. Patrick’s parish later erected a stone marker at the site commemorating the tragedy, which stands only 40 yards from where the children’s skeletal remains were found.
Parks Canada sent the bones for analysis to Quebec’s forensics lab in Montreal, then they were taken to the University of Montreal, where anthropologist Isabelle Ribot and graduate student Rémi Toupin began to examine them in detective-like detail.
The length of the bones and other clues indicated the victims were children – two aged between 7 and 9, the other 11 or 12. A curve in one bone pointed to malnutrition consistent with rickets, a condition caused by vitamin D deficiency.
Mr. Toupin scraped off a bit of tooth enamel for a chemical analysis. The results point to a plant-based diet found in Europe that could have included potatoes, a staple in Ireland before the catastrophic blight caused a famine that killed swaths of the population and sent legions into exile.
A clue found on the site offered a glimpse of the victims’ history: An unvarnished, nickel-sized, dark-brown wooden button. It was traced to 19th-century Europe.
“In archeology, we are there to protect memory … and give people an identity and say who they were,” Mr. Toupin said. “We can’t always reach absolute conclusions, but it’s always our goal to go as far as possible in identifying people.”
It would take carbon dating and DNA testing to be sure the victims were aboard the Carricks. Parks Canada, however, says it will not take the analysis any further.
The Carricks was among hundreds of migrant ships bound for the port of Quebec City in 1847, the darkest year of the famine in Ireland. The voyage was perilous for the desperate travellers, who were often weakened by hunger and disease. Nearly 5,300 of those fleeing died on their way to Canada.
The bones from Cap-des-Rosiers are to be repatriated to the Gaspé for reburial next year. Mr. Kavanagh would like to find the precise spot of the common grave and move it, if need be, to prevent other human remains from being disturbed by erosion.
“I want them to be placed in a spot,” Mr. Kavanagh said from his home, “where they can remain for centuries and centuries.”
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ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida treasure hunters found a trove of $4.5 million worth of Spanish gold coins 300 years to the day after a fleet of ships sank in a hurricane en route from Havana to Spain, the salvage owner said Wednesday.
The 350 coins found on July 30 include nine rare pieces, known as royal eight escudos, which were being transported to the king of Spain, according to Brent Brisben. His company, 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels, owns the rights to the wreckage.
Only 20 such coins were known to exist prior to the recovery of the nine royals, Brisben said.
“The gold looks like it fell into the water yesterday,” said William Bartlett, 51, the diver who spotted the haul.
Bartlett was part of a three-man crew aboard Brisben’s boat S/V Capitana when it found coins in shallow water off Vero Beach, Florida. The search site was picked because it was close to a previous discovery.
On the same day in 1715, a hurricane tossed 11 treasure-laden Spanish galleons onto reefs off Florida’s east coast, sinking them in the early hours the following morning. Today, the wreckage is scattered over a wide area.
The coins found by Bartlett are part of the now-scattered treasure transported by the galleons, which have since broken up.
Bartlett said the crew used the boat propeller to blow a hole in the sandy ocean floor to reach bedrock 8 feet (2.4 meters) down. The salvage operation lasted five days.
Like many Florida treasure hunters, Bartlett, a Pompano Beach kitchen and bathroom remodeler, dives as a hobby.
He said he did not hunt treasure for the money, and declined to say how much he would receive under contract with 1715 Fleet-Queens Jewels.
“I’m just a guy on a boat living the dream,” Bartlett said.
Hunters like Bartlett typically work under contract with the company, which grants them a percentage of their find after the state of Florida exercises its right to 20 percent of the haul.
The company acquired legal custodianship of the sunken fleet from the heirs of world-renowned treasure hunter Mel Fisher. ||||| On July 30-31 off the coast of Vero Beach, Brent Brisben, captain of the S/V Capitana, and his crew recovered 350 gold coins. Nine of the coins found are known as Royals and valued at $300,000 apiece. Video by TBS/TBS-Vision. 8/19/2015
Crew finds 350 gold coins in shallow water off Vero Beach.
On July 30 and 31 off the coast of Vero Beach, Brent Brisben and his S/V Capitana crew recovered 350 gold coins worth $4.5 million. Nine of the coins found are valued at $300,000 apiece; these were specially made for the king of Spain, Phillip V. (Photo: 1715 FLEET — QUEENS JEWELS LLC) Story Highlights The 1715 Fleet is one of the most significant maritime tragedies in history.
11 ships left Havana, Cuba, on July 24, 1715 and were shipwrecked a week later.
The coins were discovered in shallow waters.
It's been quite a summer for treasure hunting in Florida.
Less than a month after the Schmitt family of Sanford announced their $1 million sunken treasure find, Brent Brisben announced his $4.5 million discovery.
On July 30 and 31 off the coast of Vero Beach, Brisben, who is captain of the S/V Capitana, and his crew recovered 350 gold coins. Nine of the coins found are known as Royals and valued at $300,000 apiece; these were specially made for the king of Spain, Phillip V, in the early 1700s.
"People love treasure stories. It resonates with everybody — every demographic, young and old, rich and poor," Brisben said. "People freak out that we're literally 10-15 feet off the beach in 2-3 feet of water."
The treasure finds have significant meaning because July 30, 2015, marked the 300th anniversary of the 1715 Fleet shipwreck. On July 24, 1715, eleven ships traveled from Havana to Spain to deliver "the queen's jewels" — at least $400 million worth of jewelry and gold. All was lost at sea, however, when a hurricane hit July 31, 1715.
More than 1,000 people died in the maritime tragedy.
Story continues below:
Brisben is owner of 1715 Fleet — Queens Jewels LLC, which has exclusive salvage rights to the 1715 Fleet shipwreck. The Schmitt family are subcontractors for Brisben. On June 17 — Hillary Scmitt's 22nd birthday — the family found $1 million in treasure in shallow waters off Fort Pierce.
This year's treasure-hunting season, May through September, has produced quite the booty.
"For a treasure diver such as myself, a find like this is the equivalent of winning an Olympic gold medal," said William Bartlett in an email to FLORIDA TODAY. Bartlett is the diver who recovered the coins from the bottom of the ocean. "This is what we (treasure hunters of the 1715 Fleet) all come here to do. For four months out of the year we eat, sleep and live treasure. When we're not actually treasure hunting, we're usually talking about treasure hunting. We hang out with other treasure hunters."
Brisben appeared on "CBS This Morning" with Charlie Rose on Wednesday to talk about his treasure adventures.
"It's been magical," Brisben said. "What's amazing about this is we found it on the actual anniversary. We found over 230 gold coins on the 30th, and the hurricane started on the evening of the 30th (in 1715)."
The crew picked up 75 more gold coins the next day. "It's crazy, honestly," he said.
It is illegal for anyone to enter the waters without a permit from his organization, Brisben noted. The 1715 Fleet wrecks typically produce the most artifacts on an annual basis.
The gold belongs to the U.S. District Court of Florida. In the case of the Schmitt family's find, the state will keep 20 percent of it, and the rest will be split among Brisben and the Schmitts. The same process applies to the latest find. The state will assess the treasure, then Brisben and his crew will divvy up the remaining 80 percent.
The S/V Capitana crew includes Jonah Martinez, co-captain, who picked the dive site where the artifacts were found; Bartlett; and Dan Beckingham.
"Things happen in strange occurrences. There are energies involved in the shipwreck. If you were going to ask me five, six years ago when I first got into this, I would have never believed," said Brisben. "It's been a magical anniversary year. It's a tragedy that continues to tell its story every year."
A news media conference is set for Thursday at Capt. Hiram's in Sebastian.
Contact Sangalang at 321-242-3630 or [email protected]. Twitter: @byjensangalang
MORE: Florida Today Brevard County news
Read or Share this story: http://on.flatoday.com/1NEA8kD ||||| Exactly 300 years to the day after a hurricane destroyed 11 Spanish ships off the coast of Florida, a salvage company made an incredible discovery worth $4.5 million.
Brent Brisben, 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels CEO, said the July 30 find was "magical" and "surreal."
"Not only to have these incredible artifacts come up with their great value, but to have it actually happen on the 300th anniversary is really something I can't articulate," Brisben said Wednesday on "CBS This Morning."
Brisben's team recovered 350 sunken gold coins including nine Royals, artifacts he said haven't been found since 1998.
Florida family of explorers discovers treasure from 1715 shipwreck
"These Royals are perfect specimens of coinage of the time and they were made on royal order for the king of Spain to be mostly given out as [a] presentation piece," Brisben said.
The story begins in the 18th century. Eleven Spanish ships were destroyed in a hurricane off the coast of Florida as they saileds from Cuba to Spain. The Royals discovered, valued at $300,000 each, were made for the King of Spain, Phillip V.
Treasures from the wreck were first identified nearly 250 years later by Kip Wagner, a man who later formed a salvage team to search for the shipwrecks.
Brisben and his team - Jonah Martinez, Bill Bartlett and Dan Beckingham - made their discovery in just six feet of water, something Brisben said is not so uncommon for these types of treasure hunts.
"We work extremely close to shore, which is surprising to most people," he said. "These shipwrecks were pushed by the hurricane into the outer edge of the reef and then they were utterly destroyed by the wave action, so pieces of these ships have floated for miles all the way into the beach up into the dunes."
For beachgoers who stumble upon treasure, it's "finder's keepers," Brisben said, but out in the water, the only legal way to uncover history is through his organization.
Brisben's company currently owns the exclusive salvage rights to the remains of the 1715 shipwrecks and serves as custodian for the U.S District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
"At the end of the year, the state of Florida will come and review what we found, assert an interest into certain artifacts for purposes of displaying in their museum," Brisben said. "And once we work that deal out, the federal court adjudicates legal title to either my organization or the state of Florida."
Dan Beckingham, left, Jonah Martinez, William Bartlett and Brent Brisben 1715 Fleet - Queens Jewels, LLC
And for eager treasure-hunting enthusiasts, Brisben is happy to let them give it a shot.
"I'm inundated, particularly after a story like this with people wanting to do it and so we vet them, but yeah, I try to give people the opportunity to live the dream," Brisben said.
Other treasures have been found recently. Earlier this summer, the Schmitt family, a subcontractor of Brisben's company, discovered $1 million worth of artifacts.
Since 2010, Brisben said he and his company have found close to $6.5 million worth of artifacts and estimates there is another $400 million waiting to be discovered. |||||
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– Three-hundred years to the day after a hurricane sank 11 treasure-laden ships off the Florida coast, treasure hunters found 350 gold coins worth an estimated $4.5 million, Florida Today reports. Brent Brisben, captain of the salvage ship that found the sunken treasure, tells CBS News the timing was "magical" and "surreal." A lot more people might call it lucky. Brisben and his crew found the booty July 30 and July 31 off the coast of Vero Beach in just six feet of water. "People freak out that we're literally 10 to 15 feet of the beach," Brisben tells the Florida newspaper. The state will claim 20% of the treasure's value, leaving Brisben and his crew to divide up the remaining millions. The New York Post reports Brisben's find has some extra historic value, as it includes nine coins known as Royals, which were made for the king of Spain and are worth about $300,000 each. Only 20 Royals were previously known to exist, and CBS reports it's been 17 years since any were found. It's been a big year for Florida treasure hunters; in June a family contracting for Brisben found $1 million worth. But there's some bad news for all of us planning on quitting our jobs to take up treasure hunting: Brisben owns exclusive salvage rights to the shipwreck site.
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A file of correspondence and papers accumulated by Alan Turing in relation to his work in the University's Computing Machine Laboratory. The material dates from March 1949 until just before Turing's death in June 1954. It is assumed to comprise an important segment of his 'official' correspondence during this period, although it is unlikely to constitute the entirety of his CML correspondence.
The letters sent to Turing include comments on his published articles, and in some cases, unpublished research, as well as requests to lecture, attend conferences, supply drafts or offprints of his articles, and generally give advice. A number of letters are requests to view or use the Mark I/Ferranti Mark I computers, which were Turing's administrative responsibility as deputy director of the CML.
In a few cases, there is extended correspondence between Turing and some individuals about particular issues; for example, William Boone, an American academic, who was reviewing Turing's article "The word problem in semigroups with cancellation" and Barbara Worsley, a Canadian student, who had studied with Turing in the UK and later continued her research at the University of Toronto. Some of Turing's more well-known peers and associates are also represented including: SP Frankel, Maurice Wilkes, Christopher Strachey, Robin Gandy, Vivian Bowden, JBS Haldane, Gilbert Ryle, Alonzo Church, Oskar Morgenstern, Sir Eric Jones, and HSM Coxeter. There is very little in the way of personal correspondence, and no letters from Turing family members. The correspondence includes discussion primarily of Turing's research on chemical morphogenesis in plants, but also his articles on "The word problem in semigroups with cancellation', "Some calculations of the Riemann Zeta-function", "Computing machinery and intelligence" and two "popular" essays on "Digital computers applied to games" [although parts of this essay were written by others], and "Solvable and unsolvable problems".
Turing's copy letters in this file are almost entirely type-written, and mainly addressed from the Computing Machine Laboratory. They are not usually initialled, and it is assumed most were dictated by Turing to his secretary Miss S J Wagstaff. In a few cases, Turing has annotated letters with marginal comments etc. ||||| After not seeing the light of day for at least 30 years, a unique collection of letters by famous mathematician Alan Turing has been found in a storage space at his old university.
Wrapped in a plain paper folder and tucked at the back of an old filing cabinet, the 148 never-before seen documents include a letter from the UK's intelligence services, and another letter in which Turing remarks "I detest America."
Alan Turing was one of the pioneers of modern computer science, and a machine he built during the World War II enabled the decryption of Germany's Enigma code, eventually shortening the war.
In 1949 he became deputy director of the computing lab at the University of Manchester, and earlier this year the university staff accidentally stumbled upon a whole heap of Turing's correspondence while cleaning out a storage room.
"When I first found it I initially thought, 'that can't be what I think it is', but a quick inspection showed it was," says computer engineer Jim Miles from the university's School of Computer Science.
"I was astonished such a thing had remained hidden out of sight for so long. No one who now works in the School or at the university knew they even existed."
The university's archivists immediately set to work to sort through these documents, cataloguing and storing them for posterity, and have now published the entire archive online for readers to peruse.
The file contained both correspondence and other materials dating from early 1949 up to Turing's untimely death in June 1954. It was mostly 'work stuff' you would expect a busy academic to have piling up on his desk.
Unfortunately we can't expect to learn much about his wartime work on the code-breaking machine, since the Enigma efforts were still top secret at the time, although there is one letter from the then-director of Britain's secret GCHQ organisation.
These are also not the sort of letters you can expect to reveal much in the way of Turing's private life, including the widely-publicised 1952 conviction of indecency because of his relationship with another man.
"There is very little in the way of personal correspondence, and no letters from Turing family members," says archivist James Peters who sorted the documents.
"But this still gives us an extremely interesting account and insight into his working practices and academic life whilst he was at the University of Manchester."
There are letters from fellow academics and students, commenting on Turing's work, discussing computing and mathematics problems, and even requesting advice. There are also numerous invitations to give guest lectures and attend conferences.
To one such invitation by physicist Donald Mackay from King's College London, who inquired whether Turing would be going to a 1953 cybernetics conference in the US, Turing simply replied that the meeting held appeal but he did not want to travel there.
"I would not like the journey, and I detest America," he wrote.
Overall, historians are thrilled to have dug up this unique collection, entirely by accident. Despite his massive contribution to the fields of mathematics and computation, there is extremely scarce archival material on Turing's life, especially the later years.
"As there is so little actual archive on this period of his life, this is a very important find in that context," says Peters.
"There really is nothing else like it."
You can browse this archival treasure trove by visiting the university's archive here. ||||| Turing worked at the University of Manchester from 1948, first as a Reader in the mathematics department and later as the Deputy Director of the Computing Laboratory. These jobs followed his pivotal work with the Government Code and Cypher School during the Second World War. At Bletchley Park, he spearheaded a team of cryptographers that helped the Allies to unravel various Nazi messages, including those protected by the Enigma code. The newly discovered documents date from early 1949 until his death in June 1954. At this time, Turing's work on Enigma was still a secret, which is why it's rarely mentioned in the correspondence.
None of the letters contain pivotal or previously unknown information about Turing. They do provide detail, however, about his life at Manchester and how he worked at the university. They also shed light on his personality — responding to a conference invitation in the US, he said: "I would not like the journey, and I detest America." The documents also reference his work on morphogenesis -- the study of biological life and why it takes a particular form -- computing and mathematics. "I was astonished such a thing had remained hidden out of sight for so long," Miles said.
All of the letters have now been sorted and stored by archivist James Peters at the university's library. "This is a truly unique find," Peters said. "Archive material relating to Turing is extremely scarce, so having some of his academic correspondence is a welcome and important addition to our collection." You can now search for and view all 148 documents online.
None of the correspondence references his personal life. Turing was arrested in 1952 for homosexual acts and chose chemical castration over time in prison. In 1954, he died through cyanide poisoning, which an inquest later determined as suicide. The British government officially apologised for his treatment in 2009, before a posthumous pardon was granted in 2013. Last October, the UK government introduced the "Alan Turing Law," awarding posthumous pardons to thousands of gay and bisexual men previously convicted for consensual same-sex relationships. ||||| An English mathematician, logician and cryptographer, Alan Turing was responsible for breaking the Nazi Enigma code during World War II. His work gave the Allies the edge they needed to win the war in Europe, and led to the creation of the computer. On the PBS NewsHour tonight, Jeffrey Brown interviews Benedict Cumberbatch about his role as Turing in “The Imitation Game.”
Turing took his own life in 1954, two years after being outed as gay. Homosexuality was still a crime in Great Britain at the time, and Turing was convicted of “indecency.” He died from eating an apple laced with cyanide. He was only 41 years old.
At the time of his death, the public had no idea what he had contributed to the war effort. Sixty years later, Queen Elizabeth II officially pardoned Turing.
Andrew Hodges, a mathematician at the Mathematical Institute at Oxford University, wrote the biography “Alan Turing: The Enigma”, which inspired the film. We spoke with Hodges this week about some things many people don’t know about Turing.
1. He was an Olympic-level runner
He participated in a few sports, such as rowing, but he loved running. Turing had “a bit of a �?smelly trainers’ aspect” to his personality,” Hodges said. To work it into his day, he often ran to the places he needed to go. He used to run the 10 miles between the two places where he did most of his work, the National Physical Laboratory and the electronics building on Dollis Hill, beating colleagues who took public transportation to the office.
He joined running clubs, becoming a competitive amateur and winning several races. In 1948, his best marathon time was 2 hours 46 minutes 3 seconds — only 11 minutes slower than the Olympic winning time that year.
When one of his running club members asked why he trained so vehemently, he replied, “I have such a stressful job that the only way I can get it out of my mind is by running hard.”
2. He embodied some values of the Hippie movement
“He was a hippie before his time,” Hodges said. “He was very casual in those days, and thought very scruffy.” Had he lived a few decades later, he would have worn t-shirts and jeans every day, Hodges added.
It wasn’t uncommon to see Turing dressed rather shabbily, with bitten nails and without a tie, he said. With his youthful face, he was often mistaken for an undergraduate even in his 30s.
He also shared the left-leaning views of many of his Kings College compatriots, who included economists John Maynard Keynes and Arthur Cecil Pigou. Though Turing joined the Anti-War Movement in 1933, he never got deeply involved in politics. But watching Hitler’s rise to power in the late 1930s scared him, Hodges said, and it spurred his interest in cryptography, which would later help Great Britain in the war.
3. He got bad grades and frustrated his teachers
Science was a considered a second-class pursuit in English public schools in the 1920s, Hodges said. Turing’s passion for science embarrassed his mother, who had hoped he would study the classics, which was the most acceptable pursuit for gentlemen.
But he got bad to mediocre grades in school, followed by many complaints from his teachers. His English teacher wrote:
“I can forgive his writing, though it is the worst I have ever seen, and I try to view tolerantly his unswerving inexactitude and slipshod, dirty, work, inconsistent though such inexactitude is in a utilitarian; but I cannot forgive the stupidity of his attitude towards sane discussion on the New Testament.”
His math and science grades weren’t much better. He was nearly stopped from taking the national School Certificate exams on the subject, for fear he would fail.
4. The father of the computer also dabbled in physics, biology, chemistry and neurology
Turing’s most notable work today is as a computer scientist. In 1936, he developed the idea for the Universal Turing Machine, the basis for the first computer. And he developed a test for artificial intelligence in 1950, which is still used today.
But he also studied physics, especially as a young man. He read Einstein’s theory of relativity as a teenager, and immediately filled a notebook with his own thoughts and ideas on the subject. He dabbled in quantum mechanics, a new field at the time, as well as biology, chemistry and neurology after the war. Much of this work was related to creating machines that could learn and “think”, but some of it came out of simple curiosity about the world.
5. He developed a new field of biology out of his fascination with daisies
Even as a child, Turing saw life through the eyes of a scientist, Hodges said. There is a famous sketch of Turing as a boy “watching the daisies grow” while the other children play field hockey. That sketch would foreshadow Turing’s ground-breaking work in 1952 on morphogenesis, which became a completely new field of mathematical biology. It was a mathematical explanation of how things grow — a great mystery to science, Hodges explained. His work on the subject has been cited more than 8,000 times.
The subject of one of his seminal papers on the topic was called “Outline of the Development of the Daisy.”
6. He stuttered when talking
It is true that he had a bit of a stammer, something dramatic portrayals of Turing have exaggerated, Hodges said. He “took his time finding the right words,” he explained. In his biography he notes that a BBC radio producer had called Turing a very difficult person to interview for that reason.
7. He didn’t keep his sexuality a secret among friends
The laws at the time prevented Turing from being openly gay, but he never kept his sexuality secret either. He was open with his social circles at Kings College in Cambridge, which was “an oasis of acceptance” at the time, Hodges said. Many people would have clung to that oasis, he said, but Turing branched out to continue his work.
In 1952, he was arrested and charged with “indecency” after a brief relationship with another man. Defiant, he did not deny the charges.
“When he was arrested, the first thing he said was he thought that this shouldn’t be against the law,” Hodges said. “He gave a statement that was unapologetic, that detailed what had happened.”
8. He refused to let a punishment of chemical castration stop him from working
The punishment for homosexuality was chemical castration, a series of hormone injections that left Turing impotent. It also caused gynecomastia, giving him breasts. But Turing refused to let the treatment sway him from his work, keeping up his lively spirit.
“He dealt with it with as much humor and defiance as you could muster,” Hodges said. “To his close friends, it was obvious it was traumatic. But in no way did he just succumb and decline. He really fought back … by insisting on continuing work as if nothing had happened.”
He openly talked about the trial, even in the “macho environment” of the computer lab. He mocked the law’s absurdity. In defiance, he traveled abroad to Norway and the Mediterranean, where the gay rights movements were budding.
Homosexuality was considered a security risk at the time, and the conviction cost Turing his security clearance. That was a harsh blow, and Hodges believes that when he was restricted from leaving the country anymore, it ultimately led Turing to suicide.
“After he’d been revealed as gay in 1952, he couldn’t do any more secret work,” Hodges said. “It would have been hard to accept that he was not trusted.” ||||| Famed mathematician Alan Turing proved in his 1936 paper, "On Computable Numbers," that a universal algorithmic method of determining truth in math cannot exist.
Synopsis Alan Turing was born on June 23, 1912, in London. In his seminal 1936 paper, he proved that there cannot exist any universal algorithmic method of determining truth in mathematics, and that mathematics will always contain undecidable propositions. That paper also introduced the "Turing machine. His papers on the subject are widely acknowledged as the foundation of research in artificial intelligence.
Early Life English scientist Alan Turing was born Alan Mathison Turing on June 23, 1912, in Maida Vale, London, England. At a young age, he displayed signs of high intelligence, which some of his teachers recognized, but did not necessarily respect. When Turing attended the well-known independent Sherborne School at the age of 13, he became particularly interested in math and science. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website After Sherborne, Turing enrolled at King's College (University of Cambridge) in Cambridge, England, studying there from 1931 to 1934. As a result of his dissertation, in which he proved the central limit theorem, Turing was elected a fellow at the school upon his graduation. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website In 1936, Turing delivered a paper, "On Computable Numbers, with an Application to the Entscheidungsproblem," in which he presented the notion of a universal machine (later called the “Universal Turing Machine," and then the "Turing machine") capable of computing anything that is computable: The central concept of the modern computer was based on Turing’s paper. Over the next two years, Turing studied mathematics and cryptology at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. After receiving his Ph.D. from Princeton University in 1938, he returned to Cambridge, and then took a part-time position with the Government Code and Cypher School, a British code-breaking organization.
Cryptanalysis and Early Computers During World War II, Turing was a leading participant in wartime code-breaking, particularly that of German ciphers. He worked at Bletchley Park, the GCCS wartime station, where he made five major advances in the field of cryptanalysis, including specifying the bombe, an electromechanical device used to help decipher German Enigma encrypted signals. Turing’s contributions to the code-breaking process didn’t stop there: He also wrote two papers about mathematical approaches to code-breaking, which became such important assets to the Code and Cypher School (later known as the Government Communications Headquarters) that the GCHQ waited until April 2012 to release them to the National Archives of the United Kingdom. Turing moved to London in the mid-1940s, and began working for the National Physical Laboratory. Among his most notable contributions while working at the facility, Turing led the design work for the Automatic Computing Engine and ultimately created a groundbreaking blueprint for store-program computers. Though a complete version of the ACE was never built, its concept has been used as a model by tech corporations worldwide for several years, influencing the design of the English Electric DEUCE and the American Bendix G-15—credited by many in the tech industry as the world’s first personal computer—among other computer models. Turing went on to hold high-ranking positions in the mathematics department and later the computing laboratory at the University of Manchester in the late 1940s. He first addressed the issue of artificial intelligence in his 1950 paper, "Computing machinery and intelligence," and proposed an experiment known as the “Turing Test”—an effort to create an intelligence design standard for the tech industry. Over the past several decades, the test has significantly influenced debates over artificial intelligence.
Homosexuality, Conviction and Death Homosexuality was illegal in the United Kingdom in the early 1950s, so when Turing admitted to police—who he called to his house after a break-in—in January, 1952, that he had had a sexual relationship with the perpetrator, 19-year-old Arnold Murray, he was charged with gross indecency. Following his arrest, Turing was forced to choose between temporary probation on the condition that he receive hormonal treatment for libido reduction, or imprisonment. He chose the former, and soon underwent chemical castration through injections of a synthetic estrogen hormone for a year, which eventually rendered him impotent. As a result of his conviction, Turing's security clearance was removed and he was barred from continuing his work with cryptography at the GCCS, which had become the GCHQ in 1946. Turing died on June 7, 1954. Following a postmortem exam, it was determined that the cause of death was cyanide poisoning. The remains of an apple were found next to the body, though no apple parts were found in his stomach. The autopsy reported that "four ounces of fluid which smelled strongly of bitter almonds, as does a solution of cyanide" was found in the stomach. Trace smell of bitter almonds was also reported in vital organs. The autopsy concluded that the cause of death was asphyxia due to cyanide poisoning and ruled a suicide. In a June 2012 BBC article, philosophy professor and Turing expert Jack Copeland argued that Turing's death may have been an accident: The apple was never tested for cyanide, nothing in the accounts of Turing's last days suggested he was suicidal and Turing had cyanide in his house for chemical experiments he conducted in his spare room. |||||Summary:
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– Alan Turing hated the United States. That's one nugget revealed in a trove of old letters recently unearthed in a storeroom filing cabinet at the University of Manchester. The Guardian reports the collection of 148 notes, which apparently hadn't seen the light of day in at least three decades, spanned from 1949 until the British mathematician's death in 1954. The letters penned by Turing—who helped helm the university's computing laboratory from 1948 on, after breaking the Nazi Enigma code during World War II—were discovered by one of the college's computer science professors, who said he located them in a nondescript-looking file with the words "Alan Turing" written across it. "I initially thought: 'That can't be what I think it is,'" Jim Miles says, with Engadget adding he at first thought someone had simply reused Turing's folder. The letters don't get much into Turing's personal life: He was convicted in 1952 of "gross indecency" for a homosexual relationship and chemically castrated, and he died of cyanide poisoning in June 1954 in what's widely believed to have been a suicide. Instead, the notes mainly touch on his academic work in math, computing, and artificial intelligence—in other words, "mostly 'work stuff' you would expect a busy academic to have piling up on his desk," per ScienceAlert. As for that slam against the United States: Turing had been asked to speak at a conference there in 1953 and replied, "I would not like the journey, and I detest America," without elaborating on his displeasure. Check out the descriptions of each letter here. (A number of mathematicians have met with awful fates.)
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– The wildfire that has been raging in Colorado for more than a week has now scorched more than 85 square miles of land and destroyed 181 homes, making it the most destructive wildfire in the state's history. The High Park fire has also been blamed for the death of a 62-year-old grandmother whose remains were found in a destroyed mountain cabin. More than 1,600 firefighters are now fighting the blaze but officials say it could take up to four weeks to fully contain it, reports the Wall Street Journal. Several hundred people have been forced to flee the fire zone in the north of the state, although some whose homes have been destroyed have been allowed back to survey the damage. Even those who lost their homes are showing remarkable good grace, a county sheriff tells the Denver Post. "The first thing they do is thank the firefighters," he says. The National Guard has deployed troops around the burn area to prevent looting, and one man with "phony firefighter credentials" has been arrested for felony theft and impersonating a fire official, police say.
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Enlarge Image Close European Pressphoto Agency The High Park Fire burns earlier this week in the Roosevelt National Forest west of Fort Collins, Colo.
DENVER—Crews in northern Colorado braced for powerful fire-fanning winds as they battled a blaze that has scorched about 85 square miles of mountainous forest land and destroyed at least 181 homes, the most in state history.
The destructiveness of the High Park Fire, burning 15 miles west of Fort Collins, surpassed the Fourmile Canyon wildfire, which destroyed 169 homes west of Boulder in September 2010.
More than 1,630 personnel worked on the fire Saturday, officials said in a late-night news release. The figure represents an increase of more than 100 firefighters from a day earlier.
The lightning-caused blaze, which is believed to have killed a 62-year-old woman whose body was found in her cabin, was reported June 9 and has since raced through large swaths of private and U.S. Forest Service land.
It was 45% contained late Saturday. Firefighters said it could take two to four weeks to fully contain the fire.
Crews faced difficult conditions Sunday with wind gusts expected to hit 50 mph along ridge tops and in Poudre Canyon and temperatures in the 90-degree range.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who oversees the Forest Service, met with fire managers in Fort Collins on Saturday and said "fighting this fire is going to require us to be aggressive, persistent and also patient.
"We're going to continue to work to make our forests more resilient. We're going to continue to ensure that adequate resources are provided for fighting fires and we are going to continue to make sure that we encourage appropriate stewardship of our forests," he said.
Mr. Vilsack praised Congress for allowing the government to contract additional aircraft—particularly heavy tankers—to fight wildfires across the West. But he called on lawmakers for budget certainty to help plan for future fires.
Meanwhile in New Mexico, questions were being raised about whether bureaucratic red tape prevented firefighters from saving more homes affected by the Little Bear Fire after federal officials released transcripts of the firefighters' response.
Congressman Steve Pearce said Friday in a television interview that he believed federal officials could have done more after lightning sparked the fire outside the resort town of Ruidoso on June 4. Days later, high winds sent embers more than a mile from the blaze's end, causing the inferno to grow.
But officials released transcripts of the response on the Lincoln National Forest website that suggested firefighters were attacking the blaze as soon as it was a quarter of an acre.
The fire has destroyed 242 homes and commercial structures. It had burned 59 square miles and was 60% contained as of Saturday night.
In Arizona, a blaze in the Tonto National Forest that doubled in size to 3,100 acres. Officials said Saturday night that the fire was 15% contained and firefighters continued to battle unseasonably dry fuels, high temperatures and low humidity. ||||| A truck drives through Laporte as the High Park Fire burns west of Fort Collins on Sunday, June 17, 2012. ( AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post )
Wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour have been screaming across the High Park fire forcing helicopters that have been helping to fight the blaze west of Fort Collins to stay on the ground, and prompting a number of new evacuations.
The choppers — 18 are fighting the fire — are down until further notice.
Winds are blowing at 30 to 50 mph across the blaze which has consumed 56,480 acres as of Sunday evening.
Crews are working to re-calculate that estimate as they expect the acres burned to have increased, but fire information officer Brett Haberstick, said the fire growth is thought to be within the perimeter fire crews had already set up.
In a precautionary move, residents of the Hewlett Gulch subdivision were told to evacuate their homes this afternoon, said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Kristy Wumkes.
"We didn't want anyone getting stuck in there," she said.
Though residents of some areas evacuated last week have been allowed to return to their homes, some new evacuations are putting them on alert again, and others have remained in effect much longer.
The newest mandatory evacuations include 331 homes in Soldier Canyon and Mill Canyon. Pre-evacuation orders were sent to 473 homes in the Shoreline Road area south of Lory State Park.
Sunday evening, as dusk fell on Fort Collins, the air south of Horsetooth Reservoir was thicker with smoke than it had been in a week, as white plumes again billowed over the western horizon and turned the sun blood red.
And for the second time in a week Darlene Little was fleeing the fire with her Subaru loaded with children and other treasures.
"Is it ever going to end," she said of the fire and the worry.
Her home was put on alert for residents to be able to evacuate in the two hours' notice, but she was headed to her parents' home in Loveland with her daughters, ages 6 and 8.
"I"m not going to pull them out of bed in the middle of the night again," she said. "It's all traumatizing enough."
Despite winds Sunday afternoon, Wumkes said early in the day she hasn't heard anything new on the fire's movement.
"It sure is smoky in Fort Collins right now," Wumkes said.
The increased fire activity prompted emergency workers to move the Highway 14 road block from Gateway Park back to Ted's Place, with access to Poudre Canyon from the roadblock limited to fire personnel only.
The fire is 45 percent contained, and while rumors of looting have circulated, there has been no evidence of that, said Larimer County Sheriff Justin Smith.
A man was arrested after firefighters found him driving a vehicle bearing unauthorized government plates within the fire area.
Michael Maher, 30, has been charged with obstructing fire and police operations, displaying government plates, impersonating a fireman and police official.
Maher was spotted in the fire zone Saturday night driving a silver Toyota Tacoma with a government license plate.
The vehicle was later spotted in Laporte and deputies found Maher at a bar in the town. Deputies found stolen property and a firearm in the vehicle and the plate was stolen from the Glenwood Springs area
"If anyone is sneaking around there, we are going to find them," Smith said. Maher has an arrest record that includes driving under suspension, driving under the influence, and domestic violence, with all the offenses recorded in Eagle County.
Firefighters head to the Cache La Poudre Canyon by Glacier Meadows on Saturday. (Hyoung Chang, The Denver Post)
The fire has destroyed 181 homes, making it the most destructive fire in Colorado history.
Still, firefighters have protected 529 residences, said Bill Hahnenberg, incident commander for the High Park fire. "That is a success story on the part of these folks that are working hard out there."
Today fire spotting has been reported in Lawrence creek, Redstone canyon, and Horsetooth mountain, possibly threatening communication towers.
Firefighters have built a line around a spot fire that is roughly 200 acres on the north side of Poudre Canyon near Steven's Gulch. The fire is located in steep terrain and timber and difficult to access by ground.
"We don't want fire to get started on this side of the river and become a threat to the Glacier View subdivision," Hahnenberg said.
Firefighters have accomplished most of the containment along the fire's southern flank. The most dangerous portions of the blaze continue to be on the southwest and northwest flanks.
In addition to the winds, temperatures today soared to a record high of 98 degrees with low humidity, creating conditions that could spread the fire.
"We expect the southwest to continue to be problematic, primarily because of the weather change around noon. The fire could become a real threat south of Buckhorn Road," said Hahnenberg.
On the plus side, the blaze has moved somewhat to the west taking it to an area of meadow where there is less dry timber and other fuels to consume, he said.
Firefighters are "pretty confident," that even with the wind, lines they have built will hold, Hahnenberg said. "But there are conditions that sometimes we can't overcome," he said.
More than 1,600 firefighters are now working the blaze.
Smith said even when people are informed that their homes have burned they are showing remarkable grace. "The first thing they do is thank the fire fighters," Smith said.
Emergency workers have been doing a "windshield assessment" to count burned homes, recording some structures that though burned, may not have been homes, Smith said.
A more accurate assessment will begin Tuesday, he said.
Monday morning fire evacuees may pick up "disaster cleanup recovery kits" — that include sifters, shovels, rakes, work gloves, masks, and trash bags among other cleaning supplies — at the Johnson Hall on the Colorado State University campus where the Red Cross has set up a resource and distribution center.
The center will be open open 7 a.m. through 7 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. through 3 p.m. on weekends. |||||
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Write an article based on this summary:
– The United Airlines passenger dragged off a Louisville-bound flight in a disturbing scene at Chicago's O'Hare Airport on Sunday still hasn't made it back to Kentucky. David Dao, a 69-year-old doctor who appeared bloody and disoriented after the incident, told WLKY Tuesday that he is recovering in a Chicago hospital. When the station asked him what was injured, he said "everything" and added that he is not doing well. A lawyer from a Chicago firm released a statement from Dao's family Tuesday thanking the public for the "outpouring of prayers, concern, and support they have received." The statement says the family is focusing on Dao's treatment and he will not be saying more until he is out of the hospital. In other developments: One of the attorneys Dao has retained is Thomas Demetrio, described by the Chicago Tribune as a "high-powered personal injury lawyer." According to his company's website, his specialities include plane crashes, and he has won more than $1 billion in settlements. CNN reports that the Louisville Courier-Journal is facing a backlash for a story on what it calls Dao's "troubled past," which includes accusations of misconduct and convictions for drug-related felonies. Critics say the doctor's past is irrelevant and accuse the Kentucky paper of trying to help United escape its PR and financial nightmare. The incident, and the social media firestorm it started, caught the attention of lawmakers, the New York Times reports. "The last thing a paying airline passenger should expect is a physical altercation with law enforcement personnel after boarding, especially one that could likely have been avoided," the leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee wrote in a letter to United CEO Oscar Munoz. They have asked the airline to explain what led up to the incident, and the Department of Transportation says it is looking into whether rules on overselling flights were violated. White House press secretary Sean Spicer told reporters Tuesday that he is sure President Trump has seen video of the incident, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Asked how Trump felt, Spicer said it would be hard for anybody to see the video and not think it "could have been handled a little bit better." The AP reports that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Tuesday that the city has launched its own investigation and will make sure nothing like this happens again. He praised the commissioner of the city's Aviation Department, which suspended one of the officers seen removing Dao from his seat, for taking swift action. (The incident is also making waves in China.)
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“Better late than never, but the sentiment certainly rings a bit hollow when it follows two previous failures and 36 hours of intense public pressure,” said Jeremy Robinson-Leon, a principal at the corporate public relations firm Group Gordon. “The back-against-the-wall, through-gritted-teeth apology isn’t generally a winning strategy.”
For United and Mr. Munoz, who just last month was named Communicator of the Year by PR Week, a trade publication, the videos have turned into a crisis. They come on the heels of another incident about two weeks ago in which the airline was forced to defend itself about what some saw as a sexist policy after it barred two teenage girls wearing leggings from a flight.
“It’s fair to say that if PR Week was choosing its Communicator of the Year now, we would not be awarding it to Oscar Munoz,” the trade publication said on Tuesday.
After tumbling during the day, United’s stock ended Tuesday down 1.13 percent.
Perhaps more than anything, the videos hit a nerve because they highlighted the ability of airlines to remove paying customers when the companies overbook flights.
Tina Stringer, a first-time United customer from Chicago, was in New Orleans on vacation when the video surfaced. Before boarding her return flight on Tuesday, she said, “I was just praying that nothing bad would happen.”
Happily, her flight back to O’Hare International Airport was uneventful. But the video made an impression — so much so that she pulled up news coverage of the incident on her cellphone while waiting for her cousin to pick her up.
“I think it was kind of scary,” said Ms. Stringer, 45, “because innocent people are just trying to get where they want.” ||||| United Airlines' initial attempt Monday to quell mounting outrage over viral videos of a passenger being dragged from his seat added fuel to the backlash against the airline. So on Tuesday, CEO Oscar Munoz called the event "truly horrific" in a second apology.
But while United was crafting another bid to defuse the situation, the flood of angry comments and memes on social media was replaced by tough questions from local and federal authorities and a mention of the incident by the White House.
Meanwhile, David Dao, the passenger at the center of the growing imbroglio, retained a high-powered Chicago personal injury lawyer, Thomas Demetrio.
Dao was in a Chicago hospital undergoing treatment for his injuries Tuesday, according to a statement from Demetrio, who is helping represent Dao and his family.
Demetrio's practice centers on medical negligence, product liability, airplane crash and commercial litigation on behalf of plaintiffs and he has negotiated more than $1 billion in settlements, according to the firm's website.
Dao was one of four passengers bumped from a United Express flight from O'Hare International Airport to Louisville, Ky., on Sunday evening to make room for four airline employees after the airline failed to find volunteers willing to take a later flight.
After Dao repeatedly refused to leave his seat, security personnel from the city's aviation department pulled him from it, dragging him down the aisle and off the aircraft. Cellphone videos of the incident quickly went viral.
"Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. No one should ever be mistreated this way," Munoz said in Tuesday's statement.
The Association of Flight Attendants agreed. An involuntary bump "should never result in a passenger being physically injured," spokeswoman Taylor Garland said.
The aviation security officer who pulled the man from his seat was placed on leave Monday, "pending a thorough review of the situation," the Chicago Department of Aviation said in a statement.
United will also review its own policies for handling situations where it has sold more tickets than seats available, including how it incentivizes customers to volunteer to take a later flight, Munoz said. Volunteers typically receive vouchers for future travel, and some questioned whether United could have avoided the incident by offering passengers a bigger reward.
United also is examining how it works with airport authorities and local law enforcement. Munoz promised to share the airline's findings by the end of the month.
A frame-by-frame account of security officers forcefully removing a passenger from a United flight the airline said was overbooked.
"I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right," he said. "It's never too late to do the right thing."
George Hobica, founder and president of Airfarewatchdog, an airfare listing and travel advice site, wasn't so sure.
"He needs to apologize for the so-called apology," said Hobica, referring to a Monday night letter to employees in which Munoz defended the airline's policies and employees.
Given United's history of contentious labor relations, it's understandable that Munoz wanted to show his support, Hobica said, but he added that the airline waited too long to issue a broader mea culpa.
"I think Oscar needs to remember he's shipping human beings, not auto parts," he said.
At the close of trading Monday, the airline was valued at about $22.49 billion. At around noon on Tuesday, its value had sunk to $21.92 billion, a loss of more than $500 million. By close of trading its value had recovered a bit, to $22.25 billion.
Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway, which owned about 9 percent of outstanding United shares as of February, lost more than $23 million as the stock dropped on Tuesday.
Several organizations held a news conference April 11, 2017, to express their outrage after Dr. David Dao was forcibly removed from a United Airlines plane Sunday night by Chicago Aviation Department police at O'Hare International Airport.
At Chicago's City Hall, Aviation Committee Chairman Ald. Michael Zalewski, 23rd, called for a hearing and said the airline "needs to be put in the hot seat," while in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Transportation confirmed it was reviewing whether the airline complied with rules around oversold flights.
White House spokesman Sean Spicer characterized the incident as "troubling" and said he was sure President Donald Trump had seen the video.
Meanwhile, legislators posed their own questions.
"Consumer trust and confidence are critical to ensure this industry continues to thrive, and we hope United Airlines will work diligently to immediately address this incident and make necessary improvements to ensure it does not occur again," a group of 21 senators wrote in a letter to Munoz.
Separately, four senators sent several questions about the "very disturbing" incident in letters to Munoz and Ginger Evans, Chicago's aviation commissioner.
The senators said it was "hard to believe that some combination of better planning, training, communication, or additional incentives" would not have mitigated the incident or prevented it.
Chicago Tribune's Katherine Skiba contributed.
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Twitter @beckyyerak ||||| Black eye for United, Chicago after apologies over bloodying doc
CEO Oscar Munoz is supporting the way his employees handled an incident with a passenger who did not want give up his seat Sunday night at O'Hare Airport. | AP file photo
As the United Airlines passenger-removal flap played badly on Wall Street, in the White House and even as far away as China on Tuesday, airline CEO Oscar Munoz finally gave a full-throated apology over the nearly two-day-old crisis and tempered previous assertions that airline employees handled the situation properly.
The bloodying of Dr. David Dao by Chicago aviation security police officers aboard Flight 3411 on Sunday evening not only was shaping up to be a black eye for Chicago’s hometown airline, but also for the city itself.
Shortly before Munoz’s apology, Mayor Rahm Emanuel broke his silence on the matter as both United and the city — which has become known internationally for violence and police-corruption problems — took beatings on social media.
The question for both Chicago’s hometown airline and city leaders was ‘Did the apologies come too little, too late?’
United risks a backlash from passengers who could boycott the airline as the busy summer travel season is about to begin.
For Chicago, it is another public-relations nightmare, adding to its reputation as a city unable to curb a crime wave in some neighborhoods, which President Donald Trump has highlighted with critical tweets.
Not even Dao — who remained hospitalized after being dragged out of a United Express jet and hired a prominent personal-injury attorney — emerged unscathed. By day’s end, the world knew about dark aspects of the 69-year-old grandfather’s past; the Elizabethtown, Kentucky, physician and successful poker player was convicted more than a decade ago of felony charges involving his prescribing of drugs and spent years trying to regain his medical license.
Emanuel didn’t discuss the United incident at a late-morning public appearance but released a statement later praising Aviation Commissioner Ginger S. Evans for suspending one of the aviation security officers involved.
“Anyone who saw that video had the same reaction: this was completely unacceptable at every level,” Emanuel said. “I appreciate that Ginger took swift action at the Department of Aviation, and her team is already hard at work on a thorough investigation – in partnership with the airline – to ensure nothing like this ever happens again.”
Classic @United overbook #flight3411 and decided to force random passengers off the plane. Here's how they did it: pic.twitter.com/UaiSKz2bHD — Stephen (@stephenlaca) April 10, 2017
About a couple of hours later, Munoz publicly walked back a memo he’d sent to United employees lauding the behavior of the flight crew who dealt with the “disruptive and belligerent” Dao and crediting them with following established procedures on the Louisville-bound flight.
Instead, Munoz said, “No one should ever be mistreated this way.” He also promised the results of an internal investigation of the incident would be announced by the end of the month.
“The truly horrific event that occurred on this flight has elicited many responses from all of us: outrage, anger, disappointment. I share all of those sentiments, and one above all: my deepest apologies for what happened,” Munoz said. “Like you, I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard. . . . I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right.”
Just two weeks ago, United was at the center of another PR furor after a gate agent in Denver barred two girls from boarding a flight because they were wearing leggings.
Dao’s Asian-American heritage played into the latest PR hit.
Videos of Dao being forcibly removed had been viewed more than 210 million times by late Tuesday on China’s popular Twitter-like microblogging service Weibo, the Associated Press reported. Many responded with outrage over perceived bias against the passenger and some called for a boycott of United.
“Rubbish!” writer Su Danqing posted on Weibo. “When they were treating this Asian man, they never thought of human rights, otherwise they wouldn’t have done it that way.”
“Damn it! This airline must be boycotted!” said a posting from Liu Bing, a telecommunications company worker.
United does considerable business with Chinese passengers and a consumer boycott could cause it serious pain. United says it operates more nonstop U.S.-China flights to more cities in China than any other airline.
Also Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Trump had viewed a video of the incident. Asked how the president reacted, Spicer said: “I think clearly watching another human being dragged down an aisle, watching, you know, blood come from their face after hitting an armrest or whatever, I don’t think there’s a circumstance that you can sit back and say this probably could have been handled a little bit better.”
The fallout from a video also pulled down United shares. The stock slid 81 cents, or 1.1 percent, to $70.71.
United initially said the embarrassing incident spiraled out of control from a common air travel issue — an overbooked flight. But an airline spokesman said Tuesday that all 70 seats on Flight 3411 were filled, but the plane was not overbooked as the airline had previously reported.
Instead, United and regional affiliate Republic Airlines, which operated the flight, selected four passengers at random to be removed to accommodate four additional flight crew members needed in Louisville the next day. Three of the four then left the plane, with Dao being forcibly removed.
Munoz said the airline is conducting a thorough review of how the airline transports its flight crews, its policies on how to offer incentives for passengers to volunteer to be bumped from a flight.
He also said the airline will examine “how we partner with airport authorities and local law enforcement.”
The results of that review would be released by April 30, Munoz said.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in both Chicago and Washington were planning hearings and considering legislative changes in the wake of the incident.
Charlie Leocha — president and founder of Travelers United, a passengers advocacy group — said United erred badly in letting passengers on the plane before soliciting volunteers to skip the flight or bumping passengers.
“If United had taken care of it before anybody got on the plane, which they absolutely should have done, it would have been absolutely no problem,” he said.
Dao’s background “should have no bearing on this whatsoever,” Leocha said. “The poor guy, I mean it’s almost like being struck by lightning, it could have been anyone. He’s getting screwed. First he got beaten up and dragged off the plane and now he’s being dragged through the mud.
“There were so many other options. United could have offered to pay up to $1,350, they could have had passengers driven to Midway and put on a Southwest flight to Louisville that same night, heck they could have gotten them a gold-plated limo with the money it’s costing United. . . . It’s crazy.”
Contributing: Associated Press, USA Today, Sam Charles and Mitch Armentrout ||||| This Sunday, April 9, 2017, image made from a video provided by Audra D. Bridges shows a passenger who was removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago. Video of police officers dragging the passenger... (Associated Press)
This Sunday, April 9, 2017, image made from a video provided by Audra D. Bridges shows a passenger who was removed from a United Airlines flight in Chicago. Video of police officers dragging the passenger from an overbooked United Airlines flight sparked an uproar Monday on social media, and a spokesman... (Associated Press)
CHICAGO (AP) — After people were horrified by video of a passenger getting dragged off a full United Express flight by airport police, the head of United's parent company said the airline was reaching out to the man to "resolve this situation."
Hours later on Monday, his tone turned defensive. He described the man as "disruptive and belligerent."
By Tuesday afternoon, almost two days after the Sunday evening confrontation in Chicago, CEO Oscar Munoz issued his most contrite apology yet as details emerged about the man seen on cellphone videos recorded by other passengers at O'Hare Airport.
"No one should ever be mistreated this way," said Munoz, who also pledged to conduct a wide-ranging review of company policies.
The passenger was identified as physician David Dao, 69, of Elizabethtown, Kentucky, who was convicted more than a decade ago of felony charges involving his prescribing of drugs and spent years trying to regain his medical license.
But while Dao's history quickly became a focus of attention, there's no indication that his past influenced how he was treated or that the airline or police were aware of his background or would have known anything about him other than basic information such as his name and address, if that.
Screaming can be heard on the videos, but nowhere is Dao seen attacking the officers. In fact, he appears relatively passive both when he was dragged down the aisle of the jet and when he is seen standing in the aisle later saying quietly, "I want to go home, I want to go home."
Munoz's latest statement described the removal as "truly horrific." He said the company would reassess policies for seeking volunteers to give up their seats, for handling oversold situations and for partnering with airport authorities and local law enforcement.
An attorney who represents Dao said his client was being treated at a Chicago hospital for injuries he sustained on the plane and that the family would not comment.
According to records from the Kentucky Board of Medical Licensure, Dao went to medical school at the University of Medicine of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, graduating in 1974. He was licensed in Kentucky with a specialty in pulmonary disease.
His legal troubles started in 2003, when his medical license was suspended after an undercover sting operation at a Louisville motel for allegedly writing fraudulent prescriptions.
According to the documents, the licensing board had learned that Dao had become sexually interested in a patient and hired the patient as his office manager. That man later said he quit his job because Dao "pursued him aggressively" and arranged to provide him with prescription drugs in exchange for sex.
Dao was ultimately convicted in late 2004 of several counts of obtaining drugs by fraud or deceit and was placed on five years of supervised probation and surrendered his medical license.
His longtime effort to get his license back finally succeeded in 2015, when the licensing board allowed him to practice medicine again.
About a year after his medical license was suspended, Dao joined the professional poker circuit, according to his World Series of Poker profile. His biggest competitive win came in 2009 when he took home more than $117,000 from a tournament in Mississippi.
Airport officials have said little about Sunday's events and nothing about Dao's behavior before he was pulled from the jet that was bound for Louisville, Kentucky. Likewise, the Chicago Aviation Department has said only that one of its employees who removed Dao did not follow proper procedures and has been placed on leave.
No passengers on the plane have mentioned that Dao did anything but refuse to leave the plane when he was ordered to do so.
Also Tuesday, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel called the way Dao was treated "completely unacceptable" and praised Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans for taking "swift action." He promised that a city investigation would "ensure nothing like this ever happens again."
The event stemmed from a common air travel issue — a full flight. United was trying to make room for four employees of a partner airline, meaning four people had to get off.
At first, the airline asked for volunteers, offering $400 and then when that did not work, $800 per passenger to relinquish a seat. When no one voluntarily came forward, United selected four passengers at random.
Three people got off the flight, but the fourth said he was a doctor and needed to get home to treat patients on Monday. He refused to leave.
Three Aviation Department police officers got on the plane. Two officers tried to reason with the man before a third came aboard and pointed at the man "basically saying, 'Sir, you have to get off the plane,'" said Tyler Bridges, a passenger whose wife, Audra D. Bridges, posted a video on Facebook.
One of the officers could be seen grabbing the screaming man from his window seat, across the armrest and dragging him down the aisle by his arms.
Other passengers on Flight 3411 are heard saying, "Please, my God," ''What are you doing?" ''This is wrong," ''Look at what you did to him" and "Busted his lip."
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it is reviewing Sunday's events to see if United violated rules on overselling flights.
Dao's relatives are focused only on his medical care, attorney Stephen L. Golan said. The family "wants the world to know that they are very appreciative of the outpouring of prayers, concern and support they have received."
___
Associated Press Writer David Koenig in Dallas and AP researcher Rhonda Shafner in New York contributed to this report. |||||
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– Classics like Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop made Eddie Murphy a star. But he's been starring in flops lately, and now he lands atop Forbes' list of the most overpaid actors. The mag ranks them based on their last three movies, looking at the return studios received for every dollar earned by the star: Eddie Murphy: Imagine That, A Thousand Words, and Meet Dave all died. His bailing on the Oscars' hosting gig added a little extra tarnish. Box office: $2.30 per Murphy dollar. Katherine Heigl: One For the Money is the latest of her box office flops. Maybe the upcoming ensemble pic The Big Wedding with Robert DeNiro and Susan Sarandon will help rebuild her career. Box office: $3.40 per Heigl dollar. Reese Witherspoon: 2010's How Do You Know was a low point, with its crazy-high $120 million budget and $49 million return. This Means War fared better, but not enough for her to duck Forbes' list. Box office: $3.90 per Witherspoon dollar. Sandra Bullock: The Blind Side rocked in 2009, earning $310 million globally with just a $30 million budget. But All About Steve and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close did poorly. Box office: $5 per Bullock dollar. Jack Black: Last year's The Big Year earned just $7 mllion. Box office: $5 per Black dollar. Click for Forbes' full list.
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Hollywood pays its biggest stars millions of dollar per film. Some are worth the money. Based on their last three projects, these 10 stars are not. We used data gathered from our Celebrity 100 research and Box Office Mojo to calculate how much, on average, each star's last three films earned at the box office per dollar of pay. Think of it like a star return on investment number. ||||| Poor Eddie Murphy desperately needs a comeback. Remember back in the day when he was so funny on Saturday Night Live and in movies like Trading Places and Beverly Hills Cop? His voice work has helped make movies like Shrek and Mulan tolerable for adults, and even his family-friendly movies, like Norbit and Dr. Dolittle, were good for some chuckles.
But lately, Murphy's career has just collapsed. Imagine That, A Thousand Words and Meet Dave were colossal flops. Last year's Tower Heist, which was supposed to be something of a return to form for the comedian, failed to wow at the box office, earning $153 million on an estimated budget of $75 million. (In order to even come close to turning a profit, a movie has to earn twice its production budget in ticket sales, plus the millions spent on marketing.) Murphy then backed out of hosting the Oscars, which didn't help his reputation.
His string of flops lands Murphy at the top of our Most Overpaid Actors list for 2012. We estimate that for every $1 Murphy was paid for his last three films, they returned an average of $2.30 at the box office.
To compile our list, we used data on actors' earnings gathered for our Celebrity 100 list. Box office grosses and budget estimates are from Box Office Mojo. We looked at the last three films each actor starred in over the last three years that opened in more than 2,000 theaters, calculating the return on investment for the studios who pay his (or her) salary.
Ranking second behind Murphy is a newcomer to our list: Katherine Heigl. For every dollar she was paid on her last three movies, they earned an average of $3.40.
After hits like Knocked-Up, 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth, Heigl's quote shot up to the $12 million range. Unfortunately, the films she's made at that price point have failed to deliver. Her most recent film, One For The Money, earned only $37 million on an estimated $40 million budget. Heigl needs to step away from the expensive star vehicles and rebuild her career. Her next release is the ensemble pic The Big Wedding, which hits theaters in April. Featuring Robert DeNiro, Susan Sarandon and Amanda Seyfried, the movie could give Heigl a chance to show how funny she can be when the pressure is off.
In past versions of our overpaid actors roundup, we looked at each actor's films over the last five years. This year, we cut back to the last three years to give the list a more contemporary focus.
That dropped Drew Barrymore from the top 10, but not because she has anchored any smashes lately. Barrymore was our worst-performing actor last year -- her films earned only 40 cents for each $1 she was paid. However she hasn't starred in three big releases over the last three years. We don't count ensemble films where there is no clear star like Barrymore's 2009 film He's Just Not That Into You, which was actually a hit.
Reese Witherspoon ranks third on our list with an average $3.90 return for every $1 she was paid. Witherspoon is one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood, but her choices lately have been questionable, like 2010's How Do You Know. With a ridiculously high budget of $120 million -- a big chunk of which went to salaries for Witherspoon and big-name co-stars Paul Rudd, Jack Nicholson and Owen Wilson -- the romantic comedy never had a chance of turning a profit. It grossed just $49 million at the box office, making it one of the worst-performing films of 2010.
Her most recent film, This Means War, didn't help much. The $65 million action comedy did OK, earning $157 million worldwide, but it wasn't enough to get Witherspoon off of our most overpaid list.
Sandra Bullock makes a surprise entry in fourth place with a $5 return for every $1 she was paid. In 2009 Bullock starred in one of the biggest films of the year, The Blind Side. Not only did it earn $310 million at the box office globally, it was made for just $30 million, making it one of the most profitable films of the year. It was also a big earner for Bullock, who had a profit-sharing deal on the project. But her two other films of the last three years were stinkers: All About Steve and Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close. [Bullock's representatives insist that Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close should not have been included in our calculations for the actress because she was not the star of the film. If you took that film out and added in The Proposal, her return on investment number would be much higher.]
Rounding out the top five is Jack Black, whose films returned only $5.20 for every $1 he was paid. Last year's comedy The Big Year barely registered at the box office. Big-name stars like Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson couldn't overcome poor reviews and a less than sexy topic -- birdwatching. It earned only $7 million.
Follow me on Twitter at DorothyatForbes.
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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. ||||| Politicians often seek to tap voters younger than themselves. Not Kansas gubernatorial candidate Jack Bergeson.
He is only looking for older voters, because come Election Day in November 2018, he’ll still be too young to cast a ballot himself.
Thanks to his state’s vague election rules on candidate ages, Mr. Bergeson, a 16-year-old high-school... ||||| Marijuana-Though many people may find Marijuana taboo, we believe legalizing it could be beneficial in several ways. Most importantly are thousands of people within the state that could benefit from its legalization for medical use. With conditions such as multiple sclerosis, certain cancers, Crohn's disease and seizure disorders, marijuana is known to help relieve pain more effectively (or with fewer side effects) than prescription pain medication. This is the primary reason the Bergeson/Cline campaign supports legalizing medical marijuana.
Though our administration's focus would be the legalization of medical marijuana, we also support legalization for recreational use. If taxed and regulated appropriately, legal recreational marijuana could help fill some of the budget shortfalls, as it has shown to bring in millions in tax revenue per year in states where it is currently legal.
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– Jack Bergeson won't be able to vote for himself when he appears on the Kansas ballot for governor in 2018—because he won't be 18 yet. As the director of elections with Kansas' secretary of state's office explains to the Wall Street Journal, the Sunflower State is one of three states with loose rules on gubernatorial runs. "No age [restriction]. No residency. No citizenship. The law is silent," Bryan Caskey says. When the 16-year-old Bergeson, a junior on his school's football team who works for his family's restaurant in Wichita, found that out, he thought, "Oh, I could do that," per the Kansas City Star. Bergeson, who counts Bernie Sanders among his political idols, says he's vying for the Democratic nomination on an "anti-establishment" platform and has picked as his running mate 17-year-old Alexander Cline, a pal since seventh grade who wants to be the state's lieutenant governor. Bergeson, who was interviewed by Jimmy Kimmel this week about his run, says people often mentioned he should run for office when he was older, but "what is the point in waiting to try to help your homeland," notes his campaign website. There you'll find his platform priorities of health care overhaul, raising the state's minimum wage, and the "most important issue": campaign finance and corruption, with his campaign stating it won't accept donations of more than $500 from an individual or entity; he has raised about $2,200 to date. "We believe that with a governor truly elected by the people, not the corporate interests, Kansas can get back on track," the site notes. In his interview, Kimmel asked the question that might be on most teen boys' minds: if any of the girls at school could possibly be his first lady. "You know, I haven't thought about that yet," Bergeson replied.
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– The US State Department announced Friday it will be providing "enhanced defensive capabilities" to Ukraine for its struggle against separatists backed by Russia, the Guardian reports. According to CBS News, Ukraine accuses Russia of supplying separatists with tanks. And while the State Department isn't commenting on what specific weapons the US will be sending to Ukraine, one official tells CNN they include Javelin anti-tank missiles. "Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself,” says State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert. The conflict between Ukraine and separatists has been going on since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. More than 10,000 people have been killed. Russia denies US and Ukraine accusations of supplying weapons to separatists. Until this point, the US had only been providing Ukraine with non-weapon support. However, earlier this week the Trump administration announced US manufacturers could begin to sell some small arms to Ukraine. The State Department was clear those weapons weren't coming from the US government. The announcement Friday that the US government would supply weapons to Ukraine was not welcomed by Russia, where deputy foreign minister Grigory Karasin said the decision "raises the danger of derailing the process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine." Providing arms to Ukraine likely won't help the US/Russia relationship any, and Germany's Angela Merkel and France's Emmanuel Macron released a statement urging a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
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Foreign minister Grigory Karasin says supply of ‘defensive’ aid could derail peace process in eastern Ukraine’s civil war
US provision of weapons to Ukraine could fuel conflict, Russia says
Russian officials have said the US decision to supply weapons to Ukraine will fuel conflict in the east of the country.
The US state department said on Friday that it would provide Ukraine with “enhanced defensive capabilities” as it continued to fight Russia-backed separatists in a low-intensity conflict.
Until now, the US has only provided Ukraine with support equipment and training. It has also allowed private companies to sell small arms such as rifles to the country.
But it is understood that arms such as the US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles can now be delivered to Ukraine. This was unconfirmed by the state department, however.
On the frontline of Europe’s forgotten war in Ukraine Read more
Russia’s deputy foreign minister, Grigory Karasin, told Russian state media that the US decision “raises the danger of derailing the process of peaceful settlement in Ukraine”.
The de facto change in policy, signed off by the state department and the Pentagon earlier this year, is likely to escalate tensions between the US and Russia.
Barack Obama had considered sending weapons to Ukraine when he was president of the US, but stopped short of directly providing heavy armaments. Donald Trump, Obama’s successor, is contending with widespread criticism that he has been soft on Russia, amid allegations that Russian interference in the 2016 US election contributed to his victory.
“US assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself,” said Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the state department.
The new cold war: how our focus on Russia obscures social media's real threat Read more
But European leaders urged the parties involved in the negotiation of a ceasefire to face their responsibilities and implement the agreed plan. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, said in a joint statement that “there is no alternative to an exclusively peaceful settlement of the conflict”.
They also called for the return of Russian officers to the Joint Centre for Control and Coordination in Ukraine, which is helping to facilitate the ceasefire, after their withdrawal on Wednesday.
A civil war has been waged between pro-Russia separatists and Ukrainian government forces since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. More than 10,000 people have died in the conflict so far.
Kiev has accused Moscow of sending troops and heavy weapons to the region, which Russia denies, while Washington says Moscow is arming, training and fighting alongside the separatists.
The Russian foreign ministry said the US decision undermined the 2015 Minsk agreement, which was intended to end the fighting in Ukraine. ||||| (CNN) The US is going to provide lethal anti-tank weapons to Ukraine to help it fight off separatists which have the backing of Russia, a senior State Department official told CNN.
The State Department officially announced Friday evening that the US was going to provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities as part of our effort to help Ukraine build its long-term defense capacity, to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to deter further aggression," but the statement from spokeswoman Heather Nauert said it was not going to give any further details.
The State Department said the "US assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself."
Among the weapons being sent are US-made Javelin anti-tank missiles, the official said.
Members of Congress and the US-backed Ukrainian government had long requested anti-tank weapons to boost Kiev in its fight against Russian-backed separatists.
Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Saturday that the US decision to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons meant the United States "is clearly pushing [Ukraine] to new bloodshed."
In a statement, Ryabkov said, "American weapons can lead to new victims in our neighboring country, to which we cannot remain indifferent," adding, "the United States in a certain sense had crossed the line" and accused it of "fuelling the war" rather than acting as an intermediary.
Sen. John McCain, an Arizona Republican, released a statement Saturday morning supporting the decision.
"President Trump's reported decision to provide Javelin anti-tank munitions to Ukraine marks another significant step in the right direction and sends a strong signal that the United States will stand by its allies and partners as they fight to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity," he wrote, adding, "... as I have long argued, providing defensive lethal assistance to Ukraine is not opposed to a peace in Ukraine -- it is essential to achieving it."
This is another development from the US that Russia was expected to criticize. Some experts told CNN that Russia could use this move as a pretext to take further action in Ukraine, after its invasion and annexation of the Crimea region in 2014.
The move comes amid a recent uptick in clashes between Ukrainian soldiers and Russian-backed separatists, and the same week the Trump administration announced it would permit sales of some small arms to Ukraine from US manufacturers.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had discussed the recent escalation in clashes in a phone call Friday with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, according to an official readout issued by the Ukrainian government.
The statement says Poroshenko thanked Tillerson for "the prolongation of sanctions against Russia" and for "the consistent support of Washington regarding the increase of Ukraine's defense capacity."
The statement also said that "Tillerson emphasized that the US would further support Ukraine."
On Wednesday, the Trump administration had announced it was allowing the export of some small arms to Ukraine. Nauert said the department notified Congress on December 13 that it had approved an export license, which allows Ukraine to buy certain light weapons and small arms from US manufacturers.
"The US government is not selling the Ukrainian government these weapons," she said. The US has not provided lethal defensive equipment to Ukraine, Nauert said, nor has it ruled out doing so.
Following that announcement, McCain, the chairman of the Armed Services Committee, issued a statement calling on Trump "to authorize additional sales of defensive lethal weapons, including anti-tank munitions," to Ukraine.
Anti-tank weapons have long been seen as a critical capability to allow the Ukrainian military to combat the armored vehicles in the possession of the separatists, equipment that US officials say is supplied by Russia.
"Vladimir Putin has chosen war instead of peace in Ukraine. So long as he makes this choice, the United States and the Free World should give Ukraine what it needs to fight back," McCain added.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded to reports that the US and Canada have decided to allow weapons exports to Ukraine by accusing Washington and Ottawa of making false claims about the conflict in Ukraine as a "pretext to begin large-scale lethal weapons deliveries to Ukraine."
Zakharova went on to say arming Ukraine would further inflame tensions and push Ukraine "towards reckless new military decisions."
Nauert had also addressed the conflict in Ukraine on Tuesday, saying, "Russia and its proxies are the source of violence in eastern Ukraine, and the Russian government continues to perpetuate an active conflict and humanitarian crisis through its leadership and supply of military forces on the ground."
Nauert said the US continued to call on Russia to withdraw its forces and weaponry from Ukraine. ||||| The U.S. will provide Ukraine with "enhanced defensive capabilities" to help build its military, the State Department said Friday. Kiev is battling Russian-backed separatists in the eastern part of the country.
"U.S. assistance is entirely defensive in nature, and as we have always said, Ukraine is a sovereign country and has a right to defend itself," said State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauret.
Previously, the U.S. has provided Ukraine with support equipment and training, and has let private companies sell some small arms like rifles.
An official, who was not authorized to speak about the plan publicly, told the Associated Press the Trump administration will be providing lethal weapons to Ukraine, including American-made Javelin anti-tank missiles that Ukraine has long sought.
The move is could escalate tensions between the United States and Russia, as President Trump contends with ongoing questions about whether he's too hesitant to confront the Kremlin. Ukraine accuses Russia of sending the tanks, and the U.S. says Moscow is arming, training and fighting alongside the separatists.
Mr. Trump had been considering the plan for some time after the State Department and the Pentagon signed off earlier this year. Former President Obama also considered sending lethal weapons to Ukraine. |||||
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While most kids are planning for the first day of school, Emily Connolly, a 16-year-old from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, is planning a protest.
Connolly argues the new dress code policy at Cape Cod Technical High School unfairly body-shames female students.
Prom Dress-Code Change Sparks Outcry at Connecticut High School
Mommy Blogger Raps About Bus Safety in ‘Bus Don’t Move’ Parody Video
The school’s dress code now states that “spandex, tights and yoga pants must be worn with short or a skirt.” The popular clothing items are not banned, the school stresses, but are now “considered an accessory.”
“My friends and I didn’t agree with it at all,” Connolly told ABC News. “[If] we want to just kind of go to school and sit there for eight hours in a t-shirt and leggings or yoga pants, then I feel like we should have that option.”
The school district’s superintendent, Robert Sanborn III, said in a statement that the policy is meant to help prepare students for the future, including giving them “soft skills employers seek, include an awareness of appropriate dress for appropriate venues.”
Connolly argues the new policy unfairly targets herself and her female classmates.
“Many of us think that it is because it’s considered more of a distraction to boys,” she said.
Connolly took to social media to rally her fellow classmates, creating a Facebook page to encourage students to wear yoga pants and leggings on the first day of school next week.
Connolly wrote on the page, "First Day = Yoga Pants," that they, “shouldn’t have to pay…because some boys can’t ‘control’ themselves.’”
Connolly’s case is one of just the latest of teens protesting school policies. Earlier this year, Connecticut students started a petition after a classmate was banned from prom for a dress that showed “too much skin.” ||||| In the past, a number of schools have banned yoga pants and leggings because the tight legwear are considered “distracting” to male students and teachers. But now a Massachusetts high school has restricted the bottoms to teach students an important lesson.
This year, Cape Cod Technical High School changed its dress code to read: “Leggings, tights, yoga pants and any other extremely form fitting apparel are considered an accessory and must be worn with dress/skirt or shorts.”
According to school district superintendent Robert Sanborn, the reason for these restrictions is to help prepare kids for the workforce. “Vocational technical education is about preparing people for a career,” he said. “It has to do with employability. We're passing on the skills that are needed in the workforce, to know that's not proper attire when you're at work.”
Despite this valid reasoning, students are upset with the change. Emily Connolly, a 16-year-old student, told ABC News: “My friends and I didn’t agree with it at all. [If] we want to just kind of go to school and sit there for eight hours in a t-shirt and leggings or yoga pants, then I feel like we should have that option.”
Connolly is now organizing a protest and is asking all female students to wear yoga pants on the first day of school on Wednesday. According to the teen’s Facebook post, the students aren’t buying the school’s reasoning for the change of dress code.
“Girls in today's society are forced to cover [their] bodies and considered more of sex symbols than actual human beings,” Connolly wrote. “Just because some guys don't know how to ‘control’ themselves doesn't mean girls need to pay for it.”
While superintendent Sanborn is anticipating a lot of yoga pants on the first day of school, he says that students who break the rules won’t be unfairly punished. “Nobody's going to get thrown out of school. Nobody's going to be put in detention,” he said. “We're going to use this as a teachable moment.”
ALSO ON HUFFPOST: ||||| HARWICH (CBS) – Students at Cape Cod Regional Tech in Harwich are protesting new restrictions on yoga pants. They say their school’s new dress code promotes body shaming.
Female students there say they shouldn’t be forced to cover their bodies. The new rule requires yoga pants to be worn with a dress, skirt or shorts.
Some want school officials to change the rules.
The senior class president joined others in wearing just the pants as a protest.
“I definitely see both sides I think we need to dress appropriately at school not show anything that is inappropriate but at the same time we need to be standing up for our rights in what we can wear,” Seana Aiolupotea said.
“It’s pretty much like the same thing that’s going on in the Middle East,” a male student said. “Women can’t drive because it’s a distraction to men and I don’t think it’s fair that we can take something away from the girls just because it’s either distracting the guys or its non-professional.”
For now, violators won’t be punished
“In the hallways we’re always addressing dress in one way or another,” said Superintendent Robert Sanborn. “It’s hats indoors, tank tops things of that nature, and it’s a teachable moment it’s not a disciplinary action it’s not detention.”
Meanwhile, the debate goes on.
“Yoga pants are really comfortable,” one female student said.
“Being a girl I also feel uncomfortable with it, seeing a girl showing things,” another female student said. “I’m like they shouldn’t be dressing like that!”
So for now yoga pants violators will be addressed with teachable moments not punishment. Incidentally this school district is not alone. Restrictions on yoga pants have been in place in many different school districts across the country. |||||
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– A high school in Cape Cod isn't the first to ban yoga pants, which tend to be barred over their form-fitting nature being seen as a "distraction" for male students, but this time it's ostensibly for a different reason—at least according to the school district's superintendent. "Vocational technical education is about preparing people for a career," he says. "It has to do with employability. We're passing on the skills that are needed in the workforce, to know that's not proper attire when you're at work." And thus Cape Cod Technical High School's dress code now reads: "Leggings, tights, yoga pants, and any other extremely form fitting apparel are considered an accessory and must be worn with dress/skirt or shorts," reports the Huffington Post Canada. Not everyone is happy, and 16-year-old Emily Connolly organized a protest involving wearing yoga pants to the first day of school this week, ABC News reports. The senior class president tells CBS she sees both sides: "I think we need to dress appropriately at school, not show anything that is inappropriate, but at the same time we need to be standing up for our rights in what we can wear." Another student points out, "Yoga pants are really comfortable," while a male student says, "I don’t think it’s fair that we can take something away from the girls just because it’s either distracting the guys or it's non-professional." But one female student expressed relief. "Being a girl I also feel uncomfortable with it, seeing a girl showing things. I’m like they shouldn’t be dressing like that!" (One legislator tried to make yoga pants illegal in Montana.)
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Eating a Mediterranean-style diet pops up again and again as a health booster. The latest study to look at its benefits suggests following the diet may delay brain shrinkage as we age.
People who ate a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, fish, legumes, and olive oil, along with small to moderate amounts of alcohol, and who consumed less meat and dairy, had less brain shrinkage than people who did not follow a Mediterranean eating style, according to a study published today in the journal Neurology. The researchers also found that Mediterranean diet followers had a larger brain volume than those who didn't eat this way.
The difference between the two groups added up to about five years of aging, the scientists reported.
Study author Yian Gu, of Columbia University, in New York, said the results are exciting because they raise the possibility that people may potentially be able to prevent brain shrinking and the effects of aging on the brain by following a healthy diet.
"The more you adhere to the Mediterranean diet, the better protection you get for your brain," she told CBS News.
Dishing up more fish and less meat was linked with less brain shrinkage. "Eating at least three to five ounces of fish weekly or eating no more than 3.5 ounces of meat daily may provide considerable protection against loss of brain cells," Gu said in a press statement.
The study included 674 people with an average age of 80 who did not have dementia. They completed questionnaires about their diet over the past year and then had brain scans an average of seven months after answering the diet survey. The participants were divided into two groups based on how closely their dietary habits followed the Mediterranean diet basics.
The people who more closely followed a Mediterranean-like diet had total brain volume that was 13.11 milliliters larger than those who did not follow the Mediterranean diet. Their gray matter volume was 5.0 milliliters larger, and their white matter volume was 6.41 milliliters larger.
Dr. Gayatri Devi, an attending neurologist at Lenox Hill Hospital, in New York, told CBS News, "The freshest thing here in this study shows that people on a Mediterranean diet, their brains actually shrunk less than people not on Mediterranean diet. And the shrinkage translated to an advantage of five years of brain aging. Persons who said that they were having a diet high in fruits, vegetables and fish and high in different kinds of polyunsaturated fats like olive, had plumper more healthy brains, less-shrunk brains than people who reported having a diet of food that was high in dairy and high in red meats and low in vegetables and fruits."
The less shrinkage there is in your brain, said Devi, the more brain cells there are available, and "the more brain cells you have available, the more likely you are to be protected against illnesses of the brain related to aging, like Alzheimer's."
Devi said the omega 3 fatty acids found in fish seem to keep nerve cells healthy, while the B vitamins found in a lot of vegetables and fruits may help prevent the buildup of plaque in the brain seen in Alzheimer's disease. "The foods that are high in saturated fat may actually promote the laying down of plaques seen in Alzheimer's," she said.
Devi said it was interesting that in two equally slender people, the one eating the more Mediterranean-like diet was more likely to have a brain that shrunk less.
The research, said Devi, "gives us another tool in our toolbox to help keep us more functional as we get older."
The study, supported by the National Institutes of Health, does not prove that the Mediterranean diet prevents brain shrinkage, it only showed an association, study author Gu said.
Following a Mediterranean-style diet has also been linked with a range of other benefits, including better heart health and a reduced risk of diabetes. ||||| US survey shows older people who follow vegetable-rich diet have brain volume greater than those who do not
Eating a Mediterranean diet rich in fish and vegetables may help prevent your brain shrinking for as long as five years, new research suggests.
People who follow such a diet, which also involves consuming less meat and dairy products than average, end up with bigger brains and slow down the ageing process, according to the US study.
“These results are exciting, as they raise the possibility that people may potentially prevent brain shrinking and the effects of ageing on the brain simply by following a healthy diet,” said the lead author, Yian Gu, of Columbia University in New York.
Researchers looked at 674 people with an average age of 80 who lived in northern Manhattan and did not have dementia.
They found that the total brain volume of those who had closely followed a Mediterranean-style diet was on average 13.11 millilitres greater than that of those who had not done so.
Their grey matter volume was 5 millilitres greater, and their white matter 6.4 millilitres greater, than those who had not stuck to Mediterranean foods.
The difference between the two groups is equivalent to about five years of ageing, the authors said.
“The magnitude of the association with brain measures was relatively small. But when you consider that eating at least five of the recommended Mediterranean diet components has an association comparable to five years of age, that is substantial,” said Gu.
Having fish regularly and eating little meat was particularly effective. “Eating at least 3 to 5 ounces of fish weekly, or eating no more than 3.5 ounces of meat daily, may provide considerable protection against loss of brain cells equal to about three to four years of ageing,” Gu added.
The Mediterranean diet typically consists of large amounts of vegetables, pulses, fruit, cereal, fish and monounsaturated fatty acids such as olive oil. It also includes small amounts of meat, poultry, dairy products and saturated fatty acids, plus mild to moderate alcohol consumption.
The authors cautioned that their findings, published in the journal Neurology, do not prove conclusively that the Mediterranean diet prevents brain shrinkage and that it is merely an association.
However, two British dementia charities said it was further evidence that the Mediterranean diet may improve brain health.
“There is an increasing amount of evidence that eating a healthy diet rich in fish, vegetables, legumes and nuts is good for your brain,” said Dr James Pickett, the head of research at the Alzheimer’s Society. “This study delves further into the potential benefits that diet could have, but it does not prove that a Mediterranean-style diet can stop your brain from shrinking as you age.”
People hoping to reduce their risk of developing dementia should also quit smoking, exercise regularly and keep their blood pressure low, he said.
But Dr Laura Phipps, a spokeswoman for Alzheimer’s Research UK, expressed caution: “While this study suggests there is an association between eating a Mediterranean diet and brain volume in healthy older people, we don’t know whether these particular food choices alter dementia risk. It’s hard to know from this study what the underlying reason for the link between diet and brain volume might be, and what other factors may be involved.”
Age remains the biggest risk factor for dementia, but genetics and lifestyle also play a part, Phipps added. |||||
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– Hoping to avoid brain shrinkage, cognitive impairment, and dementia? Gobble up lots of fish, veggies, and nuts. A new study shows those who follow the increasingly well-regarded Mediterranean diet have less brain atrophy than those who don't. Researchers scanned the brains of 674 Manhattan residents over 80 who showed no signs of dementia, and analyzed their diets based on a questionnaire, reports the Guardian. The patients who kept to a Mediterranean diet had a brain volume that was 13.11 milliliters larger than others, their gray matter volume was 5 milliliters larger, and their white brain matter was 6.41 milliliters larger. Since people's brains shrink with age, researchers say the difference in brain volume is equal to about five years of aging. This doesn't mean the Mediterranean diet slows brain aging, but it does show an association. And with greater brain volume comes more brain cells. "The more brain cells you have available, the more likely you are to be protected against illnesses of the brain related to aging, like Alzheimer's," a doctor tells CBS News, adding omega-3 fatty acids found in fish may benefit nerve cells, while B vitamins in fruits and veggies may prevent the buildup of plaque in the brain. "These results are exciting, as they raise the possibility that people may potentially prevent brain shrinking and the effects of aging on the brain simply by following a healthy diet," lead author Yian Gu says. One aspect of the diet stood out, though. "Eating at least three to five ounces of fish weekly or eating no more than 3.5 ounces of meat daily may provide considerable protection against loss of brain cells equal to about three to four years of aging," Gu adds. (The diet might also add years to your life.)
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– The iPhone 6 is coming in September, and it'll be available in two screen sizes—both bigger than the current four inches. At least, that's what a report from Nikkei Asian Review is suggesting, via Business Insider. The story is based on insider accounts regarding the production of LCD panels, which could reportedly begin as soon as April at a number of factories. Current iPhones have 4-inch screens; the iPhone 6 appears poised to come in 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch varieties. That seems to align with earlier word that Apple was considering a larger screen amid a growing market for "phablets," or phone-tablet hybrids. For comparison, flagship phones from Samsung and HTC have five-inch screens, Business Insider notes. The new iPhones' displays will also likely have a much higher resolution, Nikkei reports.
Expand this summary.
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TOKYO -- Suppliers of LCD panels for Apple's new iPhone will ramp up production soon, in line with a timetable for a worldwide launch as early as September.
The new phone, expected to be called the iPhone 6, will likely be offered in 4.7- and 5.5-inch versions, both of which are larger than the current generation's 4-inch screen.
Manufacturers have apparently begun making such components as fingerprint sensors and chips for liquid-crystal drivers.
Mass production of liquid crystal display panels will start as early as the April-June quarter at Sharp's Kameyama factory, Japan Display's Mobara plant, and elsewhere, according to sources. LG Electronics will supply panels as well. The new handset's display resolution is expected to be significantly higher than that of current models.
Apple put the iPhone 5 on the market in September 2012, selling 5 million units within the first three days. But shipments have since been lackluster. Last year, it introduced models in the same series with different price points for the first time with the 5S and 5C.
(Nikkei) ||||| Screenshot Apple will release the iPhone 6 in September, according to a report in the Nikkei Asian Review.
It said suppliers of the iPhone's screens are set to ramp up production to hit the September release.
Nikkei said the iPhone would come in two screen sizes, 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch.
Right now, Apple's iPhone 5 and iPhone 5S have four-inch screens. Apple is the only major phone manufacturer with a screen that small.
The latest flagship Android phones from Samsung and HTC have five-inch screens.
As a result, the iPhone's screen feels small and cramped relative to its Android competition.
In addition to enlarging the screen, Apple will make the resolution of the new iPhones significantly higher, said Nikkei.
For Apple, this has the potential to be massive.
Brian Marshall at ISI said this would be the "mother lode" of upgrade cycles for Apple. The new iPhones, with their larger screens, will be significantly different from older models, and as a result Marshall expects big sales to existing customers.
NOW WATCH: 13 Simple Mac Shortcuts To Make You More Productive
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Here is a news article: Houston man charged with trying to plant bomb at Confederate statue in Hermann Park Museum District area evacuated as agents search home
The park ranger spotted him kneeling in the bushes by the 112-year-old Confederate statue, explosives in hand.
Was he trying to harm the statue? she asked.
Yes, he said. He didn't like the guy.
The late-night confrontation at the statue of Confederate Lt. Dick Dowling — detailed in court records by a federal agent — led to the arrest of 25-year-old Andrew Schneck, setting off a two-day operation by law enforcement that forced the evacuation of the tony Rice University neighborhood where Schneck lives with his parents.
BACKGROUND: FBI, ATF, Houston Police swarm street near Museum District
Bomb squad experts detonated a cache of high-powered explosives found on the property Monday afternoon as residents waited to return to their homes.
The arrest marked the latest chapter in a growing fight over Confederate statues that has sparked protests across the country, punctuated by a deadly clash between white supremacists and counter-protesters Aug. 12 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Schneck, charged Monday with attempting to maliciously damage or destroy property, was ordered into federal custody pending a court hearing later this week. If convicted, he could face up to 40 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
It is the second time Schneck has run afoul of federal law enforcement. He was convicted in 2014 of storing explosives at another of his parents' properties and sentenced to five years probation, but was released early last year.
Lawyers for Schneck offered few details about the case.
"This is an evolving situation, with an ongoing investigation," said Philip Hilder, who is representing Schneck and who represented him in the previous case. "It would be premature to comment at this time since we have not seen the evidence."
The white marble statue of Dowling, an Irish immigrant who lived in Houston and fought for the Confederacy, was erected in 1905 to honor rebel soldiers who died at the Battle of Sabine Pass. A street named for Dowling was changed earlier this year to Emancipation Avenue.
Schneck's arrest about 11 p.m. Saturday followed a day of protests and counter-protests over another controversial statue, the Spirit of the Confederacy, in Sam Houston Park. The "Destroy the Confederacy" protest drew hundreds but ended without incident.
Park Ranger Tamara Curtis, who was not allowed to speak to the media Monday, found Schneck near the base of the Dowling statue with two boxes filled with a homemade detonator, a timer, wiring, a battery, a bottle of nitroglycerin and an explosive organic compound known as HMTD, hexamethylene triperoxide diamine, according to the sworn statement by Federal Bureau of Investigations Special Agent Patrick Hutchinson.
After being confronted, he tried to drink some of the liquid explosives but "immediately spit the liquid on the ground ... then proceeded to pour the contents of the bottle on the ground next to him," according to the statement.
"Nitroclycerin is highly dangerous to transport or use," Hutchinson wrote. "ln its undiluted form, it is one of the world's most powerful explosives."
Schneck told law enforcement he had other chemicals at his home on Albans Road, sending a swarm of local and federal agents to the tree-lined street just north of Rice University.
The searches Monday followed an all-night "enforcement operation" led by the FBI.
Deron Ogletree, an assistant special-agent-in-charge in the FBI's Houston office, said experts came in from the national training center at Quantico, Virginia, as well as other FBI offices in Dallas and New Orleans.
"We've been working long hours since Saturday evening," Ogletree said Monday.
By 9:15 a.m. Monday, FBI agents had set up a blue tent on the front lawn, as hazardous materials experts and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives searched the property.
"There's a significant amount of material," said Larry Satterwhite, an assistant Houston police chief who oversees the Homeland Security Command. "Some very hazardous materials were found."
Satterwhite didn't say what type of explosives investigators found.
OCT. 4, 2013: Feds raid Houston homes over purchase of chemical used in gas creation
OCT. 5, 2013: FBI blows up possibly 'volatile substance' at house
OCT. 6, 2013: FBI raid of dangerous chemical includes Michigan homes
Federal agents first raided the Schneck home in the 2000 block of Albans Road in 2013, when another multi-agency team stormed the property owned by his parents, Houston arts consultant Cecily E. Horton and her husband, Andrew Edward Schneck.
Agents also searched other properties in 2013 owned by the couple, including a Memorial-area home and a condo in Bryan.
Officials initially said the younger Schneck was believed to have chemicals that could be used to make nerve gas or tear gas. They eventually found a military-grade explosive called picric acid at the Memorial area home on Fall River.
The following year, the then 22-year-old Schneck pleaded guilty in federal court to knowingly storing explosives and was sentenced to five years probation. A judge released him last year ahead of schedule.
At the time, his lawyers noted his "'exemplary character," saying he'd "matured and his focus is no longer concentrated on high-risk activities," court documents show.
While on probation, he completed a bachelor's degree at Austin College, where he majored in chemistry. He expressed interest in attending graduate school to study chemical reactions using "cutting-edge computer learning software," according to court documents.
He adhered to the probation stipulations and paid off more than $150,000 in restitution.
"Schneck is not a risk to public safety nor is there a history of violence," his lawyers argued.
Photo: Steve Gonzales, Houston Chronicle The Richard Dowling statue near the entrance to Hermann Park...
School acquaintances described him as an awkward loner who struggled with social interactions.
"I can't even think of a single friend he had, to be perfectly honest," said one former classmate at Memorial High School, where he was known as "Ace" for his initials.
During their senior year of high school, the former classmate said, Schneck wrote a "manifesto" dedicated to some of the school's popular girls, decrying how their boyfriends treated them and saying he could have done better.
After high school graduation in 2010, the two lost touch and Schneck's classmate didn't hear news of him again until charges were filed against him several years ago.
"None of this is surprising," the former classmate said. "He seems a bit disconnected from reality."
Dowling's statue — the city's first publicly financed monument — has prompted discussion for years.
A 1958 Houston Chronicle article acknowledged that "there probably are only a few Houstonians who have more than a hazy idea about Dick Dowling's contribution to Texas history."
"Shouldn't the city of his adoption revere the memory of such a daring young man and his exploits sufficiently to display the statue and keep it in good repair?" a front-page piece asked.
Dowling, a Houston businessman, is credited with helping found the Houston Fire Department and start the city's first street car company.
In recent weeks, protesters of Confederate statues tore down one such monument in Durham, North Carolina. Elsewhere, authorities in Baltimore and on the University of Texas at Austin campus removed public statues quietly in the night.
Critics here have also called for the removal of such statues but condemned Schneck's actions.
"If someone wants to take the initiative and take it down and face the consequences, I'm good with that," said Ashton Woods, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston. "But it becomes another thing if you have explosives enough to blow up your neighborhood and take them to a public park. I completely condemn that. You don't put people in danger to further your ideology."
Margaret Kadifa, John D. Harden, Lindsay Ellis and James Pinkerton contributed to this story. ||||| Andrew Schneck, the 25-year-old son of the couple who own the homes at the center of the investigation, first got the attention of law enforcement in 2013. That was when he reportedly ordered explosive chemicals online.Back then, the FBI searched the family's home and found picric acid, according to government documents. They found more of it than they expected, according to FBI agents at the raid.The raids were part of an investigation that spread from Houston to Bryan to a home the family owned in Traverse City, Mich.Schneck pleaded guilty to 2014 improper storage of a high explosive. His family paid $159,000 to law enforcement agencies as restitution. Court records show Schneck got five years probation.During probation, a judge kept him from "any contact with explosive materials", "contact with people... to communicate about explosive materials", or "any activities involving the use of chemical agents." That ended nine months ago.A federal judge let him off probation early, after just two years and two months.While on probation, Schneck earned a bachelor's degree from Austin College in Sherman, Texas where his major was chemistry.According to court documents, his mother told federal agents on Saturday that her son used the house now under investigation "to conduct his chemistry experiments." |||||
A summary of this is?
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– There is a nationwide debate over what to do about Confederate statues—but just about everybody agrees that Andrew Schneck's approach is not the way forward. The 25-year-old man was arrested Saturday for allegedly trying to blow up a statute of Confederate Lt. Dick Dowling in Houston's Hermann Park, CNN reports. According to court documents, a park ranger spotted Schneck kneeling in the bushes near the statue with boxes containing a detonator, a timer, and a bottle of nitroglycerin, among other items. The ranger says that when she confronted him, he tried to drink some of the liquid explosive before spitting it out on the ground. Authorities say Schneck admitted he was trying to harm the statue and told police there were more explosives at his home, prompting a massive FBI operation that authorities say uncovered "very hazardous materials." Schneck received five years of probation in 2014 after pleading guilty to improper storage of a high explosive, ABC13 reports. He now faces federal charges of attempting to destroy property and could get up to 40 years in prison. Black Lives Matter Houston organizer Ashton Woods tells the Houston Chronicle that taking down Confederate statues "becomes another thing if you have explosives enough to blow up your neighborhood and take them to a public park. I completely condemn that."
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News article:
FILE - In tis Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, file photo, Raymond Fryberg, the father of the Washington state teenager who fatally shot four classmates and himself at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in October... (Associated Press)
FILE - In tis Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, file photo, Raymond Fryberg, the father of the Washington state teenager who fatally shot four classmates and himself at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in October... (Associated Press)
SEATTLE (AP) — A federal jury on Tuesday found a Washington state man guilty of illegally owning firearms, including the handgun his son used to kill four of his friends and himself last year in a high school cafeteria.
Raymond Fryberg was convicted of six counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. He was the subject of a 2002 domestic violence protection order that prohibited from having firearms.
The jury rejected Fryberg's claim that he didn't know about the protection order and therefore didn't know he couldn't have guns. Fryberg didn't testify and his lawyers didn't call any witnesses during the three-day trial in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
Fryberg's son, 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg, killed three 14-year-old girls and a 15-year-old boy who was his cousin after inviting them to lunch. He injured another one of his cousins, a 14-year-old boy, in the Oct. 24 shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School north of Seattle.
Raymond Fryberg's lawyer, John Henry Browne, had told jurors that Fryberg passed at least a dozen background checks and no law enforcement agency ever said he was prohibited from owning guns.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ye-Ting Woo told the panel Fryberg was served with a notice about a hearing to discuss the protection order sought by his former girlfriend, but he chose to ignore it.
The Tulalip Tribal Court judge granted the order, but authorities said it was never entered into any state or federal databases, so when Fryberg went to a store to buy guns, he passed the background checks. Prosecutors said Fryberg lied on the firearms purchasing forms when asked if he was the subject of a protection order and took the guns home.
Federal agents learned about the guns after the school shooting, but the shooting was not discussed during the trial because Fryberg didn't face charges related to his son's actions.
Sentencing was set for Jan. 11. Fryberg faces up to 10 years in prison. ||||| Raymond Lee Fryberg Jr., 42, was convicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle of all six counts of illegally possessing firearms in violation of a domestic violence protection order.
Fryberg's 15-year-old son, Jaylen, used one of the guns, a Beretta PX4 Storm pistol, to shoot and kill four friends and himself Oct. 24, 2014.
Raymond Fryberg didn't testify, and his lawyers called no witnesses. They told jurors that Fryberg was never served the protection order and didn't know he couldn't have firearms.
But prosecutors said he lied on the disclosure form, declaring he wasn't subject to restrictions even though he had admitted in court in late 2012 that he'd violated the order.
Related: Father of Marysville School Shooter Jaylen Fryberg Charged With Gun Buy
Authorities said the protection order was originally issued after Fryberg allegedly threatened and assaulted his then-partner. It wasn't clear how he violated the order in September 2012, but he pleaded no contest and was placed 12 months' probation. ||||| The father of the Marysville school shooter was found guilty of federal firearms charges in U.S. District Court in Seattle.
The father of the teen who killed four classmates at Marysville-Pilchuck High School last fall was convicted Tuesday of illegally possessing a half-dozen firearms, including the one his son used in the shooting.
Raymond Lee Fryberg Jr. was convicted of six counts of unlawful possession of a firearm. One of the firearms, a .40-caliber Beretta pistol, was used by 15-year-old Jaylen Fryberg to kill four classmates and wound a fifth. Jaylen then killed himself with the same handgun.
The federal jury deliberated for about a day after a three-day trial before U.S. District Judge James Robart.
The senior Fryberg appeared stunned by the verdict. He had tears on his cheeks as he huddled with his attorneys and family after the verdict was read.
Fryberg will remain free until sentencing, which is scheduled for Jan. 11. He faces up to 10 years in prison for each count.
Family members of some of the shooting victims sat behind the prosecutors when the verdict was read. They declined to comment as they walked in silence into an elevator on the 14th floor of the U.S. District Courthouse. After the doors slid shut, however, ebullient yells and whoops could be heard.
Fryberg’s Seattle attorney, John Henry Browne, said the criminal charges were retaliation for the school killings and had been “pushed by the families” of the victims.
While the school shooting was never mentioned during the trial, Browne said it hung over the proceedings like a pall.
“It was difficult to stay on task,” he said outside the federal courthouse.
While the sole issue was whether Fryberg knew he was barred from owning firearms, Browne said, prosecutors began their closing arguments Monday with a slideshow of the six firearms Fryberg had purchased, including the handgun used by his son.
“This was clearly piling on by the government,” said Browne, who intends to appeal the verdict.
A grand jury had alleged the senior Fryberg, a member of the Tulalip Tribes, purchased a number of firearms despite being the subject of a tribal domestic-violence protective order that had been issued in 2002. Fryberg, 42, pleaded no contest in tribal court to violating the order in 2012, according to federal prosecutors.
The government says that should have prevented him from purchasing firearms, but that flaws in the instant-background-check system allowed him to “slip under the screen” of several law-enforcement databases.
Prosecutors claimed Fryberg lied when he filled out firearms-purchase forms on which he declared, under penalty of perjury, that he had not been convicted of a domestic-violence crime.
During the trial’s closing arguments, Browne accused the government of appealing to the jury’s emotions by showing photographs of each of the six firearms — including the handgun used in the school shootings and two assault-style semi-automatic rifles — that Fryberg had purchased at the Cabela’s store in Tulalip after 2012.
Fryberg, Browne said, assumed the purchases were legal and pointed out that he was even able to obtain a concealed-carry permit for a handgun, which requires a more stringent background check than purchasing a firearm. Browne said Fryberg was never properly served with the protection order, and that there were questions about whether the order was ever filed with the court.
The police officer who was supposed to file it — who was the brother-in-law of Fryberg’s ex-girlfriend, who had sought the order — is dead.
Fryberg claimed he was never given a copy of the order and did not know it existed, despite his no-contest plea in 2012.
“He is not on trial for anything else,” Browne said. “Not for how many guns he owns,” or what they may have been used for. The government, he claimed, “is trying to turn this case into something it is not.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ye-Ting Woo said the issue was not whether Fryberg was able to purchase the guns because of “gaps in the system,” including the fact that tribal-court domestic-violence protective orders and convictions often are not entered into national databases.
“The system relies on the purchasers to tell the truth,” she said.
The investigation into Fryberg’s gun ownership began in October 2014, when the FBI was trying to determine ownership of the gun that was used in the school shootings. The senior Fryberg had purchased that gun from Cabela’s in January 2013, a year after a permanent protective order against him had been filed in Tulalip Tribal Court, prosecutors said.
A search warrant filed in U.S. District Court stated that agents found several firearms lying unsecured in the home.
A 1,400-page report detailing the investigation into the school shooting said Jaylen Fryberg apparently brought the handgun to school in a backpack. He texted several friends to meet him in the lunchroom that day, Oct. 24, and also sent a text to his father and other family members detailing his funeral plans.
Minutes later in the cafeteria, Jaylen Fryberg pulled out the Beretta handgun from the backpack and shot five classmates, killing Zoe Galasso, Gia Soriano and Shaylee Chuckulnaskit, all 14, and Andrew Fryberg, 15. All were shot in the head.
Nate Hatch, 15, was shot in the jaw and spent about two weeks in Seattle’s Harborview Medical Center.
The report indicates that Fryberg was angry over a breakup with a girlfriend, as well as a fight he had with a fellow student in the days before the shooting.
However, the team of investigators said it could not determine a definitive reason for the shooting. |||||
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– A father in Washington state could be spending up to 10 years in prison for buying the gun his 15-year-old son used to kill himself and four classmates. Raymond Fryberg, father of Jaylen Fryberg, was found guilty on Tuesday on federal charges of illegally possessing six firearms, including the Beretta PX4 Storm pistol his son took to school, NBC News reports. Fryberg is a member of the Tulalip Tribes, and prosecutors said he bought the guns in violation of a tribal domestic-violence protective order that wasn't entered into federal databases, the Seattle Times reports. Fryberg's lawyers said he wasn't aware of the order and thought he could buy guns legally, although in a 2012 court case, he admitted violating the order. The illegal guns were discovered after the Oct. 24, 2014, shooting at Marysville-Pilchuck High School, and while the shooting wasn't part of the case against Fryberg, his lawyer tells the Times that it clouded the proceedings and made it "difficult to stay on task." He accuses the government of "piling on" and says he plans to appeal the verdict. The Times notes that investigators found unsecured firearms in the home after the shooting—and that relatives of the four teenage victims stayed silent in court when the verdict was announced but could be heard cheering after they left the room. Fryberg will be sentenced in January, the AP reports. (Fryberg's son texted his family moments before opening fire on his friends.)
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"We are deeply saddened to lose Michelle who was a vibrant and beloved member of our young performers cast," said Victoria Morgan, Artistic Director, Cincinnati Ballet. "She danced in our Nutcracker performances each year since 2013 and was most recently featured as lead soldier in our 2016 production. Our condolences go out to Michelle's family during this difficult time." ||||| Highlands High School is responding with open doors and open arms to the tragic death of a student.
Friends and classmates of Michelle Chalk, 15, have been invited to the school to talk and spend time together after her sudden death.
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On Tuesday evening, Chalk was at a friend’s house on Pebble Creek Circle in Fort Thomas, sitting on a hammock strung between two trees. One of the trees fell, hitting Chalk and killing her almost instantly.
The friend who was on the hammock with her wasn’t hurt. The tree was described as old, but what caused it to fall isn’t clear.
Chalk was an incoming freshman at Highlands High School. Wednesday, the school opened at 7:30 a.m. so friends and classmates could gather together in their grief.
The superintendent says the school is there for students and families.
“My own children went through a similar tragedy with a friend and I know that all they wanted to do was to hang out together, to be together, to mourn together and also to share wonderful memories,” said Superintendent Karen Cheser of Fort Thomas Independent Schools.
Students can stop by and speak to grief counselors at the school, or just be together with friends.
Fort Thomas police have concluded their investigation of the incident and determined it was an accident.
Chalk has danced in the Cincinnati Ballet's production of "The Nutcracker" every year since 2013, a spokesperson said.
"We are deeply saddened to lose Michelle who was a vibrant and beloved member of our young performers cast," said Victoria Morgan, artistic director, Cincinnati Ballet. "She danced in our Nutcracker performances each year since 2013 and was most recently featured as lead soldier in our 2016 production. Our condolences go out to Michelle's family during this difficult time."
She started her dance training when she was 3-years old at Dance Express Studio in Fort Thomas.
“We’ve seen her once a week since then (and she’s) grown up here at the studio,” said Sonja Harney, Dance Express owner.
Harney said Chalk could sing and dance. “She loved being on stage and clearly the stage loved her.”
Dance instructor Elizabeth Bravo said losing her longtime student is devestating. She said, "She had the brightest outlook on anything. I would have a bad day (and) she would make it better for me."
Her friends planned a vigil outside Highlands High School Wednesday night.
AlertMe ||||| FORT THOMAS, Ky. - A 15-year-old Kentucky girl was killed when a tree collapsed on her and a friend Tuesday evening.
Michelle Chalk, 15, died after the tree fell around 6:20 p.m. in Fort Thomas.
Capt. Steve Lumpp of the Fort Thomas Fire Department said Michelle was sitting with another juvenile on a hammock between two trees at a friend's house when one of the trees collapsed on them. The second juvenile was not harmed.
Michelle was a resident of Fort Thomas and scheduled to start as a freshman at Highlands High School in just a couple weeks, according to the police department.
She was also a member of the Cincinnati Ballet's cast for "The Nutcracker" since 2013 and was featured as lead soldier in the 2016 production.
"We are deeply saddened to lose Michelle, who was a vibrant and beloved member of our young performers cast," Victoria Morgan, artistic director of Cincinnati Ballet, said. ||||| The interactive transcript could not be loaded.
Rating is available when the video has been rented.
This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. |||||
What is a summary?
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– A Kentucky teen who was set to start her freshman year in high school this fall instead met a tragic fate this week while hanging out with a friend. Michelle Chalk, 15, was lounging in a hammock positioned between two trees in a friend's Fort Thomas backyard Tuesday when one of the trees collapsed and crushed her shortly after 6pm, WCPO reports. Campbell County police say Michelle was dead by the time first responders got to the scene, notes FOX 19; the other juvenile wasn't harmed. Per WLWT, why the tree fell hasn't yet been determined, though it was described as being an older tree. Police are deeming her death accidental. A community is now in mourning for Michelle, who started dancing at the age of 3 and had performed in the Cincinnati Ballet's Nutcracker performance since 2013, including as one of the lead soldiers in last year's staging. "She loved being on stage and clearly the stage loved her," says the owner of the dance studio where Michelle trained. Meanwhile, the doors of Highlands High School were opened in the early morning on Wednesday so students, friends, and their families could grieve together. (An Iowa teen died in a freak hammock accident last year.)
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Nine people were killed in the shooting at the historic Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday night. On Thursday afternoon, Charleston County Coroner Rae Wooten officially identified all of the victims, some of whose names had leaked out over the course of the day. Here are brief sketches of their lives.
State Sen. Clementa Pinckney
Pinckney, 41, was a pastor at Emanuel AME and a widely respected state senator. “Sen. Pinckney was a legend,” said fellow state Sen. Marlon Kimpton on CNN. “He was the moral compass of the state Senate.” Pinckney’s desk in the statehouse was covered with a black cloth after news broke of his death:
In SC, if a State Sen dies a black cloth is draped over their desk…this was Pinckney’s desk. http://t.co/fupAm838fJ pic.twitter.com/2ntw42e5TD — Ellison Barber (@ellisonbarber) June 18, 2015
During his remarks on Thursday afternoon, President Obama said he knew Pinckney personally, along with other members of the church. “To say our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families and their community doesn’t say enough to convey the heartache and the sadness and the anger that we feel,” he said.
Sharonda Coleman-Singleton
Coleman-Singleton, also a pastor at the church, was a coach at Goose Creek High School near Charleston. South Carolina’s high school sports governing body mourned her death on Twitter after it was announced on Thursday morning:
She was a celebrated track and field coach for Goose Creek High School and revered as a “positive light” to all who knew her. — SCHSL (@SCHSL) June 18, 2015
“I saw her at work everyday and she always had a smile on her face,” Chris Pond, the baseball coach at Goose Creek, said to the Berkeley Independent.
Cynthia Hurd
Hurd, the manager of the St. Andrews branch of the Charleston County Public Library, was identified by her employer as one of the victims.
County library system identifies St. Andrews branch manager Cynthia Hurd as slaying victim in #CharlestonShooting pic.twitter.com/XQnV8KSUzo — Andrew Knapp (@offlede) June 18, 2015
“Cynthia was a tireless servant of the community who spent her life helping residents, making sure they had every opportunity for an education and personal growth,” the library said in a statement on Facebook.
The library announced it would shut all of its branches on Thursday to honor Hurd.
TYWANZA SANDERS
Lady June Cole, the interim president of Allen University, said on Thursday that Tywanza Sanders, a 2014 graduate of the small historically black university in Columbia, S.C., was killed in the shooting. Cole called Sanders a “quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education” and who “presented a warm and helpful spirit.”
MYRA THOMPSON
Archbishop Foley Beach of the Anglican Church of North America wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday that Myra Thompson, the wife of the Rev. Anthony Thompson of Charleston’s Holy Trinity REC Church, was killed in the attack.
Ethel Lee Lance
The 70-year-old grandmother had worked at Emanuel AME for more than three decades. Her grandson Jon Quil Lance told the Post and Courier newspaper in Charleston that Lance was a hardworking Christian and “the heart of the family.”
SHE HAS A NAME: Ethel Lee Lance, worked at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston for 30 years. She was killed last night. pic.twitter.com/7OHjsnhD8f — Michael Skolnik (@MichaelSkolnik) June 18, 2015
Susie Jackson
The 87-year-old was a longtime church patron and Ethel Lance’s cousin, according to the Post and Courier.
Daniel L. Simmons Sr.
The 74-year-old was a ministry staff member at Emanuel AME and the former pastor of Greater Zion AME Church in the nearby town of Awendaw. His daughter-in-law, Arcelia Simmons, told ABC News that Simmons attended services at Emanuel on Sundays as well as weekly Bible study. Simmons died in the hospital after the attack.*
I can’t believe that Rev. Dan Simmons is gone. This man baptized me, married my parents, and eulogized my granny — Sh’Kur Francis (@_shkurfrancis) June 18, 2015
Depayne Middleton
The 49-year-old mother of four sang in the church choir.
Correction: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Allen University is located in Charleston. It is actually located in Columbia, S.C.
Correction: An earlier version of this article misspelled the town of Awendaw. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings.
/ Updated By Erik Ortiz, Emmanuelle Saliba, Euronews and Alex Johnson
The nine victims of the Charleston, South Carolina, church shooting were remembered Thursday as "kind-hearted" members of the community — six women and three men who shared a love of family and faith.
They had gathered Wednesday night — as they did each week — at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church for a Bible study session. About an hour later, a 21-year-old gunman opened fire in a fit of rage, police said.
Charleston County coroner Rae Wooten identified all nine victims in a press conference Thursday.
"Immediately my heart started to sink because I knew this was going to mean a forever impact on many, many people," Wooten said about being called in for duty after the massacre Wednesday night.
The oldest victim was 87 years old, the youngest, 26. Four of them were reverends. Here's what we know about the slain parishioners, all of whom died of gunshot wounds — eight at the scene, and one in a hospital operating room later.
The Rev. Clementa Pinckney
Pinckney was a pastor at Emanuel AME and began preaching in the church in his teens. The 41-year-old married father of two also served in the South Carolina Senate and was at one time the youngest member of the state House when he was first elected at 23. |||||
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– The nine people shot to death in a South Carolina church last night ranged in age from 26 to 87, reports NBC News. Some details about them: The Rev. Clementa Pinckney, 41. The married father of two was a pastor at Emanuel AME and a state senator. "He was the moral compass of the state Senate," a colleague said on CNN, per Mother Jones Tywanza Sanders, 26. He had graduated from Allen University with a degree in business administration just last year. The school called him a "quiet, well-known student who was committed to his education." Cynthia Hurd, 54. She was a longtime employee of the Charleston County Public Library. All branches were closed today in her honor. Sharonda Coleman-Singleton, 49, worked at Goose Creek High School as a speech therapist and girls' track coach. She was also a pastor at the church. The Rev. Depayne Middelton Doctor, 49, a church singer who had worked for Charleston County providing services for the poor. She was a mother of four. Susie Jackson, 87, a longtime member of the historic church. Ethel Lance, 70, a church sexton who had worked at Emanuel AME for three decades. The Rev. Daniel Simmons, 74, was on the church's ministerial staff, attending Sunday services and a weekly Bible study. Myra Thompson, 59, was the wife of the vicar of Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church in Charleston. Suspect Dylann Roof was arrested after a woman spotted him driving.)
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In the aftermath of the unlikely alliance between Ted Cruz and John Kasich against Donald Trump, the Manhattan billionaire is getting creative with his insults.
Kasich is a "disgusting" eater, Trump told crowds Monday. "I have never seen a human being eat in such a disgusting fashion," Trump said of the Ohio governor, who has spent a bit of time on the airwaves as of late with food in his mouth.
"I'm always telling my young son Barron -- I'm saying and I'm always with my kids all of them -- I say, children, small, little bites. Small," Trump added. "This guy takes a pancake and he's shoving it in his mouth. It's disgusting. Do you want that for your president? I don't think so. I don't think so. Honestly -- it's disgusting."
"It's pouring out of his mouth," Trump followed up at his next rally in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
And while Trump may not have sounded very presidential as he attacked Kasich, a candidate whose name the Republican front-runner frequently mispronounces, he argued that he certainly looked presidential -- unlike his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton.
"Do I look like a president? How handsome am I, right? How handsome?" Trump proclaimed. "Somebody said 'He really does look good but you know I don't know if he's presidential.' And I'm looking at this stage of people -- my competitors. Does Hillary look presidential?"
When the crowd responded with a thunderous "no," Trump dug in further, saying that Clinton doesn't have the strength or energy to be president.
Trump also warned the crowds of the danger of the resettlement of Syrian refugees, going so far in Warwick as to say that people should lock their doors.
"Lock your doors," Trump said. "No, it's a big problem. We don't know anything about them. We don't know where they come from, who they are, there's no documentation. We have our incompetent government people, letting them in by the thousands and who knows. Who knows, maybe it's ISIS." ||||| A verbal food fight is breaking out between Donald Trump and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.
Interested in ? Add as an interest to stay up to date on the latest news, video, and analysis from ABC News. Add Interest
While Trump had coined nicknames and thrown insults at other rivals like Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio far earlier on the campaign trail, the real estate mogul went low and attacked Kasich's table manners today.
"I have never seen a human being eat in such a disgusting fashion," Trump said of Kasich at an event in Rhode Island. "I’m always telling my young son Barron, I’m saying and I always do it with my kids. ... I would say, 'Children, small little bites.'"
"This guy takes a pancake and he’s shoving it in his mouth. It is disgusting. Do you want that for your president? I don't think so, I don’t think so. Honestly it’s disgusting,"
ABC News
Trump's gripes must be at least a few days old, since Kasich was pictured eating eggs and fruit today at a diner in Pennsylvania.
Kasich's spokesman Chris Schrimpf steered clear of the syrup-slinging in his response.
"Day in and day out Donald Trump demonstrates why he loses to Hillary Clinton in every poll and why he would give Democrats control of the White House, the Senate and the Supreme Court," Schrimpf told ABC News. "John Kasich on the other hand runs 30 points ahead of him in New Hampshire and over 15 points ahead of him in Pennsylvania. He is the only Republican who can defeat Hillary Clinton."
This is not the first time that Kasich's eating habits have been discussed on the campaign trail, but it may be the first time that he wasn't the one to start it. |||||
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Shorter version: – John Kasich isn't shy about chowing down on the campaign trail, and this fact has not passed Donald Trump by. Trump, on the attack after Kasich and Ted Cruz teamed up against him, is denouncing Kasich as a messy eater, ABC News reports. "I have never seen a human being eat in such a disgusting fashion," Trump said at a campaign event in Rhode Island on Monday. "I'm always telling my young son Barron, I'm saying and I always do it with my kids," he said, "I would say, 'Children, small little bites.' This guy takes a pancake and he's shoving it in his mouth. It is disgusting. Do you want that for your president? I don't think so, I don't think so. Honestly, it's disgusting." At his next rally, in Pennsylvania, Trump slammed Kasich as "a stubborn guy who eats like a slob" before describing himself as more presidential-looking than his rivals, CBS News reports. "Do I look like a president? How handsome am I, right? How handsome?" he said. "Somebody said, 'He really does look good but you know, I don't know if he's presidential.' And I'm looking at this stage of people—my competitors. Does Hillary look presidential?" (Earlier, Trump gave Kasich a new nickname.)
question: News article:
They think it's all over...that's it, this week's chart has closed, but if you want to keep on streaming etc whilst Trump is here, go for it...
Here's the live charts at 12:08am
Amazon: #1, #2, #6, #23, #27
Google Play: #1, #25…
iTunes: #3, #24 ||||| 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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– A 14-year-old song by Green Day is climbing various music charts in the UK—and the reason has everything to do with President Trump's arrival there later this week. The song is "American Idiot," and a social media campaign launched by Trump critics aims to make it the No. 1 song in the UK just as Trump arrives. Protesters are streaming and downloading the song through iTunes, Spotify, Amazon, etc., and the tune has begun cracking the top 10 lists of those sites, reports Vulture. Organizers hope to have it atop OfficialUKCharts.com when the chart is updated on Friday.
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— Representative Gabrielle Giffords , an Arizona Democrat, and at least 17 others were shot Saturday morning when a gunman opened fire outside a supermarket where Ms. Giffords was meeting with constituents.
Six of the victims died, among them John M. Roll, the chief judge for the United States District Court for Arizona, and a 9-year-old girl, the Pima County sheriff, Clarence W. Dupnik, said.
Ms. Giffords, 40, whom the authorities called the target of the attack, was in critical condition Sunday morning at the University Medical Center in Tucson , where she was operated on by a team of neurosurgeons on Saturday. Dr. Peter Rhee, medical director of the hospital’s trauma and critical care unit, said Saturday that she had been shot once in the head, “through and through,” with the bullet going through her brain.
President Obama , speaking at the White House, confirmed that a suspect was in custody and said that the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation , Robert S. Mueller III , was on his way to Arizona to oversee the investigation.
Investigators identified the gunman as Jared Lee Loughner, 22, and said that he was refusing to cooperate with the authorities and had invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. Mr. Loughner was in custody with the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Saturday night, the Pima Country sheriff’s office said.
Mr. Loughner had exhibited increasingly strange behavior in recent months, including ominous Internet postings — at least one showing a gun — and a series of videos in which he made disjointed statements on topics like the gold standard and mind control.
Pima Community College said he had been suspended for conduct violations and withdrew in October after five instances of classroom or library disruptions that involved the campus police.
The authorities were seen entering the Loughner family house about five miles from the shooting scene. Investigators said they were looking for a possible accomplice, believed to be in his 50s.
The shootings raised questions about potential political motives, and Sheriff Dupnik blamed the toxic political environment in Arizona. There were immediate national reverberations as Democrats denounced the fierce partisan atmosphere in Ms. Gifford’s district and top Republicans quickly condemned the violence.
Mark Kimble, an aide to Ms. Giffords, said the shooting occurred about 10 a.m. in a small area between an American flag and an Arizona flag. He said that he went into the store for coffee, and that as he came out the gunman started firing.
Photo
Ms. Giffords had been talking to a couple about Medicare and reimbursements, and Judge Roll had just walked up to her and shouted “Hi,” when the gunman, wearing sunglasses and perhaps a hood of some sort, approached and shot the judge, Mr. Kimble said. “Everyone hit the ground,” he said. “It was so shocking.”
The United States Capitol Police, which is investigating the attack, cautioned lawmakers “to take reasonable and prudent precautions regarding their personal security.”
Because of the shootings, House Republicans postponed all legislation to be considered on the floor this week, including a vote to repeal the health care overhaul. The House majority leader, Representative Eric Cantor , Republican of Virginia , said lawmakers needed to “take whatever actions may be necessary in light of today’s tragedy.”
Speaking of Ms. Giffords’s condition, Dr. Rhee said at a news conference, “I can tell you at this time, I am very optimistic about her recovery.” He added, “We cannot tell what kind of recovery, but I’m as optimistic as it can get in this kind of situation.”
Ms. Giffords remained unconscious on Saturday night, said her spokesman, C. J. Karamargin.
Several aides to Ms. Giffords were wounded, and her director of community outreach, Gabriel Zimmerman, 30, was among those killed. The girl who died was identified as Christina Green, a third grader. The others killed were Dorothy Morris, 76; Dorwan Stoddard, 76; and Phyllis Schneck, 79.
Ms. Giffords, who represents the Eighth District, in the southeastern corner of Arizona, has been an outspoken critic of the state’s tough immigration law, which is focused on identifying, prosecuting and deporting illegal immigrants, and she had come under criticism for her vote in favor of the health care law.
Friends said she had received threats over the years. Judge Roll had been involved in immigration cases and had received death threats.
The police said Ms. Giffords’s district office was evacuated late Saturday after a suspicious package was found. Officers later cleared the scene.
Ms. Giffords, widely known as Gabby, had been speaking to constituents in a store alcove under a large white banner bearing her name when a man surged forward and began firing. He tried to escape but was tackled by a bystander and taken into custody by the police. The event, called “Congress on Your Corner,” was outside a Safeway supermarket northwest of Tucson and was the first opportunity for constituents to meet with Ms. Giffords since she was sworn in for a third term on Wednesday.
Ms. Giffords was part of the Democratic class of 2006 that swept Democrats into the majority in the House. She narrowly won re-election in November, while many fellow Democrats were toppled and the House turned to Republican control.
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“I saw the congresswoman talking to two people, and then this man suddenly came up and shot her in the head and then shot other people,” said Dr. Steven Rayle, a witness to the shootings. “I think it was a semiautomatic, and he must have got off 20 rounds.”
Dr. Rayle said that Ms. Giffords slumped to the ground and that staff members immediately rushed to her aid. “A staffer had his arm around her, and she was leaning against the window of the Safeway,” the doctor said. “He had a jacket or towel on her head.”
At least one of the other shooting victims helped Ms. Giffords, witnesses said.
Television broadcasts showed a chaotic scene outside a normally tranquil suburban shopping spot as emergency workers rushed to carry the wounded away in stretchers. Some of the victims were taken from the site by helicopter, three of which had arrived.
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Law enforcement officials said that the congresswoman had received numerous threats.
Congressional leaders of both parties issued statements throughout the day expressing outrage at the shooting as well as concern and prayers for Ms. Giffords and her family.
The new House speaker, John A. Boehner , said: “I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff. An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve.
“Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured and their families. This is a sad day for our country.”
Senator John McCain , Republican of Arizona, issued one of the strongest statements, saying: “I am horrified by the violent attack on Representative Gabrielle Giffords and many other innocent people by a wicked person who has no sense of justice or compassion. I pray for Gabby and the other victims, and for the repose of the souls of the dead and comfort for their families.”
He added, “Whoever did this, whatever their reason, they are a disgrace to Arizona, this country and the human race.”
Ms. Giffords is a centrist Democrat who won re-election in part by stressing her strong support for gun rights and for tougher immigration controls, including tighter border security, even though she opposed the controversial Arizona law.
Last March, after the final approval of the Democrats’ health care law, which Ms. Giffords supported, the windows of her office in Tucson were broken or shot out in an act of vandalism. Similar acts were reported by other members of Congress.
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In August 2009, when there were demonstrations against the health care measure across the nation, a protester who showed up to meet Ms. Giffords at a supermarket event similar to Saturday’s was removed by the police when the pistol he had holstered under his armpit fell and bounced on the floor.
In an interview at the Capitol this week, Ms. Giffords said she was excited to count herself among the Democrats who joined the new Republican majority in reading the Constitution aloud from the House floor. She said she was particularly pleased with being assigned the reading of the First Amendment.
“I wanted to be here,” she said. “I think it’s important. Reflecting on the Constitution in a bipartisan way is a good way to start the year.”
As a Democrat, Ms. Giffords is something of anomaly in Arizona and in her district, which has traditionally tilted Republican. Last year, she barely squeaked to victory over a Republican challenger, Jesse Kelly. But she had clearly heard the message that constituents were dissatisfied with Democratic leaders in Washington.
At the Capitol last week, Ms. Giffords refused to support the outgoing Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi of California , in her symbolic contest with the Republican, Mr. Boehner of Ohio . Instead, she cast her vote for Representative John Lewis , a Georgia Democrat and hero of the civil rights movement.
“It’s not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does: listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors,” Mr. Obama said during a news conference Saturday, calling her a “friend of mine” and an “extraordinary public servant.” “I know Gabby is as tough as they come,” he said. “Obviously, our hearts go out to the family members of those who have been slain.” “We’re going to get to the bottom of this, and we’re going to get through this,” he said.
The shooting mobilized officials at the White House and throughout the highest levels of government, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department.
Rabbi Stephanie Aaron, who in 2007 officiated at the wedding of Ms. Giffords and the astronaut Mark E. Kelly, and leads Congregation Chaverim in Tucson, said the congresswoman had never expressed any concern about her safety. “No fear. I’ve only seen the bravest possible, most intelligent young congresswoman,” Rabbi Aaron said. “I feel like this is really one of those proverbial — seemingly something coming out of nowhere.”
At Ms. Giffords’s district office, a group of about 50 people formed a prayer circle. Chris Cole, a Tucson police officer whose neighborhood beat includes the district office, said of the shooting, “This kind of thing just doesn’t happen in Tucson.”
Behind the office, in the parking lot, campaign volunteers stood around a car with the door open, listening to a live radio broadcast of a hospital news conference updating the congresswoman’s condition. A cheer went up when it was announced that she was still alive.
The volunteers included Kelly Canady and her mother, Patricia Canady, both longtime campaign workers. Patricia Canedy had worked for Ms. Giffords since she served in the State Senate while Kelly, her daughter, moved to Tucson 13 years ago and was active in last year’s campaign and in the health care debate.
“She’s one of those people who remembers you. She always spoke to me by my first name,” Kelly Canady said. “She loved everybody. She was very easy to talk to. She was one of the main reasons I will stay involved in politics.” ||||| U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday, an aide was killed, and an unknown number of others were wounded when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store as the Democratic lawmaker met with constituents, officials said.
People talk at the scene of a shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., on Jan. 8, 2011 in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Dean Knuth) NO MAGS, NO SALES, MANDATORY CREDIT (Associated Press)
People gather at the scene of a shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Morrison) (Associated Press)
Emergency workers gather at the scene of a shooting involving Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris Morrison) (Associated Press)
Emergency personnel work the scene of a shooting that authorities claim involved Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Dean Knuth)... (Associated Press)
Emergency personnel stand at the scene of a shooting that authorities claim involved Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., in Tucson, Ariz., on Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011. (AP Photo/Arizona Daily Star, Dean Knuth)... (Associated Press)
Map locates Tucson, Arizona, where Congresswoman Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was shot among others at a store (Associated Press)
FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011 file photo, House Speaker John Boehner reenacts the swearing in of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., on Capitol Hill in Washington. Congressional officials say Giffords has... (Associated Press)
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Office of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, shows Democratic Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona's 8th Congressional District. Congressional officials say Rep. Gabrielle... (Associated Press)
Emergency officials work at the scene of a shooting that authorities claim involved Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., Saturday, Jan. 8, 2011, at a Safeway grocery store in Tucson, Ariz. (AP Photo/Chris... (Associated Press)
C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman for Giffords, said the congresswoman was in surgery as of 1 p.m. local time and that an unspecified number of Giffords' staff members were wonded in the shooting. Karamargin said he had no other information on the conditions of the wounded or on the circumstances of the shooting.
Congressional officials said an aide to Giffords was killed, and an unknown number of others were wounded, including staffers to the lawmaker.
President Barack Obama called the shooting "an unspeakable tragedy" and that such "a senseless and terrible act of violence has no place in a free society.
U.S. Capitol police say the shooter is in custody. One official said he carried out the attack with an automatic weapon. The officials who described the events did so on condition of anonymity, saying they were not permitted to comment publicly.
"I am horrified by the senseless attack on Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and members of her staff," newly elected House Speaker John Boehner said. "An attack on one who serves is an attack on all who serve. Acts and threats of violence against public officials have no place in our society. Our prayers are with Congresswoman Giffords, her staff, all who were injured, and their families. This is a sad day for our country."
Three hours after the shooting, the L-shaped shopping center in Tucson was blocked off by police and had fire trucks and other vehicles in its parking lot that blocked the view of the store's front door. No shell casings could be seen from the area 500 yards (460 meters) from the store where reporters and photographers were kept.
Giffords, 40, was re-elected to her third term last November. She was a member of the Arizona House and Senate before coming to Washington.
Giffords tweeted shortly before the shooting, saying: "My 1st Congress on Your Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what is on your mind or tweet me later."
Giffords is married to astronaut Mark E. Kelly, who has piloted space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery. The two met in China in 2003 while they were serving on a committee there, and were married in January 2007.
Giffords was first elected to Congress amid a wave of Democratic victories in the 2006 election, and she won a narrow victory against a Republican backed by the ultraconservative tea party movement in the 2010 election.
She has been mentioned as a possible Democratic nominee in 2012 for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican Jon Kyl, who has not said whether he'll run again, or for the governor's office in 2014.
The shooting comes amid a highly charged political environment that has seen several dangerous threats against lawmakers but nothing that reached the point of actual violence.
A San Francisco man upset with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's support of health care reform pleaded guilty to threatening the Democratic congresswoman and her family, calling her directly on March 25 and threatening to destroy her Northern California home if she voted for health care reform.
In July, a California man known for his anger over left-leaning politics engaged in a shootout with highway patrol officers after planning an attack on the American Civil Liberties Union and another nonprofit group. The man said he wanted to "start a revolution" by killing people at the ACLU and the Tides Foundation.
Giffords herself has drawn the ire of the right, especially for her support of the health care bill from politicians like former Arizona Gov. Sarah Palin.
Her Tucson office was vandalized a few hours after the House vote to approve the health care law in March, with someone either kicking or shooting out a glass door and window.
Despite the animosity she has generated from the right, Giffords describes herself as a former Republican and a Blue Dog Democrat. The Blue Dogs are moderate centrist Democrats.
"You know, actually as a former Republican, you know, I consider myself someone who is pretty in the middle, I'm a blue dog Democrat, and one that is interested in making sure that our country maintains our prosperity and frankly, our superiority over other countries and that's where we look at these threat, obviously our defense budget, our level of education," she said in an interview with Fox News this week.
___
AP Special Correspondent David Espo contributed to this report from Washington. ||||| 'Vitriol' Cited As Possible Factor In Arizona Tragedy
Hide caption People attend the memorial event, "Together We Thrive: Tuscon and America" at the McKale Memorial Center in Tucson, Ariz., on Wednesday to pay tribute to the six people who were killed and the 14 wounded in the assassination attempt on congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who is fighting for her life in hospital. Previous Next Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Hide caption President Obama speaks at the memorial service. Previous Next Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Hide caption President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama attend the tribute service in Tucson. Previous Next Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images
Hide caption People wait in line for the memorial service honoring Saturday's shooting victims on the University of Arizona campus in Tuscon. Previous Next David Becker/Getty Images
Hide caption Parishioners attend an interfaith service at the Catalina United Methodist Church on Tuesday in Tucson. Previous Next David Becker/Getty Images
Hide caption Supporters of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) gather for a vigil outside her offices in Tucscon, Ariz. Giffords and 18 others were shot on Saturday outside a local supermarket; six were killed. Previous Next Chris Carlson/AP
Hide caption Giffords, a moderate "Blue Dog" Democrat, was re-elected in November after a close runoff with Tea Party-backed Republican Jesse Kelly. House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) re-enacts Giffords' swearing-in on Jan. 3 in Washington, D.C. Previous Next Susan Walsh/AP
Hide caption Jared Loughner is accused of opening fire at a "Congress on Your Corner" event being held by Giffords at a Tucson supermarket. Previous Next Laura Segall/Getty Images
Hide caption The gunman shot 19 people, killing six. Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range but survived. Previous Next James Palka/AP
Hide caption Loughner, 22, has a history of erratic behavior. Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described him as "unhinged." Previous Next AP
Hide caption At a Sunday news conference in Tucson, Dr. Peter Rhee (right) and Dr. G. Michael Lemole Jr. said Giffords is able to follow verbal commands. Previous Next Chris Carlson/AP
Hide caption At the White House, President Obama tells Americans to keep "all the victims and their families, including Gabby, in our thoughts and prayers." Previous Next Evan Vucci/AP
Hide caption Victims of Saturday's shooting include (top, from left) Christina Taylor Green, 9; Dorothy Morris, 76; Arizona Federal District Judge John Roll, 63; and (bottom, from left) Phyllis Schneck, 79; Dorwin Stoddard, 76; and Gabe Zimmerman, 30. Previous Next AP
Hide caption The flag on op top of the White House flies at half-staff Monday in honor of those killed and wounded in Tucson. Previous Next Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Hide caption Loughner appeared at the Sandra Day O'Connor Courthouse in Phoenix on Monday. He is facing federal charges in the attempted assassination of a member of Congress, the murders of federal Judge roll and Gabriel Zimmerman, and two counts of attempted murder. Previous Next Laura Segall/Getty Images
Hide caption Giffords' husband, Mark Kelly, holds his wife's hand in the congresswoman's hospital room at University Medical Center in Tucson. Giffords remained in critical condition Wednesday. Previous Next U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' office via Getty Images 1 of 16 i View slideshow
Law enforcement officials continue to piece together the facts in Saturday's shooting rampage that left a federal judge dead and a congresswoman critically injured in Arizona, and some are questioning whether divisive political rhetoric may have played a role.
At least six people died and at least a dozen were injured in the Saturday morning shooting at a Tucson, Ariz., grocery store parking lot, in which the gunman specifically targeted Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, Pima County, Ariz. Sheriff Clarence Dupnik said. Giffords was shot in the head, and the shooting continued until citizens tackled the suspected gunman, he said.
The dead included John Roll, chief judge of the U.S. District Court of Arizona. Also killed was Gabe Zimmerman, 30, the congresswoman's director of community outreach, and a 9-year-old girl. Two other Giffords staffers were injured.
At a news conference Saturday night, a clearly emotional Dupnik, who has been close to both Giffords and Roll, repeatedly cited what he characterized as the "vitriol" that has infected political discourse. He said that his own state has become "the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."
There is reason to believe, he said, that the shooting suspect "may have a mental issue," adding that people like that "are especially susceptible to vitriol."
"That may be free speech, but it's not without consequences," he said.
The suspected gunman was tackled and held by people at the event until police arrived and took him into custody. Law enforcement sources told NPR the suspect was 22-year-old Jared Lee Loughner.
toggle caption Laura Segall/Getty Images
Dupnik declined to name the suspect, but said he "has kind of a troubled past — I can tell you that — and we are not convinced he acted alone."
Officials have a photograph of a second "person of interest," a 50-year-old white male, Dupnik said. "We have an individual we are actively in pursuit of, but I cannot tell you who he is at this point," the sheriff said.
The suspect still had ammunition in his weapon when he was tackled, Dupnik said. Law enforcement officials had previous contact with the suspect and he had made threats, the sheriff said.
NPR and other news organizations reported earlier Saturday that Giffords had died. NPR member station KJZZ in Phoenix reported the recently re-elected Democratic congresswoman and six others had been killed by the gunman, based on a source in the Pima County Sheriff's office.
'A Tragedy For Arizona'
"Gabby Giffords was a friend of mine," President Obama said Saturday afternoon in a nationally televised statement from the White House. "It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does: listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors."
"This is more than a tragedy for those involved," he said. "It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country."
Giffords, a moderate "Blue Dog" Democrat and gun rights advocate who in November eked out a win for a third term over Tea Party-backed Republican Jesse Kelly, underwent surgery at University Medical Center in Tucson. Hospital Director Pete Rhee said that a bullet had entered and exited the congresswoman's head, but that he was as "optimistic" as he could be in the situation.
Heard On 'All Things Considered' Around the Nation NPR's Ted Robbins Talks With Guy Raz About The Shooting Arizona Congresswoman Shot, In Critical Condition Listen · 2:43 2:43 Interviews Colleagues Share Reactions To The Shooting Colleagues Reflect On Rep. Giffords Listen · 7:09 7:09 Politics A Look At Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Career A Look At Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' Career Listen · 2:17 2:17
There has been a rush to determine what had prompted the massacre in a state that has been roiled by incendiary debate over illegal immigrants and has also become ground zero for those questioning Obama's birthplace.
"It's not a good atmosphere right now, though I'm not saying that's what prompted this," said University of Arizona law professor Andy Silverman, who knew Roll well. "But things in Arizona are very tense, and we've become the incubator for a lot of immigration-related matters and now for the birthers, too."
Giffords' fellow Arizona congressman, Republican Jeff Flake, recalled that she was unfazed after her Tucson office had been targeted by vandals who broke a window on the eve of last year's health care vote.
During an interview with MSNBC after her office was vandalized, Giffords noted that her district was on Sarah Palin's "crosshairs" list of targeted congressional races. And it had been reported that in 2009, Roll and his wife received 24-hour protection for at least a month after receiving death threats after certifying a multimillion-dollar lawsuit illegal immigrants had filed against an Arizona rancher.
Palin, in a statement, offered "sincere condolences" to Giffords and the other victims.
"On behalf of Todd and my family, we all pray for the victims and their families, and for peace and justice," she said.
As information about Loughner began to emerge later in the day — including online videos and comments posted under the same name as the Tucson native and Mountain View High School graduate — those in Arizona and Washington cautioned against jumping to conclusions.
Some online statements attributed to Loughner suggest an obsession with the nation's currency system and with grammar. In one online video posted under Loughner's name, an American flag is burned.
"It has been a difficult time politically for the country, and I'm sure bloggers and others will go crazy laying blame — on gun rights, on Tea Party people — trying to figure out who's fault it is," said Randy Graf, a Republican who served in the state Legislature with Giffords and lost to her in her first run for Congress.
"As we hear more about the alleged shooter, it seems he may be more like a person with problems whom you can't control," said Graf. He said that despite their political differences, he and Giffords "got along great."
Former Rep. Jim Kolbe, the Republican whose seat Giffords won in 2006 when he decided not to seek re-election, said that it is "inappropriate speculation to talk about what the political environment might be."
toggle caption Jose Luis Magana/AP
"We don't have any information yet," said Kolbe, who was a good friend of Roll's. "I don't think members of the media and the public realize that public officials receive threats all the time and have their offices vandalized."
Giffords, 40, has been considered an up-and-coming Democrat, with a moderate streak and an astronaut husband. At age 32, she became the youngest woman ever elected to the Arizona statehouse.
She was described Saturday by Arizona University law professor Lynn Marcus, co-director of the school's immigration clinic, as "very accessible and very warm," someone many know on a first-name basis.
"She's taken a position in support of comprehensive immigration reform, but she hasn't been anyone who is perceived as a liberal or pro-immigrant," Marcus said. "Her constituents in southern Arizona are ranchers and rural Arizonans."
She has advocated enforcement and securing the border as key to handling the challenging issue, Marcus said.
Giffords was expected to lose her race last year in the Republican-leaning 8th Congressional District. As Flake said, there was a "very strong headwind" against her — and all Democrats.
"She got re-elected because she's tenacious," he said. "She's tireless."
About Gabrielle Giffords Personal Born: June 8, 1970, in Tucson, Ariz.
Family: Married to Mark Kelly, a Navy pilot and astronaut with NASA
Home: Tucson
Religion: Jewish Career U.S. House Representative, elected 2006
State senator, Arizona, 2002-05
State representative, Arizona, 2000-02
CEO El Campo Tire, 1997-00
PricewaterhouseCoopers, 1996-97 Education Scripps College, B.A., 1993
Cornell University, M.R.P., 1996
Fulbright scholar in Mexico, 1996
Kolbe, who has known Giffords since they served together in the state Legislature, said she is "very outgoing, effervescent and thoughtful."
She has a master's degree from Cornell University and took over her family's tire business in Tucson.
Judge, Congresswoman Were Friends
Roll, a 63-year-old Pennsylvania native who received his law degree from the University of Arizona law school, was appointed by George H.W. Bush in 1991. Silverman, who coordinates a clerk program with Roll, said he considered the judge hardworking, smart and low-key.
"If you put labels on judges, he would be considered more conservative, but I think he's apolitical," Silverman said.
U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said Roll's death was "a somber reminder of the importance of the rule of law and the sacrifices of those who work to secure it."
Dupnik said that Roll, whom he described as "one of the finest human beings I ever met in my life," had stopped by Giffords' event on his way home from Mass, which he attended daily.
Roll and the congresswoman were friends, the sheriff said, and the judge just wanted to say hello before he went home to "do the floors," like he does every Saturday.
As the news continued to spool out Saturday, apolitical was the tone many, including Graf, were seeking.
"We'll get through this," Graf said. "There's time for politics later." ||||| Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona was shot in the head Saturday when an assailant opened fire outside a grocery store during a meeting with constituents, killing six people and wounding 13 others.
(SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES)
The assassination attempt left Giffords in critical condition -- the bullet went straight through her brain -- but the hospital said her outlook was "optimistic" and that she was responding to commands from doctors. The hospital said a 9-year-old child was among the killed, and a U.S. Marshal said a federal judge was also fatally shot in the attack.
Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin said three Giffords staffers were shot in the attack. One died, and the other two are expected to survive. Gabe Zimmerman, a former social worker who served as Giffords' director of community outreach, died.
Giffords, 40, is a moderate Democrat who narrowly won re-election in November against a tea party candidate who sought to throw her from office over her support of the health care law. Anger over her position became violent at times, with her Tucson office vandalized after the House passed the overhaul last March and someone showing up at a recent gathering with a weapon.
Police say the shooter was in custody, and was identified by people familiar with the investigation as Jared Lee Loughner, 22. U.S. officials who provided his name to the AP spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release it publicly.
It's still not clear if Loughner had the health care debate in mind or was focused on his own unique set of political beliefs, many outlined in rambling videos and postings on the Internet.
Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik described the gunman as mentally unstable and possibly acting with an accomplice. He said Giffords was among 13 people wounded in the melee that killed six people, including a 9-year-old girl, an aide for the Democratic lawmaker and U.S. District Judge John Roll, who had just stopped by to see his friend Giffords after celebrating Mass. Dupnik said the rampage ended only after two people tackled the gunman.
The sheriff blamed the vitriolic political rhetoric that has consumed the country, much of it centered in Arizona.
"When you look at unbalanced people, how they respond to the vitriol that comes out of certain mouths about tearing down the government. The anger, the hatred, the bigotry that goes on in this country is getting to be outrageous," he said. "And unfortunately, Arizona, I think, has become the capital. We have become the mecca for prejudice and bigotry."
Giffords expressed similar concern, even before the shooting. In an interview after her office was vandalized, she referred to the animosity against her by conservatives, including Sarah Palin's decision to list Giffords' seat as one of the top "targets" in the midterm elections.
"For example, we're on Sarah Palin's targeted list, but the thing is, that the way that she has it depicted has the crosshairs of a gun sight over our district. When people do that, they have to realize that there are consequences to that action," Giffords said in an interview with MSNBC.
In the hours after the shooting, Palin issued a statement in which she expressed her "sincere condolences" to the family of Giffords and the other victims.
During his campaign effort to unseat Giffords in November, Republican challenger Jesse Kelly held fundraisers where he urged supporters to help remove Giffords from office by joining him to shoot a fully loaded M-16 rifle. Kelly is a former Marine who served in Iraq and was pictured on his website in military gear holding his automatic weapon and promoting the event.
"I don't see the connection," between the fundraisers featuring weapons and Saturday's shooting, said John Ellinwood, Kelly's spokesman. "I don't know this person, we cannot find any records that he was associated with the campaign in any way. I just don't see the connection.
"Arizona is a state where people are firearms owners - this was just a deranged individual."
Law enforcement officials said members of Congress reported 42 cases of threats or violence in the first three months of 2010, nearly three times the 15 cases reported during the same period a year earlier. Nearly all dealt with the health care bill, and Giffords was among the targets.
A 19-year-old volunteer at the event, Alex Villec, described how the violence unfolded.
Villec, a former staffer for the congresswoman, told The Associated Press that the man who later turned out to be the suspect arrived at the event wearing a black cap and baggy pants and asking for the congresswoman.
"I told him ... she'll be more than happy to talk to you as your turn comes," Villec said. The man walked away, but returned just minutes later and burst through a table separating Villec and Giffords from the public. Villec said he saw him raise an arm, and then he heard gunfire.
The gunman fired at Giffords and her district director and started shooting indiscriminately at staffers and others standing in line to talk to the congresswoman, said Mark Kimball, a communications staffer for Giffords.
"He was not more than three or four feet from the congresswoman and the district director," he said, describing the scene as "just complete chaos, people screaming, crying."
The shooting cast a pall over the Capitol as politicians of all stripes denounced the attack as a horrific. Capitol police asked members of Congress to be more vigilant about security in the wake of the shooting. Obama dispatched his FBI chief to Arizona.
Giffords, known as "Gabby," tweeted shortly before the shooting, describing her "Congress on Your Corner" event: "My 1st Congress on Your Corner starts now. Please stop by to let me know what is on your mind or tweet me later."
"It's not surprising that today Gabby was doing what she always does, listening to the hopes and concerns of her neighbors," Obama said. "That is the essence of what our democracy is about. That is why this is more than a tragedy for those involved. It is a tragedy for Arizona and a tragedy for our entire country."
Doctors were optimistic about Giffords surviving as she was responding to commands from doctors. "With guarded optimism, I hope she will survive, but this is a very devastating wound," said Dr. Richard Carmona, the former surgeon general who lives in Tucson.
Giffords spokesman C.J. Karamargin said besides the aide Zimmerman, who was killed, two other Giffords staffers were shot but expected to survive. Zimmerman was a former social worker who served as Giffords' director of community outreach. Giffords had worked with the judge in the past to line up funding to build a new courthouse in Yuma, and Obama hailed him for his nearly 40 years of service.
Greg Segalini, an uncle of Christina, the 9-year-old victim, told the Arizona Republic that a neighbor was going to the event and invited her along because she had just been elected to the student council and was interested in government.
Christina, who was born on Sept. 11, 2001, was involved in many activities, from ballet to baseball. She had just received her first Holy Communion at St. Odilia's Catholic Church on in Tucson, Catholic Diocese of Tucson officials told The Arizona Daily Star.
In the evening, more than 100 people attended a candlelight vigil outside Giffords' headquarters, where authorities investigated a suspicious package that turned out to be non-explosive.
The suspect Loughner was described by a former classmate as a pot-smoking loner, and the Army said he tried to enlist in December 2008 but was rejected for reasons not disclosed.
Federal law enforcement officials were poring over versions of a MySpace page that included a mysterious "Goodbye friends" message published hours before the shooting and exhorted his friends to "Please don't be mad at me."
In one of several Youtube videos, which featured text against a dark background, Loughner described inventing a new U.S. currency and complained about the illiteracy rate among people living in Giffords' congressional district in Arizona.
"I know who's listening: Government Officials, and the People," Loughner wrote. "Nearly all the people, who don't know this accurate information of a new currency, aren't aware of mind control and brainwash methods. If I have my civil rights, then this message wouldn't have happen (sic)."
In Loughner's middle-class neighborhood - about a five-minute drive from the scene - sheriff's deputies had much of the street blocked off. The neighborhood sits just off a bustling Tucson street and is lined with desert landscaping and palm trees.
Neighbors said Loughner lived with his parents and kept to himself. He was often seen walking his dog, almost always wearing a hooded sweat shirt and listening to his iPod.
Loughner's MySpace profile indicates he attended and graduated from school in Tucson and had taken college classes. He did not say if he was employed.
"We're getting out of here. We are freaked out," 33-year-old David Cleveland, who lives a few doors down from Loughner's house, told The Associated Press.
Cleveland said he was taking his wife and children, ages 5 and 7, to her parent's home when they heard about the shooting.
"When we heard about it, we just got sick to our stomachs," Cleveland said. "We just wanted to hold our kids tight."
High school classmate Grant Wiens, 22, said Loughner seemed to be "floating through life" and "doing his own thing."
"Sometimes religion was brought up or drugs. He smoked pot, I don't know how regularly. And he wasn't too keen on religion, from what I could tell," Wiens said.
Lynda Sorenson said she took a math class with Loughner last summer at Pima Community College's Northwest campus and told the Arizona Daily Star he was "obviously very disturbed." "He disrupted class frequently with nonsensical outbursts," she said.
In October 2007, Loughner was cited in Pima County for possession of drug paraphernalia, which was dismissed after he completed a diversion program, according to online records.
"He has kind of a troubled past, I can tell you that," Dupnik said.
Giffords was first elected to Congress amid a wave of Democratic victories in the 2006 election, and has been mentioned as a possible Senate candidate in 2012 and a gubernatorial prospect in 2014.
She is married to astronaut Mark E. Kelly, who has piloted space shuttles Endeavour and Discovery. The two met in China in 2003 while they were serving on a committee there, and were married in January 2007. Sen. Bill Nelson, chairman of the Senate Commerce Space and Science Subcommittee, said Kelly is training to be the next commander of the space shuttle mission slated for April. His brother is currently serving aboard the International Space Station, Nelson said.
Giffords is known in her southern Arizona district for her numerous public outreach meetings, which she acknowledged in an October interview with The Associated Press can sometimes be challenging.
"You know, the crazies on all sides, the people who come out, the planet earth people," she said, following an appearance with Adm. Mike Mullen in which the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was peppered with bizarre questions from an audience member. "I'm glad this just doesn't happen to me." |||||
What is a shorter version of the above article?
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– Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at close range today while hosting a public event outside a Tucson supermarket, reports NPR. Several other people also were shot, and the AP says at least one aide was killed. A hospital spokeswoman says Giffords is in surgery after conflicting media reports on whether she survived. Giffords, a 40-year-old Democrat, was hosting a "Congress on Your Corner" event and talking to constituents when shot. The gunman, reportedly a male in his early 20s, is in custody. Giffords, who has been in Congress since 2006 and is Arizona's first Jewish representative, is married to astronaut Mark Kelly. (Click for that story.) In March of last year, her Tucson office was vandalized the same day the House voted on health care reform, notes the New York Times. It also reports that at a similar public event she hosted in 2009, police removed a protester whose gun fell on the supermarket floor. She was one of 20 House Democrats targeted with gun sights on Sarah Palin's election map. More updates here.
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Write a summary based on this 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. ||||| Bobbi Kristina Family Says Cops Found Drugs in House
Bobbi Kristina -- Family Says Cops Found Drugs in House
EXCLUSIVE
Police found drugs in Bobbi Kristina 's house in the wake of her near drowning ... this according to her family.We've confirmed ... over the weekend cops went back a second time to search the house. The first time they went they found nothing, but we're told they went a second time and seized several items.Cops will not confirm they found drugs, but family sources tell TMZ authorities told the family that is indeed what was found.Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... they believed from the beginning Bobbi Kristina ended up face down in a bathtub as a result of drugs.As for why cops didn't find anything during the first search ... we're told they were only looking for items that were "out in the open." Law enforcement tells us the second search was more thorough. ||||| ROSWELL, Ga. — Bobbi Kristina Brown showed “minimal response” to new tests of her brain activity — but doctors are saying that’s a positive step forward for the daughter of late pop diva Whitney Houston.
While her prognosis still isn’t good, the new test results have halted talks about pulling the plug on Brown, who is in a medically induced coma in a Georgia hospital, family sources said Monday.
Whitney’s daughter was able to move her eyes, and the amount of oxygen going to her brain increased significantly Monday, TMZ reported.
Doctors fear she might have suffered permanent injuries after going without oxygen for two to four minutes on Saturday.
Brown, 21, was found unconscious in her bathtub in an eerie reminder of her mom’s death nearly three years ago.
“Bobbi Kristina is fighting for her life and is surrounded by immediate family,” loved ones said in a prepared statement on Monday. “As her father [singer Bobby Brown] already stated, we are asking you to honor our request for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and we greatly appreciate your continued support.”
Missy Elliott, who performed at the Super Bowl on Sunday night, said she’s praying for Brown.
“Bobbi is like a little sister to me,” she told The Insider. “One thing that her mother said to me before she passed away was to make sure Bobbi Kristina was straight, so my prayers for healing [are] that she comes out and be around people that love her.”
Police, while still investigating, have said that no illegal drugs were found in Brown’s home.
Additional reporting by David K. Li |||||
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– Bobbi Kristina Brown's family had been in discussions with doctors about pulling life support after the daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown was found unresponsive in a bathtub Saturday, Page Six reports, but sources are saying those talks have been halted now that the 21-year-old has shown "minimal response" to tests of brain activity. TMZ reported yesterday she was doing "significantly better," citing sources who said the swelling on her brain was down, oxygen levels in her brain were up, and she was able to "move her eyes," a good sign. But, the gossip site says, the situation is still "touch and go" as Brown was submerged in the tub and without oxygen for 2 to 5 minutes, and could have neurological damage. "Bobbi Kristina is fighting for her life and is surrounded by immediate family," her family said in a statement yesterday. "As her father already stated, we are asking you to honor our request for privacy during this difficult time. Thank you for your prayers, well wishes, and we greatly appreciate your continued support." TMZ also reports that, according to family sources, police found nothing in a first search of Bobbi Kristina's house, but a second, more thorough, search yielded drugs. Law enforcement sources previously said they believed drugs to be behind the incident.
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