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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is considering closing its embassy in Havana in response to an alleged sonic attack on U.S. personnel in Cuba, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Sunday. “We have it under evaluation,” Tillerson said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” program. “It’s a very serious issue with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered.” Five Republican senators on Friday called for the Trump administration to retaliate against the Cuban government by expelling Cuban diplomats and possibly shuttering the U.S. embassy there over attacks that began in late 2016. The State Department said in August that Americans linked to the U.S. embassy in Havana had experienced physical symptoms from “incidents” involving sound waves. Five Canadians were also affected. Symptoms included nausea, dizziness and temporary loss of hearing or memory. Cuba, the United States and Canada have investigated the attacks, but the probe has not yielded any answers about how they were carried out or who was responsible for them. Cuba has denied involvement. The U.S. State Department has not blamed Havana for the attacks but asked two Cuban diplomats to leave Washington in May. ||||| SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg Photographer: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg New York (AP) -- The Trump administration is considering closing down the recently reopened U.S. Embassy in Havana following a string of unexplained incidents harming the health of American diplomats in Cuba, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday. Tillerson's comments were the strongest indication to date that the United States might mount a major diplomatic response, potentially jeopardizing the historic restart of relations between the U.S. and Cuba. The two former foes reopened embassies in Washington and Havana in 2015 after a half-century of estrangement. "We have it under evaluation," Tillerson said of a possible embassy closure. "It's a very serious issue with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered. We've brought some of those people home. It's under review." Of the 21 medically confirmed U.S. victims — diplomats and their families — some have permanent hearing loss or concussions, while others suffered nausea, headaches and ear-ringing. Some are struggling with concentration or common word recall, The Associated Press has reported . Some victims felt vibrations or heard loud sounds mysteriously audible in only parts of rooms, leading investigators to consider a potential "sonic attack." Others heard nothing but later developed symptoms. Tillerson once called the events "health attacks," but the State Department has since used the term "incidents" while emphasizing the U.S. still doesn't know what has occurred. Cuba has denied any involvement or responsibility but stressed it's eager to help the U.S. resolve the matter. The U.S. has said the tally of Americans affected could grow as more cases are potentially detected. The last reported incident was on Aug. 21, according to a U.S. official briefed on the matter. The official wasn't authorized to discuss the matter publicly and requested anonymity. A decision to shutter the embassy, even temporarily, would deal a demoralizing blow to the delicate detente that President Barack Obama and Cuban leader Raul Castro announced in late 2014. The next year, embassies were reopened and restrictions on travel and commerce eased — signs of a warming relationship that displeased some hard-liners in Cuba's government. President Donald Trump has reversed some of the changes, but left many in place. Tillerson spoke on CBS' "Face the Nation" as world leaders and top diplomats descended on New York for annual U.N. General Assembly meetings. President Donald Trump will give his first speech on the major global platform this week. Cuba is also represented at the U.N., but it's not expected Trump will meet with any Cuban leaders or officials during his visit. The U.S. hasn't identified either a culprit or a device. Investigators have explored the possibility of sonic waves, an electromagnetic weapon, or an advanced spying operation gone awry, U.S. officials briefed on the probe told the AP. The U.S. hasn't ruled out that a third country or a rogue faction of Cuba's security services might be involved. In Washington, lawmakers in Congress have been raising alarm over the incidents, with some calling for the embassy to be closed. On Friday, five Republican senators wrote Tillerson urging him to not only shutter the embassy, but also kick all Cuban diplomats out of the United States — a move with dramatic diplomatic implications "Cuba's neglect of its duty to protect our diplomats and their families cannot go unchallenged," said the lawmakers, who included Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who led the effort, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a prominent Cuban-American and critic of the U.S. detente. The incidents have frightened Havana's tight-knit diplomatic community, raising concerns about the potential scope. At least one other country, France, has tested embassy staff for potential sonic-induced injuries, the AP has reported. ___ Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP ||||| Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Sunday that the United States is considering closing the U.S. Embassy in Havana in response to mysterious hearing problems that have left at least 21 employees with serious health issues. "We have it under evaluation," Tillerson said on CBS's "Face the Nation" when asked about calls by some senators to shutter the diplomatic mission. "It's a very serious issue, with respect to the harm that certain individuals have suffered, and we've brought some of those people home. It's under review." Closing the embassy would be a serious setback to relations between the United States and Cuba, two Cold War adversaries whose enmity stretched more than half a century before they restored diplomatic relations and upgraded their missions into embassies in 2015. But at least 21 Americans who worked in the U.S. Embassy in Cuba have reported medical problems since late last year, when percussive attacks on their residences began. The incidents apparently continued into 2017. Two Cuban diplomats have been expelled from the embassy in Washington in response. The State Department did not talk publicly about the incident until August, months after the problems were uncovered. [Trump’s Cuba policy tries to redefine ‘good’ U.S. tourism.] The FBI is investigating what the union representing Foreign Service officers calls “sonic harassment attacks” on the diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Havana. (Desmond Boylan/AP) Some of the victims suffered mild traumatic brain injuries, hearing loss and other neurological and physical ailments, said the union representing Foreign Service officers. The FBI is investigating what the union calls "sonic harassment attacks" on the diplomats. A Canadian diplomat also reported similar problems. Cuba has denied any responsibility for the attacks. Cuban President Raúl Castro called in the then-head of the U.S. mission, Jeffrey DeLaurentis, to express concern. Five Republican senators wrote Tillerson last week asking him to close the embassy and expel Cuba's diplomats from the United States. "We ask that you immediately declare all accredited Cuban diplomats in the United States persona non grata and, if Cuba does not take tangible action, close the U.S. Embassy in Havana," the senators wrote. "Cuba's neglect of its duty to protect our diplomats and their families cannot go unchallenged."

– No one knows what's injuring US diplomats in Havana, not even (ostensibly) Raul Castro. And so Rex Tillerson said on Sunday's Face the Nation that the US government is considering closing the US Embassy there in response to this "serious issue," per the AP. "We have it under evaluation," the secretary of state noted. There have been 21 US diplomats and relatives with confirmed health issues so far, including concussions, hearing loss, and headaches, and the US says more cases may emerge as the probe continues. Those affected have reported feeling vibrations or hearing sounds before their symptoms began, while others didn't notice anything at all initially. The AP notes closing the embassy would be a "devastating blow" to the "warming relationship" between the US and Cuba, jump-started in 2014 by then-President Obama and Castro after a 50-year deep freeze. Reuters reports the US, Cuba, and Canada have all been trying to figure out exactly what the "incidents," as the US State Department calls them, are (Tillerson himself has used the term "health attacks") and who's behind them, but to no avail. Cuba has denied involvement and said it, too, wants answers. Other perpetrator possibilities the US is considering: a different state entity or members of Cuba's security forces acting on their own. Besides asking for the embassy to be shut down, some US lawmakers, including Sens. Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio, want further repercussions, such as booting Cuban diplomats from the US completely; the Washington Post notes two Cuban diplomats have already been kicked out of the embassy in DC. "Cuba's neglect of its duty to protect our diplomats and their families cannot go unchallenged," Cotton said in a Friday letter to Tillerson from five GOP senators.

Sarah Palin, who has made a frequent target of First Lady Michelle Obama, poked fun at her attempts to encourage breasfeeding in her Long Island appearance today. "No wonder Michelle Obamais telling everybody 'you'd better breastfeed your baby,'" Palin said, after suggesting that increases in prices for commodities and gasoline since 2009 are the consequence of her husband's policies. "Yeah, you'd better, because the price of milk is so high right now." Obama supported including breast pumps under a tax exemption that covers medical equipment. Rep. Michelle Bachmann has also criticized the push as a feature of the "nanny state." ||||| She urged Congressional Republicans to oppose raising the nation’s debt ceiling, declaring, “It doesn’t necessarily have to result in a government shutdown.” Even if it did, she added, “Let it be for a week or two.” She conceded that a successful presidential bid could not be built through a digital campaign alone, saying that Facebook and other forms of social media could not reach enough voters. Asked if she would be the first Twitter president, she blanched and adopted a self-mocking tone. “What a slogan: I tweet more than you tweet.” She said it was unwise for Republicans to keep doubts alive about the authenticity of President Obama’s birth certificate and citizenship, saying: “It’s distracting. It gets annoying. Let’s stick with what really matters.” And she called for the full repeal of the new health care law, revisiting the catchphrase that caused so much controversy during debate of the bill: “When I talk about death panels, death panels was in quotation marks.” Such lines are standard political fare, and Republicans may not give them a second thought on television. But on the front lines of a campaign — whether in an Iowa living room or a New Hampshire diner — voters often consider things with a different ear. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. “What people are desiring to see is no more status quo — not necessarily just seeing more players in these political machines, who are sort of preordained and get to be the ones who get nominated and go forth,” Ms. Palin said. “People are ready for our governmental establishment to kind of shake it up.” Ms. Palin’s afternoon appearance at the ballroom of the Crest Hollow Country Club, the site of numerous wedding receptions and bar mitzvahs, offered an atmosphere much like she would face if she decided to run for president. Despite her best-selling books, reality television show and hours of televised interviews, Ms. Palin is not yet a fully formed political figure, and her approval ratings could change — for better or worse — as a candidate. The audience, which included many Democrats, responded with repeated applause. But there were also uncomfortable silences. She held up a Reader’s Digest from February 1964, the month of her birth, which she used to make a point about reducing the deficit. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We don’t have to reinvent any wheels here to get the economy back on the right track,” Ms. Palin said. “The solution in here to fix the problem, you know what it is? You invest in a five-cent stamp and you write your congressman and you tell him, ‘You’re going to get fired.’ Five cents back in the day! Nothing’s changed. It’s the same principles that can be applied.” Robert Zimmerman, who represents New York on the Democratic National Committee, was in the audience and met with Ms. Palin at a reception before her talk. He said he was surprised by the Reader’s Digest anecdote. “She’s really an Atlantic City lounge act for the right wing,” Mr. Zimmerman said. Still, he said, Democrats should not to dismiss her potential, saying, “Suburbs have the largest swing voters in the country, which concerns me.” The Long Island Association, which bills itself as the state’s largest business group, invited Ms. Palin to speak about a month ago. She was paid for her appearance, but organizers declined to disclose details of the arrangement. It was originally intended to be private, officials said, but Ms. Palin asked that it be opened to the media. “I was actually surprised she got as much applause as she did,” said Mr. Law, who asked Ms. Palin questions for 64 minutes. After escorting her to her car, he said: “She told me she loved the format. She probably will do more of it because she did pretty well.”

– Sarah Palin still won't commit, but she did drop some very pointed hints that she'll make a run for the White House during a Q&A session with a Long Island business group yesterday. She did make it clear that the decision must be made soon, the New York Times reports. "Nobody is more qualified to multi-tasking and doing all the things that you need to do as president than a woman, a mom,” she said, adding: “Maybe someone who’s already run for something—a vice-presidential candidate?" Palin told the audience it was unwise for Republicans to focus on doubts about President Obama's birth certificate, saying: "It’s distracting. It gets annoying. Let’s stick with what really matters." The Alaskan also had a swipe at Michelle Obama's initiative to encourage breastfeeding, Politico notes. "No wonder Michelle Obama is telling everybody 'you'd better breastfeed your baby," Palin said after blaming the administration for rising commodity prices. "Yeah, you'd better, because the price of milk is so high right now."

#JeSuisCirconflexe campaigners fight back against decision by the Académie Française to ‘fix anomalies’ – although decision was originally made in 1990 Not the oignon: fury as France changes 2,000 spellings and drops some accents French linguistic purists have voiced online anger at the removal from many words of one of their favourite accents – the pointy little circumflex hat (ˆ) that sits on top of certain vowels. Changes to around 2,400 French words to simplify them for schoolchildren, such as allowing the word for onion to be spelled ognon as well as the traditional oignon, have brought accusations the country’s Socialist government is dumbing down the language. Nothing provokes a Gallic row than changes to the language of Molière, but the storm took officials by surprise as the spelling revisions had been suggested by the Académie Française, watchdogs of the French language, and unanimously accepted by its members as long ago as 1990. The aim was to standardise and simplify certain quirks in the written language making it easier to learn (among them chariot to charriot to harmonise with charrette, both words for a type of cart and the regrouping of compound nouns like porte-monnaie/portemonnaie (purse), extra-terrestres/extraterrestres and week-end/weekend, to do away with the hyphen. The circumflex will be removed from above the letters I and U where the accent does not change the pronunciation or meaning of the word. While the “revised spelling list” was not obligatory, dictionaries were advised to carry both old and new spellings, and schools were instructed to use the new versions but accept both as correct. 'Le selfie' enters dictionary as France learns to embrace the unbearable Read more The reforms provoked a #JeSuisCirconflexe campaign (derived from the #JeSuisCharlie hashtag) on Twitter. As the row spread across the internet and social networks, some wondered why the reforms, decided 26 years ago, had suddenly become such an issue. In 2008, advice from the education ministry suggested the new spelling rules were “the reference” to be used, but it appears few people took notice. Last November, the changes were mentioned again in another ministry document about “texts following the spelling changes … approved by the Académie Française and published in the French Republic Official Journal on 6 December 1990”. Again, the news went unremarked. It was only when a report by television channel TF1 appeared on Wednesday this week that the ognon went pear-shaped. A furious student union group issued a statement lambasting education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem for “believing she was authorised to overturn the spelling rules of the French language”. The far-right Front National waded in with party vice president Florian Philippot declaring “the French language is our soul” and the centre right mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi calling the reforms “absurd”. The growing fury forced the education ministry in France to reassure the public on Friday that the circumflex accent was not disappearing, and that even though school textbooks would be standardised to contain the new spellings, pupils using either would be given full marks. “It’s just that the publishers of schoolbooks have got together and decided to apply the reforms as of the next school year,” the education ministry said. Is language like fashion, or the weather? | David Shariatmadari Read more Le Parisien declared the reforms “impossible to apply”. Pierre Favre, school headmaster and president of the National Schools Union, said he hoped “wisdom would prevail”. “What makes this subject so controversial is that people are passionate about it. To change spelling touches on their childhood, reminds them of the pain, the effort, the successes needed to learn the rules and triumph. The circumflex accents are a kind of trophy,” Favre added. Some pointed out that the i-less ognon sounds less like a vegetable and more like ‘oh non’, which pretty much summed up France’s reaction to the changes. “This has been the official spelling in the Republic for 25 years. What is surprising is that we are surprised,” said Michel Lussault, president of the school curriculum board. “There were strange spelling anomalies linked to historic shifts so the Académie really made sure these changes were understandable,” he said. It was not an upheaval, he added, more a “clean-up”. When making the new spelling recommendations in 1990, the then “perpetual secretary” of the Académie Française Maurice Druon wrote that “language is a living thing”, adding: “Work should begin again in 30 years, if not earlier.” 10 spellings that will change Oignon becomes ognon (onion) Nénuphar becomes nénufar (waterlily) S’entraîner becomes s’entrainer (to train) Maîtresse becomes maitresse (mistress or female teacher) Coût becomes cout (cost) Paraître becomes paraitre (to appear) Week-end becomes weekend (weekend) Mille-pattes becomes millepattes (centipede) Porte-monnaie becomes portemonnaie (wallet) Des après-midi becomes des après-midis (afternoons) Source: TF1 ||||| Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| Gone Mot: The French Uproar Over Removing Some Circumflex Accents Enlarge this image toggle caption CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images New editions of textbooks in France will look a little different. References to onions? You'll see the word ognon rather than oignon. A tale about a centipede? The many-legged insect will be known as a millepattes, no longer a mille-pattes. And most controversially, France is removing the hat-shaped accent known as a circumflex in some cases. For example: the word for "to train" will be spelled s'entraine, and not the circumflexed s'entraîner. The spelling changes apply to around 2,400 French words, and The Guardian reports they're mean to "simplify them for schoolchildren." But the move has "brought accusations the country's Socialist government is dumbing down the language." French headlines quickly picked this up: "The Death of the Circumflex" and "Farewell to the Circumflex, Spelling Reform Will Be Applied in September," to name a few. Social media users launched an angry campaign using the hashtag of #JeSuisCirconflexe ("I am circumflex"), a nod to the #JeSuisCharlie campaign following the deadly shootings at the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in Paris last year. But France is not completely hanging up its circumflex chapeau. As the BBC reported, "France's education minister has said the changes will not culminate in the end of the circumflex, and that old and new spellings will both remain correct." The well-loved accent will be optional on the "i" and "u" but will generally remain atop the "a" and "o", as well as in several other uses, France's Le Monde reports. The spelling changes were approved by the Académie Française in 1990 and then generally ignored, as The Guardian reported: "In 2008, advice from the education ministry suggested the new spelling rules were 'the reference' to be used, but it appears few people took notice. Last November, the changes were mentioned again in another ministry document about 'texts following the spelling changes ... approved by the Académie Française and published in the French Republic Official Journal on 6 December 1990.' Again, the news went unremarked." The difference now is that the changes will actually appear in school books, which was first reported by France's TF1. Here are a few other words that are changing in the new textbooks, via TF1: Nénuphar will become nénufar (waterlily) Maîtresse will become maitresse (mistress) Coût will become cout (cost) Paraître will become paraitre (to appear) Week-end will become weekend (weekend) Porte-monnaie will become portemonnaie (purse, wallet) Des après-midi will become des après-midis (afternoons) ||||| "I am the circumflex". Photo: Twitter There was an almighty uproar on Thursday when the French learned the circumflex was on its way out and hundreds of words were to be spelled differently. But it appears to be a huge storm in an old tea cup. Social media channels were flooded on Thursday when it was revealed that there would be changes to the French language , at least when it came to spelling. "Je suis circonflexe" (I am circumflex) in order of the "Je Suis Charlie" solidarity slogan became a trending hashtag after fears spread that the accent was going to disappear. Newspaper headlines screamed "Goodbye to the circumflex" and "The death of the circumflex" (below). One student union even called out the education minister for "authorizing the upturning of spelling rules and of the French language", reported Le Monde Others lambasted the fact that the French word for onion, which is oignon, will lose the i to become ognon, which looks and sounds a bit like "Oh Non!" - which incidentally summed up the reaction across France. But in fact there's no need to fear. When it comes to the circumflex - that funny little hat-like accent - it's far from dying out. While the headlines suggested it would be soon gone forever, it's actually only going to disappear from above the letter i and u - and only in some cases. So on a word like sûr, the accent will stay - because otherwise it would lose its meaning of "sure" and would become the word sur - which means "on". And it will remain comfortably in on top of the word hôtel, too. And as for the changes to the other 2,400 French words, well, they are genuine but they are only optional so traditionalists can still use their circumflexes if they so wish and even keep their "i" in oignon if dropping it makes their eyes water too much. So what caused Thursday's hullaballoo, which had language purists waving their dictionaries in anger? Things kicked off with a report from TV channel TF1 , which listed words that were set to change ( see more here ). The channel's story mentioned that the changes were initially outlined by Académie Française back in 1990 and that the new words would be added to school textbooks by September. Then the story took off in France, especially on social media where the public and numerous politicians were outraged that the sacred French language was apparently being "dumbed down". "I started the day with a bit of vomit in my mouth," wrote one Tweeter. Others reacted with indignation that their onions wouldn't have an i in the middle anymore, and their computer's hyphen key would go practically unused. What's perhaps bizarre is that the story blew up on Thursday given that the changes were agreed back in 1990 when they were adopted by the High Council of the French Language after recommendations from the Acaémie Francaise. The most recent mention of the changes was in a similar bulletin published late last year, which included a small reminder to schools and education chiefs of the 1990 changes. Strangely a similar bulletin had been sent out back in 2008 by the ministry. And much like the 2015 bulletin, the 2008 version was largely ignored by the French public. Until Thursday. Michel Lussault, the president of France's Higher Council of School Programmes, said the reason the changes were added to the 2015 bulletin was simply "because it is the law and has been the official standard since 1990". Speaking with French newspaper L'Express , Lussault suggested that the entire story reeked of being nothing but a political smear. He said he had "absolutely no idea" where the reporters at TF1 got their idea from, not least because it was based on information available to the public since last year. The information presented by the channel "made people jump to the wrong conclusions about education reforms", he said, adding that it made the spelling changes seem like "a novelty imposed by the current government", which is already highly unpopular among teachers for its set of middle school reforms. Lussault also made it clear that the changes were not "spelling reforms", but rather a "revision" or a "rectification". Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem felt obliged to take to social media to explain that "it's not up to the Ministry of Education to determine the rules". And there is a great degree of tolerance over the use of these "revisions", so don't be surprised if you see official documents spelled either way. September will see revised spellings in text books at many schools, just as there have been every rentrée since 1990. So long live the circumflex and long live the oignon!

– France is in uproar over reports that the official spellings of 2,400 words are being changed to make them less confusing for schoolchildren just learning the language, the Guardian reports. For example, "ognon" is now a fine way to spell onion in addition to the more familiar "oignon." And the circumflex—the hat-like accent—will be removed from some words where it doesn't affect meaning or pronunciation. But what advocates call a "clean-up" of the language, others accuse of being a "dumbing down" on the part of the government. "Absurd," say some. "The French language is our soul," say others. One French headline even went so far as to proclaim the changes "the death of the circumflex," according to NPR. What's strange is that the new spellings have been the "official standard" since they were adopted by the High Council of the French Language back in 1990, only no one paid attention, the Local reports. The changes only started garnering responses like the hashtag #JeSuisCirconflexe after a TV news story this week. The president of the Higher Council of School Programmes says the story was a "political smear," trying to blame the current government for changes made decades ago. Regardless, schoolbooks will start using the new spellings in September (though schools will still accept the old spellings as correct). And as long as we're changing languages to make them easier for schoolchildren, we'd like to request the US government immediately recognize "wierd," "concious," and "embarass" as fine and good spellings.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith was charged Wednesday with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon in a case stemming from a party at his home in June 2012. The Santa Clara County district attorney's office said in announcing the charges that Smith, 24, is expected to surrender later this month. He is on an indefinite leave of absence from the defending NFC champion 49ers while undergoing treatment for substance abuse at an in-patient facility following a DUI arrest Sept. 20. "We've been aware of the incident, the serious nature of it. We're all accountable for our actions, good and bad," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday. "There's a process, due process, that will take place. I don't feel any need to comment further on it." When asked whether Smith -- who set a franchise record with 19.5 sacks last season -- would play again this season, Harbaugh said only, "I don't have any need to further comment on it." On Monday, the coach said he had traded a few text messages with Smith, saying, "Heard that things are going very well, very positive reports back." If convicted, Smith could face up to four years and four months in jail, the district attorney's office said. "The preamble to the assault weapons law states that each assault weapon 'has such a high rate of fire and capacity for firepower that its function as a legitimate sports or recreational firearm is substantially outweighed by the danger that it can be used to kill and injure human beings,'" District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. "California's prohibition of these powerful weapons is not about hunting or target practice. It is about interrupting the long history of death, carnage and grief assault weapons have inflicted on California communities." Smith also is likely to face a suspension from the NFL, perhaps pushed back to next season or after his legal issues are resolved. "The 49ers organization is aware of the recent developments with Aldon arising from an incident at his home in 2012," the team said in a statement Wednesday. "We recognize the serious nature of this situation, as does Aldon, and will continue to monitor it closely. As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment." Last month, Smith and former teammate Delanie Walker were named in a lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court by a Northern California man who said he was shot at a party at Smith's house on June 29, 2012. [+] Enlarge Jeff Gross/Getty Images Aldon Smith has been charged with three felony counts of illegal possession of an assault weapon, stemming from a party at his home in June 2012. The players charged a $10 admission and $5 per drink, the lawsuit said. Smith and now-Tennessee Titans tight end Walker, 29, were allegedly intoxicated when they fired gunshots into the air off a balcony while trying to end the party, the lawsuit said. Walker will not be charged, deputy district attorney Brian Buckelew told The (Nashville) Tennessean. "Delanie Walker did not shoot one of the assault weapons. Delanie Walker did shoot a handgun, and that was after gang members had already started shooting at Aldon's garage," Buckelew told the newspaper. "So the purpose of Delanie Walker shooting up in the air was to try and get the gang members out of there. It could be viewed as self-defense, or a reasonable means to try and dissipate a crazy situation." Before the 49ers' 2012 home opener last September, Smith was a passenger in a car during an accident in Santa Clara County in which the driver swerved to avoid hitting a deer. Smith sustained a cut beneath his right eyebrow. He apologized and insisted he had grown up. Smith, selected seventh overall in the 2011 draft out of Missouri, had previously been arrested on suspicion of DUI in January 2012 in Miami shortly after the 49ers lost in the NFC title game. He is on the reserve non-football injury list while in rehab, and there is no NFL minimum for number of games he must miss while on the list. Smith played in a 27-7 home loss to the Indianapolis Colts on Sept. 22 and had five tackles just two days after he was arrested and jailed on suspicion of DUI. Smith apologized for his behavior after the game. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. ||||| 49er Aldon Smith hit with felony gun charges 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith had his off-field troubles deepen Wednesday when he was charged with illegally possessing three assault weapons he bought over the counter in Arizona - including two rifles he allegedly purchased a day before a road game in 2011 during his rookie season. Santa Clara County prosecutors also charged Smith with misdemeanor drunken driving Wednesday in connection with a Sept. 20 crash in San Jose - an incident that reportedly prompted him to enter a treatment facility and step away from the team indefinitely. Smith, 24, is expected to surrender this month to face the felony gun charges filed in county Superior Court. If convicted, he could face a sentence ranging from no time in custody to four years and four months behind bars, authorities said. How the cases will affect Smith on the field remains unknown. In the past, NFL players have returned to successful careers after convictions for criminal charges including drug dealing, obstruction of justice and dogfighting. The three gun counts leveled against Smith stem from a party at his house in the foothills east of San Jose during which he was stabbed and two people were shot. Investigators who responded to the violence and searched the rented home found the prohibited firearms, according to Santa Clara County prosecutors. window._taboola = window._taboola || []; _taboola.push({ mode: 'thumbnails-c', container: 'taboola-interstitial-gallery-thumbnails-3', placement: 'Interstitial Gallery Thumbnails 3', target_type: 'mix' }); _taboola.push({flush: true}); Photo: Associated Press Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Image 1 of 3 In a photo provided by the San Jose Police Department, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith appears in a booking photo. Smith was arrested Friday Sept. 20, 2013, in San Jose, Calif., on suspicion of driving under the influence and marijuana possession, authorities said. (AP Photo/San Jose Police Department) less In a photo provided by the San Jose Police Department, San Francisco 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith appears in a booking photo. Smith was arrested Friday Sept. 20, 2013, in San Jose, Calif., on suspicion of ... more Photo: Associated Press Image 2 of 3 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith also has been charged with misdemeanor drunken driving for a Sept. 20 crash in San Jose. 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith also has been charged with misdemeanor drunken driving for a Sept. 20 crash in San Jose. Photo: Marcio Jose Sanchez, Associated Press Image 3 of 3 49er Aldon Smith hit with felony gun charges 1 / 3 Back to Gallery More than 100 people were at the party on June 29, 2012, but Smith decided to end it after someone brandished a gun at a bartender, prosecutors said. Smith told a group of guests to leave and was closing his garage door when someone fired three shots that lodged in the back of the garage, investigators said. Smith went to a bedroom, retrieved a .45-caliber handgun and fired a shot into the air, authorities said. He reopened the garage door, but people were still congregating outside. Prosecutors said that as Smith walked out of the garage, someone uttered a "gang slur," prompting Smith to tell the group, "This is my house. I'm Aldon Smith." The visitors still did not leave, and some told Smith that they didn't care who he was, authorities said. A partygoer, Steven Barba, 27, then allegedly used a knife to stab Smith twice. Barba has been charged with assault, gun possession and gang enhancements. Delanie Walker, a former 49ers tight end who also was at the party, then fired the same .45-caliber handgun into the air, authorities said. Another person returned fire, striking two guests, Ronndale Esporlas and Aaron Reyes, who suffered serious injuries and are suing Smith and Walker, who now plays for the Tennessee Titans. As this was happening, someone went into Smith's bedroom, removed an assault weapon and "carried it around the party," investigators said. After the party, sheriff's deputies searched the home and found five weapons, including four rifles, as well as "several additional large-capacity magazines strewn about the floor of Smith's bedroom." There was expended and unexpended ammunition in a bedside table, authorities said. None of the five weapons was registered with the state Department of Justice, investigators said, and three rifles were determined to be illegal assault weapons under California law. Prosecutors described those three guns as an Armalite AR10-T .308-caliber rifle, a Bushmaster ACR chambered for 5.56mm NATO cartridges and a Bushmaster Carbon 15 .223-caliber rifle. Investigators determined that Smith had purchased the three firearms in Arizona in 2011. He bought two of them from a gun dealer in Phoenix on Dec. 10, 2011, the day before the 49ers played the Arizona Cardinals in Glendale, investigators said, adding that even if the weapons were purchased in Arizona by an Arizona resident, the weapons are illegal to possess in California. Under California's assault-weapons ban, enacted in 1989, certain models of semiautomatic rifles and pistols are prohibited - as well as others with certain characteristics. For example, guns with detachable magazines can't have any of a number of features that give them added functions or make them easier to handle, such as forward grips and folding stocks. Regulators say looser gun-buying laws in Nevada, Arizona and other nearby states allow many forbidden weapons to be brought into California. In the drunken-driving case, Smith allegedly crashed his car into a tree while driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit. Prosecutors charged him Wednesday with two misdemeanor counts of drunken driving and accused him of driving with a false license plate, an infraction. 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday, "We're all accountable for our actions, good and bad." In a statement , 49ers officials said they were aware of the developments. "We recognize the serious nature of this situation, as does Aldon, and will continue to monitor it closely," the team said. "As this is an ongoing legal matter, we will have no further comment."

– Embattled 49ers star Aldon Smith has been charged with three counts of illegally possessing assault weapons, stemming from a party-turned-shootout at his San Jose-area abode last year. According to prosecutors, Smith, 24, was hosting upward of 100 people at his home last June when someone pulled a gun on the party's bartender, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Smith decided it was time to break up the party—and toward that end, fired a .45 caliber handgun into the air. Far from taking the hint, the partygoers refused to leave; one instead pulled a knife and stabbed Smith twice. Smith's then-teammate Delanie Walker grabbed Smith's gun and fired it in the air again—only this time another person shot back, hitting two guests. When police arrived, they found five guns, including assault rifles, which are illegal in California, and high-capacity magazines. Smith is expected to surrender himself later this month; he's already on an indefinite leave of absence from the 49ers thanks to a drunk driving incident, according to ESPN.

Legendary legal eagle Alan Dershowitz says he was stunned that George Zimmerman's defense lawyer told a "knock-knock joke" during his opening statement to the jury in the Trayvon Martin case. The Harvard law professor, who was unavailable for comment early Tuesday, told “The Steve Malzberg Show” on Newsmax TV that he found the incident to be inappropriate for a murder trial. "This is a murder case,” Dershowitz said. “The victim's family is sitting in the courtroom with tears in their eyes and he's telling a knock-knock joke? I just don’t get it.” Dershowitz, well-known in legal circles for winning an acquittal of Claus von Bulow in the case that inspired the film “Reversal of Fortune,” even recommended that attorney Don West consider a new line of work. "If a student ever did that in a mock court in my class, I would … ask him are you in the right school? Maybe you want to be a stand-up comedian or an entertainer,” he continued. “And, by the way, if you do, come up with better jokes." Dershowitz also told CNN that Zimmerman should consider filing a motion requesting a mistrial due to West’s remarks. “I would be furious at my lawyer unless the lawyer told him he was going to open with that joke,” Dershowitz told Piers Morgan on Monday. “In fact, I would ask my other lawyer to make a motion for a mistrial to start all over again.” During opening statements on Monday, State Attorney John Guy repeated obscenities Zimmerman, 29, said to a police dispatcher just before the deadly confrontation with the 17-year-old Martin. He quoted Zimmerman as saying that Martin was one of the "f------ punks" who "always get away." West, meanwhile, opened with a knock-knock joke in reference to the difficulty of selecting a jury for such a widely publicized case. "Knock. Knock," West said. "Who is there?" "George Zimmerman." "George Zimmerman who?" "All right, good. You're on the jury." Dershowitz said the “only saving grace” to the joke was that apparently no one laughed. "It wasn’t very funny," Dershowitz told Newsmax TV. "But I don’t get that. This is such a serious case … You have to be so dead serious. You're the defense lawyer. You're standing between yourself and the defendant and if the jury doesn’t like you, the jury's not going to like the defendant. "And everything in this case comes down to George Zimmerman's credibility." Zimmerman faces life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Martin on Feb. 26, 2012, as the black teenager walked from a convenience store through the gated townhouse community where he was staying in Sanford, Fla. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| Story highlights Defense lawyer apologizes for telling joke during opening statements Father of Trayvon Martin cries in courtroom; George Zimmerman shows no emotion Did Zimmerman commit 2nd degree murder when he killed Martin? Or was it self-defense? 62% in a CNN poll say the charges against Zimmerman are "probably" or "definitely" true A prosecuting attorney greeted the jury in the George Zimmerman trial Monday with a quote full of expletives, while his adversary decided it was appropriate to tell jurors a knock-knock joke. And that was just the beginning of opening statements in Zimmerman's long-anticipated murder trial. In a case that has ignited national debate about gun laws and race relations, Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain, is accused of second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February 2012 in Sanford, Florida. Prosecutor John Guy's first words to the six-woman jury may have raised a few eyebrows. "Good morning. 'F*****g punks, these a******s all get away,'" Guy quoted Zimmerman. "These were the words in this grown man's mouth as he followed this boy that he didn't know. Those were his words, not mine." Just Watched Zimmerman trial: Drama on day 1 replay More Videos ... Zimmerman trial: Drama on day 1 02:55 PLAY VIDEO Just Watched Zimmerman jury: Women and guns replay More Videos ... Zimmerman jury: Women and guns 01:55 PLAY VIDEO Just Watched Judge rules no audio experts to testify replay More Videos ... Judge rules no audio experts to testify 03:08 PLAY VIDEO Just Watched Judge decides 911 calls are out replay More Videos ... Judge decides 911 calls are out 04:44 PLAY VIDEO Zimmerman, Guy said, "got out of his car with a pistol and two flashlights to follow Trayvon Benjamin Martin, who was walking home from a 7-Eleven, armed" with a fruit drink and a bag of candy. Eventually the two became entangled on the ground in a fight. A witness has said Martin was on top of Zimmerman, Guy said. "The defendant claims that while Trayvon Martin was on top of him, he said, 'you are going to die tonight,'" said Guy. "Nobody heard that." Guy told jurors that no witnesses saw what happened the night of the shooting from beginning to end. Witnesses only saw "slices" of what happened, he said. "We are confident that at the end of this trial you will know in your head, in your heart, in your stomach that George Zimmerman did not shoot Trayvon Martin because he had to," Guy said. "He shot him for the worst of all reasons, because he wanted to." Fast facts: Trayvon Martin shooting In the first day of testimony, jurors heard witnesses recount Martin's trip to the convenience store, Zimmerman's call complaining about a suspicious person walking through his neighborhood before Martin's killing, and a call from the previous August, in which Zimmerman reported an alleged burglary to police. Proceedings ended for the day when defense attorney Mark O'Mara objected to the earlier call, which prosecutors argued was necessary to explain Zimmerman's remark about burglars who "get away." The Martin family sat watching the proceedings behind State Attorney Angela Corey. Before witness testimony began, Judge Debra Nelson denied a defense request that Martin's father, Tracy Martin, leave the courtroom. Tracy Martin is a potential witness, and potential witnesses can be forced to sit outside of the courtroom to keep their testimony from being tainted by other witnesses. But the next-of-kin of victims are allowed to remain in court even if they're expected to testify. O'Mara also accused Tracy Martin of using an obscenity toward a friend of Zimmerman's while holding the door for him during a hearing two weeks ago. The friend, Timothy Tucholski, testified that he hadn't wanted to make an issue of it before. "I wasn't planning on coming up here. I don't want to be sitting here," he said. Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – A photo posted online Monday, December 3, shows George Zimmerman with blood on his nose and lips. His attorneys say it was taken the night unarmed teen Trayvon Martin was killed in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman, 28, faces second-degree murder charges in the death of Martin in Sanford, Florida, on February 26, 2012. Other evidence photos were released earlier this year: Hide Caption 1 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – Zimmerman says he shot Martin in self-defense. Martin's attorneys say he was shot and killed "in cold blood." Hide Caption 2 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – Zimmerman said that before he shot the teenager, he was "assaulted (by Martin) and his head was struck on the pavement," according to a police report. Hide Caption 3 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – According to a fire department report, Zimmerman had "abrasions to his forehead," "bleeding/tenderness to his nose" and a "small laceration to the back of his head" when he was treated at the scene. Hide Caption 4 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – In a photo released by the Sanford Police Department, Zimmerman's hands appear to be unmarked. Hide Caption 5 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – Prosecutors allege Zimmerman unjustly killed Martin, an unarmed teenager, after profiling him. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty and claims self-defense. Hide Caption 6 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – Zimmerman's gun is displayed. The shooting raised questions about gun laws, as well as the merit of the "stand your ground" law in Florida and similar laws in other states. Hide Caption 7 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – Crime scene photos released by the Sanford Police Department show Trayvon Martin's cell phone at the scene of the shooting. Hide Caption 8 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – Evidence marker 2 shows a plastic sack found at the crime scene. Hide Caption 9 of 10 Photos: Trayvon Martin evidence 10 photos Trayvon Martin evidence – A can of Arizona iced tea was found on the ground at the Martin crime scene. Hide Caption 10 of 10 EXPAND GALLERY Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – Memorials to Trayvon Martin grow daily outside The Retreat at Twin Lakes, the gated Sanford, Florida, community where neighborhood watchman George Zimmerman shot and killed the unarmed teen February 26. The death has sparked protests across the country and brought unwanted attention to Sanford, a town north of Orlando. Hide Caption 1 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – Sanford's main roads are dotted with mini strip malls in between patches of what remains of central Florida's agricultural history. Views about the Martin case depend on which streets you stand on in Sanford. Hide Caption 2 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – "I don't see Sanford as being a prejudiced town by any means," said Michelle Simoneaux, left, manager of downtown's Colonial Room Restaurant and Fountain. "This could happen anywhere, but it doesn't happen every day. " Hide Caption 3 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – A neighborhood watch sign marks the gated community where Martin died. Zimmerman has said he killed the teen in self-defense, police said. Hide Caption 4 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – Members of the Goldsboro community play a game under an oak tree. Goldsboro was one of Florida's earliest towns incorporated by African-Americans before Sanford absorbed it and took over in 1911. Residents speak of frequent police patrols in the area and other cases similar to Martin's. Hide Caption 5 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – A protest sign painted on the window of a car at a housing project calls for Zimmerman's arrest. For some, the Martin case has become a rallying cry, a chance to air what they believe are years of grievances. Hide Caption 6 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – The Martin killing has been the subject of intense coverage in local newspapers as well as the national media. Hide Caption 7 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – Longtime resident Myranette Boynton, 58, says she thinks the attention to Sanford will make a difference. "This occasion has happened too many times, and enough is enough," Boynton says from the banks of Lake Monroe. "Trayvon is not the only one, but Trayvon should be the last one." Hide Caption 8 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – A handwritten card lies among the memorial gifts outside the neighborhood where the high schooler died. Hide Caption 9 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – A woman strolls through the downtown area. Many residents say they wonder whether Sanford will forever be known as the place where an unarmed black teen was killed while heading home from the store. Hide Caption 10 of 11 Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing 11 photos Stigma for town in Trayvon Martin killing – Signs about the shooting have been posted throughout the Florida city, and the message is clear: People want answers. Hide Caption 11 of 11 EXPAND GALLERY Just Watched Are these Trayvon Martin's screams? replay More Videos ... Are these Trayvon Martin's screams? 03:34 PLAY VIDEO 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Supporters of Trayvon Martin rally in New York's Union Square during a "Million Hoodie March" on Wednesday, March 21. Trayvon, 17, was shot to death February 26 while walking in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch leader, said he shot the teen in self-defense. Hide Caption 1 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Trayvon Martin supporters block traffic as they march through Union Square on Wednesday. Many of the demonstrators wore hoodies and carried Skittles, the candy Martin left his father's fiancee' house to buy the night he was killed. Zimmerman has not been arrested. A police report describes him as a white male; his family says he is Hispanic. Hide Caption 2 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Sybrina Fulton, Trayvon's mother, hugs a supporter at the March. "Our son is your son," Fulton, told the crowd. "This is not about a black-and-white thing. This is about a right-and-wrong thing. Justice for Trayvon!" Hide Caption 3 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Demonstrators of all races crowded into Union Square for the Million Hoodie March. Hide Caption 4 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Hundreds of demonstrators marched in Union Square. Protests are also scheduled for Thursday in Sanford, Florida. Hide Caption 5 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Demonstrators chant at the Million Hoodie March in New York. Hide Caption 6 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – The shooting and police response in Trayvon's case is fueling outrage that has reached well beyond Sanford, a racially mixed community 16 miles northeast of Orlando. Hide Caption 7 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Protestors flood the streets and block traffic as they march on W. 14th Street. Hide Caption 8 of 9 'Million Hoodie March' 9 photos 'Million Hoodie March' – Passengers on a bus take photos of the demonstrators. Hide Caption 9 of 9 EXPAND GALLERY But Nelson denied the request, and Martin remained in court -- but Zimmerman's parents were covered by the rule regarding potential witnesses and had to sit outside, as did Benjamin Crump, the lawyer for Martin's parents. At one point, Martin's father began crying as Guy detailed how officers tried to save his son's life. Zimmerman has mostly stared straight ahead without any signs of emotion. Following Guy's statement, defense attorney Don West came forward to woo the jury. As he began, he told a knock-knock joke. But it failed to win a laugh. "Knock knock. Who's there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? Good, you're on the jury," he said. Later, West apologized. "No more bad jokes, I promise that," he told jurors. "I was convinced it was the delivery." West quickly got on with the business of making his case: that Zimmerman was forced to act in self-defense to save his own life. "The evidence will show this is a sad case; no monsters here. ... George Zimmerman is not guilty of murder. He shot Trayvon Martin after he was viciously attacked." With the help of PowerPoint visuals, West spent hours hammering home his argument. He broke down Zimmerman's 911 call in which he first reported seeing Martin and told about following him. "Little did George Zimmerman know at the time in less than 10 minutes from him first seeing Travyon Martin that he, George Zimmerman, would be suckered punched in the face, have his head pounded on concrete and wind up shooting and tragically killing Trayvon Martin," West told jurors. West also deconstructed a 911 call a neighbor made, in which it is possible to hear screams and a shot in the background that West said was the sound of the fatal bullet. As the dramatic recording audio filled the courtroom, Zimmerman showed no emotion. Martin's mother left the courtroom. "At the moment this actually became physical was that Trayvon Martin -- I will use my words -- that Trayvon Martin decided to confront George Zimmerman," West said. "That instead of going home. He had plenty of time. This is, what, 60 or 70 yards. Plenty of time. He could've gone back and forth four or five times." West quoted a witness named John Good who described the fight. "He called it a 'ground and pound' by Martin, who he said was on top of Zimmerman, beating him." "He saw enough that this was serious," West said. Zimmerman cried out for help, looked at Good and said, "help me." But the beating continued while Good went inside his home to call 911, West said. There was a shot. Shortly afterward, according to West, Zimmerman said Martin "was beating me up, and I shot him." West also disputed the prosecution's claim that Martin was unarmed. "Travyon Martin armed himself with the concrete sidewalk and used it to smash George Zimmerman's head," said West. "No different than if he picked up a brick or smashed his head against a wall. That is a deadly weapon." West showed jurors photos taken of Zimmerman after the fight. "What you can really see in these pictures that you will have in evidence are the lumps," West said. "The big knots on each side of his head. Consistent with having his head slammed into concrete." All-female jury to try Zimmerman Among the first prosecution witnessed called was the 911 dispatcher who took Zimmerman's call before the shooting. Seat Noffke testified that he was trained to give general commands instead of direct orders to people. When Zimmerman said he was following Martin, Noffke told him, "Okay we don't need you to do that." Noffke told the prosecutor he's liable for any direct orders he gives someone. On cross-examination, defense attorney O'Mara pointed out that Noffke asked Zimmerman, "Which way is he running?" "If you tell somebody twice to let you know if the person that they're concerned about is doing anything else -- do you think they're going to keep their eye on them?" asked O'Mara. "I can't answer that," said Noffke. "You did tell him twice to let you know if that guy did anything else," said O'Mara. "Yes sir," said Noffke. Noffke went on to say he only wanted a location of the suspect for officers and that he never told Zimmerman to follow or keep his eye on Martin. Shortly before court got under way, Martin's mother, Sybrina Fulton, spoke to reporters, asking people to "pray for me and my family because I don't want any other mother to experience what I'm going through now." Judge: No state expert testimony on 911 calls Martin was black, and Zimmerman identifies himself as Hispanic. In a CNN poll released Monday morning, 62% of respondents say the charges against Zimmerman are probably or definitely true.

– George Zimmerman's attorney wasn't going to let the prosecutor have all the fun with his profanity-laced opening statement yesterday. Don West decided to make a splash in his opening as well—with the world's most awful knock-knock joke. After urging the jury to hold the joke against him rather than Zimmerman, he said. "Knock knock. Who's there? George Zimmerman. George Zimmerman who? All right, good, you're on the jury!" The response: crickets. West later apologized, CNN reports. "No more bad jokes, I promise that," he said. "I was convinced it was the delivery." But the moment of attempted humor could be a big deal; Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz thinks Zimmerman could use it as grounds to request a mistrial. "The victim's family is sitting in the courtroom with tears in their eyes and he's telling a knock-knock joke?" Dershowitz told NewsMax TV, according to Fox News. "If a student ever did that in a mock court in my class, I would … ask him are you in the right school? Maybe you want to be a stand-up comedian. ... And, by the way, if you do, come up with better jokes."

CLOSE Sen. Rand Paul discusses tax reform at UPS training center Marty Pearl, Special to the CJ Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., speaks to supporters gathered at The Champions of Liberty Rally in Hebron, Ky., Friday, Aug. 11, 2017. Paul was joined at the fundraising event by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, and U.S. Reps Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio. (Photo: Bryan Woolston, AP) Police say they've arrested a man who intentionally assaulted U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, causing a minor injury. Rene Boucher, 59, of Bowling Green, is charged with one count of fourth-degree assault and is being held in the Warren County Detention Center, according to a news release from Kentucky State Police. Police responded to a report of an assault at Paul's residence just before 3:30 p.m. Friday. They determined Boucher had intentionally assaulted the junior senator, according to the release. It was not immediately clear what injury Paul suffered. More Courier Journal headlines ► House still doesn't have the votes to pass the pension reform bill ► Hoover remains House speaker with 'support' of GOP caucus ► Check out these events in Louisville over the weekend A spokeswoman for Paul's office said in an email that the senator was "blindsided." "Senator Paul was blindsided and the victim of an assault," it stated. "The assailant was arrested and it is now a matter for the police. Senator Paul is fine." The investigation is ongoing. KSP spokesman Jeremiah Hodges said the FBI was on scene to investigate whether the assault was politically motivated, but was unable to elaborate on the status of that investigation. David Habich, a spokesman for the FBI, said the agency was aware of the incident concerning Senator Paul. "We are working with our state and local partners to determine if there was a violation of federal law," Habich said. Voter records from March 2017 show Rene Boucher had registered as a Democrat. A jail website shows that Boucher was booked Friday night just before 9 p.m. He's being held on $5,000 bond and there is no court date set. Reach reporter Darcy Costello at dcostello@courier-journal.com or 502-582-4834. Read or Share this story: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2017/11/04/man-accused-assaulting-senator-rand-paul/832626001/ ||||| Close Get email notifications on Don Sergent daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Don Sergent posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ||||| Sen. Rand Paul suffered a minor injury when a man allegedly assaulted him at his home in Warren County, Kentucky, on Friday afternoon, according to state authorities. Kentucky State Police say 59-year-old Rene Boucher has been charged with fourth-degree assault and booked into Warren County Detention Center, after he "intentionally" assaulted Paul, "causing a minor injury." "On Friday, November 3, 2017 at 3:21 p.m., KSP Troopers responded to the residence of Rand Paul in Warren County, in reference to a report of an assault," Kentucky State Police said in a news release. "Upon their arrival, it was determined that Rene Boucher had intentionally assaulted Paul causing a minor injury." Warren County Regional Jail Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Jeremy Hodges said he could not release details of the assault because of security issues. Hodges did say that Boucher is an acquaintance of Paul. CBS affiliate WNKY reports that Boucher is a neighbor of Paul's. Hodges said Boucher would have faced more serious charges if had he used a weapon or if Paul had been injured seriously. "If he was using any type of a dangerous instrument, then it would have been a felony charge," Hodges said by telephone Saturday. According to WNKY, the the FBI believe that the attack was politically motivated. A spokesperson for Paul said he is "fine," and was "blindsided" by the assault. "Senator Paul was blindsided and the victim of an assault. The assailant was arrested and it is now a matter for the police. Senator Paul is fine," Kelsey Cooper, a spokesperson for Paul, told media outlets. WBKO, a local TV station in Kentucky, first reported the incident. Local authorities are conducting an investigation. A court date has not yet been set for Boucher, according to booking records. Paul, Kentucky's junior senator since 2011, is known for his libertarian leanings and fiscal conservatism. He is an ophthalmologist by trade. Paul was present at the congressional baseball practice shooting in June that seriously injured House Majority Whip Rep. Steve Scalise, R-Louisiana. CBS News' Kathryn Watson contributed to this report.

– Sen. Rand Paul suffered a minor injury Friday afternoon when he was assaulted at his Kentucky home, the Courier-Journal reports. A spokesperson for Paul says he was "blindsided" by the attacker just before 3:30pm. The nature of Paul's injury is unclear, but the spokesperson says he is "fine." Police arrested 59-year-old Rene Boucher in connection with the attack. He was charged with fourth-degree assault, a misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in jail, the Bowling Green Daily News reports. Further charges are possible. CBS News notes it's unclear what connection, if any, there is between Paul and Boucher and whether the assault happened inside or outside Paul's home. An address on file with the county lists Boucher as living in a gated community just east of Paul's home in Bowling Green.

As part of his ploy to throw off detectives, Wozniak used Herr's phone to send messages to Kibuishi, who was tutoring Herr. Shortly after midnight on May22, hours after killing Herr, Wozniak used Herr's cell phone to lure Kibuishi to Herr's Costa Mesa apartment, where he shot her twice in the head. He then partially removed Kibuishi's clothes and staged her body to look like Herr had sexually assaulted her and fled, according to prosecutors. ||||| SANTA ANA – For the families of Samuel Herr and Juri “Julie” Kibuishi, it was the end of a six-year wait for justice. Daniel Patrick Wozniak, a 31-year-old former community theater actor from Costa Mesa, was sentenced to death on Friday for killing the two in an attempt to fund his 2010 wedding. Dozens of those close to the victims filled the courtroom. They hugged and wiped away tears after Judge John D. Conley handed down the death sentence in a case delayed for years after it got swept up in an Orange County informant scandal. “It’s a relief,” said Julie’s mother, June Kibuishi. “We’ve been waiting more than six years for this day to come.” A jury on Jan. 11 deliberated for one hour, 14 minutes before recommending the death penalty, one of the shortest death penalty deliberations in Orange County history. Jury forewoman Jenny Wong was one of several jurors who came for the sentencing. “I’m just glad we were able to in some small way provide closure for the family,” she said. Sitting quietly next to his attorney, Wozniak stared straight ahead as the judge read the sentence. He will join more than 740 other inmates on San Quentin’s death row. “We’re happy for the family that justice was finally done,” said Senior Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy, who prosecuted the case. THE THEATER ACTOR Herr and Kibuishi met in anthropology class at Orange Coast College and became good friends. Kibuishi was a bubbly dancer from Irvine who loved music and fashion. Herr was an Afghanistan war veteran working to earn his college degree so he could re-enlist in the U.S. Army and become an officer. Herr, an only child, was close to parents Steve and Raquel Herr. When Steve Herr couldn’t reach his son all day on May 22, 2010, he drove to the young man’s Costa Mesa apartment and let himself in with a key. In the bedroom, he found Kibuishi’s partially clad body and called 911. Police initially believed Sam Herr was a fugitive. But they grew suspicious when they saw $400 ATM withdrawals from his bank account and charges to a Long Beach pizza parlor. Days later, they caught a 16-year-old boy using Herr’s ATM card. The boy told police that Wozniak had put him up to it. Wozniak, an out-of-work community theater actor, was Herr’s neighbor and friend. Police arrested him at his bachelor’s party, at a sushi restaurant in Huntington Beach, two days before his wedding. Under intense questioning from Costa Mesa detectives, he unraveled a grisly story. Broke with no money to pay for his wedding and honeymoon, he hatched a plan to kill Herr and drain his $60,000 in savings from combat pay. On May 21, Wozniak lured Herr, 26, to the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, where he shot and killed him. He later cut off his head, hand and forearm and tossed the body parts in Long Beach’s El Dorado Park. Herr’s body would be identified by a chest tattoo: “Mom & Dad.” That evening, Wozniak performed as the lead in the musical “Nine” at the Hunger Artists Theatre Company in Fullerton. In an attempt to throw police off of his trail, Wozniak went to Herr’s apartment and used Herr’s cellphone to lure Kibuishi, 23, pretending to be in need of help. He then shot and killed her and staged the crime scene to try and make it look like Herr had killed Kibuishi in a jealous rage. Rachel Buffett, Wozniak’s ex-fiancee, was arrested and charged with being an accessory after the fact for allegedly lying to police. She has pleaded not guilty. A LEGAL BATTLE With evidence and a video-taped confession, family members thought it was a black-and-white case. Wozniak led police to Herr’s body at the Los Alamitos air station, then told investigators about the body parts at the park; it took a lengthy search to find them. Still, it it took more than five years for the case to reach trial. The case was delayed as Wozniak’s attorney, Assistant Public Defender Scott Sanders, alleged systemic misconduct by Orange County prosecutors and sheriff’s deputies involving the use of jailhouse informants. In another one of his cases, involving Scott Dekraai, who pleaded guilty to fatally shooting eight people and critically injuring another at a Seal Beach salon in 2011, Sanders persuaded a different judge to remove the entire Orange County District Attorney’s Office from the penalty phase. That decision has been appealed. Sanders had contended that authorities conspired to place Wozniak next to a prolific jailhouse informant to gain incriminating evidence. But Conley found that the allegations of misconduct raised by Sanders had no bearing on the Wozniak case. The sentencing was delayed for several months this year when it was revealed that Orange County Sheriff’s deputies over five years kept hundreds of pages of notes on informant activities in a secret “Special Handling” log buried in a jail computer system. The notes had details on interactions between Wozniak and an informant. In a last effort to convince the judge to dismiss the death penalty, Sanders on Friday said the Sheriff’s Department has yet to turn over information on what replaced the jailhouse log after it inexplicably ended in 2013. “Before you end this case, there is no reason not to demand an answer from the Sheriff’s Department,” Sanders told the judge. “A culture that devalues (the turning over of evidence) is one where the death penalty should not be allowed to live.” Conley, however, denied the motion to dismiss the death penalty and a motion for a new trial, noting that informants were never used as witnesses in the case and that the sheriff’s notes were not relevant to the trial. “The defendant got a fair trial, and that’s the bottom line,” the judge said. A FAMILY’S JUSTICE In the courtroom on Friday, June Kibuishi, standing next to her husband, Masa, addressed Wozniak for the first time. “On May 22, 2010 you took my beautiful, caring daughter’s precious life to cover up your heinous crime for a pathetic reason for wanting money for your wedding?” she said. “For six years and four months I sat behind you, seeing you come out smiling for the cameras and audience, enjoying being the center of attention. Did I ever see you show any remorse? Not even once.” Julie, her third of four children, was born on Valentine’s Day: “My Valentine girl,” June Kibuishi calls her. Flanked by eight U.S. Army veterans, some of whom served with his son in Afghanistan, Steve Herr also addressed Wozniak in court. “You, Dan, are a coward and a poster boy for the need for an effective death penalty in California,” he said. The families noted that the two victims were kind and caring people who died while believing they were helping a friend. Sam Herr was lured to the Los Alamitos air station under the guise that he was helping Wozniak move boxes. Kibuishi was lured to Herr’s apartment thinking Herr needed emotional support. An ex-Marine from New Jersey, Steve Herr, 68, has now attended 192 court hearings for his son’s killer. Wozniak’s Long Beach parents never attended a hearing and his father recently died, Herr said. Looking for answers, Herr even visited Wozniak three times in jail. He said Wozniak has apologized to him but doesn’t show real remorse for his actions. “I’ll never forgive you, but I might hate you less,” he told Wozniak at the jail. Sam Herr’s mother is also relieved that the years of court hearings are over. She finds comfort through her faith in God. “I know my son is in heaven,” she said. “I feel like he went for a long trip, and one day I’ll see him again.” Contact the writer: kpuente@ocregister.com

– When struggling actor Daniel Wozniak couldn't afford the fancy wedding and honeymoon he wanted, he decided to murder his friends and neighbors instead of going for a cheaper option. The 32-year-old former resident of Costa Mesa, Calif., was sentenced to death Friday for the 2010 killings of Samuel Herr, 26, and Juri "Julie" Kibuishi, Herr's 23-year-old girlfriend, the Los Angeles Times reports. Prosecutors say Wozniak, who wanted to steal the $62,000 Herr had saved from his military service in Afghanistan, shot the man to death in an empty theater on a military base before dismembering him and dumping his body parts in a Long Beach park, People reports. Wozniak then used Herr's phone to lure Kibiushi to Herr's apartment, where he shot her to death and tried to make it appear that Herr had sexually assaulted her and fled. Days later, Wozniak was arrested at his bachelor party after detectives tracked him through suspicious ATM withdrawals, the Orange County Register reports. "You, Dan, are a coward and a poster boy for the need for an effective death penalty in California," Herr's father said at the sentencing hearing. Wozniak's former fiancee, Rachel Buffett, has been charged as an accessory after the fact. Buffett and Wozniak were cast members in a community theater production of the musical Nine at the time of the murders.

The Dooley family: Cameron, Todd, Landon, Lori, and Brooke. (Photo: Family photo) CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WVEC) -- Police have identified six family members killed in a domestic murder-suicide in Chesapeake. Police say they were first called out to the 2300 block of Wildwood Road Wednesday around 3:35 p.m. to perform a welfare check on an individual. Upon arrival, police discovered the body of 22-year-old Landon Dooley inside. The residence was the home of Landon, his parents and his sister. Further investigation led officers about a block away to the home of Landon's grandmother, not far from the Portsmouth city line at the intersection of George Washington Highway North and Wintergreen Drive. An armed person -- later identified as 26-year-old Cameron Dooley -- was barricaded inside. Cameron and Landon are brothers. A police department spokeswoman says officers negotiated with the suspect for hours, and witnesses say they saw the SWAT team outside of the home. Police made their way inside early Thursday morning, where officers found five more bodies, including Cameron's. Friends and neighbors tell 13News Now all six people were members of the Dooley family, who were prominent in the community and members of the Temple Baptist Church of Chesapeake. On social media, friends and surviving relatives have shown outpouring of grief and condolences for the Dooley family. In addition to Cameron and Landon, police say the other victims were their parents, 50-year-old Steven Todd Dooley and 54-year-old Lori Dooley, as well as their sister, 17-year-old Brooke Dooley. Neighbors say the sixth victim was the grandmother, Doris. Family friend and neighbor says Dooley family was well known in the community and their church. Neighbors are in complete shock. — Marcella Robertson (@13MarcellaRob) January 28, 2016 Neighbors say the father, Steven Todd, was a Chesapeake Police Officer with the Marine Dive Unit who recently retired. "I'm still in shock," one neighbor tells 13News Now. "I don't know... it's too much." He went to work at a Dive Center as a repair technician -- a job he was eager to start following his retirement from the force. "He was the kind of guy with like a little grin under his big beard smile, but you could see it," said Lindsey Hillier-Hotchkiss, a co-worker of Todd's. "He always had it every day no matter what." 13News Now Eric Kane reports. Investigators believe the five victims were dead before police arrived and began negotiating with Cameron. The Medical Examiner's Office has ruled the cause of death of Cameron's family members to be gunshot wounds to the head, while Cameron died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Photo Gallery: Chesapeake family killed in murder-suicide 'Tears are just flowing' As police continue their investigation to find out what happened, friends and neighbors are telling us more about the Dooley family. We now know Brooke Dooley was a student at Deep Creek High School. On Twitter and Facebook, people are posting their condolences, remembering Brooke and the entire family. One person tweeted that the "tears are just flowing" Thursday at Deep Creek High, and that there is a just an overwhelming sense of sadness. Among the victims was a cheerleader from Deep Creek High School. From what we've gathered through social media, we know that Brooke was a girl who was dearly loved. She appeared to have a lot of friends, was on the cheerleading team, and seemed to be very involved. The cheer squad has its own Facebook page, and its profile picture was recently changed to a picture of Brooke, with comments from people talking about how great of person she was and how she will be dearly missed. The father of Brooke's boyfriend says it is tough and the community is hurting, but could not comment any further. 13News Now reached out to the school district to see if grief counselors were on site, but they said no information could be given, because this is an active and ongoing police investigation. Police say a family of six are dead in an apparent domestic murder-suicide in Chesapeake. Meanwhile, a candlelight vigil is planned at Temple Baptist Church on Saturday, January 30 at 5 p.m. A prayer service will then follow from 6 to 10 p.m. Temple Baptist's address is: 1322 George Washington Hwy N Chesapeake, Virginia 23323 Read or Share this story: http://on.wvec.com/1VtTso9 ||||| CHESAPEAKE A veteran of the police force and his wife of 29 years. Their daughter – a cheerleader – and their son, painted purple at football games in yearbook photos. A grandmother who helped build up the community’s church. Three generations of one family are gone, killed in a murder-suicide that spanned two crime scenes a block apart in Deep Creek. Police said Thursday that Cameron Dooley, 26, shot and killed his father, Steven Todd Dooley, 50; mother, Lori Dooley, 54; brother, Landon Dooley, 22; sister, Brooke Dooley, 17; and a fifth person neighbors identified as his grandmother, Doris Dooley. Then, after negotiating with police for hours through the night, Cameron fatally shot himself. It’s not clear when he fired the shots that killed his family. Monday was the last day Brooke was seen at school and the last time Todd showed up for work. He retired less than three months ago, after 25 years with the Chesapeake Police Department, and had started working at a dive shop in Virginia Beach. Neighbors said they felt stunned Thursday as the news spread through the community. Teenagers shared stories about Brooke. New co-workers spoke of Todd’s passion for diving. A lifetime of friends gathered at the church that Doris’ late husband led for decades. All asked why, but none had an answer. Related +4 Deep Creek community comes together at service for Dooley family A long line of people from the Deep Creek community joined together at Temple Baptist Church Thursday night to pray, hug and cry. The group supported one another and remembered members of the Dooley family, who died in a murder-suicide. ___ It began with a call to police Wednesday afternoon, someone asking for an officer to check on Todd and Lori’s house in the 2300 block of Wildwood Road. When officers arrived, they found Landon’s body inside. At 7 p.m. – about three and a half hours later – the investigation led police to his grandmother’s house one block away, at George Washington Highway and Wintergreen Drive. Cameron was barricaded inside, police said. Cheryl Harris, who lives on nearby Ferndale Road, said she was sitting in her living room Wednesday evening when she saw blue lights: police, fire, EMS. “I knew it was a bad situation because they all came in without sirens,” said Harris, a retired Portsmouth dispatcher. She watched as officers set up barricades and shut down traffic near the two houses. For hours, a negotiator spoke to Cameron over a loudspeaker, trying to get him to come outside. “Let’s talk,” Harris said she heard the negotiator saying. “We can work this out.” Harris heard no gunshots. About 2:10 a.m. Thursday, officers went in and found Cameron and the others dead. They said they think Cameron killed his family before police arrived at the scene. ___ Desiree Darst and her husband, who live a few doors down, couldn’t tell for sure which house police had surrounded Wednesday night because officers had blocked off much of the street. They were stunned when they realized it was the Dooley house on the corner. “I knew Todd, I used to babysit him,” Darst said. “He was really good friends with my brother.” Doris and her late husband, the Rev. Allen Dooley, moved to Chesapeake in the late 1960s. Allen was pastor of Temple Baptist Church down the street, and the couple built up the church community during their years there. Many Brentwood residents, including Darst’s grandfather, attended services there, she said. In the years after Allen died, Doris’ health began to decline, Darst said. Cameron moved in to help take care of her. He would walk from his grandmother’s house to his parents’ home about a block away. “That’s how we know him,” Darst said. “He’d stop by and talk. He’d come in and chit-chat.” They last saw him five days ago. Doris was planning to sell her house and move in with her daughter, Darst said. Relatives from North Carolina had been in town recently to help clear some items from the house. “It hasn’t sunk in yet,” Darst said. The old Deep Creek neighborhood, where residents all know and look after one another, is “still hanging on,” she added. “It won’t be the same.” Related +7 About the Dooley family Chesapeake police say six members of the Dooley family were found dead this week in a murder-suicide that took place at two houses in Deep Creek. This is what we know about them. ___ Todd Dooley had been an active member of the Police Department’s dive team and Marine Patrol unit. He retired on Nov. 1, said police spokeswoman Kelly O’Sullivan. This past fall, Todd started working full time at Lynnhaven Dive Center in Virginia Beach. Owner Lindsey Hillier Hotchkiss and service department manager Blake Hughes had known him for nearly 14 years. He came in a lot for recreational diving and to drop off equipment to be serviced for police. “We had been talking about him coming to work here for the past couple of years,” Hillier Hotchkiss said. “He was very excited about it.” Todd serviced the scuba equipment that was brought in by recreational divers and by public safety and military dive teams that they work with, Hillier Hotchkiss said. He already knew how to do a lot of it from his work with the police dive team. “He fit in perfect,” she said. “He was such a good team player and team member.” Todd liked to dive locally, as well as in the Florida Keys and at Bonaire in the Caribbean. He loved Jimmy Buffett and would go see him every time he came to town. Neither Hillier Hotchkiss nor Hughes knew why Todd didn’t come to work Tuesday or Wednesday. The center is laid back, and it’s not a big deal if someone doesn’t come in. Todd had been sick a couple of weeks ago and was out for a week then. He also had taken time off when his daughter was sick. “It was peculiar, but I didn’t think anything of it,” Hughes said. He just assumed Todd wasn’t feeling well. Luke Gray, a sales associate at the center, said Todd’s wife, Lori, worked at an orthodontist’s office in Virginia Beach. Gray was a patient of the office, and his sister works there. Lori was the one who put on his braces and took them off. “Lori was a very heartwarming, lovable person,” Gray said. “She had nothing but a smile on her face every time that I saw her. … She was like the mother hen of the office. She looked out for everyone.” Related Kerry Dougherty: The horror in Chesapeake There are no answers today. There may never be. A week, a month, a year from now, we’ll still struggle to understand what triggered the ghastly events in two Chesapeake houses this week. ___ Chesapeake Public Schools did not have any record of Cameron Dooley attending school in the division, spokeswoman Kellie Goral wrote in an email. Police have not said what may have motivated the shootings or how Cameron got the gun. Landon Dooley graduated from Deep Creek High School in 2012, according to a school yearbook. Pictures show him dressed up for skits at pep rallies and painted purple at football games. Brooke Dooley, who was studying nursing at Deep Creek High’s Science and Medicine Academy, would have turned 18 in February, according to her mother’s Facebook page. She was a varsity cheerleader at the high school. Deep Creek High graduates Devin Perkins and Marissa Bolen, who became good friends with Brooke several years ago, said she was goofy and talkative. “You wouldn’t be able to get a word in,” Bolen said. Often, she would get so excited when telling a story that she stuttered in an effort to talk faster. “We’d have to tell her to calm down,” Bolen said, laughing. The Dooleys treated Brooke’s friends like family and welcomed the teens into their home. “They were a church-oriented, loving family,” Perkins said. “You never went in that house and felt judgment.” On Thursday, purple paint stained the Dooleys’ driveway on Wildwood Road – remnants of an afternoon six years ago when Marissa and Brooke doodled on the concrete. Todd was mad at Brooke when he saw it, but not for long. “She had him wrapped around her finger,” Bolen said. “She was daddy’s little girl.” Pilot writers Cindy Clayton, Mike Connors, Mary Beth Gahan and Jane Harper contributed to this report. ||||| CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Forensics investigators were back at the scene Friday collecting more evidence from a Chesapeake home where a family was killed. Six members of the same family were found dead early Thursday morning following an apparent murder-suicide in the Deep Creek section of Chesapeake. The suspect has been identified as 26-year-old Cameron Dooley. He is accused of killing his 17-year-old sister Brooke, his 22-year-old brother Landon, his mother Lori, his father Steven “Todd” and his grandmother Doris Dooley. All of the victims were shot, according to police. Brooke Dooley and her father Todd Dooley were victims of a murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Va., according to a reliable WAVY News 10 source. Four other family members were killed, police say. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Brooke Dooley was the victim of a murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Va., according to a reliable WAVY News 10 source. Five other family members were killed, police say. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Doris Dooley was the victim of a murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Va., according to a reliable WAVY News 10 source. Five other family members were killed, police say. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Lori Dooley and her daugher Brooke Dooley were among six family members killed in a murder-suicide in Chesapeake. The investigation began on Jan. 27, 2016. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Landon Dooley was the victim of a murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Va., according to a reliable source. Five other family were killed. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Brooke Dooley was the victim of a murder-suicide in Chesapeake, Va. Five other family members were killed, police say. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Cameron Dooley is believed to have killed five members of his family then himself. The investigation into the murder-suicide began Jan. 27, 2016. (Photo courtesy: Facebook) Investigators are now working to put together the timeline of the incident as well as a possible motive for the shooting. On Thursday, police released a preliminary timeline of the events leading up to the discovery that the family members had been killed. According to Kelly O’Sullivan with Chesapeake Police, officers were called to the 2300 block of Wildwood Road around 3:35 p.m. Wednesday to check on the welfare of a person. That is when they found Landon Dooley dead inside the home. Photos: Six dead in Chesapeake murder-suicide Further investigation by police at Wildwood Road led them to another home at the intersection of North George Washington Highway and Wintergreen Drive — a few blocks from the first scene. Once there, officers found an armed person who would not come out of the home, now identified as Cameron Dooley. Police blocked off the neighborhood and tried to negotiate with the person to get him to come out of the house. After several hours, officers entered the home in the early morning hours of Thursday, and found five people dead — including Cameron, who shot himself. According to O’Sullivan, investigators believe Cameron killed his family members before officers got to the home Wednesday evening. “We lived across the street from them about eight years ago or seven years, and I knew them and I went to school with them, and it was like I didn’t believe it,” said Brittni Phillips who attended Deep Creek High School with Cameron Dooley. Phillips added, “They were a church family. It’s something that you don’t expect coming from a family like that. They were a very close-knit family and had a lot of ties to the community. A WAVY Viewer sent 10 On Your Side an 18-minute video from the night of the incident: “I heard the loud speakers from the SWAT team. I heard some shots,” said Kimberly Karika, who lives nearby. “I live on Canal and so I heard most of what went on, so I was up a lot of the night and heard everything that was going on…I just couldn’t believe it; I was in complete shock.” Investigators say they believe this all stemmed from a domestic incident. Medical examiners arrived on the scene at Wintergreen Drive around 6:45 a.m. to remove the victims’ bodies from the home. At one point, a local chaplain went out to the scene to talk to police officers. The deadly shooting has left residents of the Deep Creek community shocked. Ben Pilkington was friends with the youngest victim, 17-year-old Brooke Dooley, who was a cheerleader at Deep Creek High School. He said, “She was a great person and never hurt anybody.” Todd Dooley was a former Chesapeake Marine Police Officer. “I describe him as an all round great guy,” said Lindsey Hillier-Hotchkiss. “He was a church going, good family man and loved his work as a police officer.” Todd retired from the department and started working at the Lynnhaven Dive Center in Virginia Beach in October. He didn’t show up for work on Tuesday. It is unknown why. Family friends said the grandmother, Doris Dooley, was very involved in her church Temple Baptist right down the street from her home. Her late husband was once pastor of the church. A neighbor across the street talked to 10 On Your Side’s Rico Bush, and gave his reaction to the traumatic events. “It’s crazy, it’s too much. I’m right beside it,” Demetrius Peacock said. “My family and I don’t feel safe.” A man who lives near the house on Wintergreen said, “It hits Deep Creek hard. But, knowing Deep Creek, we’re going to be able get through this. We just have to be able to get away from the sad parts, and look at the memories of Brooke her family — and remember the good things about them.” A vigil was held for the family Thursday night at the Temple Baptist parking lot. A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family pay for funeral expenses, according to family members. 10 On Your Side’s Andy Fox is in Chesapeake working to get more information. Look for more coverage on WAVY News 10 starting at 4 p.m.

– Police who were called Wednesday afternoon to perform a welfare check at a home in Chesapeake, Va., found a dead body—and before the night was over, five more people were dead, victims of an apparent murder-suicide. An investigation of the initial scene led to another nearby home, where police found an armed suspect "barricaded inside," USA Today reports. After several hours of negotiation, police went into the home to find five more bodies, including the suspect's; authorities believe the other four people were killed before cops arrived on the scene. All of the victims are members of the Dooley family, which 13News Now describes as "prominent in the community." The family belonged to Temple Baptist Church, and the patriarch, Todd Dooley, was a retired police officer in Chesapeake's Marine Dive Unit. Citing "a reliable source," WAVY reports that Dooley's son, Cameron, is believed to have killed everyone: Todd Dooley, Cameron's mother Lori Dooley, siblings Brooke and Landon Dooley, and grandmother Doris Dooley. Neighbors tell the Virginian-Pilot that Todd and Lori owned the first house police went to, and Doris and her late husband (a pastor who "helped Temple Baptist Church grow") owned the second house where the standoff took place, but that she was planning to sell it. They say Doris' grandson had moved in to take care of her, and that he would often return to his parents' home about a block away. It's not clear if that grandson is Cameron Dooley.

Federal authorities and airline officials are investigating the odd flight of baggage handler who wound up in the cargo hold of a plane for more than 300 miles. The Federal Aviation Administration said it hoped to talk to the man on Tuesday. The agency said it would determine whether the man's cargo-loading company followed proper procedures to make sure that all employees were out of the cargo hold before the doors were closed and the plane took off. The man was found unharmed after the United Express flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, landed Sunday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C. The cargo hold was temperature-controlled and pressurized, United Airlines spokeswoman Erin Benson said. The Embraer jet was in the air for about 80 minutes and reached an altitude of 27,000 feet, according to the FlightAware tracking service. The plane was operated for United by Mesa Airlines, but the bag handler works for a Mesa contractor, G2 Secure Staff, Benson said. Neither Phoenix-based Mesa nor G2, which is based in Irving, Texas, responded immediately to phone and email messages. Rob Yingling, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said that medics met the plane when it arrived Sunday afternoon but determined that the baggage handler did not need treatment. Dulles Airport police conducted a brief investigation. Since the man had proper identification as a Charlotte airport employee and was not charged with a crime, he was released, Yingling said. The Washington Post identified the bag handler as Reginald Gaskin, and said it reached him by telephone. "I thank God. He was with me," he told the newspaper, then said a lawyer advised him not to say more. This isn't the first time an airport worker has wound up flying in a cargo hold. In 2015, an Alaska Airlines plane made an emergency landing in Seattle after pilots and passengers heard someone banging on the cargo hold beneath them after takeoff. The man said he had fallen asleep while loading bags — also in a pressurized part of the cargo hold. Menzies Aviation, the contractor who employed the man, said he had broken their rules by napping in the plane. There have also been stowaways. In 2014, a teenage boy flew in the wheel well of a Hawaiian Airlines jet from California to Hawaii, surviving thin air and freezing temperatures. The boy said he hopped a fence at the airport in San Jose to reach the plane. He was spotted wandering the airfield after the plane landed. Safety experts say such incidents should prompt airlines to improve security procedures. They say crews should not close the cargo doors until everyone is accounted for. ||||| A baggage handler was locked inside an airplane’s cargo area during a 1.5-hour flight from North Carolina to Northern Virginia on Sunday. A United Airlines spokeswoman said Monday that the airline was looking into how it had happened. The baggage handler, Reginald Gaskin, 45, was unharmed. Reached by The Washington Post on Monday night, Gaskin declined to discuss how he wound up inside the plane. He said he had been advised by an attorney not to discuss the matter. Gaskin only said: “I thank God. He was with me.” United Express Flight 6060, operated by Mesa Airlines, took off from Charlotte-Douglas International Airport just before 3 p.m. Sunday and landed at Washington Dulles International Airport on schedule about 90 minutes later. The plane, a 50-seat Embraer 170, rose to 27,000 feet, according to flight records. A United spokeswoman could not say Monday whether the plane’s cargo hold was temperature controlled or pressurized. At some point, workers in Charlotte realized there was a possibility that Gaskin was locked in the belly of the airplane and contacted the Federal Aviation Administration. They alerted officials at Dulles, according to airport officials there. Emergency responders at Dulles were waiting at the gate. Authorities in Charlotte termed the incident a “public accident,” and a representative for the FBI in Washington said the agency was notified but was not involved in the investigation into the incident. Gaskin is an employee of G2 Secure Staff, a United vendor based in Texas that supplies baggage handling services, airline officials said. A company representative did not respond to a message or email Monday evening.

– Federal authorities and airline officials are investigating the odd flight of a baggage handler who wound up in the cargo hold of a plane for more than 300 miles, the AP reports. The FAA said it would determine whether the man's cargo-loading company followed proper procedures to make sure that all employees were out of the cargo hold before the doors were closed and the plane took off for an 80-minute flight. The man was found unharmed after the United Express flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, landed Sunday at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, DC. The cargo hold was temperature-controlled and pressurized, United Airlines spokesperson Erin Benson said. Rob Yingling, a spokesperson for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, said that medics met the plane when it arrived Sunday afternoon but determined that the baggage handler did not need treatment. Dulles Airport police conducted a brief investigation. Since the man had proper identification as a Charlotte airport employee and was not charged with a crime, he was released, Yingling said. "I thank God," the baggage handler tells the Washington Post. "He was with me."

Jay Leno’s last “Tonight Show” on NBC will air Feb. 6, sources confirm to Variety. “Tonight Show” exec producer Debbie Vickers made the announcement today to employees of the show, who will be paid through end of September, 2014, when Leno’s contract with NBC expires. Jimmy Fallon is set to take over the latenight show sometime following NBC’s Olympics coverage, which runs Feb. 7-23. The decision to move Leno has been a peculiar one, given the host’s recent dominance in ratings. In Nielsen numbers for the second quarter of this year, NBC’s “Tonight Show With Jay Leno” was easily the top-rated hour in latenight, toppling fellow competitors David Letterman and Jimmy Kimmel. Leno’s 3.575 million in total viewers (up 2% from last year) was well out in front of Letterman (2.7 million) and Kimmel (2.5 million). But Fallon’s ratings have also been rising, with the “Late Night” host up 16% from last year in adults 18-34 last quarter, averaging 1.78 million viewers. Friday’s announcement, first reported by Deadline, wasn’t the first time Leno received a “Tonight Show” end date from NBC. The latenight host was famously ousted in May of 2009 in order to make room for Conan O’Brien, who only briefly sat behind the “Tonight Show” desk (six months) before Leno took over the show again in 2010. ||||| EXCLUSIVE: Jay Leno-hosted Tonight Show will air its last episode on February 6, and, per terms of his show exit deal with NBC, the cast and crew will be paid until his contract expires in September. Tonight EP Debbie Vickers made the announcement today to staffers at the show, informed sources report. It’s unclear how many crew and staff were at the meeting on the show’s Burbank lot. At one point it was reported Tonight had about 170 total staffers, including some contract workers. NBC declined comment on today’s news. The announcement isn’t a total surprise. At NBC’s Upfront presentation to advertisers in May, the network officially announced that Jay Leno would end his 22-year run on Tonight Show during the week leading up to the 2014 Winter Olympics — which start February 7. NBC also announced Jimmy Fallon would replace him on Monday, February 24, the night after the closing ceremony, followed by the debut of Late Night With Seth Meyers at 12:30 AM. Fallon’s Tonight Show will be broadcast from New York City; Lorne Michaels is exec producing, and Fallon’s Late Night writer Amy Ozols has been named producer. Vickers’ announcement was made one week after NBC Entertainment chief Bob Greenblatt confirmed the network is having talks with Leno about “various ideas” for Leno after he ends his run on the late night show in February. “Nothing would make us happier for Jay, a la Bob Hope, to have presence at the network, we’re really hoping to do that, post February,” he told TV critics at Summer TV Press Tour 2013. Talks to replace Leno – this time – started when Greenblatt joined NBC at the beginning of 2011, Greenblatt said, adding that the timing after the 2014 Winter Olympics was decided “to give Jimmy Fallon the best chance of succeeding. We really believe in Jimmy Fallon.” Leno has continued to dominate late night TV ratings — he clocked his biggest numbers with President Obama’s Tonight Show visit last night since his last visit to the show nine months ago. And, in his final May sweep before handing over the Tonight Show anchor desk to Fallon, Leno won the key ratings period from April 25-May 22. Tonight bettered time-slot rivals Late Show With David Letterman at CBS and Jimmy Kimmel Live at ABC in every key sales category, and matched its highest margin of victory over Letterman in the 18-49 viewers in nine years. Against Kimmel, Leno grew its 18-49 lead compared with the February sweeps from 12% to 30% in 18-49 and from 39% to 42% in total viewers. But, NBC is having no second thoughts about the transition, according to Greenblatt, who dismissed the numbers as something NBC predicted it would se when the network announced it would be Jay’s final year. “The same happened with Johnny Carson — and Jay’s previous final year,” Greenblatt said.

– Jay Leno's last night hosting his Tonight Show will be February 6, reports Deadline.com. And this time, it's expected to stick. The decision means that Leno will host right up until the Winter Olympics begin on NBC, and Jimmy Fallon will take over after they end on February 24. Variety confirms the scoop and notes that Leno is going out on a ratings roll: He's trouncing the competition regularly, maybe thanks to high-profile guests such as President Obama. NBC is in talks with Leno to continue some kind of presence with the network once he's done hosting.

AND GAVE HIM ANY OF THE CASH THAT I HAD IN MY POCKET. When you see a homeless person on the side of the road...do you roll down your window to help? Many people don't. But a few Central Iowans who did over the Christmas holiday -- got an unbelievable surprise. KCCI's Laura Nichols shows us how a few simple gestures of kindness turned into a chain reaction of GIVING. Drive through this intersection onto Merle Hay in Johnston and you'll likely spot a homeless person collecting donations ...on Christmas Eve it was this man... standing there... shivering in the cold. IT WAS OBVIOUS THAT HE NEEDED HELP. Rob Taylor was waiting in the left hand turn lane..when he handed the man some cash... HE IMMEDIATELY HANDED ME BACK A BLANK ENVELOPE AND SAID GOD BLESS YOU. AND I SAID GOD BLESS YOU, AND DROVE OF. It wasn't until later he opened up the envelope and and inside found this letter... MERRY CHRISTMAS AND THANK YOU FOR YOUR VERY KIND AND THOUGHTFUL DONATION. I LIVE IN DES MOINES BUT AM NOT HOMELESS OR DESTITUTE OR WITHOUT A JOB.. Also tucked inside.. a ten dollar bill... ...KEEP IT, SPEND IT, PAY IT FORWARD... WHATEVER YOUR HEART TELLS YOU TO DO... Turns out the man wasn't homeless....... but instead a Des Moines businessman trying to do something good at Christmas... I WAS BLOWN AWAY. THIS HAS BEEN A BUCKET LIST THING FOR ME FOR SOME TIME, AND I'VE ALWAYS KNOWN THAT I WANTED TO GIVE BACK. In those few freezing hours... Jonnie Wright gave away 50 letters...and a total of nearly one-thousand dollars ...he also donated the money he received to Bethel Mission... an emergency shelter in Des Moines I THOUGHT THIS WAS ALSO A WAY TO ACKNOWLEDGE THOSE WHO GIVE. WHO DO SO ANNONYMOUSLY. His message is simple...it's better to give than receive ...and sometimes it takes a homeless man to remind us what the holiday season is all about... I JUST CAN'T THANK HIM ENOUGH. Some of those envelopes had 100 dollar bills in them. One ended up going to a woman who told Jonnie she only had $16 dollars to her name and didn't know how she was going to buy her children Christmas presents. Truly a remarkable story of A Des Moines business man posed as a homeless person in an effort to reward those who give. View this story. Jonnie Wright stood on Merle Hay Road in Johnston in the freezing cold on Christmas Eve disguised as a homeless man. Anyone who rolled down their window to help him received a sealed envelope. Rob Taylor of West Des Moines opened his envelope later that day. “I was blown away,” Taylor said. “As a matter of fact, the first thing that I did was call my wife on the phone and I could hardly talk to her on the phone. I said, ‘You wouldn’t believe what just happened to me.’” Inside the envelope was a letter explaining that Wright wasn't homeless, but was instead wanted to give back to those who selflessly donated. Wright put $10 in some envelopes and $100 in others, and encouraged people to use the money as they wish or "pay it forward." “I thought this was also a way to acknowledge those who give, who do so anonymously,” Wright said. He handed out 50 envelopes and gave away nearly $1,000. He also donated all the money he was given and doubled it to the Bethel mission. “For my family, it reminded everyone what the meaning of Christmas was and it wasn’t about gifts, it’s about giving back,” Taylor said. ||||| See more of Jonnie Wright on Facebook

– Drivers in Iowa who rolled down their window to give a few bucks to a homeless guy asking for help on Christmas Eve got a surprise gift in return. The "homeless" man was actually Des Moines business owner Jonnie Wright, and he gave his donors a sealed envelope with either a $10 or $100 bill inside along with a note, reports KCCI-TV. "I am not homeless or destitute or without a job," it read."I am here to give thanks for the many blessings in my life by paying them forward and honoring you and others who give." In all, Wright gave away 50 envelopes for a total $1,000, then donated the money that he had received to a local homeless shelter, he wrote in a Facebook post. He tells the Huffington Post that the experience was "transformative," especially given the national publicity it has received. "I never ever imagined that it would have the reach that it did, but it seems to have touched something in people," he said. "I can't even explain it."

FORT BRAGG, N.C. (AP) — The Army sergeant who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban could face up to life in prison if convicted of both the charges he's facing. File - In this file image taken from video obtained from Voice Of Jihad Website, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, sits in a vehicle guarded... (Associated Press) Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl was charged with misbehavior before the enemy, which carries a maximum sentence of up to life in prison. He was also charged with desertion, which carries a maximum of five years. Bergdahl could also face a dishonorable discharge, reduction in rank and forfeiture of all his pay if convicted of both the charges announced Wednesday. The case now goes to an Article 32 hearing, which is similar to a grand jury. From there, it could be referred to a court-martial and go to trial. ||||| The United States Army has charged Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with one count of desertion and one count of misbehavior before the enemy, “endangering the safety of a command, unit, or place” in the words of Col. Daniel King at a press conference. Next, Bergdahl will face a hearing to determine if there is probable cause to move forward with a trial—not unlike a civilian grand jury. If Bergdahl is tried and convicted under a court martial, he could serve life in prison for misbehavior or five years in prison for desertion. Bergdahl, 28, disappeared June 2009 from Paktika province in eastern Afghanistan while serving as a private from the 25th Infantry Division. The U.S. military devoted an enormous amount of resources in the search for him, particularly after videos appeared showing him in custody. In addition, his family and their hometown of Hailey, Idaho, fought to keep attention on Bergdahl’s case. In May 2014, Berghdahl was released in exchange for five Taliban members held at Guantanamo Bay who were subsequently transferred to Qatari custody for a year. President Obama made the announcement of Bergdahl’s release in a Rose Garden ceremony flanked by Bergdahl’s parents, even as the circumstances of his disappearance were shrouded in uncertainty and charges that he abandoned his post and troops. And in a June 2014, interview with CNN, Susan Rice, national security adviser, said Bergdahl served with “honor and distinction.” After undergoing an evaluation, Bergdahl was assigned a desk job at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. During his captivity, he was promoted to sergeant. — Nancy A. Youssef ||||| U.S. Army officials announced that Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured and spent five years in captivity in Afghanistan after leaving his post, has been charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. (Department of Defense) Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. soldier who slipped away from his patrol base in Afghanistan in 2009 and was held in captivity for five years, has been charged with desertion and misbehaving before the enemy, Army officials said Wednesday, setting the stage for emotionally charged court proceedings in coming months. The charges were announced by the service at Fort Bragg, N.C., hours after the 28-year-old was handed a charge sheet, according to one of his attorneys. Bergdahl will next face a preliminary Article 32 hearing, which is frequently compared to a grand jury proceeding in civilian court. [Checkpoint: For first time, Bowe Bergdahl describes publicly his harsh treatment in captivity] If convicted, he faces the possibility of life in prison. The Army’s decision comes after nearly 10 months of debate about whether Bergdahl should face charges and about the circumstances of his recovery. Critics — and an independent review by the Government Accountability Office — said President Obama broke the law in authorizing the release of five Taliban detainees held by the United States in exchange for Bergdahl without consulting Congress. Others have insisted that Washington had a responsibility to bring Bergdahl home by any means necessary. Army officials declined Wednesday to elaborate on the decisions they made, citing the ongoing investigation. The charges were authorized by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the commanding general of U.S. Army Forces Command. [Anger from those who consider Bowe Bergdahl a deserter] Members of Bergdahl’s defense team said Wednesday that they still have not been granted access to the contents of an Army investigation launched last year to look into his disappearance, and the lawyers disputed reports that they had been engaged in plea negotiations. “We ask that all Americans continue to withhold judgment until the facts of the case emerge,” the lawyers said in a statement. “We also ask that government officials refrain from leaking information or engaging in other conduct that endangers our client’s right to a fair trial.” Bergdahl’s attorneys released a lengthy March 2 letter they wrote to Milley urging leniency in light of his time in captivity. They also released a statement to Milley from Bergdahl in which he described being chained to a bed, spread-eagle and blindfolded while being held by the Haqqani network, an insurgent group allied with the Taliban. He said he tried to escape about 12 times over the course of his captivity. “I was kept in constant isolation during the entire 5 years, with little to no understanding of time, through constant periods of constant darkness, periods of constant light, and periods of completely random flickering of light,” Bergdahl wrote at one point. He added that he had “absolutely no understanding of anything that was happening beyond the door I was held behind.” [Bowe Bergdahl’s writings reveal a fragile young man] Bergdahl’s defense team said in the letter to Milley that a trial would add to his stress and decried the politicization of his case. “SGT Bergdahl has been vilified as a coward in the absence of a shred of evidence to support that description,” the lawyers said. The court proceedings will be held at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas, where Bergdahl has served since shortly after a U.S. Special Operations team whisked him away from his captors on a helicopter in Afghanistan on May 31 as part of the prisoner swap. Previously discharged from the Coast Guard for psychological reasons, he is widely believed to have struggled with his mission in Afghanistan and to have walked away under cover of darkness on June 30, 2009. [World Views: Afghan villagers recall when Bergdahl stumbled into their midst] The investigation of Bergdahl’s disappearance was launched last June, with Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl interviewing the sergeant in Texas in August. It is believed that Dahl’s findings, not yet released, will play a prominent role and serve as evidence in Bergdahl’s court case. Thousands of U.S. service members are believed to have deserted their units during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, but Bergdahl’s case is uncommon because he allegedly did so while on the battlefield. Some have escaped while in the United States and remain beyond the reach of the military in Canada, parts of Europe and other locations. U.S. troops and veterans have long expressed frustration about Bergdahl’s disappearance, accusing him of deserting his unit on the battlefield and prompting a search that put lives in danger. This photo provided by lawyer Eugene R. Fidell shows Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl preparing to be interviewed by Army investigators in August 2014. (AP Photo/Eugene R. Fidell) Many of those in his unit have been waiting years to see the Army acknowledge potential wrongdoing by Bergdahl, said Nathan B. Bethea, 30, a former Army captain in New York who was deployed with Bergdahl’s battalion when he went missing. “I think they’re pleased because this comes as a surprise,” Bethea said of the overall reaction. “I think that, given how long this has taken, it comes as a shock. The Army never made a statement on what happened. There was always just obfuscation and smoke and mirrors.” The desertion charge carries a maximum punishment of five years in prison, along with a possible reduction in rank and loss of pay and allowances. But the charge of misbehavior before the enemy carries a maximum punishment of confinement for life, a dishonorable discharge, a reduction to private and total forfeiture of pay and allowances since the time of his disappearance, Army officials said. Critics of the exchange that freed the five Taliban officials in exchange for Bergdahl fear that the former Guantanamo detainees will return to hostilities. In exchange for the release of U.S. Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the U.S. agreed to free five Taliban commanders from the military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. They were among the Taliban's most influential commanders. (Tom LeGro and Natalie Jennings/The Washington Post) In February, the new director of the military’s Defense Intelligence Agency left open the possibility that at least one of them could return to the battlefield, on the basis of recidivism statistics for former detainees. “So if those numbers translate, of the five who were transferred, probably one in five could be expected to go back into the business,” said Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, the agency director. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been critical of the Obama administration’s handling of the case. He said Wednesday that the Army’s decision is an important step in determining the accountability of Bergdahl. “I am confident that the Department of the Army will continue to ensure this process is conducted with the utmost integrity under the Uniform Code of Military Justice,” said McCain, a former prisoner of war. The Post's Dan Lamothe points out key moments in the video released by the Taliban showing Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl's recovery. (Editor's note: This video was originally published June 4, 2014.) (Dan Lamothe and Sarah Parnass/The Washington Post) House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said that “we all wanted to bring” Bergdahl home but criticized Obama for not securing guarantees that the released Taliban officials will not return to the battlefield. “I believe it made Americans less safe,” Boehner said. “Knowing that the United States does not negotiate with terrorists is one of our greatest protections, and now it is compromised.” Bergdahl’s case has prompted questions over whether the Obama administration handled the prisoner swap legally. Susan Rice, Obama’s national security adviser, also provoked criticism when she said after Bergdahl’s recovery that he had served “with honor and distinction.” She later acknowledged the remark was controversial and said she was referring to the soldier’s decision to enlist in the first place. “That, in and of itself, is a very honorable thing,” she said. Related on Checkpoint: War-zone deserter? If so, Bowe Bergdahl joins a fascinating and bizarre club. Taliban official swapped for Bowe Bergdahl could return to the battlefield, general says Why the ‘Black Hawk Down’ prisoner release is different than Bowe Bergdahl’s Susan Rice compares Bowe Bergdahl furor to Benghazi uproar

– The US got Bowe Bergdahl released from five years of captivity in Afghanistan, but now it might imprison him for life back home. The Army today charged the 28-year-old sergeant with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, reports the Daily Beast. The first carries a five-year punishment, the latter a life sentence. If convicted on either, he also might have to forfeit any pay he received during his disappearance, reports the Washington Post. Bergdahl, who had reportedly been disillusioned with the US mission in Afghanistan, went missing from his US base in 2009 and ended up a Taliban prisoner until the US brokered his release last year. The case now goes to something called an Article 32 hearing, which the AP explains is the military equivalent of a grand jury. The hearing, which will help determine whether there's enough evidence to proceed to a court-martial, will be held at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston in Texas. Bergdahl has been on desk duty there since his release.

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 2012 REMIX We can now confirm that the digital download of “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 2012 REMIX” was officially released today (12th August). Kate had this to say about the new release and its involvement in the proceedings... Hi there, I hope you all enjoyed the remix of Running Up That Hill this evening at the Olympics Closing Ceremony. They certainly put on a brilliant show. Kate Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) 2012 REMIX was released digitally on 12th August 2012 and is available to purchase here: Amazon iTunes (Rest of the world) iTunes USA Play.com 7 Digital ||||| David Bowie turned down the offer to sign off Sunday night's Olympic Games closing ceremony with a performance of Heroes, one of several high-profile acts who passed up the chance to perform in front of a global TV audience of hundreds of millions at the finale of London 2012. Organisers of the £15m show had also hoped to persuade the Rolling Stones, Kate Bush and the Sex Pistols to appear in what was intended to be a history of British music. Even the Who, who did close the Games with a medley ending with My Generation, turned down the request to play twice, according to industry sources. But a decision by the band to announce a US tour in July swayed them, given the scale of the promotional opportunity. The three-hour show featuring Elbow, Take That and another Spice Girls reunion was watched by an average of 23.2m viewers, making it marginally more popular than the £27m opening ceremony two weeks earlier. Viewing peaked at 26.3m on the night, although the event, which garnered a more mixed reception than Danny Boyle's show, would have been helped by its Sunday night slot, when people are more likely to be at home. As for Bowie, the 65-year-old has not toured since 2006, and it was always an ambitious request to try to persuade him to participate, even if Heroes was used as an unofficial anthem for Team GB during the Games. Although he closely monitors his own press coverage, Bowie, now based in New York, repeatedly turns down requests to perform or appear in public. Fans of the singer had to make do with a segment in the middle of the "Symphony for British Music" in which Fashion was played against a catwalk sequence featuring Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell – one of several recorded sections which suggested that hoped-for performers would not appear. Six months ago, artist managers and other music industry executives were given a presentation by concert producer Kim Gavin and film composer David Arnold of ambitious plans to showcase the history of British pop music from the 1960s. At that stage, there were few confirmed participants other than an agreement to play John Lennon's Imagine, which formed a centrepiece of the programme. Kate Bush was among those Gavin and Arnold hoped would appear, and there were rumours in the industry that she had agreed to perform. However, Bush too is reluctant to appear in public. Organisers agreed to play a remix of Running Up That Hill, and the singer released a statement on her website on Monday praising a "brilliant show". Backstage on the night, there was surprise that George Michael was allowed to perform his new single, White Light, which was released on Monday , in addition to solo classic Freedom. Island Records, his record company, hastily deleted a tweet inviting viewers to buy the song and the single did not make the top 10 on iTunes on Monday. One manager keen to support the event was Simon Fuller, the impresario behind the Spice Girls, David Beckham and Andy Murray. Some of the Spice Girls were particularly reluctant to perform at an event that despite all its apparent expense was still felt to be staged at minimal cost, but Fuller persuaded them, helpfully keeping the quintet in the public eye a few months ahead of the opening of the musical Viva Forever, which is based on their songs. Fuller, who was in the royal box on Sunday night, also saw another of his acts, singer Annie Lennox, perform Little Bird. But there was little sign of his rival svengali, Simon Cowell, with only one X Factor act, One Direction, performing at the event. HMV said it expected sales of music by John Lennon, the Spice Girls and Elbow – who performed One Day Like This – to soar by up to seven-fold this week. A compilation of the night's music, A Symphony for British Music, went to number two on the iTunes album chart, behind Now That's What I Call Music! 82.

– The star-studded Olympic closing bash seemed to include all of Britain's pop royalty, but in fact major figures snubbed the event—including David Bowie, Kate Bush, and the Rolling Stones, the Guardian reports. Bowie, 65, was considered a long-shot because he hasn't toured since 2006. Rumor had it Bush would take the stage last night, but alas, she only posted a statement on her website commending a "brilliant show." Backstage at the ceremony, people were surprised that George Michael was allowed to play his new release, "White Light," as well as the classic "Freedom." His record company, Island Records, quickly removed a tweet asking people to buy the new tune, which didn't make iTunes' top 10 today. But a mix of the evening's music called A Symphony for British Music did climb to number two on the list.

It is getting hard to count how many times Miley Cyrus has stripped down for photo shoots — but the 22-year-old’s latest spread is her most provocative yet. Cyrus covers this month’s issue of Candy magazine, the first magazine “completely dedicated to celebrating tranvestism, transexuality, crossdressing and androgyny in all their glory.” In a series of photos taken by renowned celebrity photographer (and alleged sex predator) Terry Richardson, Cyrus playfully fellates a nightstick while donning a policeman’s cap, stretches out her tongue to lick her armpit hair and bends at the waist to reach for a sex toy. “Miley has what it takes,” the caption on each shot reads. Check out the complete unblurred photo shoot here (Warning: Photos are extremely NSFW). This isn’t the first time Cyrus has gotten naked for Richardson; the controversial photographer shot a younger Cyrus in his New York studio in 2013. The pair also worked together on Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” music video. Richardson, who’s worked with countless celebrities on sexy photo shoots, has become something of an outcast in the photography world in recent years. Last year, a model named Emma Appleton accused the photographer of soliciting sex from her in exchange for securing her a Vogue photo shoot. In December 2013, Richardson’s ex-girlfriend, Audrey Gelman, said that both she and Lena Dunham, who had been photographed by Richardson, “have regrets.” Last year, Vogue told Us Weekly it had “no plans to work with” its controversial former contributor in the future. ||||| “Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman.” That’s how Amy Schumer described her nude photo by Annie Leibovitz for the new Pirelli Calendar, seizing the words from the tweets and thinkpieces by her critics and cheerleaders, all of whom will reliably bicker over the headline-making photo shoot from the star, who has turned the unapologetic, self-deprecating embracing of her body image into a zeitgeist-seizing art form. In the photo, Schumer is nude with nothing but a pair of underwear and some heels on, her arms opting to conceal her nipples instead of the rolls on her stomach as she slouches, and holding a coffee cup as the flash of a bulb startles her face startles into a candid, quite beautiful pose. The Trainwreck and Inside Amy Schumer star is a model for photographer Annie Leibovitz’s “quite different” 43rd edition of the Pirelli Calendar, typically known for classic pin-up poses from the world’s most glamorous and flawless sex symbols—Naomi Campbell, Penelope Cruz, Kate Moss, Cindy Crawford—but which this year features some of the world’s most distinguished women, all noted for things other than, but also including, their looks. “The goal was to be very straightforward,” Leibovitz said in a press conference unveiling the images. “I wanted the pictures to show the women exactly as they are, with no pretense.” In addition to Schumer, other models for the calendar include names not classically associated with the phrase “pin-up”—Selma director Ava DuVernay; Yao Chen, the first Chinese goodwill ambassador for United Nations High Commission for Refugees; tennis phenom Serena Williams—and therefore reappropriates the phrase to encompass new layers of sexiness and beauty: the kind that triumphs confidence, intelligence, class, and strength as part of the idea of exhibitionism. The remainder of the calendar’s models include Lucasfilm producer Kathleen Kennedy, Yoko Ono, writer Fran Lebowitz, executive Mellody Hobson, former supermodel Natalia Vodianova, philanthropist Agnes Gund, blogger Tavi Gevinson, and Iranian artist Shirin Neshat. As for her own image, which bucks the celebrity tradition of airbrushing out curves and rolls, Schumer says, “I never felt more beautiful.” The more radical message she's sending: We’re all our fiercest champions, but we're also our biggest critics. That tension? That is natural. That is beautiful. It’s easy to sound trite or maybe even patronizing when praising a famous person for embracing their body, and for being candid about all the insecurities they still acknowledge. But to deny the power not just in Schumer’s involvement in this calendar but also in the way she has shared the photo would be an injustice to the effect it will undeniably have. “Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman,” she captioned the photo when she posted it on Twitter and on Instagram Monday morning. These are words that seem in contradiction with each other, almost like an insufferable beat poet who thinks she is being deeper than she is. But they’re not. Schumer is redirecting the body-positive movement in a more realistic, and maybe even emotionally healthier way. Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking “Subscribe,” you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason. You can feel confident and proud of your body. You can find your curves sexy. You can embrace what some might call an imperfection. And you can also hate your body sometimes, too. Because to have a relationship with your body and your self-confidence means being honest about insecurities and your feelings about them. Otherwise you’re just projecting a false pride, convincing yourself that you’ve accepted parts of your body that you don’t like merely because a body-positive movement says you will be happier if you do. Schumer has always been candid about her body image, partly because she recognizes the radical power of being a successful and sexual woman in Hollywood while not having the body type of a waifish clothing rack with cartoon boobs. With great power comes great responsibility, and if not necessarily considering it a responsibility to discuss her body image struggles (because, dear God, how awful), she considers it an opportunity, and one that she’s relished. But she’s also been candid because we’ve forced her to. How many interviews has Schumer sat through, forced to answer questions about being a “trailblazer” because she’s carved a place for herself in show business without being a size zero? The brilliant comedian that she is, she’s used it as part of her comedy, especially in an often repeated bit about how in L.A. her arms register as legs. (It’s a good bit, even if we’ve heard her perform it so often by this point we could recite it ourselves.) The eloquent human that she is—the one who has been so incomparably gifted at channeling our own frustrations and complicated feelings with a razor-sharp wit laced with surprising shocks of emotion—she’s also used this candor to be more authentic than most celebrities have ever been about what it’s been like to be insecure with your body while under the scrutinizing gaze of the public eye. And then eventually conquer that. “Some nights I just didn’t even want to go on stage because I couldn’t find an outfit I looked good in,” she said on the Today show last month. Then, tearfully, “It’s been a struggle for me my whole life, especially just being in the entertainment industry, standing on a stage in front of people. I can’t perform my best or be confident if I’m not sure if I’m pulling at something. Sometimes I would just want to throw in the towel and say, ‘I’m not going to do stand-up tonight.’” We don’t often let our strong role models to have chink in their armor, especially ones that betray any sort of emotion or vulnerability. Amy Schumer, role model for all confident women, called bullshit on that, and we’re all better for it. So it’s with a careful honed grace, sharpened from so much of that, that Schumer shares the photo with the perfect message, a collection of words that some will use to describe how she looks, that she will use to describe her looks as her relationship to the photo and her body evolves (like all of us do with our own), and that actually mean something real—more real than any rote “This is beautiful!” plastic endorsement. Perhaps unintentionally, there’s a bit of cheeky poeticism to this photo being included as part of the Pirelli Calendar, which is routinely associated with “pin-up” poses. In an episode of Inside Amy Schumer that spoofed 12 Angry Men, jurors did not debate whether the defendant (played by Schumer) was guilty of committing murder, but instead the crime of not being hot enough to be on TV. At one point, one of the jurors bemoans the end of the days where only women as sexy and perfect as Marilyn Monroe—the iconic pin-up girl—were allowed on TV. Monroe was a size 8, another juror points out. Schumer is a size 6. A beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless size 6. ||||| Annie Leibovitz opts for natural and effortless style in portraits of Serena Williams, Yoko Ono, Amy Schumer and others Pirelli calendar goes with less steam and more jokes for 2016 The annual calendar produced by Pirelli tyres – which traditionally centres on the artfully lit nude bodies of female supermodels – has been unveiled, presenting a dramatic shift in subject matter and aesthetic. Gone are the gym-toned limbs and heaving bosoms; in their place for the 2016 calendar, shot by Annie Leibovitz, are simple portraits of women of various sizes, ages and ethnicities chosen for their “professional, social, cultural, sporting and artistic accomplishment”. Quick guide A brief history of the Pirelli calendar Show Hide What is it? The Pirelli calendar was first published in 1963 as a corporate gift for clients and customers of the Italian tyre company. The annual publication of the calendar – which has traditionally featured conventionally sexy images of nude women – has become an unlikely fixture on the fashion calendar because it attracts big-name photographers, models and celebrities. Its blatant objectification of naked women has been controversial and at times obtuse, but the calendar has survived by becoming more diverse and inclusive in its approach and its subject matter. Who has shot for it? ​The original photographer was Terence Donovan, who was tasked with producing an arty, tasteful reimagining of the traditional car mechanics' workshop pin-up calendar. ​He returned in 1987. Other notable names include Brian Duffy (1965), Sarah Moon (1972), Norman Parkinson (1985), Bert Stern (1986), Richard Avedon (1995, 1997), Peter Lindbergh (1996, 2002, 2014, 2017), Annie Leibowitz (2000, 2016), Mario Testino (2001), Terry Richardson (2010), Steve McCurry (2013), Helmut Newton (2014), Steven Meisel (2015) and Tim Walker (2018). What about the models? The models have often taken second billing to the photographers, although there have been plenty of big names. Naomi Campbell featured in 1987, and the calendar tapped into the cult of the supermodel from 1994 when Herb Ritts shot Helena Christensen, Cindy Crawford, Karen Alexander and Kate Moss. Steven Meisel's 2015 edition was a who's who of the biggest names in modelling including Gigi Hadid, Karen Elson and Joan Smalls. How has the calendar moved with the times? In 2007, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin took inspiration from Hollywood by featuring Penélope Cruz, Lou Doillon, Hilary Swank, Naomi Watts and a 71 year-old Sophia Loren. Peter Beard's 2009 calendar highlighted social activism. It was shot in Rio de Janeiro, using a mix of models and city residents – all clothed – who had started their own charities. Annie Leibowitz's 2016 calendar featured women who have achieved something significant in their fields, including Yoko Ono, Patti Smith, Serena Williams and Amy Schumer. Tim Walker's Alice in Wonderland calendar for 2018, styled by Vogue editor Edward Enninful, was the first to star an all-black cast, including Whoopi Goldberg, Puff Daddy, Naomi Campbell and RuPaul. Subjects include Yoko Ono, wearing a top hat, tuxedo jacket and fishnet tights; and Patti Smith, modelling jeans, boots and a snarl. The cultural commentator Fran Lebowitz makes an unlikely Miss May, smoking a cigarette in a man’s oversized pinstriped jacket. The blogger Tavi Gevinson, Chinese actor Yao Chen, artist Shirin Neshat, investment banker Mellody Hobson, the director of the film Selma, Ava DuVernay, and Agnes Gund, an art collector, also appear. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Serena Williams in the 2016 calendar. Photograph: Annie Leibovitz/Pirelli The tennis star Serena Williams was one of just two scantily clad stars, posing in a balletic lunge with her muscular, naked back to the camera. December’s subject, the comedian Amy Schumer, sips from a lipstick-stained takeaway coffee cup in her underwear, with soft rolls of flesh visible on her stomach. At the launch of the calendar on Monday, Leibovitz explained that none of these photographs had been conceived with the male gaze in mind. Williams’s photo was “not a nude but a body study”, she said, while Schumer’s was a comic conceit: “The idea was that she was the only one who had not got the memo about wearing clothes.” To the uninitiated, the Pirelli calendar might sound like a tatty document destined for mechanics to stare at in a garage. But during its 50-odd years of production, Pirelli has worked hard to cultivate a sense of artiness and exclusivity around the images. In its hard copy form the calendar is only sent out to a select and secret few, although the images circulate widely on the internet. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Annie Leibovitz attends the Pirelli calendar launch in London. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA They are given a veneer of respectability, and fashion industry approval, thanks to the inclusion of the world’s top supermodels and actors – Kate Moss, Gisele Bundchen and Julianne Moore to name a few – who are photographed by illustrious names including Herb Ritts, Richard Avedon and Helmut Newton. Monday’s slick launch event, in the grand ballroom of the Grosvenor House on Park Lane, London, underlined the seriousness with which Pirelli takes the calendar as a marketing exercise. The world’s media gathered for the unveiling of the images, listening as Clare Balding interviewed Leibovitz and three of the calendar’s subjects – Gevinson, Gund and Chen – on stage, while the proceedings were translated via headsets into four languages. The women spoke warmly of the calendar’s symbolism, with Leibovitz describing it as representative of a shift in the way women are viewed. The tyre manufacturer’s chief executive, Marco Tronchetti Provera, said the company had been looking to make a departure from the usual format of its calendar this year, one that felt “very timely”. “Women who have done something outstanding in their lives, from every corner of the world. This represents what Pirelli thinks is beautiful,” said Tronchetti Provera. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Yao Chen, the Chinese actor, in the calendar. Photograph: Annie Leibovitz/Pirelli Leibovitz added that the images were designed to look as natural and effortless as possible, with little “pretence” to the pictures. Though shot in flattering black and white, they had been subject to just a “little cleaning up” of the images rather than the usual heavy post-production work, she said. Though Leibovitz, who also photographed a calendar of nudes for Pirelli in 2000, declined to describe the calendar as a feminist watershed moment for the brand, she said: “Pirelli has always given free rein to the photographer, so it’s really about choice of photographer. I think the company has wanted to shift for a few years and my mandate was that they wanted to see some change.” During a behind-the-scenes film shown at the launch, the photographer’s almost-namesake Lebowitz offered a slightly different analysis: “Perhaps clothed women are going to have a moment.” ||||| Annie Leibovitz/Pirelli For more than half a century, Italian tire-maker Pirelli has released an annual calendar full of photos of supermodels in pin-up poses wearing skimpy lingerie or nothing at all. This year’s iteration marks a drastic departure from the form: The calendar’s models are luminaries of art, business, sports, and philanthropy, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Christina Cauterucci Christina Cauterucci is a Slate staff writer. In fact, the only two women who appear in partial nudity are Amy Schumer and Serena Williams, who’ve each been targeted by body-shamers over the past year. Their gorgeous images do more to turn that shame around on their trolls than any Instagram comment war ever could. Advertisement Yoko Ono, Ava DuVernay, Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, Patti Smith, author Fran Lebowitz, actress Yao Chen, and Tavi Gevinson show up in the calendar, too. “I wanted the pictures to show the women exactly as they are, with no pretense,” Leibovitz told Vogue of the studio portraits. The calendar isn’t for sale; as in past years, it’ll be gifted to 20,000 “VIPs, musicians, politicians, and royalty.” The nudity of Williams and Schumer stands in stark contrast to Pirelli’s usual M.O. Previous decades have seen the world’s top professional beauties showcasing individual exposed, oiled-up body parts—with their faces, at times, cropped out—in what amounted to a fancified soft-core porn magazine. Last year’s featured women, which included lingerie models Adriana Lima, Joan Smalls, and Gigi Hadid, were shot swaddled in latex straddling bike seats and bathing in bubbles. Flip through the past 50 years of calendars and you’ll find just a few years of clothed women in editorial-type shoots. Taken as a whole, the archive testifies to the longtime persistence of one particular beauty ideal in fashion and mainstream media, one that can rarely accommodate a roll of fat, bulge of muscle, or pinch of age-spotted skin. Annie Leibovitz/Pirelli Now, Pirelli seems to realize, the world has gotten bored of this tired tradition. “A white, able-bodied cis-gendered woman being naked is just not revolutionary anymore,” Gevinson told the New York Times. “I don’t think anyone is going to be like, ‘Damn, I wanted those naked chicks.’ ” The calendar’s two naked chicks, Williams and Schumer, are the perfect step away from Pirelli’s nudity of yore. In any state of dress or undress, Schumer and Williams have been scrutinized for their looks, and both have resisted pressure to retreat into more modest clothing or a different strength-training regimen. Schumer has parodied her trolls’ ridiculous fixation on her looks and doubled down on her overtly sexual image. Williams, whose “large biceps” and “mold-breaking muscular frame” have been pondered over nearly as much as her athletic prowess, has batted down claims that her body shape makes her less feminine. (“First of all she’s a woman, and she wants to be a woman,” coach Tomasz Wiktorowski has said of his strategy to keep tennis player Agnieszka Radwanska small and lean.) In a Good Morning America interview, Williams praised her own body’s athletic form. “I love that I am a full woman and I’m strong and I’m powerful and I’m beautiful at the same time,” she said.

– Amy Schumer, posing in her undies with tummy folds? Serena Williams, similarly dressed while showing off her buff physique? The Pirelli Calendar—which usually shows skinny models and actresses in soft-core poses—is breaking from tradition this year by using photos of successful women across various fields, the Daily Beast reports. "The goal was to be very straightforward," says photographer Annie Leibovitz, who snapped the shots for the 43rd edition. "I wanted the pictures to show the women exactly as they are, with no pretense." Only Schumer and Williams (who were each criticized by body-shamers in recent months) are posing in the near-buff, notes Slate. Schumer tweeted about it this way: Beautiful, gross, strong, thin, fat, pretty, ugly, sexy, disgusting, flawless, woman. Thank you @annieleibovitz — Amy Schumer, November 30, 2015 Among others posing for Leibovitz are Ava DuVernay, director of Selma; Yao Chen, a Chinese goodwill ambassador to the UN; Kathleen Kennedy, Lucasfilm producer; Natalia Vodianova, ex-supermodel; Shirin Neshat, Iranian artist; and Yoko Ono. Seems Leibovitz chose her models: "Pirelli has always given free rein to the photographer," she tells the Guardian. "I think the company has wanted to shift for a few years and my mandate was that they wanted to see some change." So will the calendar revert to sexy poses next year? It's unclear, but Neshat tells the New York Times that "it would be a huge disappointment" if Pirelli chose to "abandon the idea of the women who define modern life, and go back to sexy girls who are too young to have accomplished anything." (Miley Cyrus recently did a nude photo shoot, too.)

Thursday, August 23, 2012 Top Ten Question to Ask Yourself Before Buying $300 Sneakers 10. "Are laces included?" 9. "Will I have to upgrade my socks?" 8. "May I put one shoe on layaway?" 7. "How much just for the tongues?" 6. "Foam, plastic, and string, assembled in China, for $300 -- too good to be true?" 5. "What would Dr. Scholl do?" 4. "Is this the kind of excessive spending Mitt Romney is hiding on his tax returns?" 3. "Will they help me outrun my creditors?" 2. "Do I want my footwear to scream, 'sucker!'?" ||||| Read Excerpts From Snooki's Book, Prepare to Have Mind Blown Email This Faulkner, Hemingway and Fitzgerald may be widely acknowledged as America's preeminent literary talents, but none of them have gotten down with The 'Jersey Shore' star's Snooker's prose encompasses all of the subtlety we've come to expect from the pocket-sized party girl, from the terse descriptions of her lifelong passions to the exquisitely-crafted allegory between her emasculated "juiceheads" and Puccini's tragic heroine in 'La Boheme.' After the jump, we contrast Snooki's work (courtesy of the Faulkner, Hemingway and Fitzgerald may be widely acknowledged as America's preeminent literary talents, but none of them have gotten down with The Situation in a hot tub. This is where Nicole " Snooki " Polizzi enters the equation.The 'Jersey Shore' star's first novel, 'A Shore Thing,' is scheduled for release this week and early buzz has contenders for the National Book Award shaking in their boots.Snooker's prose encompasses all of the subtlety we've come to expect from the pocket-sized party girl, from the terse descriptions of her lifelong passions to the exquisitely-crafted allegory between her emasculated "juiceheads" and Puccini's tragic heroine in 'La Boheme.'After the jump, we contrast Snooki's work (courtesy of the New York Post ) with the literary greats, whose talents she has not only equaled but clearly surpassed. On seeing another person, as if for the first time: On anger: On love: On the significance of place: On the evil that lurks inside: http://xml.channel.aol.com/xmlpublisher/fetch.v2.xml?option=expand_relative_urls&dataUrlNodes=uiConfig,feedConfig,entry&id=691977&pid=691976&uts=1294086751 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 PopScene: Week's Hottest Pics Kim Kardashian hits the gym with her new cornrows in Los Angeles on December 30th. X17online X17online : "Gatsby was overwhelmingly aware of the youth and mystery that wealth imprisons and preserves, of the freshness of many clothes, and of Daisy, gleaming like silver, safe and proud above the hot struggles of the poor.""He had an okay body. Not fat at all. And naturally toned abs. She could pour a shot of tequila down his belly and slurp it out of his navel without getting splashed in the face.""His rage began to thin as he exaggerated more and more and spread his scorn and contempt so widely and unjustly that he could no longer believe in it himself.""Any juicehead will get some nut shrinkage. And bacne. They fly into a 'roid rage, it is a 'road' 'roid rage.""Try to understand men. If you understand each other you will be kind to each other. Knowing a man well never leads to hate and almost always leads to love.""Yum. Johnny Hulk tasted like fresh gorilla.""A place belongs forever to whoever claims it hardest, remembers it most obsessively, wrenches it from itself, shapes it, renders it, loves it so radically that he remakes it in his image.""Gia had never before been in jail. It wasn't nearly as gritty and disgusting as she'd seen on TV prison shows. The Seaside Heights drunk tank -- on a weekday afternoon -- was as clean and quiet as a church.""There was something terrible in me sometimes at night I could see it grinning at me I could see it through them grinning at me through their faces it's gone now and I'm sick""Gia danced around a little, shaking her peaches for show. She shook it hard. Too hard. In the middle of a shimmy, her stomach cramped. A fart slipped out. A loud one. And stinky."

– You could be forgiven for thinking Snooki’s debut literary venture, A Shore Thing, is perhaps not for you … but maybe you just haven’t been considering all the reasons to buy it. The Jersey Shore star herself offered up 10 such reasons last night on the Late Show With David Letterman. At the very least, you should consider a purchase because—as she said in reason No. 4—“If everybody buys my book, the economy will be fixed.” Watch in the gallery—or click for a hilarious list of excerpts from the novel.

James Blunt pictured in Stockholm in 2014. Photo: Pontus Lundahl/TT A Swedish company has created a terrifyingly tough test for their next aspiring employee: convince the entire office to listen to James Blunt if you want the job. The Borg & Owilli content agency's advert for a new account manager explains that "along with a cover letter and CV, the test for the job is to sell us James Blunt". "Can you convince us that half the planet is way off the mark and James Blunt's new pop album is absolutely world class? We're looking for people with a creative streak, but also someone who is such a good seller they can convince the entire office that James Blunt's new album should be played through the speakers on repeat," the ad expands. The person behind the idea is one of the company's partners, David Borg. "It was my idea. We previously had difficult job tests linked to current events. Last year we had a test where people had to convince our colleague who is an American to vote for Donald Trump instead of Hillary Clinton in the election," he told The Local. "Now that the world's worst and most pointless artist has released a new album, we thought it fit well." Blunt's music has a reputation for being divisive (the artist has frequently made jokes at his own expense in that regard), so the test is intentionally designed to be a challenge. "The key to success is to sell his pointless emptiness as really being deep poetry. That won’t be easy," Borg explained. If you thought 2016 was bad - I'm releasing an album in 2017. — James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) December 13, 2016 Nope, you're on your own. RT @chickenoriental: I must be 1 of only 2 who genuinely likes every @jamesblunt song. The other person being him. — James Blunt (@JamesBlunt) December 12, 2013 The successful candidate will have to convince a "Got Talent" style jury of Blunt's merits. And crucially, the judges all have one thing in common: "We're going to have a three person jury. Everyone hates James Blunt equally." Blunt's albums have sold millions of copies worldwide, so even if these Swedes aren't fond of him, some people clearly are.

– How do you sell people on the world's "most pointless artist"? That's a problem to be worked out by Borg & Owilli's next account manager. The Swedish marketing agency is looking to fill the post and has come up with a test for applicants: "Sell us James Blunt," or more specifically, "convince the entire office that James Blunt's new album should be played through the speakers on repeat," the job ad reads, per the Local. Partner David Borg explains that the stunt speaks to the challenges of the job: "The key to success is to sell his pointless emptiness as really being deep poetry," he says. "That won’t be easy." Blunt, it should be noted, has a sense of humor about his reputation—he apologized for the song "Beautiful" being overplayed, and sends out tweets likes this.

IRBIL, Iraq (AP) — Airstrikes pounded the area around Iraq's largest dam on Saturday in an effort to drive out militants who captured it earlier this month, as reports emerged of the massacre of some 80 members of the Yazidi religious minority by Islamic extremists. Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a new camp outside the old camp of Bajid Kandala at Feeshkhabour town near the Syria-Iraq border, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. The U.N. this week declared... (Associated Press) Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community gather at a park near the Turkey-Iraq border at the Ibrahim al-Khalil crossing, as they try to cross to Turkey, in Zakho, 300 miles (475 kilometers) northwest... (Associated Press) Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a new camp outside the old camp of Bajid Kandala at Feeshkhabour town near the Syria-Iraq border, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. The U.N. this week declared... (Associated Press) Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community walk on the Delal bridge in Zakho, 300 miles (475 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. The U.N. this week declared the situation in... (Associated Press) Displaced Iraqis from the Yazidi community settle at a new camp outside the old camp of Bajid Kandala at Feeshkhabour town near the Syria-Iraq border, Iraq, Friday, Aug. 15, 2014. The U.N. this week declared... (Associated Press) German's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, speaks to the press upon his arrival at the airport in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Aug 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, Pool) (Associated Press) Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, right, speaks during a meeting with German's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter, left, in Baghdad, Iraq, Saturday, Aug 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban, Pool) (Associated Press) An Iraqi woman and her son from the Yazidi community sleep at a park near the Turkey-Iraq border at the Ibrahim al-Khalil crossing, as they try to cross to Turkey, in Zakho, 300 miles (475 kilometers)... (Associated Press) Residents living near the Mosul Dam told The Associated Press that the area was being targeted by airstrikes, but it was not immediately clear whether the attacks were being carried out by Iraq's air force or the U.S., which last week launched an air campaign aimed at halting the advance of the Islamic State group across the country's north. The extremist group seized the dam on the Tigris River on Aug. 7. Residents near the dam say the airstrikes killed militants, but that could not immediately be confirmed. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity out of fears for their safety. A Yazidi lawmaker and a Kurdish security official meanwhile said Islamic State fighters massacred scores of Yazidi men Friday afternoon after seizing the village of Kocho. Both said they based their information on the accounts of survivors and warned that the minority group remains in danger despite U.S. aid drops and airstrikes launched to protect them. Islamic State fighters besieged the village for several days and gave its Yazidi residents a deadline to convert to Islam, Yazidi lawmaker Mahma Khalil said Saturday. "When the residents refused to do this, the massacre took place," he said. Halgurd Hekmat, a spokesman for Kurdish security forces, said the militants took the women and children of Kocho to the nearby city of Tal Afar, which is controlled by the Islamic State group. Their accounts could not immediately be confirmed. Areas held by the extremist group are not accessible to reporters. Tens of thousands of Yazidis fled when the Islamic State group earlier this month captured the northern Iraqi town of Sinjar, near the Syrian border. The Yazidis practice an ancient religion that the Sunni Muslim radicals consider heretical. The plight of the Yazidis, tens of thousands of whom were stranded on a desert mountaintop for days, encircled by the Islamic extremists, prompted the U.S. to launch aid lifts as well as airstrikes to help Kurdish fighters get them to safety. Most of the Yazidis were eventually able to escape to Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region. Some 1.5 million people have been displaced by fighting since the Islamic State group's rapid advance across northern and western Iraq began in June. The decision to launch airstrikes marked the first direct U.S. military intervention in Iraq since the last troops withdrew in 2011, and reflected growing international concern about the extremist group, which has carved out a self-styled Islamic state in large parts of Iraq and neighboring Syria. On Saturday, Britain's Ministry of Defense said it deployed a U.S.-made spy plane over northern Iraq to monitor the humanitarian crisis and movements of Islamic State militants. It said the converted Boeing KC-135 tanker, called a Rivet Joint, would monitor mobile phone calls and other communication. Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier was in Baghdad on Saturday, where he announced his government would provide more than 24 million euros ($32.2 million) in humanitarian aid to Iraq. "The first German air force planes are flying to Irbil at this moment to deliver humanitarian aid," Steinmeier said in a joint press conference with Iraq's acting Foreign Minister Hussein Shahristani. "In the current situation where minorities, especially in northern Iraq, are expelled and murdered, where children are orphaned and women are enslaved, humanitarian aid is extremely important." Two British planes also landed Saturday in the Kurdish regional capital Irbil carrying humanitarian supplies. Khalil, the Yazidi lawmaker, said the U.S. must do more to protect those fleeing the Islamic State group. "We have been calling on the U.S. administration and Iraqi government to intervene and help the innocent people, but it seems that nobody is listening," Khalil said. ___ Yacoub reported from Baghdad. Associated Press writer Vivian Salama in Baghdad, Frank Jordans in Berlin and Shawn Pogatchnik in Dublin contributed to this report. ||||| Iraqi children, displaced by the siege of Mount Sinjar by Islamic State militants, speak of the lives they left behind. (Reuters) Iraqi children, displaced by the siege of Mount Sinjar by Islamic State militants, speak of the lives they left behind. (Reuters) Extremist fighters have killed more than 80 men and detained hundreds of women in a Yazidi village, Yazidis and Kurdish officials said Saturday, offering a reminder that the ancient minority sect is still at risk despite President Obama’s conclusion that the threat had passed for those stranded on Mount Sinjar. Islamic State militants drove into the village of Kocho, about 15 miles southwest of the town of Sinjar, on Friday, following a week-long siege in which the al-Qaeda inspired group demanded that residents convert to Islam or face death, said the reports, which could not be independently verified. The men were rounded up and executed, while the women were taken to an undisclosed location, according to Ziad Sinjar, a pesh merga commander based on the edge of Mount Sinjar, citing the accounts of villagers nearby. Six men were injured but survived, and managed to escape to a nearby village where they are being sheltered by sympathetic local Sunni Iraqis, he said. One of them told him that 84 Yazidi men were lined up and shot and that more than 300 women were taken away. Yazidi activists and Kurdish officials said at least 80 men were killed and hundreds of women taken away after the fighters entered the village shortly after 1 pm on Friday. “The villagers had received local assurances that they were safe,” said Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s former foreign minister who is now working closely with the Kurdistan Regional Government. “Maybe they killed them in revenge for the setbacks they have suffered from the air strikes.” 1 of 10 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × Majority of Yazidis return to Iraq View Photos Many who had been trapped at risk of death fled to Syria and now are in northern Iraq, shaken but no longer in imminent danger. Caption Many who had been trapped at risk of death fled to Syria and now are in northern Iraq, shaken but no longer in imminent danger. A Yazidi girl enters the temple in Lalish, Iraq, the Yazidi holy sanctuary. Tens of thousands of the Iraqi minority sect have been displaced after being attacked by the Islamic State militant group. They are spilling across northern Iraq — sleeping in fields, cars and abandoned buildings — but at least they are safe. Sebastian Meyer/For the Washington Post Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. The accounts could not be independently confirmed nor the conflicting numbers reconciled, but fears had been growing for the welfare of Yazidis in the village since the Islamic State siege began on Aug. 7. The U.S. Central Command said Friday that it had carried out a drone attack south of the town of Sinjar after receiving reports of an attack in the area. The drone “struck and destroyed two vehicles,” it said. The alleged killings came a day after Obama called off plans for a military evacuation of Yazidis trapped on Mount Sinjar, saying they were no longer at risk. If confirmed, the events in Kocho would constitute the worst single atrocity committed against the Yazidis since the Aug. 3 assault on Sinjar triggered a humanitarian crisis and contributed to the Obama administration’s decision to intervene. At least 10 U.S. airstrikes and drops of food and medicine have since helped tens of thousands of Yazidis reach safety after they sought refuge on the mountain nearly two weeks ago, then got stranded in the barren terrain without water or food. Obama declared Thursday that the U.S. effort “broke the ISIL siege of Mount Sinjar.” A team of U.S. Special Forces and aid officials dispatched to the mountain Wednesday concluded that the intervention had dispelled the imminent threat to the lives of ­Yazidis, he said. But although the airstrikes appear to have helped those trapped on the mountain reach safety, people who did not join the initial exodus are still at risk, Yazidis say. “The sole mission of the airstrikes was to protect the people on the mountain, not to free anyone outside the mountain,” said Murad Ismael, a Yazidi activist based in Washington. Kocho is south of the town of Sinjar, from which the exodus took place, and many residents were unable to join the flight because they were cut off by the Islamic State advance, according to Yazidi refugees in northern Iraq. After the Islamic State fighters surrounded the village last week, they issued a deadline of Sunday, which was extended to Monday, then extended again several times as the week wore on. On Friday, the fighters moved in, apparently unopposed. Ismael said he believed the Islamic State was emboldened to strike against the village after Obama called off the evacuation plan. The Islamic State fighters “did not kill [the people in Kocho] when there was air coverage,” he said. “They started killing only after Obama said the siege is over. They got the message and decided to kill these people.” Obama has said the airstrikes will continue, even though the plan to evacuate Yazidis from the mountain has been dropped, and stressed that Iraqis still face a “dire” threat from the Islamic State. The administration also has said it will send arms directly to Kurdish forces, with the approval of Iraq’s central government. On Friday, the effort to arm the Kurds against the Islamic State received a boost when the European Union gave its blessing to individual European nations sending weapons. The E.U. also said it would look for ways to prevent Islamic State jihadists from benefiting from oil sales. So far, France and the Czech Republic have said they will supply arms, and other countries, including Germany and the Netherlands, have indicated they are open to the possibility. British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Britain would “consider favorably” any Kurdish request for weapons. At the United Nations, Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Alhakim said his government has asked the United States to increase its airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq beyond the limits set by Obama of targets related to humanitarian missions and protection of U.S. personnel. “We are working with the United States on this,” Alhakim said. His remarks followed the U.N. Security Council’s unanimous adoption of a resolution condemning the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, or the al-Nusra Front, and ordering all U.N. member states to take action to prevent terrorist recruits from traveling to the region and to stop efforts to finance them. In a release Friday by the U.S.-backed Syrian Opposition Coalition, Syrian rebels fighting against the Islamic State and the al-Nusra Front, as well as government forces, said they were in desperate straits in the northwestern area near the Turkish border and pleaded for supplies from the West that have been withheld from them but are flooding into Iraq. “We have limited time to face this danger,” rebel commander Abdallah Awda said. “All of Syria’s neighbors will be threatened by ISIS.” ISIS and ISIL are acronyms for alternative names for the Islamic State. Karla Adam in London and Karen DeYoung in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| U.S. Airstrikes In Iraq Pound Area Near Mosul Dam Enlarge this image toggle caption Youssef Boudlal/Reuters/Landov Youssef Boudlal/Reuters/Landov Update at 1:25 p.m. ET. U.S. F/A-18s and drones are conducting airstrikes around the Mosul Dam in northern Iraq, a senior U.S. official tells NPR. The region has seen stepped up fighting in recent days between Kurdish peshmerga forces and Islamic State, or ISIS, militants. Residents living near the Mosul Dam told The Associated Press that the area was being targeted in airstrikes. Islamic State fighters seized the dam on the Tigris River on Aug. 7. The residents near the dam told AP that the airstrikes killed militants, but that could not immediately be confirmed. Meanwhile, more details are emerging from the latest alleged massacre of minority Yazidis by Islamic State militants in northwestern Iraq. As we first reported on Friday, Iraqi and Kurdish officials said at least 80 individuals from the religious community were killed. Last week, officials in Baghdad said hundreds of Yazidis had been executed in similar fashion. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports from Dohuk that Yazidi villagers and activists say extremists demanded that residents of Kocho village, about 15 miles southwest of the town of Sinjar, convert to Islam or face execution. When they refused, the men were reportedly killed. He said reports claim that the women of the village were rounded up and the men taken outdoors and executed. Peter says estimates of the number dead range from 80 to "much higher figures." Senior Kurdish official Hoshiyar Zebari, a former Iraqi foreign minister, told Reuters that the militants "arrived in vehicles and they started their killing" Friday afternoon. "We believe it's because of their creed: convert or be killed," the official said. "The villagers had received local assurances that they were safe," he was quoted by The Washington Post as saying. "Maybe they killed them in revenge for the setbacks they have suffered from the [U.S.] airstrikes." Officials warned that the Yazidis, an ancient religious minority, remain in danger despite U.S. aid drops and airstrikes launched to protect them. In a statement from U.S. Central Command, the Pentagon said it destroyed two armed vehicles in the area where the massacre was reported. ||||| Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect, fleeing violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State in Sinjar town, walk towards the Syrian border, on the outskirts of Sinjar mountain, near the Syrian border town of Elierbeh of Al-Hasakah Governorate August 10, 2014. BAGHDAD Islamic State insurgents "massacred" some 80 members of Iraq's Yazidi minority in a village in the country's north, a Yazidi lawmaker and two Kurdish officials said on Friday. "They arrived in vehicles and they started their killing this afternoon," senior Kurdish official Hoshiyar Zebari told Reuters. "We believe it's because of their creed: convert or be killed." A Yazidi lawmaker and another senior Kurdish official also said the killings had taken place and that the women of the village were kidnapped. A push by Islamic State militants through northern Iraq to the border with the Kurdish region has alarmed the Baghdad government, drawn the first U.S. air strikes since the end of American occupation in 2001 and sent tens of thousands of Yazidis and Christians fleeing for their lives. Yazidi parliamentarian Mahama Khalil said he had spoken to villagers who had survived the attack. They said the killings took place during a one-hour period. The resident of a nearby village said an Islamic State fighter from the same area gave him details of the bloodshed. "He told me that the Islamic State had spent five days trying to persuade villagers to convert to Islam and that a long lecture was delivered about the subject today," said the villager. "He then said the men were gathered and shot dead. The women and girls were probably taken to Tal Afar because that is where the foreign fighters are." That account could not be independently confirmed. Islamic State militants have killed at least 500 members of Iraq's Yazidi ethnic minority during their offensive in the north, Iraq's human rights minister told Reuters on Sunday. Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said the Sunni militants had also buried alive some of their victims, including women and children. Some 300 women were kidnapped as slaves, he added. (Reporting by Isabel Coles, Michael Georgy and Raheem Salman; Writing by Alexander Dziadosz; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

– The Yazidis who managed to escape to the mountains seem to be protected from Islamic State militants, but those who stayed in their villages clearly are not. Reports from the village of Kocho in northern Iraq say that extremists executed about 80 Yazidi men yesterday and took away about 300 women and children. "They arrived in vehicles and they started their killing," a Kurdish official tells Reuters. "We believe it's because of their creed: convert or be killed." A resident of a nearby village said the militants had spent the better part of a week trying unsuccessfully to convince the Yazidis in Kocho to convert to their brand of Islam. “The villagers had received local assurances that they were safe,” Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq’s former foreign minister, tells the Washington Post. “Maybe they killed them in revenge for the setbacks they have suffered from the airstrikes.” The accounts have not been confirmed, though NPR notes that Iraqi officials reported an even larger massacre last week. Elsewhere, the AP reports airstrikes near the giant Mosul Dam in an apparent attempt to wrest control of it back from the militants. It wasn't clear whether US or Iraqi planes were involved.

Nonetheless, the use of a chokehold in subduing a large but unarmed man during a low-level arrest raises for Mr. Bratton the same questions about police training and tactics that he faced 20 years ago, in his first stint as New York City’s police commissioner. In 1994, the year after the Police Department banned chokeholds, a man named Anthony Baez died in the Bronx after a police officer put him in a chokehold during a dispute over a touch football game. At City Hall on Friday, Mr. Bratton said he did not believe that the use of chokeholds by police officers in New York City was a widespread problem, saying this was his “first exposure” to the issue since returning as police commissioner in January. Mayor Bill de Blasio, standing next to Mr. Bratton, said, “Like so many New Yorkers I was very troubled by the video,” referring to a bystander’s recording of the incident, which was posted on the website of The New York Daily News. The two police officers who initially confronted Mr. Garner have been temporarily taken off patrol duty. The police declined to name the officers but said one of them had been on the force for eight years and the other for four years. Late Friday, the mayor’s office announced that Mr. de Blasio was postponing his family’s departure on a planned vacation to Italy from Friday evening until Saturday. The postponement was to allow Mr. de Blasio to spend more time making calls to elected officials, community leaders and members of the clergy, and talking to the police, about Mr. Garner’s death, the mayor’s press secretary, Phil Walzak, said. The encounter between Mr. Garner and plainclothes officers, from the 120th Precinct, began after the officers accused Mr. Garner of illegally selling cigarettes, an accusation he was familiar with. He had been arrested more than 30 times, often accused of selling loose cigarettes bought outside the state, a common hustle designed to avoid state and city tobacco taxes. In March and again in May, he was arrested on charges of illegally selling cigarettes on the sidewalk. For years, Mr. Garner chafed at the scrutiny by the police, which he considered harassment. In 2007, he filed a handwritten complaint in federal court accusing a police officer of conducting a cavity search of him on the street, “digging his fingers in my rectum in the middle of the street” while people passed by. ||||| Photo: New York Daily News An unarmed 43-year-old father of six from Staten Island died yesterday after at least five NYPD officers choked and smothered him during an arrest. Eric Garner, who suffered from chronic asthma, diabetes, and sleep apnea, was about six-foot-four, 400 pounds, the Daily News reports, and had a history of arrests for selling untaxed cigarettes. “I’m minding my business,” he says when confronted in the deeply disturbing video shot by a neighbor. “Are you serious? I didn’t do nothin’. What’d I do?” “Every time you see me, you’re messing with me. I’m tired of it. This stops today,” says Garner. “Every time you see me, you wanna harass me. I told you last time, please just leave me alone.” When the officers move to arrest him, Garner struggles until he’s choked from behind by a man not in uniform, who then pushes Garner’s head into the concrete. “I can’t breathe!” says Garner in a muffled scream. “I can’t breathe!” He repeats it over and over again, at least nine times audibly. Witnesses say the incident started when Garner tried to break up a fight. Photo: New York Daily News An NYPD spokesperson would only tell the Daily News that Garner “was being placed in custody, went into cardiac arrest and died.” Internal affairs has launched an investigation, with Garner’s wife saying a detective has been in touch. “I’m sorry for your loss,” he said, noting that he was involved “because there is wrongdoing.” That much seems obvious. Update: In a very un-Bloomberg move, the mayor has taken to Twitter to acknowledge the incident. On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Eric Garner. — Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) July 18, 2014 His full statement: On behalf of all New Yorkers, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Mr. Garner, who died yesterday afternoon while being placed in police custody. We have a responsibility to keep every New Yorker safe, and that includes when individuals are in custody of the NYPD. That is a responsibility that Police Commissioner Bratton and I take very seriously. We are harnessing all resources available to the City to ensure a full and thorough investigation of the circumstances of this tragic incident. The NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau is working closely with the Office of the Richmond County District Attorney, which is leading this investigation. Update II: At a press conference today, Mayor de Blasio said he was “deeply troubled” after watching the Garner video. BdB says it's too early to jump to conclusions. But he promises New Yorkers there will be a complete investigation of the incident. — Michael Howard Saul (@MichaelHwrdSaul) July 18, 2014 NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton added that the chokehold “appears” to be in violation of department policies, which can be read here. ||||| (This story was originally published on July 18, 2014) A 400-pound asthmatic Staten Island dad died Thursday after a cop put him in a chokehold and other officers appeared to slam his head against the sidewalk, video of the incident shows. “I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!” Eric Garner, 43, repeatedly screamed after at least five NYPD officers took him down in front of a Tompkinsville beauty supply store when he balked at being handcuffed. Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, stopped struggling and appeared to be unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. An angry crowd gathered, some recording with smartphones. “When I kissed my husband this morning, I never thought it would be for the last time,” Garner’s wife, Esaw, told the Daily News. She got no details from police until after she had gone to the hospital to identify his body, she said. “I saw him with his eyes wide open and I said, ‘Babe, don’t leave me, I need you.’ But he was already gone,” she said. A family friend searching for her in the hospital ran into detectives from the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Division. The friend put them on the phone with her, the grieving widow said. ERIC GARNER: A YEAR LATER She spoke with a Detective Howard, who told her, “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said. He said his office was involved “because there is wrongdoing,” she said. Police officials said Garner had a history of arrests for selling untaxed cigarettes. Cops said they observed him selling his wares Thursday on Bay St. and moved in for an arrest. Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, ceased struggling and appeared to become unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. (New York Daily News) Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, ceased struggling and appeared to become unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. (New York Daily News) Within moments Garner, a married father of six children with two grandchildren, ceased struggling and appeared to become unconscious as police called paramedics to the scene. An NYPD spokesman would only say the man “was being placed in custody, went into cardiac arrest and died” at Richmond University Medical Center. But Esaw Garner and other family members said it was a trumped up claim. “They’re covering their asses, he was breaking up a fight. They harassed and harassed my husband until they killed him,” she said. Garner’s family said he didn’t have any cigarettes on him or in his car at the time of his death. She said she pleaded with police at the hospital to tell her what happened, but they brushed her off. “They wouldn’t tell me anything,” she said. An angry crowd gathered, some recording with smartphones. (Ken Murray/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) Officials confirmed that NYPD Internal Affairs officers launched an investigation Thursday night. Records show Garner was due in court in October on three Staten Island cases, including charges of pot possession and possession or selling untaxed cigarettes. Esaw Garner said her husband was unable to work because he suffered from a host of ailments, including chronic asthma, diabetes and sleep apnea. Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, 65, added, “I want justice.” 'When I kissed my husband this morning, I never thought it would be for the last time,' Garner’s wife, Esaw Garner, told the Daily News. Esaw Garner holds a photo of her late husband with sons Emery (left) and Eric. (Sam Costanza for New York Daily News) Police said Garner was not armed. The Staten Island resident was sitting in front of Bay Beauty on Bay St. and Victory Blvd. just before 5 p.m. when two plainclothes cops began questioning him about selling untaxed cigarettes, a video obtained by the Daily News shows. Ramsey Orta, 22, shot the shocking footage. (Ken Murray/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) “I didn’t do s---!” the 6-foot-4 Garner, wearing a sweaty T-shirt and khaki shorts, told the officers from the 120th Precinct when they approached him. “I was just minding my own business. “Every time you see me you want to mess with me. I’m tired of it. It stops today!” he yelled. 'He’s the nicest guy. I can’t believe what I saw. That’s no way to do an arrest,' said Douglas, 50, about Garner. Douglas would only give his first name. (acquired by: TOMAS E. GASTON) Ramsey Orta, 22, who shot the video, tried to intervene, telling the cops his friend had just broken up a fight between three men and had not been selling cigarettes. But when backup uniformed officers arrived, the cops moved in to cuff Garner, the video shows. “Don’t touch me, please,” he said. Friends of Eric Garner set up a memorial at the spot where he died. (Sam Costanza) The candle memorial reads 'BIG E.' (Sam Costanza) Eric Garner recently attended the circus with friends and family members. (Sam Costanza) Eric Garner and his wife Esaw Garner. (Sam Costanza) When Garner refused orders to put his hands behind his back, one of the plainclothes cops, wearing a green T-shirt with a yellow No. 99 on the back, got behind him and put him in a chokehold, the footage shows. A struggle ensued as three uniformed officers joined in on the arrest, knocking the man to the ground. He screamed, “I can’t breathe!” six times before he went silent and paramedics were called. “They jumped him and they were choking him. He was foaming at the mouth,” Orta told The News. “And that’s it, he was done. The cops were saying, ‘No, he’s OK, he’s OK.” He wasn’t OK.” “They were choking him. He kept saying, ‘I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe! Get off of me, get off of me!’ and I didn’t hear any more talking after that,” said witness Valencia Griffin, 50, of Staten Island. “He died right there.” Another witness, who would only give his first name, Douglas, said he’d known Garner for four years. “He’s a very big man, very intimidating, but he’s just a big teddy bear,” said Douglas, 50. “He’s the nicest guy. I can’t believe what I saw. That’s no way to do an arrest.” Eric Garner's family including (from left) son Eric, 18, daughter Erica, 24, daughter Emerald, 22, wife Esaw, 46, mother Gwen Carr, 65, and son Emery, 14, are mourning the loss of him. (Sam Costanza for New York Daily News) Eric Garner's sister, MTA bus operator Lisha Flagg, 38, wants justice for Eric Garner's death. (TOMAS E. GASTON) At the video’s end, the cop who had choke-held Garner can be seen staring at the camera that was videotaping him. “This had nothing to do with the fight, this had something to do with something else,” the cop said, and walked away. A law enforcement source said the incident was troubling. “A guy is dead in our custody. That is always a potential problem,” the source said. With Patrick McCarron and Bill Hutchinson UPDATE: The Staten Island district attorney is investigating the shocking death of a 400-pound asthmatic dad after a city cop placed him in a chokehold. Eric Garner, 43, died Thursday after a sidewalk takedown by five NYPD officers making an arrest outside a Tompkinsville beauty parlor. “My office is working along with the NYPD to do a complete and thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Garner's death,” said District Attorney Daniel M. Donovan Jr. in a Friday statement. Click here to read Friday's full story rparascandola@nydailynews.com On a mobile device? Click here to watch the video. Sign up for BREAKING NEWS Emails privacy policy Thanks for subscribing!

– An unarmed Staten Island man died yesterday after police put him in a choke-hold and he shouted "I can't breathe!" at least nine times, New York reports. Eric Garner, 43, a father of six and a grandfather, can be seen in an eyewitness video standing on a street corner when police approached him. "Every time you see me, you're messing with me," said Garner, who stood six-foot-four and weighed over 300 pounds. "I'm tired of it. This stops today. ... Please just leave me alone." But officers moved in, pinning Garner down with a choke-hold and apparently slamming his head against the sidewalk, the Daily News reports. Garner, who suffered from chronic asthma, sleep apnea, and diabetes, was dead within minutes. Police say Garner sold untaxed cigarettes, and had just been seen doing so. Garner was also due in court on three cases, including pot possession and illegal cigarette sales. But according to his wife, Esaw—and a friend of Garner's who shot the video—police really moved in because Garner had broken up a fight. Either way, Mayor Bill de Blasio has vowed a full investigation (the New York Times notes that the NYPD rulebook forbids choke-holds). Meanwhile, Esaw sounds like she's still grasping what just happened. "When I kissed my husband this morning, I never thought it would be for the last time," she said. At the hospital, "I saw him with his eyes wide open and I said, 'Babe, don’t leave me, I need you.' But he was already gone."

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Twin Cities great-grandfather is getting a lot of attention for a video showing him shoveling his neighbor’s sidewalk. “I’ve always been active, always doing something,” St. Paul resident Richard Mann said. The 101-year-old has learned a thing or two about work ethic over his long life. After his father died when he was four, he took care of work around the house to help his single mom. Snow shoveling was one of his duties. “I was the only boy, and it was an automatic thing for me to more or less do ‘a man’s job,'” Mann said. The job never got him much attention until now, nearly a century later. A video showing Mann shoveling his neighbor’s snow has gone viral. His neighbor is overheard in the video summing the situation up perfectly. “This is an inspiration to a lot of people to get up, get out and get something,” Mann’s neighbor said. The video had more than 343,000 views on Facebook as of Wednesday evening. Mann says he was just doing his neighbor a favor and not expecting anything in return, just as he was taught growing up. “That’s why I think people appreciated seeing the video of him because there are so many things going on that are not, you know, people are not being kind to each other,” Margo Mann, Richard Mann’s daughter, said. “And kindness is the key to having a successful and good life.” Mann is a father, grandfather and great-grandfather. He lost his first wife to cancer, and his second wife to Alzheimer’s disease. When asked the key to a long life, it appeared that his sense of humor is also still going strong. “Clean living, and wine, women and money [laughs],” Richard said. “I’ve had quite a life.” Mann says he still plays golf whenever he gets the chance, and swears by bacon and eggs for breakfast every day. ||||| Nothing all that unusual for a Minnesotan to clear the walk of a neighbor who is out of town. But then again, how many of those lifting the shovel are 101 years old? Richard Mann, born March 8, 1914, looked out last week and saw what a light snowfall had left, then did what had to be done for his traveling next-door neighbor in the 1500 block of Western Avenue N. in St. Paul Another neighbor across the street made a visual record of Mann’s gesture, put it online and the rest is viral history: more than 575,000 views in less than a week. “Mr. Mann, I was looking out my window and I’m filming you right there at this time Mr. Mann,” said Keven O’Bannon as he tromped across the street toward the stocking-capped centenarian with the posture of a man decades younger and a strong, clear voice. “You’re 101 years old, and you’re out here shoveling the neighbor’s snow?” Mann, a great-grandfather, chuckled as he leaned on the upright shovel and replied, “Well, he’s out of town, and I’m not exerting myself. I’m not going to overdo it. I can use the exercise. … I know what my limitations are.” O’Bannon said neighbors usually get to Mann’s walk first, right after a snowfall, but he was out there ahead of them this time. “We usually try to come out here and catch your snow,” O’Bannon told Mann. “It was such a light snow … that we didn’t really get out here.” My neighbour is 101 years old... Check out Mr. Mann Posted by Keven Lifecoach O'Bannon on Friday, January 8, 2016 Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482 ||||| See more of Keven O'Bannon on Facebook

– Done your neighbor a good turn this year? You might take a hint from Richard Mann, a 101-year-old resident of St. Paul, Minn., who was seen shoveling his neighbor's walk the other day after a fresh snowfall, the Star Tribune reports. Neighbor Keven O’Bannon caught it on video and posted the friendly encounter on Facebook, where it's been seen more than 1.7 million times as of this writing. "You’re 101 years old, and you’re out here shoveling the neighbor’s snow?" O'Bannon is heard asking. Mann responds, "I'm not going to overdo it. I can use the exercise. … I know what my limitations are." Mann says he was helping a neighbor away on a trip, and tells CBS Minnesota he's been doing such duties for a long time. Mann was just four years old when his father died and he had to help his single mom around the house. "I was the only boy, and it was an automatic thing for me to more or less do 'a man’s job,'" he says. That included helping neighbors and expecting nothing in return, he adds. "That’s why I think people appreciated seeing the video of him because there are so many things going on that are not, you know, people are not being kind to each other," says his daughter, Margo Mann. "And kindness is the key to having a successful and good life." But Richard has his own explanation: "Clean living, and wine, women and money," he says with a laugh. And he swears by the same breakfast every day: bacon and eggs.

Gay-rights activist and award-winning author Larry Kramer is 79 and in failing health, but that won’t defuse the impact of his latest bombshell project: the first 800-page instalment of a two-part history of America that tells of the secret gay life of figures from Alexander Hamilton, George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to Mark Twain, Herman Melville and Richard Nixon. The American People: Volume 1, subtitled Search for My Heart, has taken nearly 40 years to complete and may prove to be one of the most provocative historical, or pseudo-historical, accounts of American history. Kramer, who is co-founder of Aids services group Gay Men’s Health Crisis and the Aids Coalition to Unleash Power (Act Up), as well as a chronicler of queer life with plays including The Normal Heart and The Destiny of Me, said the book is a labour of love designed to counter what he feels to be the exclusion of gays – or gay life – from history books. “It may look like fiction, but to me, it’s not,” Kramer told the New York Times last week. “Most histories have been written by straight people. There has never been any history book written where the gay people have been in the history from the beginning.It’s ridiculous to think we haven’t been here for ever.” The American People, Volume I: Search for My Heart is causing consternation among historians, who say there is little evidence to back Kramer’s claims. Ron Chernow, author of an epic 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton – the statesman Kramer claims was at least bisexual if not entirely gay – cautions against “ransacking history in service of a political agenda”. Kramer also claims that John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln not because he was unhappy that the South was losing the civil war, but because Lincoln had spurned him. “You only have to look at photographs of Wilkes and [co-conspirator] Lewis Powell to see that they’re full of their own beauty. We call it gaydar – the thing straight historians don’t have. Or take Mark Twain. He had a huge gay life.” Kramer has a history of initiating high-profile disputes. He had a war of words with Tony Kushner over acknowledging Lincoln’s orientation in his screenplay for Steven Spielberg’s 2012 biopic of the civil war president. He scrapped with Barbra Streisand over her planned film adaptation of The Normal Heart. The author insisted it should include gay sex; Streisand retorted that her intention was “to promote the idea of everyone’s right to love. Gay or straight!” The American People is likely to rankle with historians as there is no evidence many of historical figures were gay. He claims Lincoln biographer Doris Kearns Goodwin became “hysterical” at the suggestion of homosexual tendencies in the president but this was, he added in an interview with NPR, “only because she didn’t write it first”. The book, which has been labelled as a novel to avoid legal complications, has divided US reviewers. LGBT magazine The Advocate said that at points in Kramer’s book “the reader will feel like the audience at Springtime for Hitler”. The New York Times calls it “a far-reaching historical exposé”. The first volume spans pre-Columbian Florida, Puritans and early settlements (brimming with same-sex desire), the American revolution, the civil war and the years leading to the second world war. It includes a history of syphilis, hepatitis, hatred, ostracism, concentration camps, the CIA, and a shadowy disease. The disease is named as Aids in the second volume, due in 2017, which will bring the history to the present. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Larry Kramer with film star Julia Roberts backstage at the Emmy awards last year. Photograph: Todd Williamson/Invision/AP Aaron Hicklin, editor of Out magazine, said young members of the LGBT community are becoming interested in their history, a history that will not automatically be passed on because so many of the elder generation died young of HIV/Aids. Whether it is absolutely accurate or not, The American People speaks to a need across gay and straight communities to revise historical accounts from which sexual orientation was absent. This can be seen in the mainstream – Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing in The Imitation Game, for instance, or the story of Harvey Milk in Milk (2008) – but rarely goes further back in time. “The gay historical timeline tends to go back as far as Oscar Wilde and no further,” said Hicklin. “There were pioneers before us but no one took the time to write about them, and there’s an appetite to claim a history that has been hidden from us.” From some quarters there have been calls for a exclusively gay branch of archaeology directed solely at establishing sexual orientation (Kramer claims traces of semen found in the stools of English settlers prove his point). But where gay rights warriors sought to define themselves as gay in defiance of the stigma around Aids, Hicklin considers that sexual orientation is no longer a singular marker of identity. “Young people feel much more a part of mainstream society, so a lot has been forgotten about the price that was paid. “For Larry Kramer, it’s important to carry on being the archetypal activist who wants to queerify history and bring it out into the public domain.” Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of The American People is that it was written at all. Kramer began writing it in 1975, soon after publication of his groundbreaking novel Faggots. He shelved it until 2000, when his liver was failing and he was given weeks to live. By 2010, Kramer having had a liver transplant, the manuscript had swelled to 4,000 pages. Kramer’s editor at Macmillan says he is in no doubt that writing is what keeps him alive. Kramer believes the injustice is continuing. Thirty five years since HIV/Aids was identified there is still no cure, and violence against gay people is increasing in several parts of the world. “We should have our own army as gays,” he told The Advocate. “It’s lovely that we can get married, but that’s really small potatoes compared to what we don’t have, which is equality.” ||||| “Magnum opus” doesn’t seem like a robust enough phrase to describe the scope of “The American People,” which stretches back to the prehistoric swamps of the Everglades and concludes, in the second volume, in contemporary New York City. When Farrar acquired the two volumes in 2010, the narrative had swelled to around 4,000 pages. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Blending farce and tragedy, autobiography and fiction, it opens as Fred Lemish, a stand-in for Mr. Kramer, is struggling to finish writing a book titled “The American People,” a far-reaching historical exposé that describes Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Mark Twain and other major historical figures as gay. “He’s been struggling with this history for many years,” Mr. Kramer writes of his fictional counterpart. Mr. Kramer said he was driven to write the book because he had long felt that gays had been excluded from history books, written out or ignored. “Most history is written by straight people, and they don’t have gaydar,” Mr. Kramer said during an interview at his apartment in Greenwich Village. “People say, ‘Can you prove to me that George Washington was gay?’ and I say, ‘Can you prove to me that he wasn’t?’ ” (As evidence, Mr. Kramer notes that Washington “was surrounded by men, and he designed all their uniforms himself.”) In the novel, and in conversation, Mr. Kramer criticizes historians and scholars like Stacy Schiff, Ron Chernow and Doris Kearns Goodwin for glossing over homosexuality in American history. If he had had his way, he would simply have called the book a work of history rather than fiction, he said. “Farrar Straus said call it a novel, that way the lawyers will leave you alone,” he said. “But I believe everything in the book is true. It may look like fiction, but to me, it’s not.” Mr. Chernow, the author of a well-regarded 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton, said he was surprised to be called out in Mr. Kramer’s novel, particularly as he brings up in his book the possibility that Hamilton might have been bisexual. “I’m glad that Larry Kramer is raising the issue, I’m just mystified at why he’s attacking me, when I thought he would have applauded the fact that I take this seriously,” Mr. Chernow said. “It’s a legitimate issue for historians or novelists, but we also have to be careful not to ransack history in service of a political agenda.” As for Mr. Kramer’s theory about Washington, Mr. Chernow countered that it was common in that era for generals to design soldiers’ uniforms. If conflicting early reviews are any indication, “The American People” is likely to be as polarizing and controversial as Mr. Kramer’s other works. While Kirkus Reviews praised the novel as “breathtakingly well-written,” others have taken a dimmer view. “To call it a rough read at times would be an understatement,” a reviewer wrote in Publishers Weekly. Photo “It’s like being hit by a truck, the book is so all over the place,” the novelist Andrew Holleran, who has known Mr. Kramer since the 1970s, said of the book. “What I admired as a writer was the imaginative energy and the amount he takes on.” Jonathan Galassi, the president and publisher of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, said the book struck him as ambitious and provocative, both as a work of literature and as an act of protest. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “This book is, in a way, a culmination of all his artistic activity,” he said. “Larry is a great polemicist and a fighter, and this book is part of his polemic about gay history and the roles of gays in our society. He’s still fighting and he’s using art to do it.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Mr. Kramer never set out to be a political activist and said that in some ways he was ill-suited to the role. “They say I’m obnoxiously noisy and angry, but I’m actually a bit of a shy person,” he said. Early in his career, Mr. Kramer wanted to write comedy. After graduating from Yale, he worked in the film industry, and was nominated for an Oscar for his screenplay adaptation of the D. H. Lawrence novel “Women in Love” (1969). In 1978 he published a controversial novel, “Faggots,” a satire of rampant drug use and promiscuity among gays in New York. “It’s meant to be a comic novel — it made me laugh,” he said. His mission changed in the early 1980s, when H.I.V. and AIDS began spreading rapidly among gays and claimed the lives of two friends. He was a founder of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, a nonprofit support organization for those affected by the disease, and later started Act Up, a protest group that brought attention to the AIDS crisis. His activism spilled into his writing, with plays like “The Normal Heart” and “The Destiny of Me,” which center on gay characters confronting the AIDS epidemic and take aim at indifferent politicians and institutions. Mr. Kramer’s activism was closely and messily intertwined with his personal life. In 1989, he learned he was H.I.V. positive and suffering from liver damage, the result of hepatitis B. He credits Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for being among a handful of doctors who saved him by giving him experimental drugs. Mr. Kramer once vilified Dr. Fauci in print, calling him “an incompetent idiot” and a murderer, for his early approach to fighting the spread of AIDS. “The man who I criticize for allowing the virus to spread is the man who saved my life,” Mr. Kramer said. Mr. Kramer’s acerbic and belligerent style has often alienated friends and supporters. He and the playwright Tony Kushner had a blowout over Mr. Kushner’s screenplay for the Steven Spielberg movie “Lincoln” (2012), because Mr. Kramer felt that Mr. Kushner should have depicted Lincoln as a gay man. “He and I had a major falling out over this,” Mr. Kramer said. “I so wanted him to put that in the movie.” (In “The American People,” Mr. Kramer strikes back with his own fictional Lincoln, who has a male lover and often lustily utters “mighty fine” after their encounters.) These days, Mr. Kramer seems much less bellicose, though no less passionate. He speaks in a tremulous near-whisper and relies on a hearing aid and a cane. He spent much of last year in hospitals being treated for abdominal infections and almost died twice, he said. He was bedridden in 2013 when he and his longtime partner, the architect David Webster, were finally married in the intensive care unit of NYU Langone Medical Center. Mr. Kramer’s writing has taken on a greater urgency lately. He has been writing for five or six hours every day, seven days a week. His progress is visible in the towering stacks of manuscript pages that cover a large table in his living room, which doubles as a work space. He is also working on a screenplay for a sequel to “The Normal Heart” and is the subject of an HBO documentary, “Larry Kramer: In Love and Anger,” which will be shown in June, just after his 80th birthday. As he works toward finishing what he views as the defining work of his career, Mr. Kramer said he hoped to be remembered for his art as much as his activism. “It goes against the grain in this country to do both, and that’s why I’m not taken seriously,” he said. “I want this book to be taken seriously as a work of art and a work of thought.” ||||| Kramer on Kramer Photography By Benedict Evans Larry Kramer’s long awaited new novel, The American People: Volume I, subtitled Search for My Heart, is finally seeing the light of day this April. It’s just the first volume, though “just” may not be the right word, since it’s 800 pages. There are times when the reader will feel like the audience at “Springtime for Hitler.” One will also find oneself laughing out loud, thinking hard, and being thrilled that someone has taken on American history from the viewpoint of gay people. The book is the history of syphilis, hepatitis, hatred, ostracism, the settling of America, concentration camps — American and German — Jews, the CIA, and something called The Underlying Condition (which we suspect will become, in the second volume, AIDS). It begins in pre-Columbian Florida, with monkeys in the Everglades, and goes on to the Puritans, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and World War II, ascribing same-sex desire to George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, Mark Twain, Abraham Lincoln, and so many other figures central to American history that there is no point in listing them here. It also contains the moving saga of a young boy growing up in Washington, D.C., during World War II, who learns he’s a “sissy.” In Washington, Kramer writes, “Moderation is everything,” but in this novel moderation has no place; with hundreds of characters, from nuns to Nazis, this book is in essence a fantasia on American history. How historians will receive it is hard to predict — but Kirkus Reviews called it “breathtakingly well written,” and the Publishers Weekly reviewer said it left him wondering “what the hell will happen next.” To find out, I sat down with Larry in his apartment on Washington Square Park in Manhattan. I just finished reading your new novel, The American People: Volume I. Is it true that you started writing it in 1975? I started when I finished Faggots, long before AIDS came along, and I kind of put it to the side. I wrote a couple of plays in between, so it was done in bits and pieces over the years. And it wasn’t until I got really sick, when I had the liver transplant [in 2000], that I got serious about making it as a whole. Because I didn’t think I was going to live. Now I’ve got to finish Volume II. If you started it before AIDS had even emerged, what was the impetus then to write the book? Was it the idea that gays have been written out of history? Oh, I don’t know. Why does every gay writer start out? To write his Proust? And so I wrote my Proust. The title comes from that speech by Reagan which really did hit me, where I knew he was talking about “the American people,” and I knew that I was not part of that crowd that he was talking about. It was so obvious. There has never been any history book written where the gay people have been in history since the beginning. It’s ridiculous to think that we haven’t been here forever. First, I started doing research into people who I felt were important, like Washington and Lincoln, and — So far we’ve got George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, the Marquis de Lafayette, Baron von Steuben, Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, Ralph Waldo Emerson — which really surprised me — Hawthorne, Melville, John Wilkes Booth, Mark Twain, Eleanor Roosevelt, of course, James Forrestal, Richard Nixon, Herbert Hoover. You’re writing three kinds of history in this book. There were times when you would quote from a book you had read, and you would acknowledge the author and the source. To me, that’s just history. Then there were times when I was in a kind of phantasmagoria nightmare scene, and I thought, This is not history anymore; we’re now in Larry’s imagination. And there’s the most deceptive category, the middle, in which it seems to me that you were mixing real source material with imagination. You didn’t want to write a history in which you simply extracted little-known facts about gay people in history and put it together as straight history? No, originally I didn’t want to call it a novel, I just wanted to call it The American People and let people figure out what it was. There isn’t anything in the book that I don’t agree with, or have some belief in, and if I couldn’t find some source that would give me the right to say it, I said my version of it, as with John Wilkes Booth. Did you ever look at the pictures of all the guys who were charged with murdering Lincoln? You go on about how good-looking Lewis Powell [a co-conspirator of Wilkes Booth] was. He was just a real hot number. A hot number, and he knew it. They were such an unlikely lot of people. And the women had nothing to do with it, and how did they even get together? I had never read anything where they’ve been able to convince me why they were all in the same group somehow. Just to say they were Southerners and all that shit. I didn’t buy that. So what you’re saying in a sense is that you used gaydar? I used gaydar. What else have I got? This is a book that starts in the pre-Columbian era in the United States, with monkeys in the Everglades in a kind of James Michener way. You’re taken back to the foundation of the continent, and there’s a great deal about colonial times, the American Revolution, the Civil War, up to the ’50s and the McCarthy era — and that’s just Volume I. So it’s this huge, sprawling, wide-ranging thing, which halfway through breaks off into a pretty conventional story about a neighborhood in Washington, D.C., in which one of the characters, Daniel Jerusalem, grows up dealing with the fact that his father beats him up and has called him a sissy. What then became clear to me was this was really about where did AIDS come from. And by the end of Volume II I will tell you where it came from, and what I think caused it. And what should have been done, that wasn’t done. Because, we are gay, they wouldn’t do it. I think most people know or expect this book to be about AIDS. But this is also about German scientists that came to the United States, it’s about the science of eugenics, it’s about Henry Ford, it’s about anti-Semitism, and it’s about the four horsemen of the apocalypse, which are amoebas — what is the line? I love this line. Piss, shit, amoebas and — Piss, shit, and it’s the history of blood, it’s the history of diseases, it’s the history of concentration camps. You found a way to write about anything that interested you. The history of syphilis is in this book. How did you know when to leave stuff out? It was once much longer and it was much wilder. I can write in a crazy way, making things up, and I made a lot of drugs’ names up and symptoms up, and then one of the editors, along the way said: “You really don’t have to make that up. Why don’t you just use the real one?” What are you expecting reactions to be? You got very good reviews in Kirkus and [Publisher’s Weekly]. Oh unbelievable. I always expect to get trashed for everything. I never got a good review before in my life. Even Normal Heart. How much of Volume II is written? I’m writing. It has to come out a year after this one. And also, the phenomenal success of the movie of The Normal Heart has touched me a lot. It was one of HBO’S biggest shows ever. And you realize, more people saw my play in those two hours that one night, than you could fill a theater with for years. Larry Kramer and his husband, David Webster I’m writing it now.It’s all I live for. If I didn’t have my writing right now, I would go crazy. Truly, I don’t feel well.I don’t think that way. I faced death a couple times, and that had me look at this book differently. Imagine what it’s like facing death. David [Webster, Kramer’s husband] said I almost died three times.My relationship with Tony has been very complicated because I wanted him to deal with Lincoln [in the script he wrote for Spielberg’s movie] and he didn’t want to indicate in the movie that he was gay.Oh yeah, we speak now. We were both upset by it because we were both very fond of each other. But I do get self-righteous about some things.Well, because it wasn’t happening to us; it was happening to them. There’s no question that AIDS has not been attended to because it was conceived of as a gay disease. That’s a long time, 35 years, for there still to be so little known about what’s happening to us. They still have no idea of how to cure it. Ebola comes along and they all rush over there immediately, and the same people who should have found the stuff for HIV were doing Ebola, and it’s going away, it’s disappearing, in a very short amount of time, because they are really attending to it. This government is still not attending to HIV. I don’t care what anybody says. Not nearly as many people will ever get sick from Ebola as we lost to AIDS.Yeah. I came to realize that Hitler got the idea for the Final Solution from the eugenics movement. We gave him that, because that was an American thing. We have killed a lot of people over the years.Oh, I don’t think we’re ever behind anything. Certainly America is getting nastier. Look at Guantanamo. Look at all the people we’re murdering everywhere.We should have our own army as gays. I’m quite disappointed in where we are. I mean, it’s lovely that we can get married, but that’s really small potatoes compared with what we don’t have, which is equality.Oh, heavens no, not with them. We don’t have any organizations that I look to. ACT UP, I think, was the one great thing that came out of it, and then they destroyed each other. But that was an actual major accomplishment what they achieved, in getting all the drugs out. And we did it. No one else did it for us. HRC is a crock of shit. Because they got a lot of money and what do they do with it? There is no other model except fighting back. Fight. It’s not anything you negotiate; it’s a thing you threaten. “If you don’t do X and Y, we won’t do X and Y.” That’s how you get power. We don’t have power, and I don’t see any organization that has any power. And that’s why ACT UP worked. Once we got it together, we learned how to threaten, and play the good cop/bad cop business, which I had learned in the movie business! Every organization should have both, a good cop and a bad cop. And the good cop makes the initial negotiation, and if it doesn’t work, you send out the bad cop to fight. We are not good fighters, gay people.Powerful is the Koch brothers, who manage to get, through the Supreme Court, the ability to give as much money as you want to any kind of political group, which is destroying everything. Power is all about money. Power is about not sitting back.[You’re] making that a basis of gay life, and it shouldn’t be. That was our big problem, that we fought for the wrong things.Yeah. There’s more to life than whether you can go to a leather bar. That’s part of why we got in all the trouble. I have mixed feelings about Truvada. I’m afraid that people will use it for the wrong reason. But that’s no reason not to be glad that it’s there. To take it as a prophylactic, just so you can go out and fuck at the Mineshaft. So you can take a pill and not worry. And that’s, again, what caused all this trouble we’re in, in the first place. A lot of people died in 35 years. And I guess I came to realize that I’m angry that I’ve been allowed to die. I was much more hopeful earlier on. I’m not saying I’m not hopeful, but I’m not hopeful. And part of what depresses me is how passive most of the gay population is about this issue. So now we have Truvada and you can get laid on Saturday night, and surely, we deserve more than that from 35 years of waiting. We could have so much if we just used the power that was there to be taken, if we could just learn how to take it. Why are there still so few people saying that? Why hasn’t there ever been another Larry Kramer? And I don’t mean that as self-serving. But Larry, what do we want power for? We want power to have happiness in our own lives. I live in a little town in Florida now, and over the years my street has changed. I now have two women living together two houses down. And a man across the street, a new neighbor, came over right away, and, in a nice way, basically said, “I have no trouble with gay people.” It has trickled down to this little street in this little town in Florida where I feel less endangered. You must not accept that as enough, or as all that you’re fighting for. Things have improved in some ways. Oh that’s what people say: Why are you complaining? You have so much now. Well, I don’t think we do. Who’s the guy who just came out? Joel Grey? Been trying to get him to do that for 20 years. He replaced Brad Davis in Normal Heart at the Public. So I’ve known him a long time. I’m one of the first people he sent the article to, that he’d come out. I don’t know why, now, at age 82 [laughs]. We’re so much better than most people, and we’re not getting our due for it from them, or even from each other — how much we contribute to the culture of this country. And none of that has been bought with power. It’s been bought with talent. And what would we get if we combined the talent with the amount of money that’s available in this population? How second rate the gay people who made it in the government are. When you look at the list of gay presidents, for instance, with the exception of Washington and Lincoln, all the other ones are really just jokes. Who do you think is the most powerful gay person right now, behind the scenes or in front of the scenes, in governmental life or public life? I have no idea. There are a couple of exceedingly rich gay men who have foundations, such as Tim Gill, Jon Stryker. What is that money buying? We have to be able to get to the people with power, and we still can’t do that. You can’t call the president and see him like you should be able to. And [Bill] Clinton did us more harm than good. What do you think about Hillary Clinton? I hope she gets elected. I think she’s been around long enough and knows how to play the game that needs to be played. I think she would be more available to us than anyone else. How do you feel about the state of gay literature these days? I don’t follow it very closely. I belong to Lambda Literary, and they put out quite a good newsletter. I still don’t see us tackling the big themes. Why is everything sexual? Why is everything about love affairs that do or do not work? We seem very limited in our ambitions. That’s why this book is so extraordinary to me. It’s such an act of chutzpah, of taking on absolutely everything. What else is there to take on? What else is there to do with your time? You’ve experienced as much of life as I have. Did you like the book? Well, it’s wonderful that I’m alive to do it. I came close to dying, in this last year. You didn’t hear the wonderful story of our marriage? I had the judge, and we were going to be married on my apartment terrace with just a few close friends, and that was on a Monday, and I was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, and Wednesday we were married in intensive care at NYU, after we got permission from the head of NYU, to allow me to be married there. I couldn’t sign my name. I wrote X’s. I was so out of it. [Laughs] And that was my wedding. I mean I was out of it. I’m terrified that it’ll come back somehow. And for all intents and purposes, they don’t know what causes it. It’s not unrelated to HIV, but it’s not AIDS. So, it’s been hard, keeping a grasp on all of these things. I’m grateful that you’re doing this at this moment cause it’ll help the book...and I have been working on it a long time. It’ll be nice to have a place to rest and stay and be remembered. Why do you write?I was a late bloomer in terms of writing. I was not writing like Ed White was out of the cradle.Over such a long period of time, yes. I can’t wait to get back to it.It starts in the ’50s, and goes on from there. What we haven’t talked about is J. Edgar Hoover, who’s really very prominent in Volume I. Who was monstrous, but gay, and responsible for an amazing number of antigay things in this country. He lived across the street from my best friend, in Washington. And, of course, all the files were burned by the faithful secretary when he died. He ran a whorehouse for men in Washington during the war. There’s a lot in the book about people in power who were gay, who used it against gays, and Roosevelt was surrounded by people who didn’t like us. Nobody’s hands were clean.Reagan, hands down, no contest. What with his being responsible for not attending to gays and AIDS deaths, he was responsible for killing more people than Hitler or Stalin.Successful activism is about being angry enough and loud enough to be heard. Choose your issues and your targets, and go after them in any way you think you can. ACT UP chose drugs into bodies. We knew little about the many things we had to learn enough about to be successful, so we taught ourselves. Identify your enemies and go after them with threats. Numbers are nice but one person stationed holding a poster up in a strategic location can be effective. You must not be afraid to be obnoxious or to concern yourself with what others might think of you, particularly other gays. You have a mission. You must care passionately about this mission and make it clear and concise. Do not water it down by including too many items on your agenda. This is not all that complicated. Anger, passion, and volume are your weapons. We all have these within us. The courage to let it come out is the necessary frosting for this cake. Be bold. You’d be surprised how strong you are capable of being.

– George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were gay. So were Alexander Hamilton, Herman Melville, and Richard Nixon—at least according to a new book that the author considers true but his publisher is selling as fiction to avoid legal problems, the Guardian reports. Needless to say, Larry Kramer's 800-page The American People, Volume 1: Search for My Heart is ruffling feathers. Kramer claims, for example, that Washington was gay in part because he designed soldiers' uniforms, the New York Times reports, and John Wilkes Booth killed Abraham Lincoln because the president spurned him. "You only have to look at photographs of Wilkes and [co-conspirator] Lewis Powell to see that they’re full of their own beauty," says Kramer. "We call it gaydar—the thing straight historians don’t have." Now at least one historian is calling him out on some details (generals used to make soldiers' uniforms, apparently). But Kramer, 79, who has long endured health problems and speaks in a whisper, describes a bigger picture: "Most histories have been written by straight people," he says. "There has never been any history book written where the gay people have been in the history from the beginning." Kramer is well-known for having started groups around the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, writing plays about gay life, and challenging Lincoln screenwriter Tony Kushner to reveal the Civil War president's orientation. Now Kramer is calling for "our own army as gays" to fight anti-gay repression worldwide, the Advocate reports. "I mean, it’s lovely that we can get married," he says, "but that’s really small potatoes compared with what we don’t have, which is equality. "

Will Kane defend Pa. law banning gay marriage? Posted: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 5:16 PM EST Updated: Wednesday, July 10, 2013 5:16 PM EST By MARC LEVYAssociated Press HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The elected official tasked with defending Pennsylvania's laws also supports same-sex marriage, but now Attorney General Kathleen Kane faces a decision about whether to defend a law that bans it. Kane, a Democrat, was scheduled to talk to reporters Thursday at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia. So far, she's been silent on a day-old legal challenge to the state law banning same-sex marriage. Pennsylvania law says it's her duty to defend the constitutionality of state laws. But it also says the attorney general may allow lawyers for the governor's office or agencies to defend a lawsuit if it's more efficient or in the state's best interests. That means Republican Gov. Tom Corbett, who opposes gay marriage, could end up defending the law. Corbett's office isn't commenting on whether he will. Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. ||||| Attorney General Kathleen Kane is expected to announce Thursday that her office won't defend the state in a federal lawsuit that challenges Pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage, the Daily News has learned. Multiple sources confirmed that Kane, who is named along with Gov. Corbett as a defendant in the suit, plans to make the announcement at the National Constitution Center. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit, known as Whitewood v. Corbett, on Tuesday on behalf of 21 state residents. The plaintiffs are 10 couples and one widow who want to marry here, want the state to recognize their out-of-state marriages or want equal protections granted to straight married couples. ||||| This article is from the archive of our partner . Update Thursday, July 11: As previously reported, Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane declined to defend her state's gay marriage ban in the face of a lawsuit challenging it. “I cannot ethically defend the constitutionality of Pennsylvania’s version of [the Defense of Marriage Act] as I believe it to be wholly unconstitutional,” Kane said on Thursday afternoon. It's now up to the governor's law team to defend the ban. Original post: Facing a lawsuit from the ACLU, it looks like Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane is going to refuse to defend the state government's ban on gay marriage. Pennsylvania, the only state in the northeast without provisions for same-sex civil unions or marriages, was one of the first states with gay marriage bans targeted by a suit in the wake of the Supreme Court's partial striking of the Defense of Marriage Act. If it's true, the news, reported by the Philadelphia Daily News, based on multiple anonymous sources, isn't entirely surprising. Earlier today, the AP noted that Kane, a Democrat, supports gay marriage, and that Pennsylvania law includes a provision allowing the governor's legal team to defend state law in her place, should it be more "efficient," or in the state's interest to play it that way. Pennsylvania governor Tom Corbett opposes gay marriage, so it's unlikely that he'd decline to defend the law as well. The complaint, filed late Tuesday, names both Corbett and Kane as defendants. Kane is scheduled to speak to reporters on Thursday afternoon, when, apparently, she'll announce her decision regarding the suit. ||||| Pennsylvania attorney general Kathleen Kane announced Thursday afternoon she will not defend the state in a federal lawsuit filed this week challenging the constitutionality of the state’s ban on same-sex marriage, calling the prohibition "wholly unconstitutional." The American Civil Liberties Union filed suit Tuesday on behalf of 23 Pennsylvania residents, including 10 couples, a widow and two children, naming Kane and the state's Republican Gov. Tom Corbett as defendants. Kane's move, announced to reporters at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center, places the burden of defending the law on the governor's general counsel. Corbett supports the prohibition on same-sex marriage, which passed the state legislature in 1996. In an interview Kane--who endorsed the idea of gay marriage while running for her post last year--said she was obligated to drop the case “because I endorse equality and anti-discrimination laws.” “If there is a law that I feel that does not conform with the Pennsylvania state constitution and the U.S. Constitution, then I ethically cannot do that as a lawyer,” she said. Kane added that the Pennsylvania General Counsel, James D. Schultz, was fully capable of defending the governor, who was also named as a defendant in the ACLU lawsuit. “I’m not leaving them high and dry,” she said. “They have their own team.” Thomas Peters, spokesman for the National Organization for Marriage, said Kane's refusal to defend the ban represented a sort of "pocket veto" of the law. "This is just one more example of how the Supreme Court set a bad precedent [last month] in allowing elected officials to not represent the will of the people when they find it expedient," he said an in interview. Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower) Proponents of California’s Proposition 8--the ballot initiative banning gay marriage in the state-- faced a similar problem after then Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-Calif.) and current governor Jerry Brown (D), who at the time served as California’s attorney general, declined to defend the proposition. Last month the Supreme Court let stand a lower court ruling that the ban was unconstitutional, effectively reinstating the right to same-sex marriage in California. Part of the basis for the ruling was that backers of the initiative did not have the standing to appeal the lower court's decision to the nation's highest court. Pennsylvania General Counsel James D. Schultz said in a statement he and his colleagues "are surprised that the Attorney General, contrary to her constitutional duty under the Commonwealth Attorneys Act, has decided not to defend a Pennsylvania statute lawfully enacted by the General Assembly, merely because of her personal beliefs." "We have not received any formal notification of Attorney General Kane’s decision," Schultz added. "While we await that notification and accompanying legal justification, we will continue to review the lawsuit filed by the ACLU." Kane framed her decision both in terms of her constitutional obligations and her commitment to Pennsylvania residents, saying that in a choice between defending the law and serving the public, "I choose you." Mary Catherine Roper, a senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Pennsylvania, said she and others involved in the lawsuit were "celebrating" in the wake of Kane's announcement. "To have the highest law enforcement official of the Commonwealth come out and say, 'I agree with you, this law is unjust, that’s huge for us,'" Roper said in a phone interview, her voice audibly emotional. However the the state GOP chairman Rob Gleason released a statement calling it "unacceptable for Attorney General Kathleen Kane to put her personal politics ahead of her taxpayer-funded job by abdicating her responsibilities." "She is blatantly politicizing the highest law enforcement office in our Commonwealth at the expense of a core responsibility of the Attorney General’s office," Gleason added. "Pennsylvanians are left with the question, if the Kathleen Kane’s political beliefs are the standard for law enforcement, what law will she ignore next?” Roper said it was "too early to tell" how Kane's decision would affect the actual case, but said the 23 plaintiffs would continue to pursuit their suit against the state. "We’re ready to roll," she said. Kane, the first woman and the first Democrat ever elected to the position of Pennsylvania state attorney general, said during last year's campaign she opposes a ban on same-sex marriage.

– Pennsylvania's own attorney general won't defend the state's gay marriage ban, which is being challenged in a federal lawsuit, according to multiple sources, including lawyers involved in the case, who talked to the Philadelphia Daily News and the Washington Post. Kathleen Kane, the state's first Democrat AG, is expected to make the official announcement today. She and Gov. Tom Corbett are named as defendants in the lawsuit, and the Atlantic Wire notes that Corbett opposes gay marriage and will likely have no problem defending the ban. Pennsylvania law allows the governor's legal team to defend a state law instead of the attorney general's office; a third party could also step up to defend the ban, as happened in the case of California's Prop 8 battle. Kane's decision isn't much of a surprise: The AP questioned yesterday whether she would defend the ban, since she supports gay marriage. She's scheduled to talk with reporters at Philadelphia's National Constitution Center today.

“Logan” tore into the weekend box office, opening to a massive $85.3 million and proving that moviegoers will show up in force for R-rated comic book movies. The superhero spinoff marks Hugh Jackman’s last turn as Wolverine after 17 years of donning the adamantium claws. As the movie business grows more saturated with stories about costumed vigilantes, studios are trying to find ways to differentiate their own comic book adaptations. Like “Deadpool” before it, “Logan” demonstrates that adults will turn out for tentpole fare that is bloodier and more profane than your average X-Men movie. “Logan” was produced by 20th Century Fox and cost $97 million to make. Set in the near future, it follows Wolverine and an ailing Professor X (Patrick Stewart), who leaving their hiding place on the Mexican border to help a young mutant (Dafne Keen). James Mangold, who previously collaborated with Jackman on 2013’s “The Wolverine,” directed the movie and co-wrote the screenplay. “Logan” takes its inspiration from “Old Man Logan,” an acclaimed 2008 graphic novel that’s long been a fan favorite for its darker take on the hero. “The movie is one of the truest movies to the source material in the comic book universe that’s ever been done,” said Chris Aronson, Fox’s domestic distribution chief. “It’s so real, it’s so emotional, and it’s so visceral.” Critics embraced the film, hailing it as a comic book movie with bite, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman writing that “Logan” “…brings the saga to a satisfying finish.” The audience for the film was older and male-skewing – men made up 63% of ticket buyers, with 68% of the opening weekend crowd clocking in over the age of 25. Despite “Logan’s” dominance, Blumhouse and Universal’s “Get Out” keeps going strong. The low-budget thriller racked up $26.1 million, bringing its domestic haul to $75.9 million. That’s an impressive return for a film that cost less than $5 million to make. Lionsgate’s “The Shack” took third place, earning a solid $16.1 million in its first weekend in theaters. The faith-based drama stars Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer and cost $26 million to produce. “The Shack” centers on a man (Sam Worthington) whose religious beliefs are tested following a family tragedy. Warner Bros.’ “The Lego Batman Movie” and Open Road’s “Before I Fall” rounded out the top five, earning $11.6 million and $4.9 million, respectively. That pushes the Lego spinoff’s box office total to $148.6 million. “Before I Fall” is a young adult movie about a teenager (Zoey Dutch) who is stuck reliving her last day on earth until she gets it right. Fresh off its best picture win, A24’s “Moonlight” grossed over $2.5 million and crossed the $25 million mark. The indie studio expects the coming-of-age drama to be the highest-grossing film in its history. That said, “Moonlight,” which focuses on a young man growing up gay in Miami, is one of the least widely seen best picture winners, trailing the likes of “Spotlight” ($45 million, domestically ) and “Birdman” ($42.3 million, domestically). It has grossed more than “The Hurt Locker,” the 2009 victor that made just over $17 million stateside. Bleecker Street’s “The Last Word” opened to $35,620 in limited release. The story of an aging businesswoman (Shirley MacLaine) who enlists a writer (Amanda Seyfried) to pen her obituary, screened in four locations last weekend. “Logan’s” success turbocharged the domestic box office, lifting ticket sales up 12% over the prior-year period, when “Zootopia” debuted to $75.1 million. It also gets March off to a hot start. This month sees the openings of “Beauty and the Beast” and “Kong: Skull Island,” both of which are on pace to score big debuts. “This is going to be a banner month,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst with ComScore. “It’s going to end up being one of the biggest, if not the biggest March ever.”

– The R-rated X-Men spinoff Logan slashed into the weekend box office, reports the AP, opening with a massive $85.3 million that surpassed expectations and ranks among the top March debuts ever. The 20th Century Fox release features Hugh Jackman in what he has hinted could be his final performance as Wolverine. Word of mouth got a boost from good reviews for the unusually dark and dramatic comic-book movie that—like Deadpool—further proves moviegoers' hunger for less conventional superhero films. "The movie is one of the truest movies to the source material in the comic book universe that’s ever been done," a rep for distributor 20th Century Fox tells Variety. "It’s so real, it’s so emotional, and it’s so visceral." The Oscar best-picture winner Moonlight had its widest release yet, appearing on 1,564 screens. It turned in its biggest weekend, too, with an estimated $2.5 million. Last week's No. 1 film, Jordan Peele's horror sensation Get Out slid remarkably little, dropping to second place with $26.1 million. Rounding out the top five were The Shack with $16.1 million, The Lego Batman Movie with $11.6 million, and Before I Fall with $4.9 million.

Kristen Bell stars in the coming 'Veronica Mars' movie, which will be released in movie theaters and video-on-demand on the same day. On television, Veronica Mars was a gritty teenage private investigator who wasn't afraid to break down doors. Now a movie version of the show is about to do the same thing. "Veronica Mars" will be released by Time Warner Inc. TWX -1.24% Time Warner Inc. U.S.: NYSE $67.68 -0.85 -1.24% AFTER HOURS $67.68 0.00 0.00% P/E Ratio 17.01 Market Cap $61.17 Billion Dividend Yield 1.88% Rev. per Employee $876,324 03/11/14 Disney in Talks to Acquire Onl... 03/09/14 '300: Rise of an Empire' Reign... 03/09/14 '300: Rise of an Empire' Fight... More quote details and news » TWX in Your Value Your Change Short position 's Warner Bros. in about 270 theaters on March 14, the same day that it is available to buy or rent online. It will mark the first time one of Hollywood's six major studios has distributed a movie in theaters and for home viewing at the same time in the U.S. For decades, a sacrosanct "theatrical window" protected big-screen releases from the competition of DVD sales, rentals or other distribution platforms. Under intense pressure from the largest cinema chains, which argue that such competition would take business away from them, studios usually put at least three months between theatrical and DVD or video-on-demand releases. In the past few years, independent studios and theaters have begun to chip away at the theatrical window with simultaneous releases—but only for low-profile movies and usually on a small number of screens. For "Veronica Mars," which originated with a fundraising campaign on Kickstarter, Warner Bros. has found an unusual workaround. The studio is paying AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., AMC -3.35% AMC Entertainment Holding Inc. Cl A U.S.: NYSE $23.98 -0.83 -3.35% AFTER HOURS $25.00 +1.02 +4.25% P/E Ratio N/A Market Cap $535.06 Million Dividend Yield N/A Rev. per Employee N/A 02/25/14 Morning MoneyBeat: Record High... 02/21/14 'Veronica Mars' Release to Bre... 01/16/14 Sign of the Times? Billion-Dol... More quote details and news » AMC in Your Value Your Change Short position the nation's second-largest chain, to rent 260 screens across the country (the other 10 playing the film are independently owned). Because Warner is renting the theaters, AMC doesn't consider it to be a violation of its standard 90-day window policy. Typically theater operators and studios split revenue from ticket sales. For "Veronica Mars," AMC will sell the tickets as usual, but Warner will pocket the box office sales. "On projects like this where we know we have a partner with the resources to promote the film and an easily targetable audience, we will rent theaters out," said Nikkole Denson-Randolph, AMC's vice president of special and alternative content. The duration of the rentals will depend on how well the movie initially does, she said. AMC has never rented out so many theaters for a single movie before, Ms. Denson-Randolph said. The most successful simultaneous releases in the past, such as "Arbitrage" starring Richard Gere, played primarily in independently owned theaters. Those theaters don't always adhere to traditional release windows and typically have smaller audiences. AMC's major competitors, including Regal Entertainment Group RGC -1.28% Regal Entertainment Group Cl A U.S.: NYSE $19.21 -0.25 -1.28% AFTER HOURS $19.10 -0.11 -0.57% P/E Ratio 18.97 Market Cap $3.04 Billion Dividend Yield 4.58% Rev. per Employee $137,745 02/21/14 'Veronica Mars' Release to Bre... 12/12/13 Movie-Theater Chains Take On I... More quote details and news » RGC in Your Value Your Change Short position and Cinemark Holdings Inc., CNK -0.94% Cinemark Holdings Inc. U.S.: NYSE $30.60 -0.29 -0.94% AFTER HOURS $30.60 0.00 0.00% P/E Ratio 23.80 Market Cap $3.56 Billion Dividend Yield 3.27% Rev. per Employee $155,982 02/21/14 'Veronica Mars' Release to Bre... More quote details and news » CNK in Your Value Your Change Short position don't rent out theaters to movies that will be released at home within fewer than 90 days, said people in the industry. It usually costs between $5,000 and $20,000 a week to "four wall" a single screen, as renting one out is known in the movie business, according to a knowledgeable person. Executives at AMC and Warner declined to discuss financial details of their agreement. For Warner Bros., which is known for bigger budget event films like "The Lego Movie" and "Man of Steel," "Veronica Mars" represents an experiment, not a harbinger of broader changes to its business. Although the "Veronica Mars" series was canceled by the CW Network—co-owned by Warner and CBS Corp. CBS -1.00% CBS Corp. Cl B U.S.: NYSE $66.09 -0.67 -1.00% AFTER HOURS $66.09 0.00 0.00% P/E Ratio 23.27 Market Cap $39.62 Billion Dividend Yield 0.73% Rev. per Employee $618,785 03/04/14 CBS CEO Says Dish Deal 'Great ... 02/24/14 Broadcasters Warn They May Rec... 02/21/14 'Veronica Mars' Release to Bre... More quote details and news » CBS in Your Value Your Change Short position —in 2007 because it drew only about 2.8 million viewers a week, its fan base has remained loyal and long demanded resolutions to plotlines left dangling. Show creator Rob Thomas and star Kristen Bell pushed the movie idea last year and convinced Warner, which produced the show, to release it if they met a Kickstarter goal of $2 million. The effort ended up raising $5.7 million from more than 91,000 people. Actors from the TV series including Percy Daggs II, Jason Dohring and Enrico Colantoni agreed to appear. "The existence of Kickstarter and the emergence of the social Internet make something like this possible," said Thomas Gewecke, Warner's chief digital officer. "The economics work." Because the passions for "Veronica Mars" run deep, executives at Warner and AMC said they are confident fans will go to theaters with friends and buy or rent a copy to watch again at home. Home pricing is set by cable and satellite providers, but on-demand rentals generally cost about $5 and digital purchases are between $15 and $20. Some funds from the Kickstarter fundraising are being used for T-shirts, posters and other rewards promised to fans who donated money. The studio funded the rest of the movie, which ended up costing a little over $6 million in total. Advertising is being done entirely online and in AMC theaters, with no traditional television spots or billboards. Given the movie's modest budget, Warner says it is counting only on the existing "Veronica Mars" fan base to attend. "They can make it successful for us," said Jeff Goldstein, executive vice president of distribution for Warner. "If we extend beyond that, it'll be gravy." Mr. Gewecke said Warner has looked at other properties from its television and film library to see if they could qualify for the same treatment of a low-budget movie that can be released simultaneously in theaters and online. "The passion of the fan base and the very strong connection to Rob and Kristen online are the essential ingredients," said Mr. Gewecke. Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com ||||| The major studios may have shuttered their independent film banners, but studio digital divisions are starting to borrow some of the release strategies used to roll out smaller-budgeted movies. Warner Bros. Digital Distribution promised Rob Thomas a limited theatrical release for a “Veronica Mars” movie if he was able to raise the financing to produce the film. After turning to Kickstarter to successfully raise over $5.7 million from more than 91,000 people for a feature-length adaptation of the WB-CW TV show, the studio has kept its promise, renting 270 theaters to show the film starting March 14. Most of those are operated by AMC, while 10 are independently-run screens. But with a small but rabid fanbase, known as Marshmallows, for “Veronica Mars,” Warner Bros. and Thomas know they will make most of their money by renting and selling the film on video-on-demand and online platforms at the same time as the film plays in theaters. Sources at Warner Bros. say the “Veronica Mars” strategy is a rare exception — a one-off release that isn’t meant to change the way the studio plans to release its films in the future. Related David Decker to Head Domestic TV Sales for Warner Bros. Ken Werner to Retire as Warner Bros. Domestic TV Sales Chief The studio stressed that the theatrical release is essentially a make-good to the Kickstarter campaign. It also serves as a way to eventize and promote the mostly direct-to-homevid release, help get it reviewed by critics, and fulfill certain rule requirements come awards season in which films must play in theaters to be considered for some nominations. A spin-off web series for the show is also being produced, while books are being published to keep the franchise alive through other formats. Last month, Warner Bros. and AMC Theaters posted a full list of the theaters that will show the film on its website. Ticket sales for an early fan event, on March 13, sold out quickly. SEE ALSO: ‘Veronica Mars’ AMC Fan Event Sells Out, Prompting Additional Showtimes Combined theatrical/VOD runs have long been used by companies like IFC, Magnolia, the Samuel Goldwyn Co. and other banners to drum up buzz for their indie titles. “Arbitrage” and “Margin Call” made significant amounts both in theaters and on VOD platforms. Some have even released films to airlines and hotels before their theatrical releases during a premium VOD window, including Magnolia’s “The Last Days on Mars” and “Best Man Down.” SEE ALSO: Magnolia to Give Films Pre-Theater Releases on Airlines With Gogo Vision But Warner Bros. is being closely watched since it’s the first major to release a high-profile pic in theaters and on VOD at the same time. Homevideo releases typically follow 90 days after a film bows in theaters. “Veronica Mars” is expected to be a rare exception, however, and not necessarily raise the ire of other theater chains. That’s primarily because AMC is one of the few major theater operators that actually rents out its screens to films that bow day-and-date on VOD or within the 90-day window. In the past, theater owners have been more concerned about pricier tentpoles being made available on homevideo platforms earlier than usual, especially those that feature A-list talent. In the fall of 2011, Universal Pictures scrapped plans to release “Tower Heist” on VOD — for $60 one-time rental free — three weeks after its theatrical premiere, following boycott threats from major exhibs. DirecTV also abandoned plans to launch select VOD titles 60 days after their theatrical release for $30 rentals after raising the ire of theater owners. Warner Bros. said it did not receive complaints by other theater owners when it first announced plans to release “Veronica Mars” day-and-date on all platforms last year. It’s likely that’s because of the small number of screens on which it will play. With its low $6 million budget and little to no marketing campaign being spent around it – Kristen Bell and the rest of its stars are tasked with doing much of the heavy lifting through interviews and social media posts – the “Veronica Mars” movie is more like the direct-to-video sequels the studios make to keep their franchises alive. Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment is producing sequels for “Jingle All the Way,” “The Tooth Fairy” and “The Marine,” while Universal has built a strong homevid biz around “American Pie,” “Bring It On” and “Death Race” and Disney with its “Tinker Bell” films. In the past, WB also has produced direct-to-homevideo sequels to “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The production budgets of those films fall in the same range as the “Veronica Mars” film. Still, if “Veronica Mars” proves popular, Warner Bros. Digital Distribution will now have a new way to get those projects onto the big screen and build hype for their sale on online platforms. And if it doesn’t, AMC was able to make some money by renting its theaters and generate some goodwill among a vocal and loyal fanbase still enamored with Bell’s sleuth. The National Assn. of Theater Owners declined to comment.

– Veronica Mars already set a Hollywood precedent by turning to Kickstarter for a successful fundraising campaign. Now it will set another on its release date of March 14, reports the Wall Street Journal. Warner Bros. will make the movie available online and for video-on-demand services the same day it opens in theaters, a first for any of the major studios. Normally, big theater chains demand a 90-day window before movies become available elsewhere, but Warner Bros. is getting around that with a technicality: It's actually renting 260 theaters from AMC to show the movie. Is this the way of the future? Variety doesn't think so, calling this a "one-off" exception to make good on filmmaker Rob Thomas' promise to Kickstarter donors for a limited theatrical release. What's more, given the TV series' strong fan base, the movie is likely to make most of its money not in theaters but in rentals and DVD purchases. "The existence of Kickstarter and the emergence of the social Internet make something like this possible," says a Warner exec. "The economics work."

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has proposed a new refugee quota plan as the European Union struggles to deal with the volume of migrants entering Europe. Mark Kelly reports. Image: AFP STRASBOURG, France—Faced with the largest migration of displaced people since the end of World War II, the European Union proposed to redistribute 160,000 refugees across the bloc, in a move bound to challenge countries with scant experience accommodating newcomers. The EU has sputtered in previous attempts to craft a coherent approach to the crisis amid competing national interests and insistence by some countries—particularly in the poorer East—that accepting refugees must be voluntary. ... ||||| The president of the European Commission has called on EU member nations to take in 160,000 refugees, outlining a compulsory plan that would see people fleeing conflict resettled across the bloc. Noting that many Europeans were refugees at one time or another, Juncker continued, “It is high time to act, to manage the refugee crisis, because there is no alternative. No rhetoric — action is what is needed for the time.” “We are fighting against Islamic State. Why are we not ready to accept those who are fleeing Islamic State?” he said. “The refugee crisis will not simply go away,” he added, noting that some 500,000 refugees have entered Europe this year , many from conflict-torn Syria and Libya. In an impassioned appeal at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, Jean-Claude Juncker told European lawmakers that it was “high time to act.” ‘It is high time to act, to manage the refugee crisis, because there is no alternative. No rhetoric – action is what is needed for the time.’ In his proposal, Juncker wants member states to accept another 120,000 refugees, on top of the 40,000 already agreed upon, bringing the total to 160,000. He did not, however, release specific numbers that each EU member state must take. Member states have been split over how to deal with increasing numbers of people fleeing conflict and arriving in Europe, with many objecting to a quota system. Hungary in particular has been singled out by other member states — notably France and Germany — for what has been described as its harsh policy toward refugees. It is in the process of completing a 13-foot-high steel and barbed wire security fence along the entirety of its 109-mile border with Serbia in a bid to keep refugees out. Last week Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said his country “did not want a large number of Muslim people.” Tackling such sentiment in Wednesday’s speech, Juncker said, “There is no religion, there is no belief, there is no philosophy when it comes to refugees. We don’t distinguish.” Before his speech, Juncker released a statement offering better protection for refugees but also proposing to improve the EU’s frontier defenses and deport more “illegal migrants.” He also called for “a swift, determined and comprehensive response to the refugee crisis.” Germany, which hosts the most refugees, has already backed the idea, as has Sweden, which takes the most refugees in relation to its population. Italy, which is one of the main arrival points for thousands of refugees crossing the Mediterranean, is also in favor. France supports the plan, as does Spain, which AFP reported agreed to take in 14,931 refugees, as proposed by the European Commission, in addition to 2,749 who were accepted in July, bringing the country’s total to 17,680. Under the proposal, countries refusing to take in refugees could face financial penalties. But the plan is expected to meet stiff opposition among the poorer EU nations in the east and south. The Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia have joined Hungary in saying that mandatory and permanent quotas would be unacceptable. “The compulsory quotas are not a good solution,” Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said in a statement. “To continue with a discussion about their establishment all across Europe only prevents us from taking really important and necessary steps.” ||||| BRUSSELS (AP) — The President of the European Union's executive on Wednesday called for the emergency relocation of 120,000 people in need of international protection who have entered the EU through Italy, Greece and Hungary to 22 of the EU's 28 nations. Britain, Denmark and Ireland are not legally obliged to take part, but may choose to; Italy, Greece and Hungary are excluded because of the numbers of migrants already in those countries. The refugee sharing plan is similar to a scheme announced in April to relocate 40,000 refugees from Italy and Greece. That proposal was never fully accepted, and EC President Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday that 500,000 migrants are believed to have arrived so far this year. Here is what the spread of the 120,000 refugees among EU countries would be should they agree by a large majority to accept the new plan: Austria 3,640 Belgium 4,564 Bulgaria 1,600 Croatia 1,064 Cyprus 274 Czech Republic 2,978 Estonia 373 Finland 2,398 France 24,031 Germany 31,443 Latvia 526 Lithuania 780 Luxembourg 440 Malta 133 Netherlands 7,214 Poland 9,287 Portugal 3,074 Romania 4,646 Slovakia 1,502 Slovenia 631 Spain 14,931 Sweden 4,469

– The president of the European Commission floated a simple question today to the EU's member nations. "We are fighting against Islamic State, why are we not ready to accept those who are fleeing Islamic State?" asked Jean-Claude Juncker, per Al Jazeera America. After the scolding, Juncker called on the nations to accept another 120,000 refugees, with each nation getting a quota based on its size, unemployment rate, and other factors. Germany, for instance, would take in another 31,000, France 24,000, etc., reports the Guardian, which provides the full breakdown. That's on top of a previous goal of 40,000 refugees. The plan needs to be approved by a majority of EU governments, notes the Wall Street Journal. "Europe today is an island of hope for the people in the Middle East fleeing war and oppression," says Juncker. "This is something to be proud of, not something to fear." The idea is to help frontline nations Greece, Italy, and Hungary handle the influx. The UK, Ireland, and Denmark wouldn't be legally bound to do so because they have opt-outs from the EU's asylum system, but they may do so anyway, reports the AP. EU interior ministers meet next week in Brussels and could approve the new quota system then.

A woman has persuaded a judge that her 50-year-old mother - who wants to die because she thinks that she has lost her "sparkle" - is mentally capable of deciding to refuse medical treatment in hospital. The woman told Mr Justice MacDonald that no-one in the family wanted her mother to die. She said she thought that her mother had made a "horrible" decision. But she argued that her mother, who has a grandchild, understood what she was doing and was mentally capable of making decisions about treatment. The judge ruled in the woman's favour late on Friday after analysing the case at an eight-hour hearing in the Court of Protection, where issues relating to sick and vulnerable people are considered, in London. A lawyer who represented the woman at the hearing today said the "result" was right - but she said there were no winners. Solicitor Laura Hobey-Hamsher said the judge had recognised the 50-year-old woman for "who she was". The woman's mother had damaged her kidneys when taking a drug overdose in a failed suicide bid and was now refusing dialysis, Mr Justice MacDonald was told. Specialists argued she had a "dysfunction of the mind" which made her unable to make decisions about treatment. They asked the judge to rule that it would be in her best interests if treatment was "imposed" and restraint and sedation used if necessary. But Mr Justice MacDonald dismissed the application. The judge said he was not satisfied that hospital bosses had proved that she lacked the mental capacity to decide to refuse dialysis - although he said they had been right to bring the case to court. He said he would publish his detailed reasons for his decision in the near future. Another judge, who oversaw the case at an earlier stage, had ruled that none of the people involved could not be identified. But the London-based King's College Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which asked for a ruling, can be named. The 50-year-old woman had a number of daughters - including one in her teens - and a grandchild, the judge heard. She had faced a number of "problems" before attempting suicide - including failed marriages and financial difficulties, he was told. The judge analysed evidence from psychiatrists and medics. One daughter told him that her mother's life had "to all appearances" been fairly glamorous. And she said her mother did not want to be poor, "ugly" and "old". "She has said the most important thing for her is her sparkly lifestyle," said the daughter. "She kept saying she doesn't want to live without her sparkle and she thinks she has lost her sparkle." The daughter said family members would devastated if her mother died. But she added: "We think it is a horrible decision. We don't like the decision at all. But I cannot get away from the fact that she understands it." Neither the daughter nor other family members today wanted to discuss the case. But Ms Hobey-Hamsher, who works for law firm Bindmans, said: "No child should ever have to persuade either doctors or a court that when her mother says she wants to die, she knows her own mind. "What was right was that the court recognised her mother for who she was: a unique individual, able to make her own decision, in her own way, in her own time, and for the reasons important to her." ||||| Media caption Clive Coleman explains the "right to refuse" treatment A judge has ruled a 50-year-old "socialite" known only as C, who tried to kill herself, can refuse kidney dialysis treatment and so end her life because she feels she has lost her "sparkle". Why has this case received so much attention? Because of the extraordinary C. Her life had revolved around "her looks, men, material possessions and living the high life", the judgement said. She had had four marriages and several affairs and "spent the money of her husbands and lovers recklessly before moving on when things got difficult or the money ran out". Last year, C had been diagnosed with breast cancer, but had refused treatment that would "make her fat". A long-term relationship had broken down, she had been plunged into debt, and she had tried to kill herself by washing down paracetamol tablets with Veuve Clicquot champagne. She had later told her daughters - by whom, despite her quirks, she was held "dear" - she had "royally cocked it up", the court heard. The suicide attempt had badly damaged her liver - but with dialysis, her prognosis would be positive. In a statement, C's daughter told the court: "Put bluntly, her life has always revolved around her looks, men and material possessions. "She understands that other people have failed relationships, feel sad and continue living, but for her, as she has said, she doesn't want to 'live in a council flat', 'be poor' or 'be ugly', which she equates with being old." Is this case about assisted suicide? Absolutely not. Assisting a suicide is a criminal offence that carries a maximum prison sentence of 14 years. This case is about the right of every individual who has mental capacity to refuse medical treatment. Sitting in the Court of Protection, which makes decisions on behalf of those who lack mental capacity, Mr Justice MacDonald quoted a statement of the law from an earlier case, which could not be clearer. "An adult patient who… suffers from no mental incapacity has an absolute right to choose whether to consent to medical treatment, to refuse it or to choose one rather than another of the treatments being offered," it said. "This right of choice is not limited to decisions which others might regard as sensible. "It exists notwithstanding that the reasons for making the choice are rational, irrational, unknown or even non-existent." So, for example, a Jehovah's Witness who has mental capacity can refuse a life-saving blood transfusion. So what was the issue in the case? King's College Hospital, in south London, had applied for a ruling from the Court of Protection that C lacked the mental capacity to make decisions about the dialysis treatment. The hospital wanted to be able to treat her against her expressed wishes. The judge considered the evidence from three psychiatrists, one of whom concluded C was not able to use and weigh up information about her condition and future due to an "underlying diagnosis of histrionic personality disorder and her current circumstances". Critically, he also heard from C's daughters. In a statement, one said: "'Recovery' to her does not just relate to her kidney function, but to regaining her 'sparkle' (her expensive, material and looks-oriented social life), which she believes she is too old to regain." Having considered all of the evidence, the judge decided C did have mental capacity to refuse dialysis treatment. Does this case change the law? Not at all. The facts may be extraordinary, but the law is clear and unchanged by them. However, C's case reminds us of the right each person has to refuse medical treatment so long as they have mental capacity. ||||| A 50-year-old woman who fears that the passing of her youth and beauty means the end of everything that “sparkles” in life has been granted permission to die by the court of protection. In a highly unusual judgment published this week, King’s College Hospital NHS Trust has been told that the unnamed woman has the capacity to make up her own mind and is entitled to refuse the life-saving kidney dialysis treatment she requires. The decision includes a detailed account of the lifestyle of C, as the woman is known, describing her as “impulsive”, “self-centred”, heavy drinking and four times married. But the judge, Mr Justice MacDonald, explained that the principle was the same for any patient. “The right to refuse treatment extends to declining treatment that would, if administered, save the life of the patient,” he said in his court of protection decision. “This position reflects the value that society places on personal autonomy in matters of medical treatment and the very long established right of the patient to choose to accept or refuse medical treatment from his or her doctor. “Where a patient refuses life-saving medical treatment the court is only entitled to intervene in circumstances where the court is satisfied that the patient does not have the mental capacity to decide whether or not to accept or refuse such treatment.” Intervention, he said, was not required in this case. MacDonald continued: “C is a person to whom the epithet ‘conventional’ will never be applied … C has led a life characterised by impulsive and self-centred decision-making without guilt or regret. [She] has had four marriages and a number of affairs and has, it is said, spent the money of her husbands and lovers recklessly before moving on when things got difficult or the money ran out. “She has, by their account, been an entirely reluctant and at times completely indifferent mother to her three caring daughters. Her consumption of alcohol has been excessive and, at times, out of control … In particular, it is clear that during her life C has placed a significant premium on youth and beauty and on living a life that, in C’s words, ‘sparkles’.” Having been diagnosed with breast cancer, she had taken an overdose with alcohol. She did not die but caused herself such extensive kidney damage that she required dialysis – which she now refused to undergo. The judge added: “My decision that C has capacity to decide whether or not to accept dialysis does not, and should not prevent her treating doctors from continuing to seek to engage with C in an effort to persuade her of the benefits of receiving life-saving treatment in accordance with their duty to C as their patient. “My decision does no more than confirm that in law C is entitled to refuse the treatment offered to her for her benefit by her dedicated treating team. Nothing I have said prevents them from continuing to offer that treatment.” MacDonald analysed evidence from psychiatrists and medics, and from one of the woman’s daughters. One daughter told him that her mother’s life had “to all appearances” been fairly glamorous. She said her mother did not want to be “poor”, “ugly” or “old”. “She has said the most important thing for her is her sparkly lifestyle,” said the daughter. “She kept saying she doesn’t want to live without her sparkle and she thinks she has lost her sparkle.” The daughter said family members would devastated if her mother died, but added: “We think it is a horrible decision. We don’t like the decision at all. But I cannot get away from the fact that she understands it.” • In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here

– Among the more contentious cases in which the right to die has been granted by the courts, this one stands out because, as the BBC puts it, "of the extraordinary C." The 50-year-old British woman, identified only by that initial, has led what the judge describes as a life replete with excess and impulsiveness and free of "guilt or regret" about her choices. Those choices include four marriages, several affairs, reckless spending, and "out-of-control" drinking, reports the Guardian. "In particular, it is clear that during her life C has placed a significant premium on youth and beauty and on living a life that, in C’s words, ‘sparkles,'" writes Mr Justice MacDonald in his now-published decision. What he was weighing in on: whether life-saving treatment could be forced upon her (the BBC emphasizes that the case has nothing to do with assisted suicide). C overdosed on acetaminophen and Veuve Clicquot champagne after learning she had breast cancer, reports the BBC, and though she survived, damage to her organs has necessitated dialysis—and she won't do it. As one of her three daughters explained in a statement to the court, "'Recovery' to her does not just relate to her kidney function, but to regaining her 'sparkle' (her expensive, material and looks-oriented social life), which she believes she is too old to regain." The upshot of the judgment, which the Press Association reports was issued Nov. 13, is that the Court of Protection can't force C to undergo dialysis. King's College Hospital in London had asked the court to weigh in, arguing that the treatment should be "imposed" on her, even if it meant drugging her into a complacent state to do so. But the judge found she had the mental capacity to make her own choice, a decision that her own daughter called "horrible" but publicly supported in court. (Read why this healthy woman ended her life.)

Debbie Rowe 'Mortified' by Jackson Kids Stun-Gun Reports or leave a comment of your own See what other readers have to say about this story – Are Michael Jackson's kids in danger living with his mom?Debbie Rowe is starting to wonder. Flexing her rights as the surviving – though not custodial – parent of Michael's eldest kids, Prince, 13, and Paris, 11, Rowe is "quite upset" to hear about antics involving a stun gun at the Jackson family compound, her close friend Marc Schaffel tells PEOPLE.The trouble focuses on reports that Michael's 13-year-old nephew Jaafar, who also lives with the King of Pop's mother Katherine Jackson, bought the weapon online and may have tried to harm Michael's third child, Blanket, 8."Right now she is mortified and very, very concerned over the welfare of her children and what they are being exposed to," her pal Marc Schaffel tells PEOPLE.The L.A. County Department of Children and Family Services has reportedly visited the Jackson's Encino, Calif., home at last three times. Katherine's attorney contends Blanket was never threatened and that Paris never saw the weapon. But Schaffel says that Rowe was informed that Paris and Prince both saw the gun.Rowe, who has not seen the children since Jackson's death, "will take steps to make sure this doesn't happen again," but in the meantime she is "waiting to see what Children and Family Services says first," says Schaffel. ||||| Debbie Rowe -- the mother of Michael Jackson's two oldest children Paris and Prince -- claims she's "worried" about her kids' brother, Blanket. During a shopping trip in Calabasas earlier today, Rowe said she knows nothing about the investigation into the stun gun incident at the Jackson compound in Encino -- where Michael's kids and Jermaine's kids are all currently living with Katherine Jackson. But Rowe did admit that she was aware of the reports that Jaafar Jackson was playing with a stun gun while Blanket was nearby. When asked if she was worried about Blanket, Rowe said, "Of course I'm worried ... why would I not be worried about a child? He is their brother." Rowe claimed she's never been to the Jackson compound -- but told us she has been visiting Michael's tomb recently and tries to visit as often as she can.

– Debbie Rowe hasn’t seen her children since the death of their father, Michael Jackson—but the recent stun gun news might bring her back into their lives. “Of course I’m worried” about Blanket, she tells TMZ, even though he’s not one of her kids. One of her friends tells People that Rowe was “quite upset” when she heard about the Jackson kids playing with a stun gun and “will take steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” "Right now she is mortified and very, very concerned over the welfare of her children and what they are being exposed to," says her friend, but she’s “waiting to see what Children and Family Services says first.” The agency has visited the Jackson compound at least three times and has been told Rowe’s daughter Paris never even saw the stun gun—but Rowe heard that her daughter and son, Prince, both saw it.

Image copyright Thinkstock The chance of returning to a normal weight after becoming obese is only one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women over a year, research suggests. For severe obesity, shedding excess weight in a year is even more unlikely, a study of UK health records concluded. Researchers say current strategies for helping obese patients are failing. A team from King's College London is calling for "wider-reaching public health policies" to prevent people becoming obese in the first place. Lead researcher Dr Alison Fildes said the main treatment options offered to obese people in the UK - weight management programmes via their GP - were not working for the vast majority. "Treatment needs to focus on stopping people gaining more weight and maintaining even small levels of weight loss," she said. "Current strategies that focus on cutting calories and boosting physical activity aren't working for most patients to achieve weight loss and maintain that. "The greatest opportunity for fighting the obesity epidemic might be in public health policies to prevent it in the first place at a population level." Health records The research tracked the weight of 278,982 men and women between 2004 and 2014 using electronic health records. People who had had weight loss surgery were excluded. During the study, 1,283 men and 2,245 women got back to a normal body weight. For obese people (with a Body Mass Index of 30 to 35), the annual probability of slimming down was one in 210 for men and one in 124 for women. This increased to one in 1,290 for men and one in 677 for women with morbid obesity (BMI 40 to 45). Dr Fildes said the figures for losing 5% of body weight were more encouraging - one in 12 men and one in 10 women managed this over a year, although most had regained the weight within five years. And more than a third of the men and women studied went though cycles of weight loss and weight gain. Co-researcher Prof Martin Gulliford of King's College London said current strategies to tackle obesity were failing to help the majority of obese patients shed weight. "The greatest opportunity for stemming the current obesity epidemic is in wider-reaching public health policies to prevent obesity in the population," he said. The research is published in the American Journal of Public Health. ||||| En Español By Amy Norton HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, July 16, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Weight loss is considered a major health goal for people who are obese, but the reality is that few reach a normal weight or keep any lost pounds off, a new study shows. In any given year, obese men had a 1-in-210 chance of dropping to a normal weight, according to the study, which tracked over 176,000 obese British adults. Women fared a bit better: Their odds were 1 in 124, the study found. On the brighter side, people were far more likely to shed 5 percent of their body weight -- which is considered enough to bring health benefits like lower blood pressure and blood sugar. Unfortunately, more than three-quarters gained the weight back within five years, the researchers reported online July 16 in the American Journal of Public Health. It all paints a bleak picture, the study authors acknowledged. And the findings underscore the importance of preventing obesity in the first place, said lead researcher Alison Fildes, a research psychologist at University College London. However, the study does not suggest that weight-loss efforts are futile, stressed Dr. Caroline Apovian, a spokeswoman for the Obesity Society who was not involved in the research. "We already realize that it's almost impossible for an obese person to attain a normal body weight," said Apovian, who directs the Nutrition and Weight Management Center at Boston Medical Center. She said the "stark" numbers in this study give a clearer idea of just how difficult it is. However, she added, the study was based on medical records, and there is no information on how people tried to lose weight. They might have tried a formal weight-loss program, or they might have tried a fad diet. "So this has no relevance to how effective weight-loss programs are," Apovian said. Fildes agreed. On the other hand, she said, the results do reflect the real-world experience of obese people who are trying to shed weight. "What our findings suggest is that current strategies used to tackle obesity are not helping the majority of obese patients to lose weight and maintain that weight loss," Fildes said. "This might be because people are unable to access weight-loss interventions or because the interventions being offered are ineffective -- or both." For the study, Fildes and her team used electronic medical records to track weight changes among more than 176,000 obese adults between 2004 and 2014. The researchers excluded people who underwent weight-loss surgery, which is an option for severely obese people. Overall, obese men and women had a low annual probability of achieving a normal weight -- especially if they were severely obese. The odds were as low as 1 in 1,290 for morbidly obese men. People did stand a much better chance of losing 5 percent of their body weight: The yearly odds were 1 in 12 for men and 1 in 10 for women. The success, however, was usually short-lived: 78 percent gained that weight back within five years. Apovian said that because dramatic weight loss is so difficult, obesity specialists do generally advise patients to set a goal of losing 5 percent to 10 percent of their starting weight. But as the current findings show, even that can be tough to maintain, she added. Part of the problem, according to Apovian, is that few obese Americans who are eligible for weight-loss medications or surgery actually do get those therapies. In the United Kingdom, the study authors said, people trying to tackle obesity usually get a referral from their doctor to a weight-management program, which would typically focus on calorie-cutting and exercise. The new findings suggest that's insufficient, according to Fildes and her team. For people who are already substantially overweight, Fildes said, staving off further weight gain is vital. "We would recommend obesity treatment programs prioritize preventing further weight gain and maintaining weight loss when it is achieved," she said. But given the battle most obese people face, Fildes said, public health efforts to prevent obesity will be even more important. More information The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advice on healthy weight loss. ||||| The chance of an obese person attaining normal body weight is 1 in 210 for men and 1 in 124 for women, increasing to 1 in 1,290 for men and 1 in 677 for women with severe obesity, according to a study of UK health records led by King's College London. The findings, published in the American Journal of Public Health, suggest that current weight management programmes focused on dieting and exercise are not effective in tackling obesity at population level. The research, funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), tracked the weight of 278,982 participants (129,194 men and 149,788) women using electronic health records from 2004 to 2014. The study looked at the probability of obese patients attaining normal weight or a 5% reduction in body weight; patients who received bariatric surgery were excluded from the study. A minimum of three body mass index (BMI) records per patient was used to estimate weight changes. The annual chance of obese patients achieving five per cent weight loss was 1 in 12 for men and 1 in 10 for women. For those people who achieved five per cent weight loss, 53 per cent regained this weight within two years and 78 percent had regained the weight within five years. Overall, only 1,283 men and 2,245 women with a BMI of 30-35 reached their normal body weight, equivalent to an annual probability of 1 in 210 for men and 1 in 124 for women; for those with a BMI above 40, the odds increased to 1 in 1,290 for men and 1 in 677 for women with severe obesity. Weight cycling, with both increases and decreases in body weight, was also observed in more than a third of patients. The study concludes that current obesity treatments are failing to achieve sustained weight loss for the majority of obese patients. Dr Alison Fildes, first author from the Division of Health and Social Care Research at King's College London (and now based at UCL), said: 'Losing 5 to 10 per cent of your body weight has been shown to have meaningful health benefits and is often recommended as a weight loss target. These findings highlight how difficult it is for people with obesity to achieve and maintain even small amounts of weight loss.' 'The main treatment options offered to obese patients in the UK are weight management programmes accessed via their GP. This evidence suggests the current system is not working for the vast majority of obese patients.' 'Once an adult becomes obese, it is very unlikely that they will return to a healthy body weight. New approaches are urgently needed to deal with this issue. Obesity treatments should focus on preventing overweight and obese patients gaining further weight, while also helping those that do lose weight to keep it off. More importantly, priority needs to be placed on preventing weight gain in the first place.' Professor Martin Gulliford, senior author from the Division of Health and Social Care Research at King's College London, said: 'Current strategies to tackle obesity, which mainly focus on cutting calories and boosting physical activity, are failing to help the majority of obese patients to shed weight and maintain that weight loss. The greatest opportunity for stemming the current obesity epidemic is in wider-reaching public health policies to prevent obesity in the population.' ###

– A new study offers some rather depressing news for those of you who are obese: You’re probably going to stay that way. Researchers at King's College London monitored the weight of 278,982 Brits, including 176,000 who were obese, from 2004 to 2014. Excluding those who had weight loss surgery, just 1,283 obese men and 2,245 women returned to a normal body weight during that time, reports the BBC. That means obese men had just a 0.5% chance of getting back to a healthy weight level each year. For women, the rate of success was 0.8%, or "almost impossible," a researcher tells HealthDay. For those morbidly obese, the figure was even less encouraging: less than 0.15% for women and much less for men. While 8% of men and 10% of women were able to lose at least 5% of their body weight within a year, more than half had regained the weight two years later, while 78% had after five years, according to a press release. The fact that this yo-yo effect—the cycle of people losing weight, only to gain it back again—was so prevalent shows weight loss strategies for the obese are simply inadequate, researchers say. "Current strategies that focus on cutting calories and boosting physical activity aren't working for most patients to achieve weight loss and maintain that," says Alison Fildes, lead author of the study, published in the American Journal of Public Health (researchers didn't monitor how the study participants attempted to lose weight, however). While cutting 5% to 10% of body weight has significant health benefits for the obese—including lowered blood pressure and blood sugar, reports HealthDay—"priority needs to be placed on preventing weight gain in the first place," says Fildes. (Our weights have changed dramatically since the 1960s.)

FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish... (Associated Press) FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish toy maker Lego said Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, it will cut 1,400 jobs, or about eight percent of its global... (Associated Press) FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish toy maker Lego said Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2017, it will cut 1,400 jobs, or about eight percent of its global... (Associated Press) FILE- In this Tuesday, April 5, 2016 file photo, an employee sorts Legos in the the new LEGO flagship store unveiled as part of the new Les Halles shopping mall during the press visit in Paris. Danish... (Associated Press) COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Danish toy maker Lego will cut 1,400 jobs, or about eight percent of its global workforce, after reporting a decline in sales and profits in the first half of 2017. The privately held company said Tuesday that its revenue dropped 5 percent to 14.9 billion kroner ($2.4 billion) in the first six months of the year, mainly as a result of weakness in established markets like the U.S. and Europe. Profits slipped 3 percent to 3.4 billion kroner ($544,000). It said it "now prepares to reset the company." "We are disappointed by the decline in revenue in our established markets, and we have taken steps to address this," said Chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp. He said the long-term aim is to reach "more children in our well-established markets in Europe and the United States," and added there were "strong growth opportunities in growing markets such as China." The company, he said, needs to simplify its business model to reduce its costs. Since 2012, the group has built an increasingly complex organization to support global double-digit growth. However, "in the process, we have added complexity into the organization which now in turn makes it harder for us to grow further," Vig Knudstorp said. He told Denmark's TV2 that staff cuts would mainly affect administration and sales, not production. Last month, the maker of the famous colored building blocks appointed Niels B. Christiansen, who headed thermostat-maker Danfoss for nine years, as its chief executive to replace interim British CEO Bali Padda. Christiansen will start Oct. 1. Based in western Denmark, Lego does not release quarterly figures. The group currently has more than 19,000 employees around the world. ||||| COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Lego said it would lay off 8 percent of its staff and revamp its business after reporting its first fall in sales in more than a decade on Tuesday. The Danish toymaker announced a 5-percent decline in mid-year revenue a month after abruptly removing its chief executive, suggesting it is facing its biggest test since flirting with bankruptcy in the early 2000s. Lego said it could not promise a return to growth in the next two years, a jolting acknowledgement for a group widely admired for embracing the digital era and tying up lucrative franchises from Harry Potter to Minecraft. “We have now pressed the reset-button for the entire group,” executive chairman Jorgen Vig Knudstorp said, acknowledging the business had grown too complicated. He would seek a return to a leaner and more efficient organization to respond to “losing momentum ... which we think could ultimately lead to stagnation or even decline.” FILE PHOTO: The window of a Lego shop in Copenhagen, Denmark April 19, 2017. REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File Photo Lego said revenues had disappointed in its core markets of the United States and Europe, after a decade of double-digit growth and launches spanning Lego sets, video games, movie franchises, robotics and smartphone applications. Sales related to its Star Wars line declined slightly in the first half of the year, the company said. SHARP REVERSAL It marked a sharp reversal for a company that managed to expand and respond to rising demand in Asia when Knudstorp was CEO, even as the global toy market shrank after the 2008 financial crisis. Knudstorp, took the top job aged 35 in 2004, a year after Lego flirted with bankruptcy, and set about reviving Lego’s core business. That included firing consultants and hiring new designers to come up with higher-margin products that were up to date but still looked like Lego, an abbreviation of the Danish “leg godt”, meaning “play well”. Slideshow (7 Images) Bali Padda took over as chief executive in January, but the Briton was removed just eight months later and replaced by Danish industrialist Niels B. Christiansen. “I am very much accountable for the situation and for the results we’re sharing today,” Knudstorp said. Sales between January and June stood at 14.9 billion Danish crowns ($2.38 billion), still topping My Little Pony producer Hasbro Inc’s (HAS.O) sales of $1.82 billion and Barbie doll maker Mattel Inc’s (MAT.O) $1.71 billion. Last year, revenue growth slowed from 25 percent in 2015 to just six percent. Lego said it would cut approximately 1,400 positions - including up to 600 at its headquarter in Billund, Denmark - the majority of them before the end of 2017. The company currently employs 18,200 people. “We’ve been through a decade of very high growth and during those years we have invested a great deal,” Knudstorp said, noting that the company added more than 7,000 new positions between 2012 and 2016. “We have now realized that we have built an increasingly complex organization to a degree that makes it difficult for us to realize our growth potential,” he added. “What we have unfortunately recently seen is that despite the continued high level of investment, these have not materialized into a good harvest.” The unlisted company said in March that mid-single-digit growth rates were more realistic for the years to come, but revised those expectations downward on Tuesday. “We are not saying specifically whether we will grow the next two years or not,” Knudstorp said.

– Danish toy maker Lego will cut 1,400 jobs, or about 8% of its global workforce, after reporting a decline in sales and profits in the first half of 2017. The privately held company said Tuesday that its revenue dropped 5% to $2.4 billion in the first six months of the year, mainly as a result of weakness in established markets like the US and Europe. Profits slipped 3% to $544 million. "We are disappointed by the decline in revenue in our established markets, and we have taken steps to address this," said Chairman Joergen Vig Knudstorp, per the AP. He said the long-term aim is to reach "more children in our well-established markets in Europe and the United States," and added there were "strong growth opportunities in growing markets such as China." The company, he said, needs to simplify its business model to reduce costs, though details weren't immediately available on what that might mean. Since 2012, the group has built an increasingly complex organization to support global double-digit growth. However, "in the process, we have added complexity into the organization which now in turn makes it harder for us to grow further," Vig Knudstorp said. The company has been lauded for embracing the digital era through smartphone apps and tie-ins with movies and video games, notes Reuters. The maker of the famous colored building blocks has more than 19,000 employees around the world.

R. Camilli, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution/Science Still images taken June 1 by a remote-operated camera descending through the Gulf of Mexico just southwest of the well site showed what scientists called a "highly turbid" layer of emulsified oil between 1,065 meters and 1,300 meters deep. Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill formed an underwater plume of hydrocarbons the size of Manhattan, scientists said Thursday, raising fears of a lingering cloud of trace chemicals in the Gulf with an unknown long-term impact. The new findings from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution add to evidence from other research groups this week that the offshore spill—the largest in history—is confounding scientists' assumptions about how the Gulf waters are interacting with the mass of oil. Stefanie Ilgenfritz has details of a just-released-survey indicating the oil that spilled from the Deepwater Horizon produced drifting plume of hydrocarbons the size of Manhattan. The new data, based on measurements taken in June when oil was still gushing from BP PLC's Macondo well, also challenge government estimates that the vast majority of the 4.9 million barrels of spilled oil is already gone from the Gulf or being rapidly broken down by bacteria, several marine experts said. The Woods Hole scientists reported their preliminary findings Thursday online in the journal Science. Instead, some of that oil may persist deep under water—at levels thousands of times higher than those caused by the natural oil seeps that dot the Gulf sea floor—where it can elude conventional detection and cleanup efforts, scientists said. Up to 79% of the spilled oil may still be in the Gulf, researchers at the Georgia Sea Grant program and the University of Georgia said earlier this week. Oil is already settling into the sea floor in a prime spawning ground for fish called DeSoto Canyon east of the damaged well, according to University of South Florida scientists. "I think the imprint of the BP release, the discharge, will be detectable in the Gulf of Mexico for the rest of my life," oceanographer Ian MacDonald from Florida State University told a congressional hearing on the spill Thursday. {if djIsFlashPossible} The version of Adobe Flash Player required to view this interactive has not been found. To enjoy our complete interactive experience, please download a free copy of the latest version of Adobe Flash Player here {else} {else} This content can not be displayed because your browser does not support the Adobe Flash player required to view it. {/if} {/if} The Woods Hole researchers saw little evidence in June, two months after a wellhead explosion triggered the spill, that oil-eating microbes had reduced the cloud of chemicals. "It looks like the oil is degrading relatively slowly," said Woods Hole chemist Ben Van Mooy. Contrary to previous predictions by other researchers, however, the Woods Hole group found no evidence of "dead zones," in which bacteria feasting on oil can use up so much oxygen in the process that no fish or marine life can survive. They speculated that earlier oxygen readings might have been wrong because measuring devices can give artificially low readings when coated by oil. Renewed concerns over leftover oil in the Gulf of Mexico could deal a further blow to the region's battered fishing industry, which is eager to return to normal after big stretches of state and federal waters were reopened in recent weeks. The five Gulf Coast states had $10.54 billion in combined seafood sales and employed more than 200,000 people in 2008, according to government data. But demand for Gulf seafood has shrunk amid images of oil-slicked waters. That is despite heightened monitoring by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which says seafood from the parts of the Gulf open to fishing pose no health risks. So far, the chemicals in the deep plume aren't concentrated in these depths at levels high enough to be directly toxic to most marine life, several ocean experts who study the Gulf said. No one knows yet how long oil plumes will last or what their long-term impact will be. But experts are concerned that if the trace chemicals linger long enough, they could damage fish eggs and larvae, as well as the plankton on which many fish feed. Researchers suggest the plume may last for a year or more, but it isn't yet known whether it has dissipated since the Woods Hole researchers measured it, at the end of June. "These hydrocarbons may well show up somewhere else, running undetected below the surface," said Richard Camilli from the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole group, who was chief scientist on the June research. Enlarge Image Close C. McIntyre, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution The scientists made 57,000 measurements, mainly using sensors aboard a remote-controlled robot deployed from the ship. For 10 days in June, Dr. Camilli and his colleagues aboard a U.S. National Science Foundation research vessel explored the plume—22 miles long and more than a mile wide—as it snaked along 3,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf. Writing in the journal Science, the scientists confirmed that oil from the well had been caught below the surface of the Gulf in pools of microscopic oil drops and petroleum-based trace chemicals, which were degrading more slowly than many had expected. The plume resembled a mist of trace chemicals largely invisible to the eye, rather than a river of oil. In normal circumstances, crude oil floats to the surface, where it can be skimmed, burned off or evaporated. Floating on the waves, it can be churned into smaller drops readily digested by bacteria. But oil from the ruptured well, broken down by sprays of chemical dispersants and held at depth by water pressure, has formed microscopic droplets not buoyant enough to break through the transition layer that separates warm surface currents from the cold bottom water, several experts said. In their analysis, the Woods Hole researchers said they found high concentrations of benzene, toluene, xylene and other so-called BTEX petroleum compounds that could be traced to the leaking well. They calculated that the plume contained between 5% and 6% of the signature BTEX petroleum hydrocarbons released during the spill. "This is the first number that anybody has been able to put on how much of the stuff from the well is ending up in the plume," said University of Georgia oceanographer Samantha Joye, who is studying the Gulf spill but wasn't involved in the project. At the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a senior agency official said the new data would become part of the federal damage assessment used to help determine any penalties and fines that may be levied against BP and its contractors for damages from the spill. BP officials referred requests for comment on the new research to NOAA and the federal joint command overseeing the spill cleanup. Since the well was capped on July 15, there has been virtually no dispersant use—only 200 gallons total applied on July 19, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The question of how much oil is left in the Gulf, and where it has gone, is a contentious political issue in Washington. On Aug. 4, White House environmental policy czar Carol Browner and Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the NOAA, released a study that indicated that nearly 75% of the 4.9 million barrels spilled from BP's well in the Gulf had been dispersed, evaporated, or collected in cleanup operations. That report has since drawn criticism. Rep. Ed Markey (D., Mass.), chairman of a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, used Thursday's hearing to criticize the Obama administration for "giving many people a false sense of confidence," and chided the administration for releasing the report. "We remain confident in our estimates," Ms. Lubchenco of NOAA said Thursday. —Mike Esterl, Siobhan Hughes and Stephen Power contributed to this article. Write to Robert Lee Hotz at sciencejournal@wsj.com ||||| Giant Oil Plume Found Below Surface Of Gulf i itoggle caption Dana Yoerger/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Dana Yoerger/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Scientists have mapped out, for the first time, the underwater path that some petrochemicals took after gushing from BP's oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. It's an important new piece in a huge scientific puzzle. Researchers are trying to figure out where as much as half of the spilled oil has gone. Christopher Reddy, a co-author of the study released Thursday by the journal Science, says it was a big surprise when scientists first reported that large amounts of oil and oil compounds were staying underwater rather than rising to the surface. "If you’d asked me — and I've been studying oil spills for 15 years — whether or not you would see oil in the subsurface, I would have said, 'No — doesn't oil float?' " he said at a news conference Thursday. The phenomenon is fascinating but also troublesome, he says, because if scientists don't know where the oil is, they also don't know what harm it may be causing. In June, Reddy and his colleagues from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution took a research ship to the scene of the spill. They lowered a sensor deep into the water and towed it in a large circle around the blown-out well, looking for particular hydrocarbons that are easy to detect. The sensor picked up a hydrocarbon signal southwest of the well, in a layer of water 3,000 feet below the surface. Richard Camilli, another researcher from WHOI, says they then sent down a new device — a small unmanned submarine called Sentry. "We had Sentry fly at a constant depth in kind of a zigzag pattern, moving out from the well site, tracking the plume," he said. If you’d asked me — and I've been studying oil spills for 15 years — whether or not you would see oil in the subsurface, I would have said, 'No — doesn't oil float?' The hydrocarbons, including benzene and toluene, were highly diluted in the water. They were coming from the gushing well, but they weren't spreading out in all directions. Instead, they followed an invisible underwater channel just over a mile wide and 650 feet thick. The researchers tracked that channel southwest for 22 miles, until bad weather forced them to stop. They looked for signs that microorganisms are feasting on those petroleum products and breaking them down, but they didn't see any. Reddy says they don't know exactly why. "Microbes are a lot like teenagers," he says. "They work on their own time, at their own scale. They do what they want when they want." There are many other unknowns. Reddy and his colleagues don't yet know how much of the oil from the well is in this plume. They hope to arrive at an estimate in a few months, after analyzing all of their water samples. They also don't know how toxic the plume may be to wildlife. Yet this is the best-documented case so far of oil flowing underwater. "This is a big piece of the puzzle," says Steven Murawski, science adviser for fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Murawski is trying to put the whole puzzle together. He is in touch with many of the research vessels — as many as seven on any given day — that are working in the Gulf of Mexico. Murawski says additional scientific reports about oil in the deep sea around the well will be released in the coming weeks. But he'd like to see more scientists working in other places, such as on the continental shelf, the wide shallow area close to shore where most fish live. Murawski says he's drafting plans to expand such research.

– Scientists have detected an underwater plume of oil the size of Manhattan, according to the Wall Street Journal. The findings, published yesterday, further undermine the Obama administration’s optimistic view that most of the Deepwater Horizon oil has already disappeared. The 22-mile-long underwater plume is also highly unusual. “If you’d asked me whether or not you would see oil in the subsurface, I would have said, 'No—doesn't oil float?'” one of the scientists who found it told NPR. Meanwhile, BP announced that it would delay popping the final plug into the well until at least mid-September, in part because of weather conditions, and in part so the blowout preventer could be repaired first, in case something goes wrong.

SAN JOSE, Calif.—The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables. Within half an hour, snipers opened fire on a nearby electrical substation. Shooting for 19 minutes, they surgically knocked out 17 giant transformers that funnel power... ||||| Shooters armed with assault rifles and some knowledge of electrical utilities have prompted new worries on the vulnerability of California's vast power grid. A 2013 attack on an electric substation near San Jose that nearly knocked out Silicon Valley's power supply was initially downplayed as vandalism by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the facility's owner. Gunfire from semiautomatic weapons did extensive damage to 17 transformers that sent grid operators scrambling to avoid a blackout. But this week, a former top power regulator offered a far more ominous interpretation: The attack was terrorism, he said, and if circumstances had been just a little different, it could have been disastrous. Jon Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission when the shooting took place, said that attack was clearly executed by well-trained individuals seeking to do significant damage to the area, and he fears it was a test run for an even larger assault. "It would not be that hard to bring down the entire region west of the Rockies if you, in fact, had a coordinated attack like this against a number of substations," Wellinghoff said Thursday. "This [shooting] event shows there are people out there capable of such an attack." Wellinghoff's warning about the incident at PG&E's Metcalf substation was reported this week by the Wall Street Journal, expanding on a December report by Foreign Policy magazine. FBI officials said they are taking the shooting very seriously. "Based on the information we have right now, we don't believe it's related to terrorism," said Peter Lee, an FBI spokesman in San Francisco. But, he added, "Until we understand the motives, we won't be 100% sure it's not terrorism." Months after the shooting, the bureau has named no suspects. Potential terrorism scenarios usually involve elaborate cyberattacks, expertly executed hijackings or smuggled nuclear weapons. But concern grows that California may have come unnervingly close to learning that calamity might just as easily be inflicted by a few well-trained snipers. As law enforcement tries to piece together who fired at the electricity facility, lawmakers and analysts express bewilderment that little is being done to protect against a repeat performance. "We've got a vulnerability and we've got to get serious about fixing it," said Granger Morgan, who heads the Department of Engineering and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. "Almost everything we do in modern society relies on electricity." A National Research Council committee he chaired issued a 2007 report warning how easy it would be for a criminal enterprise to knock out the power grid in a way that "could deny large regions of the country access to bulk power systems for weeks or even months," leading to "turmoil, widespread public fear and an image of helplessness that would play directly into the hands of terrorists." The classified report was completed in 2007 and became public two years ago. Asked what has happened since then to protect the nation's electricity system, Morgan replied that very little has been done. The attack on the PG&E facility targeted the sophisticated transformers that are at the backbone of the nation's electricity grid. The giant pieces of equipment are essential, costly and could take months to replace. Knock out enough of them, experts warn, and an entire region can be crippled for an extended period. They are also typically out in the open like sitting ducks. On that April night, the attackers managed to disable 17 of them just by shooting through a chain-link fence. The bullet holes caused the transformers to leak thousands of gallons of oil, and ultimately overheat. Grid operators scrambled to reroute power from elsewhere to keep the system from collapse. The power stayed on, but just barely, because it happened during a time when demand for electricity was very low. "Fortunately it was spring and we did not have air conditioners running full throttle in the morning," said Stephanie McCorkle, a spokeswoman for the California Independent System Operator in Folsom, which runs most of the state's electrical grid. "That's why the situation was manageable." Wellinghoff, now a partner at the San Francisco law office Stoel Rives, said the grid's interdependence on substations across large swaths of the country — and a scarcity of spare equipment — makes it possible to trigger an enduring blackout across several states simply by destroying key transformers in one of them. Days after the April shooting, Wellinghoff flew out to review the damage with experts from the Pentagon and the FBI. They noticed piles of stones had been set up outside the site, apparently by someone who had scoped it out to guide the snipers. The bullet holes were carefully targeted so as not to hit the parts of the equipment that would cause an explosion and attract the attention of drivers on nearby U.S. 101. Of some 120 shots fired from at least 40 yards outside the fence, 110 of them hit transformers, Wellinghoff said. "A dress rehearsal" is how Mark Johnson, a retired vice president at PG&E, described the event to a Philadelphia gathering of electricity industry officials in November. Johnson said the attackers opened two 75-pound manhole covers and used a ladder to cut fiber-optic lines, a possible attempt to disconnect security cameras. They fired for seven minutes, targeting radiators on the banks of transformers. "This wasn't an incident where Billy-Bob and Joe decided after a bunch of brewskis they were going to shoot up a substation," he said. "When you look at this event and how calculated, how well organized and how well thought out it was, it clearly indicates that a chain-link fence was not enough to secure a substation." PG&E officials say they are taking steps to improve grid security and are consulting with government agencies on how best to do so. "This is definitely an unusual event and one we're taking very seriously," said Brian Swanson, a company spokesman. He said, though, that the fact that grid operators were able to keep the lights on after the shooting shows the company was prepared, and has procedures and technology in place to protect against sabotage. Congress has been battling for years over proposals that would force utilities to do more. One proposed measure, the Grid Reliability Infrastructure and Defense Act, would have given federal regulators authority to impose specific rules. It sailed through the House but died in the Senate in 2010. Its author, Sen. Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who was then a congressman, blamed its demise on aggressive lobbying by electricity companies.

– A little-reported attack on a power substation in California last year wasn't vandalism, but the "most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the US, according former top power regulator Jon Wellinghoff. In the assault in South San Jose last April, unknown attackers severed underground cables at a substation before snipers knocked out 17 transformers in 19 minutes, the Los Angeles Times reports. Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time, warns that the attack was well-planned and carried out by people who knew what they were doing—and similar attacks on the nation's poorly protected power infrastructure could cause huge blackouts across the country, reports the Wall Street Journal. Grid operators had to scramble to avoid a blackout after the San Jose attack, which Wellinghoff suspects was a trial run. The FBI, however, says it doesn't believe the attack was terrorism—though it hasn't been ruled out as a motive.

The UK Government is warning gay people about travelling to parts of the US after two states introduced anti-gay laws. The Foreign Office ;issued the new advice for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in the wake of new legislation in North Carolina and Mississippi. Previously, the Foreign Office had only issued general advice for LGBT people to "take care abroad", but lacked specific information about the US. It follows the introduction last month of new legislation passed in North Carlina that allows businesses to “turn away” LGBT people on religious grounds. The state's bathroom law, which has been described as "anti-trans", says people must use the public toilet designated for the biological sex they were born with, rather than the gender they identify with. Virginia and Tenneesee have recently overturned a similar law. In Mississippi, critics have branded a bill passed three weeks ago that allows people to deny services to gay couples on religious grounds the most sweeping anti-LGBT legislation in the US. Supporters have said it will protect religious freedom, but others have condemned it as a free pass to discrimination. It is scheduled to become law on 1 July. The new Foreign Office advice states: “The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country. Laws vary from state to state. When you are physically present in a state, even temporarily, you are subject to that state’s laws. You must carry a passport showing that you have leave to enter or remain with you at all times. “LGBT travellers may be affected by legislations passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi.” “Before travelling please read our general travel advice for the LGBT community. "You can find more detail on LGBT issues in the US on the wesbite of the Human Rights Campaign." I have signed House Bill 1523. Full statement: pic.twitter.com/00DbgQADFt — Phil Bryant (@PhilBryantMS) April 5, 2016 The bill in North Carolina, known as House Bill 1523, also protects people who do not recognise the gender identity of transgender people. Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Ringo Starr have all cancelled concerts in North Carolina over the bill in that state, while Bryan Adams has done the same in Mississippi. People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights 10 show all People who made 2015 a landmark year for LGBT rights 1/10 Caitlyn Jenner 2/10 Miley Cyrus Getty 3/10 Kristen Stewart 4/10 Cara Delevingne 5/10 Keegan Hirst 6/10 Ruby Rose 7/10 St Vincent (who's in a relationship with Cara Delevingne) 8/10 Annie Lennox 9/10 Ellen Page 10/10 Justice Anthony Kennedy Dr Felicity Daly, director of the LGBT Kaleidoscope Trust said: “It is heartening the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is becoming more LGBT responsive in their work, it’s a good sign as it is an important issue in the UK, but most people who identify as LGBT in the UK will already be aware of the nature of certain states.” Matt Horwood of Stonewall charity said: “What’s happened in Mississippi and North Carolina proves that equality is never secure. "It’s positive to see the UK government recognise this need and update its travel advice pages accordingly." The Foreign Office's advice comes on the eve of US president Barack Obama’s visit to the UK. ||||| Laws vary from state to state. When you are physically present in a state, even temporarily, you are subject to that state’s laws. You must carry a passport showing that you have leave to enter or remain with you at all times. The US is an extremely diverse society and attitudes towards lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people differ hugely across the country. Before travelling please read our general travel advice for the LGBT community. You can find more detail on LGBT issues in the US on the website of the Human Rights Campaign. Possession or trafficking of a controlled substance in the United States can carry a severe prison sentence and/or fine. Check with each state you are intending to visit to make sure you comply with the personal possession and consumption laws of controlled substances within those states. A list of all types of controlled substances, as listed under the Controlled Substances Act, can be found on the US Department of Justice website. Details of the assistance offered by the British Embassy and Consulates to British nationals if arrested or detained in the USA is available on GOV.UK. ||||| .@HRC thanks our members and supporters who volunteered in their communities for #MLKDay of Service. 👏🏾👏🏼… https://t.co/6FH1z5YX1S... See Post @HRC 3 hours ago ||||| US president expected to warn that leaving the European Union would jeopardise special relationship with US Barack Obama is due to arrive in London on Thursday to enter the debate about Britain’s future in Europe, amid fresh warnings that leaving the European Union would jeopardise the special relationship with the United States. The US president and his wife Michelle will attend a celebratory lunch on Friday to mark the 90th birthday of the Queen, with whom they are said to enjoy a warm rapport, but the president is also expected to add his voice to those calling for Britain to remain in the EU. With polling suggesting the referendum result will be close, Downing Street has called on the support of a string of global policymakers, from the International Monetary Fund director general, Christine Lagarde, to New Zealand’s prime minister, John Key, to add weight to the remain case. But David Cameron and his allies hope Obama’s star quality will help to win over waverers. The prime minister told the House of Commons on Wednesday that while, “this decision is a decision for the British people and the British people alone... personally I believe we should listen to advice and I struggle to find the leader of any friendly country who thinks we should leave”. Nick Clegg, the former Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister, on a visit to the US, said that leaving the EU would plunge Britain into a “new era of isolation”. Speaking at Princeton University, Clegg said: “Those campaigning for us to leave the European Union like to evoke a sentimental, nostalgic vision of Britannia, proud and independent, ruling the waves once again. But the truth is leaving cannot return us to a halcyon age – if such an age ever existed – and may even mean sacrificing the United Kingdom itself.” Pro-Brexit campaigners sometimes suggest Britain could strengthen transatlantic ties if its connection to the EU was severed, but Clegg insisted the two relationships were mutually reinforcing. “If we choose to remain, we will be voting for Britain’s continued leadership position in world affairs; for continued influence in Washington as much as in Brussels or Berlin; and for our reputation as a proud, outward-looking, internationalist power,” he said. Vote Leave chief executive Matthew Elliott hit back at the former deputy prime minister, saying: “Nick Clegg lied about tuition fees to get himself into government six years ago. He promised a referendum but then backtracked on it. He used to warn we’d disappear off the map if we didn’t join the euro. “Now he’s telling us it would be a disaster if we vote leave, along with his backers at Goldman Sachs. Voters will be in no mood to be lectured by a politician with more broken promises than there are Lib Dem MPs left in parliament.” But Clegg’s view was supported by Peter Westmacott, Britain’s ambassador to Washington until January, who writes in the Guardian that, “in America we are seen as more of a force for good, and a more potent ally, inside the EU than outside.” Barack Obama has a right to be heard on Europe. And Britain should listen | Peter Westmacott Read more He adds: “During my time in the US I have found no takers for the fantasy that we can somehow leave Europe and rejoin the world as America’s, or the old Commonwealth’s, best friend and ally.” Westmacott’s words echoed those of eight former US Treasury secretaries, who served presidents from Richard Nixon onwards, who wrote a letter to Wednesday’s Times warning that the special relationship would be under threat. Bill Clinton’s Treasury secretary Larry Summers said Brexit would be “most isolationist deed in the last century”. Obama’s arrival as the referendum campaign is in full swing will be controversial, with former work and pensions secretary Iain Duncan Smith claiming earlier this week that he was only coming, “because the prime minister has gone on bended knee to him and said, ‘come over and help us bully the British people into making a decision’”. Cameron faces a tough task in reunifying his party once the referendum is over, with almost every day bringing one cabinet minister rubbishing the claims of the opposing camp. Michael Gove, the pro-Brexit justice secretary, used a speech on Tuesday to argue that warnings about the dire consequences of a vote to leave were, “a great, grotesque, patronising and preposterous Peter Mandelsonian conceit”. It is also ironic as the US president is said to have advised Cameron against holding a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU according to David Laws, the former Liberal Democrat cabinet minister and author of a new history of the coalition. Laws said that Cameron told Clegg that he knew he was taking a risk with the referendum but was only staging one in order to keep Ukip at bay and retain party unity. Laws reveals that Clegg formed an alliance with the Americans, including the then US ambassador to London, Louis Susman, to try to persuade Cameron that his increasingly Eurosceptic stance was a profound strategic mistake based on short-term party management. Clegg advised Susman to persuade Obama to tell Cameron directly he was making a mistake, Laws claims. The ambassador told Clegg the US administration was worried that “you guys may soon not count in Europe any more”. In particular, Laws says Susman expressed his concerns that “David Cameron was not being listened to on Europe, and that the UK was no longer acting as a bridge to Europe for America”. Hilary Benn, the shadow foreign secretary, said: “The USA is a really important ally and one of our most important strategic and economic partners, so we should take what President Obama has to say seriously. The reason why the leave campaign are trying to attack him is because they fear what he might say about the UK’s place in the EU. The fact that there isn’t a single country wanting us to leave, apart probably from Russia, says a lot about the importance of membership to our future.” But some leftwing campaigners associate the White House with the controversial Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, known as TTIP, currently being negotiated with the EU, which they fear will strengthen the power of multinational corporations. Nick Dearden, of pressure group Global Justice Now, said: “There’s a huge contradiction in Obama coming to the UK to support the remain campaign, and Obama coming to Europe to promote TTIP, the toxic trade deal between the EU and the US. This massive corporate power grab being cooked up in Brussels is emblematic of what is wrong with Europe and is a big motivation for people to vote leave in June.” Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn had hoped to meet the US president, but his team said on Wednesday evening no firm arrangement had yet been made. • This article was amended on 22 April 2016. An earlier version quoted Nick Dearden describing TTIP as “the toxic trade deal between the EU and the UK”. That was how the quote was supplied to us by Global Justice Now, but the organisation has since made clear that it should have said “the toxic trade deal between the EU and the US”.

– The rest of the world is taking notice of recent laws passed in the US, specifically new anti-gay measures implemented in North Carolina and Mississippi. And in the UK, citizens are actually being warned to stay vigilant while traveling across the pond. Per the Independent, Britain's Foreign Office has issued an advisory, noting in its "Local Laws and Customs" section on the USA that LGBT visitors to America could face some issues. After noting that "attitudes towards LGBT people differ hugely across the country," it warns that travelers "may be affected by legislation passed recently in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi." It then dispenses some advice on staying safe. Specific suggestions include avoiding "excessive physical shows of affection" in public and remaining "wary of new-found 'friends'—criminals sometimes exploit the generally open and relaxed nature of the gay scene." The message also directs readers to the Human Rights Campaign website for further info. "It is both frightening and embarrassing that one of our nation's staunchest allies has warned its citizens of the risks of traveling to North Carolina and Mississippi because of anti-LGBT laws passed by their elected officials," says HRC Global Director Ty Cobb. The advisory was issued right before President Obama's scheduled arrival in London Thursday to voice his misgivings at the idea of Britain defecting from the EU, per the Guardian. (One state that recently bucked the "religious liberty" trend: Georgia.)

North Korea's top diplomat said the country might test a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean in response to President Donald Trump's threat to ‘totally destroy’ North Korea. Photo: AP SEOUL—North Korea’s foreign minister said the country could detonate a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean in response to President Donald Trump’s speech before the United Nations that warned the U.S. would annihilate North Korea if forced to defend itself or its allies. The threat, made in remarks by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho in New York, would mark a dramatic escalation in action from Pyongyang, which in the past month has already launched two intermediate-range ballistic missiles over Japan and tested what... ||||| SEOUL/TOKYO (Reuters) - Detonating a nuclear-tipped missile over the Pacific Ocean would be a logical final step by North Korea to prove the success of its weapons program but would be extremely provocative and carry huge risks, arms control experts said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches the launch of a Hwasong-12 missile in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on September 16, 2017. KCNA via REUTERS North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho suggested leader Kim Jong Un was considering testing “an unprecedented scale hydrogen bomb” over the Pacific in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat at the United Nations to “totally destroy” the country. “It may mean North Korea will fire a warhead-tipped (intermediate range) Hwasong-12 or Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile and blow it up a few hundred kilometers above the Pacific Ocean,” said Yang Uk, a senior researcher at the Korea Defence and Security Forum in Seoul. “They may be bluffing, but there is a need for them to test their combined missile-bomb capability. They could have already prepared the plan and are now trying to use Trump’s remarks as an excuse to make it happen,” said Yang. Such an atmospheric test would be the first globally since China detonated a device in 1980, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Tests of nuclear-tipped ballistic missiles are rarer still. The United States’ only test of an operational ballistic missile with a live warhead was fired from submarine far out in the Pacific Ocean in 1962. China was widely condemned for a similar test with a missile that exploded over its Lop Nur test site in the country’s west in 1966. North Korea’s six nuclear tests to date have all been underground, the most recent earlier this month by far its largest. “We have to assume they *could* do it, but it is exceedingly provocative,” said Vipin Narang, an associate professor of political science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “To put a live nuclear warhead on a missile that’s only been tested a handful of times, overflying potentially populated centers. If it...doesn’t go exactly as planned....it could be a world changing event.” North Korea has fired two ballistic missiles over Japan’s north Hokkaido region in the past month as part of a series of tests that experts say have illustrated unexpectedly rapid advances. “They said Pacific Ocean, which pretty much means firing a missile over Japan,” said Melissa Hanham, a senior research associate at the U.S.-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, California. “They want to shut us all up for doubting they could build it.” SERIOUS FALLOUT While a missile would be the most ideal means of delivery, it is also possible to put a bomb on a ship and detonate on the surface of the ocean or in the sea, the experts said. Either way, the radioactive fallout could be significant, as well as the diplomatic backlash from around the world. North Korea’s recent missile launches over Japan especially drew stern rebukes from Tokyo and the international community. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga called Pyongyang’s remarks and behavior “completely unacceptable”. Narang said a test high enough over the ocean would limit the radioactive fallout but risks included damage from an electro-magnetic pulse, something Pyongyang has hinted it might employ on an attack on the United States or its allies. “If it doesn’t go exactly as planned and the detonation occurs at a lower altitude we could see some EMP-like effects for anything in the area. A lot of dead fish too.” Pyongyang has launched dozens of missiles this year as it spurs a program aimed at mastering a nuclear-tipped missile that can strike the United States, in addition to its Sept 3 nuclear test. If Kim’s threat materializes, it will be a “tipping point” for China, and may prompt many other countries to demand an “end to the regime,” said David Albright, founder of the non-profit Institute for Science and International Security in Washington. “No one has tested above ground for decades and the radioactive fallout could be terrifying to many,” Albright said. Other experts said such an atmospheric nuclear test is unlikely for now due to its substantial technical and diplomatic risks. Joshua Pollack, editor of the Washington-based Nonproliferation Review, said it would be an “end-to-end demo of everything.” “But I would be surprised if this were their very next move. They have yet to test an ICBM at full range into the Pacific,” said Pollack. “That will probably come first.”

– Tensions between the US and North Korea continue to escalate. First the leader of the former threatened to wipe out the latter. Then Kim Jong Un followed up by calling Trump a "mentally deranged US dotard," and Trump capped that off with a new warning Friday, tweeting that Kim "will be tested like never before!" But the North this week also suggested a move that goes beyond words—and could lead to a "lot of dead fish": detonating a nuclear bomb a few hundred miles over the Pacific Ocean, per Reuters. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho dropped hints on a South Korean news channel (his own apparent musings, not official word from Kim) that the North may conduct "a historic aboveground test of a hydrogen bomb over the Pacific Ocean," per the Wall Street Journal. Yang Uk, a Korea Defense and Security Forum researcher, tells Reuters that North Korea "may be bluffing"—or seeking an excuse, like Trump's words, for a test. The last time a nation experimented with an atmospheric detonation was in 1980, when China did so. MIT professor Vipin Narang says such a move would be "provocative" and, if anything goes awry, a possibly "world-changing event." Radioactive fallout would be a danger—though Narang says it may not be so bad if the detonation took place high enough—as would the effects of electromagnetic pulses. A US missile analyst tells the Journal North Korea could also pack a hydrogen bomb on a ship and set it off in the sea. (Here's what "dotard" means.)

Darrow Montgomery Recent comments by an up-and-coming District pol have some observers asking: What was he thinking? Last Friday morning, as light snow fell on D.C., Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White posted a video on his personal Facebook page in which he promoted a conspiracy theory that accuses a prominent Jewish family of manipulating the climate. White, 33, was driving on a District highway while recording the video. “Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man," he said. "Y’all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation. And D.C. keep talking about, ‘We a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful.” The very affluent family has long been the target of conspiracies. It is unclear what White, currently the youngest representative on the 13-member D.C. Council, meant by "climate control," or where he picked up this narrative. But as the Washington Post, which was the first to report the video, points out, fringe Internet users have falsely linked the Rothschilds to weather changes. Established by another dynastic family, the Rockefeller Foundation runs an initiative called 100 Resilient Cities to help cities adapt to major challenges. Conspiracies have also centered around the Rockefellers. White has reportedly mused aloud about supposed connections between the Rothschilds and climate change before. At a February working breakfast between the D.C. Council and Mayor Muriel Bowser, he asked the Bowser administration about links between the Rothschilds, the Rockefellers, the World Bank, and D.C.'s recently created Office of Resilience, according to a District official who was present. Following the Post story and fierce criticism on Twitter, White removed the video from his Facebook page on Sunday evening and issued a written apology on social media. He texted a version of it to City Paper: In response to my social media post on Friday, as I leader I work hard everyday to combat racism and prejudices of all kinds. I want to apologize to the Jewish Community and anyone I have offended. The Jewish community have been allies with me in my journey to help people. I did not intend to be Anti-Semitic, and I see I should not have said that after learning from my colleagues. I have spoke to leaders and my friends at Jews United for Justice and they are helping me to understand the history of comments made against Jews and I am committed to figuring out ways to continue to be allies with them and others. He did not answer specific questions about what he meant by his comments in the video and where he had heard about the Rothschilds controlling the climate. "I have to be the example," he added on Twitter. A former state education board member, White represents the District's poorest ward—once the base of Marion Barry, his mentor. He was elected in 2016 after losing a 2015 special election to fill Barry's seat. He has distinguished himself as a loyal Ward 8 advocate. Jews United for Justice, a progressive advocacy group based in D.C., wrote in a tweet that it spoke with White "about how his comments played into the long history of antisemitism." "We look forward to working with him toward deeper understanding of antisemitism and toward our collective liberation," JUFJ wrote. Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau said in a statement that she also spoke with White, who'd reached out to her. "He reiterated, 'that's not who I am, and that's not what I'm about,'" Nadeau said in a post on her official Facebook page. "I believe he is being truthful when he says he didn't realize what his statement implied." She chairs the human services committee, on which White sits. "That said," Nadeau continued, "as a Jewish leader I know how scary these times are, with anti-semitism and white supremacy on the rise across our country, stoked by the hateful words and actions of our own President. It's all the more important that our leaders across the country focus on eradicating hate and bigotry in all forms, and not make them worse, purposefully or unwittingly." The Anti-Defamation League found that Anti-Semitic incidents in the United States rose 57 percent from 2016 to 2017—to about 2,000. In D.C., reported hate crimes increased from 2015 to 2016, to more than 100, with a significant jump in those motivated by religious bias. On Tuesday, At-Large Councilmember Elissa Silverman, who is also Jewish, said she discussed White's comments with him. Calling his remarks "disturbing," she said in a statement that she told White she was concerned both that "he had been exposed to anti-Semitic beliefs akin to what had been used in Nazi Germany either through materials he had read or people he trusts" and that "he subscribed to a conspiracy theory." "We both agreed that hate speech of any kind has no place at the D.C. Council or in our city," Silverman said. "I believe that Trayon is remorseful about what he said, and I believe he is taking steps to understand why these comments were so offensive—not only to Jewish residents but to all who want an inclusive, welcoming city." White has 5,000 friends on Facebook, the maximum number that the social network allows per account. This post has been updated with comment from Silverman. ||||| A D.C. lawmaker responded to a brief snowfall Friday by publishing a video in which he espoused a conspiracy theory that Jewish financiers control the weather. D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) posted the video to his official Facebook page at 7:21 a.m. as snow flurries were hitting the nation’s capital. The video, shot through the windshield of a car driving west on Interstate 695 through downtown Washington, shows snowy skies while White narrates. “Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man. Y’all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation,” he says. “And D.C. keep talking about, ‘We a resilient city.’ And that’s a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful.” The Rothschilds are a famous European business dynasty descended from Mayer Amschel Rothschild, an 18th-century Jewish banker who lived in what is today Frankfurt, Germany. The family has repeatedly been subject over the years to anti-Semitic conspiracy theories alleging that they and other Jews clandestinely manipulate world events for their advantage. [The Rothschilds, a pamphlet by ‘Satan’ and conspiracy theories tied to a battle 200 years ago] Rabbi Daniel Zemel of Temple Micah in Northwest Washington denounced White’s remarks, saying they contribute to a growing mood of intolerance in the United States. “This kind of anti-Semitism is unacceptable in any public official. This so diminishes what America is about and adds to the oppressive feeling going on in the country right now,” Zemel said. “We all have to be better. Public officials have to learn not to say the first ignorant thing that comes into their head.” The Anti-Defamation League reported last month that ­anti-Semitic incidents in the District more than doubled in 2017, compared with 2015. That follows a similar escalation nationwide. White did not return calls for comment. In a series of text messages, he confirmed the voice in the video is his but expressed surprise that his remarks might be construed as anti-Semitic. Asked to clarify what he meant, he wrote, “The video says what it says.” However, about four hours after The Washington Post published this story online Sunday, White sent a statement of apology via text message. “I work hard everyday to combat racism and prejudices of all kinds. I want to apologize to the Jewish Community and anyone I have offended,” he said. “The Jewish community have been allies with me in my journey to help people. I did not intend to be anti-Semitic, and I see I should not have said that after learning from my colleagues.” White said his “friends” at Jews United for Justice, a group that advocates for progressive causes and endorsed him in 2016, were “helping me to understand the history of comments made against Jews and I am committed to figuring out ways continue to be allies with them and others.” D.C. Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1), who is Jewish, released a statement Sunday night saying White had apologized and “expressed his sincere regret . . . for having offended members of the Jewish community.” She added: “It is my sincere hope that my colleague has learned from this experience, and that together we can serve the diverse people of the District of Columbia with a focus on lifting each other up, rather than tearing one another down.” White’s video statements appear to echo beliefs, found lurking in corners of the Internet, that the Rockefeller Foundation’s Resilient Cities initiative — which provides grants to cities, including the District, to address environmental and economic problems — is actually part of a secret scheme to control and reduce the population of North America. [What are resilient cities?] Some conspiracy theorists also think the Rothschilds, acting in conjunction with the Rockefeller family, have technology to manipulate the weather — for example, by causing freak storms that wreak havoc on people, farms and livestock. In a video posted to YouTube this year titled “Kill Cities — Designed by Rothschild and Rockefeller: Resilient Cities Are Human Death Zones,” Internet commentator Deborah Tavares — a Northern California resident who argues, among other things, that climate change and wireless electricity meters are tools in a plot of global domination — calls the Resilient Cities program a “diabolical” effort to manipulate people. “This a genocide program,” she says. “We are being moved now into what they call ‘resilient cities.’ And it’s important to get this word out, start looking it up: Resilient cities. Understand what this is: This is a plan brought in by Rothschild and Rockefeller.” She adds, “We’re being categorized as lunatics, but we know that the weather is massively and completely, artificially controlled.” Conspiracy theories alleging nefarious plots by elites such as the Rothschilds and Rockefellers — as well as other boogeymen such as the illuminati and Freemasons — have increasingly bobbed to the surface of American politics in recent years. The Republican Party’s 2012 platform embraced what had previously been fringe fears of a 1992 United Nations environmental accord known as Agenda 21, stating that it was “erosive of American sovereignty.” Assertions that the pact was cover for a global plot had become popular among tea party groups battling local, state and federal environmental regulations. Speculation that high-ranking Democratic Party officials, including former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, were involved in a child sex-trafficking ring run out of a D.C. restaurant led to the infamous “Pizzagate” episode in December 2016. A North Carolina man showed up with a Colt AR-15 military-style rifle and a .38-caliber Colt revolver at Comet Ping Pong, a pizza joint in Northwest Washington, saying he planned to investigate the allegations. [Pizzagate, from hashtag to gunfire] He fired multiple shots inside the restaurant before police arrested him. No one was harmed.

– A DC council member is apologizing after he pushed a conspiracy theory that a wealthy Jewish family controlled the weather. In a story first reported by the Washington Post, Trayon White posted a video to Facebook Friday with the following narration: "Man, it just started snowing out of nowhere this morning, man. Y'all better pay attention to this climate control, man, this climate manipulation. And DC keep talking about, 'We a resilient city.' And that's a model based off the Rothschilds controlling the climate to create natural disasters they can pay for to own the cities, man. Be careful." The criticism began quickly, and White eventually offered a mea culpa: "I work hard everyday to combat racism and prejudices of all kinds," said the African-American lawmaker, before apologizing "to the Jewish community" and adding, "I did not intend to be anti-Semitic." The Washington City Paper describes the 33-year-old as an "up-and-coming District pol" but says observers were wondering, "What was he thinking?" White declined to comment on the source of his original comments, but the Post notes that the Rothschilds "are a famous European business dynasty" and the subject of numerous conspiracy theories in the nether regions of the internet. The "resilient city" remark apparently refers to an initiative by another prominent family, the Rockefellers, about which similar conspiracy theories abound. Fellow council member Brianne Nadeau, who's Jewish, took note of White's apology and sounded forgiving about the mess: "It is my sincere hope that my colleague has learned from this experience."

Marilyn Hagerty, a food critic famous for her earnest review of Olive Garden, is back with another honest take on a household name -- McDonald's. Touted as a critic almost everyone can relate to, the nearly-90-year-old Hagerty has reviewed restaurants for the Grand Forks Herald in North Dakota for nearly 30 years, and worked at the paper itself for almost 60 years. Hagerty writes a lot about American dining, and has written about Olive Garden, Applebees, Taco Bell and Buffalo Wild Wings, just to name a few. In her latest post, Hagerty visits four of her local McDonald's to take on the fast food giant... and she doesn't hold back. Here are a few of her most notable quotes: On Big Macs: "My visit to the McDonald's near Columbia Mall is where I enjoyed my secret sin -- a big Mac for $4.39. Something I do once every couple of years. But they help to fill up active, working people. They almost overwhelm lethargic people like me." On coffee: "The coffee, which is McDonald's brand, was strong and not too hot." On lattes and latte machines not working: "The lattes cost less than those I enjoy at Starbucks. But they are worthy. The only problem is occasionally, one of the restaurants will tell you their machine is not working. 'Not working?'' I think. I almost foam at the mouth in disgust, but I try to be pleasant." On soda for breakfast: "On a recent day with the noon temperature at zero the day before, the nuggets were free. I watched three young people carefully order the sandwich and free nuggets. And it's hard to believe, but they also had cola drinks for breakfast." On the idea of sausage egg McMuffins: "And with it I had a sausage egg McMuffin. That was $2.99 and a whopping 370 calories. You know you have eaten, and I like the combination." Though we can't quite tell if Hagerty likes or dislikes McDonald's, she gives an incredibly accurate picture of what McDonald's is like during the day -- fun, fairly busy and a neat place to observe the community. HuffPost Taste reached out to Lisa McComb, Director of McDonald’s Media Relations, who was thrilled with Hagerty's review: "We are honored Marilyn took the time to objectively review all the McDonald’s in Grand Forks, in a way only she can. We thank Marilyn for highlighting what we’ve known for years -- our hometown McDonald’s play an important role in the community. And, hey Marilyn, we’re working on fixing that latte machine." Want to read more from HuffPost Taste? Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and Tumblr. ||||| In the past couple weeks, I have visited all four McDonald's restaurants in Greater Grand Forks. My first visit was to McDonald's on S. Washington Street, where I ordered a senior coffee for 47 cents one morning. And with it I had a sausage egg McMuffin. That was $2.99 and a whopping 370 calories. You know you have eaten, and I like the combination. The coffee, which is McDonald's brand, was strong and not too hot. This is one of the several places around the Forks where coffee drinkers gather to exchange the news of the day. They start clearing out mid-morning. Then people with small children trickle in to use the only McDonald's playground left around here. The weather was biting cold on another day. I decided to go into the McDonald's near Columbia Mall -- a busy place where the line at the drive-up window often is longer than the smattering of people inside. Still, this place is open all night so that customers can drift in before going to bed. My trail through the McDonald's restaurants took me to East Grand Forks, where I ordered a medium-sized low-fat latte. I got quick service and paid $3.18. I collect the little cards that come on the lattes in order to get a free one after the fifth purchase. The lattes cost less than those I enjoy at Starbucks. But they are worthy. The only problem is occasionally, one of the restaurants will tell you their machine is not working. "Not working?'' I think. I almost foam at the mouth in disgust, but I try to be pleasant. My visit to the McDonald's near Columbia Mall is where I enjoyed my secret sin -- a big Mac for $4.39. Something I do once every couple of years. But they help to fill up active, working people. They almost overwhelm lethargic people like me. With her husband, Mike, Cindy O'Keefe owns and operates the McDonald's restaurants near Columbia Mall and in East Grand Forks and Crookston. Over the years, she has seen the menu go more upscale with frappes and more healthful with salads. Instead of the fries that used to be standard for children, there is a choice of apple slices, little oranges and yogurt. And there is fun. This month, McDonalds has a promotion where customers can get an order of nuggets for the price of the temperature here at noon on the day before. That is, if they buy a sandwich. On a recent day with the noon temperature at zero the day before, the nuggets were free. I watched three young people carefully order the sandwich and free nuggets. And it's hard to believe, but they also had cola drinks for breakfast. Nearby, I watched a workman come in and enjoy the same for a mid-morning meal. This was at the fourth McDonald's, located on Gateway Drive. It is owned by Mike's brother, Bill O'Keefe, who also owns the restaurants on South Washington and in Thief River Falls. It is the newest and perhaps most attractive McDonald's here. It seems spacious with a variety of seating arrangements that provide pseudo privacy. This is a friendly place in the morning with people trickling in and out. There are newspapers around. And like all McDonald's restaurants, the place is wired for computers. Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's restaurant in California 50 years ago. The late John O'Keefe brought McDonald's to Grand Forks. There are now 35,000 McDonalds in 100 countries. McDonald's 1125 S. Washington St. Grand Forks 2910 32nd Avenue S. Grand Forks 4340 Gateway Dr. Grand Forks 1212 Central Ave. NE East Grand Forks Eatbeat Report Card: Eating out in Grand Forks ranges from McDonald's to the country club, which is open through March to the public (with a review coming next week). Four different McDonald's restaurants are a draw with versatile menus, fairly low prices and ongoing promotions. ||||| Marilyn Hagerty, the Grand Forks, North Dakota writer who rose to national prominence by writing an earnest review for her local Olive Garden, has finally conquered the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 of food critique: McDonald's. Advertisement Hagerty approached reviewing all four Grand Forks-area McDonald's with her trademark no-nonsense Midwestern brevity, a beautiful simplicity that weaves her pieces on The Eatbeat into something more than a simple food review. Like these two paragraphs: My first visit was to McDonald's on S. Washington Street, where I ordered a senior coffee for 47 cents one morning. And with it I had a sausage egg McMuffin. That was $2.99 and a whopping 370 calories. You know you have eaten, and I like the combination. The coffee, which is McDonald's brand, was strong and not too hot. This is one of the several places around the Forks where coffee drinkers gather to exchange the news of the day. They start clearing out mid-morning. Then people with small children trickle in to use the only McDonald's playground left around here. You know you have eaten. What a food review. Advertisement When Hagerty reviewed McDonald's lowfat latte, her resolute calm veneer showed signs of cracking: My trail through the McDonald's restaurants took me to East Grand Forks, where I ordered a medium-sized low-fat latte. I got quick service and paid $3.18. I collect the little cards that come on the lattes in order to get a free one after the fifth purchase. The lattes cost less than those I enjoy at Starbucks. But they are worthy. The only problem is occasionally, one of the restaurants will tell you their machine is not working. "Not working?'' I think. I almost foam at the mouth in disgust, but I try to be pleasant. Aren't we all just Marilyn Hagertys at the broken espresso machine of life, trying to be pleasant while our steamed milk dreams are crushed before our eyes? Hagerty made her way to the fourth and final McDonald's and noted its suitability for reading newspapers, or, perhaps using computers. Sponsored This is a friendly place in the morning with people trickling in and out. There are newspapers around. And like all McDonald's restaurants, the place is wired for computers. Please adopt me, Marilyn Hagerty. Advertisement Advertisement

– An 88-year-old woman in Grand Forks, North Dakota, seems to have cemented herself as America's favorite food critic with her latest no-nonsense assessment—of McDonald's. (She likes it.) Marilyn Hagerty first became Internet famous in 2012 after writing a review of her local Olive Garden, and reviewers of her reviews seem to have settled on one word to describe them: "earnest." See People, the Huffington Post, and Jezebel, the latter of which adoringly calls Hagerty an "American Hero Food Critic" in its headline. Some samples from the review in the Grand Forks Herald of her visits to four local McDonald's: "My first visit was to McDonald's on S. Washington Street, where I ordered a senior coffee for 47 cents one morning. And with it I had a sausage egg McMuffin. That was $2.99 and a whopping 370 calories. You know you have eaten, and I like the combination. The coffee, which is McDonald's brand, was strong and not too hot." "The lattes cost less than those I enjoy at Starbucks. But they are worthy. The only problem is occasionally, one of the restaurants will tell you their machine is not working. 'Not working?' I think. I almost foam at the mouth in disgust, but I try to be pleasant." "My visit to the McDonald's near Columbia Mall is where I enjoyed my secret sin—a big Mac for $4.39. Something I do once every couple of years. But they help to fill up active, working people. They almost overwhelm lethargic people like me."

A man accused of removing another man's testicle during a meeting in a Port Macquarie motel room has pleaded guilty to a string of charges. Allan George Matthews, 57, appeared in Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday morning for the first time since his arrest in Glen Innes, last month. SHARE Share on Facebook SHARE Share on Twitter TWEET Link A man has pleaded guilty after 'unauthorised' surgery to remove another's testicle. During the proceedings, Matthews' solicitor Douglas Hannaway entered pleas of guilty to removing tissue from the body of another without consent or authority. He has pleaded not guilty to the more serious charge of reckless grievous bodily harm. Magistrate Dominique Burns ordered police to compile a brief of evidence by next month and serve it on Matthews' defence before it returns to court in mid-August. The charges stem from an incident in a motel room in Port Macquarie on May 16. Advertisement Police allege Matthews met a 52-year-old man and surgically removed his left testicle. It is the crown's case that Matthews is not qualified or authorised to perform such a procedure, and is not a qualified or registered medical practitioner. The 52-year-old alleged victim attended the motel room after posting an advertisement online requesting assistance with a medical issue, police claim. After the alleged incident, the man then attended hospital a week later to repair the wound he suffered to his testicle. The hospital visit triggered an investigation by Mid North Coast police who raided Matthews' home in Glen Innes on June 23. They seized medical equipment, electronic equipment, seven firearms and four bottles of what they suspected to be amyl nitrate. In court, Matthews pleaded guilty to not keeping a pistol safely, possessing an unauthorised firearm, not keeping a firearm safely, and two counts of possessing or attempting to prescribe restricted substance. According to court documents, the 57-year-old did not enter a plea to the charge of causing grievous bodily harm. Matthews remains on conditional bail. The Port News ||||| AAP A DIY “doctor” accused of slicing off a man’s testicle in a NSW motel room has pleaded guilty to a charge of illicitly removing another person’s bodily tissue. Police say Allan George Matthews, 56, responded to an online advertisement posted in May by a 52-year-old man requesting help with a medical issue. The two men then met at a motel in Port Macquarie, on the state’s mid-north coast, where the younger man’s left testicle was allegedly surgically removed by Matthews, who police say was not a qualified doctor. A week later, the younger man showed up at hospital seeking help with a wound he had sustained during the illicit operation. Matthews faced Port Macquarie Local Court on Wednesday and entered a guilty plea to a charge of removing tissue from the body of another person without proper consent or authority. He has also admitted charges of possessing a prescribed restricted substance, unauthorised possession of a firearm and failure to keep a firearm safely, but will fight a charge of reckless grievous bodily harm, according to court records. He is yet to enter a plea to the charge of causing grie`vous bodily harm with intent. Matthews will remain on bail until his case returns to court on August 18. ||||| Image caption A man has admitted removing another man's testicle during an "unauthorised" surgery An amateur surgeon in Australia has pleaded guilty to removing the left testicle of a man who could not afford professional medical treatment. Allan George Matthews, 56, admitted to "removing tissue" from the man "without consent or authority" at a motel in Port Macquarie, north of Sydney. Police said the 52-year-old victim posted an online ad "requesting assistance with a medical issue". He had been suffering for years after being kicked in the groin by a horse. Police became aware of the case in June when the man attended hospital after the wound he suffered during the operation became infected. Officers raided Matthews' home and seized medical equipment, firearms and four bottles of what they suspected to be amyl nitrate. Prosecutors alleged that Matthews was not authorised to perform such a procedure as he was not a qualified or registered medical practitioner. He also pleaded guilty in court this week to illegally possessing a gun and two counts of possessing or attempting to prescribe a restricted substance.

– What are the three most horrifying words in the English language? Wrong. The correct answer is "amateur testicle surgery." The BBC reports 56-year-old Allan Matthews pleaded guilty Wednesday to removing another man's left testicle at an Australian motel despite not being qualified to practice medicine. The unsanctioned surgery took place in May after a 52-year-old man posted an ad online seeking help for a medical issue, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The man was apparently still suffering after being kicked in the groin by a horse years earlier but couldn't afford an actual doctor. A week after Matthews allegedly removed the man's testicle, infection set in. The man went to the hospital, and the police launched an investigation. Authorities say a raid of Matthews' home last month turned up medical equipment, seven guns, and four bottles of what may be amyl nitrate. In addition to performing surgery without being a doctor, Matthews also pleaded guilty to gun and drug charges. He did not plead guilty to inflicting "reckless grievous bodily harm." AAP reports Matthews is out on bail until another hearing next month. (An Oregon man claimed surgery left him with an 80-pound scrotum.)

The fundamental fact of football, Bob Costas says, is that it “destroys people’s brains.” (Photo by Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images) Sportscaster Bob Costas joined former Washington Post columnists Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon and USA Today columnist Christine Brennan at the University of Maryland’s 12th Shirley Povich Symposium on Tuesday for a discussion about the biggest changes in sports since Costas was a guest at the first symposium in 2003. During the course of the evening, Costas and his fellow panelists all touched on something that would’ve been difficult to imagine 14 years ago: a future without football. “There are issues, including, although it’s a serious issue, the protests going on now in the NFL,” Costas said. “Those issues come and go. The issue that is most substantial — the existential issue — is the nature of football itself. … The nature of football is this: Unless and until there is some technology which we cannot even imagine, let alone has been developed, that would make this inherently dangerous game not marginally safer, but acceptably safe, the cracks in the foundation are there. The day-to-day issues, serious as they may be, they may come and go. But you cannot change the basic nature of the game. I certainly would not let, if I had an athletically gifted 12- or 13-year-old son, I would not let him play football.” Costas, who recalled his father taking him to the 1962 NFL championship game at Yankee Stadium, rejected those who are quick to dismiss football’s concussion crisis as part of a “left-wing conspiracy to undermine something that is quintessentially American.” “The truth is the truth,” Costas said, referencing the memoir “Truth Doesn’t Have a Side” by Bennet Omalu, the researcher credited with discovering chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in the brain of Steelers Hall of Fame center Mike Webster in 2002. “Some of the best people I’ve met in sports have been football people, but the reality is that this game destroys people’s brains. … That’s the fundamental fact of football, and that to me is the biggest story in American sports.” Kornheiser suggested that football will eventually go the way of horse racing and boxing, two other sports that were once wildly popular. “It’s not going to happen this year, and it’s not going to happen in five years or 10 years, but Bob is right: At some point, the cultural wheel turns just a little bit, almost imperceptibly, and parents say, ‘I don’t want my kid to play.’ And then it becomes only the province of the poor, who want it for economic reasons to get up and out, and if they don’t find a way to make it safe — and we don’t see how they will — as great as it is, as much fun as it is … the game’s not going to be around. It’s not.” Wilbon, Kornheiser’s longtime co-host on ESPN’s “Pardon the Interruption,” said people need look no further than the independent studies that have come out about what playing football does to the brain. Costas agreed. “They keep saying, ‘We need more information. More and more information will become available,’ ” Costas said. “Yes, it will, and it won’t be good for football. The more information comes out, the worse it looks. What we know is that brain trauma, the younger the person is, the worse it is because the brain isn’t fully developed until your mid-20s, especially the pre-frontal cortex. And the longer you play tackle football, the more cumulative hits, in addition to the disproportionate impact on a young person, leads you to the common-sense conclusion that if you’re going to play tackle football, you shouldn’t play tackle football at all until you’re 18 years old, at a minimum. But then, where is the talent pool for college? What happens to college football? The whole thing could collapse like a house of cards if people actually begin connecting the dots.” During the question-and-answer session that followed the discussion, which was hosted by the Povich Center for Sports Journalism and moderated by Maury Povich, Wilbon and Costas expressed doubts that free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s grievance accusing NFL teams of colluding to keep him out of the league will be successful. Nevertheless, Brennan, a former sportswriter at The Post, said kids will study Kaepernick in history classes in 20 to 40 years for his decision to take a knee during the national anthem to protest racism and police brutality. “Donald Trump ensured that when he crash-landed into this story in Huntsville, Alabama, at the end of September, and tried to divide the nation and he brought it right back to the surface,” Brennan said. “I think maybe some good things are going to come out of it, not so much for Kaepernick, but in terms of community involvement and the way the league is looking at these issues now. And as I said, I think he will be studied the way we look at Curt Flood, the way we look, obviously, at people like Muhammad Ali, Billie Jean King, Jackie Robinson, as a major player in our cultural, social history because of this episode in the last year-and-a-half.” Costas said Kaepernick doesn’t rise to the same “level of transcendence” as those names. “I think we ought to be able to make distinctions without people thinking that you’re not in sympathy with the basic issue,” Costas said. “What Colin Kaepernick started is about a real issue, and Colin Kaepernick himself has walked the walk, and every time I’ve ever talked about him I’ve said that. He’s involved in the community, he’s raised money, he’s taken his own money, I think his intentions are good. I think you’re allowed to say, however, because you’re allowed to look at each situation differently, that he’s not the natural heir to Muhammad Ali, or to Curt Flood, or to Arthur Ashe, because he’s not equipped. He’s gone radio silent, and when he does speak, he often says things that undermine his position.” “Like, ‘I didn’t vote,’ ” Wilbon interjected. “So I guess it didn’t matter that Barack Obama used to be president and now somebody else is president, or you show up with socks that depict cops as pigs,” Costas continued. “Well, that ain’t true of most, let alone all, cops. We can make distinctions. We can praise him and respect him for the good he’s done, but not say that, hey, Muhammad Ali figuratively is handing the torch to him. To Doug Baldwin? Yeah. To Anquan Boldin? Maybe. To Malcolm Jenkins? Maybe. And throw a few white guys in for God’s sake. That would be good if they stood up and stood shoulder to shoulder, not just with a hand on the shoulder, but had something to say.” “You lose me as a 58-year-old black man in America when you say I didn’t vote and you didn’t recognize any distinction between the two candidates,” Wilbon said. “Lost me. When you are a quarterback, or even a former quarterback in the NFL, black, white or otherwise, look at the platform you have. My God, you can get on any TV show in the world on Sunday. Shoulder to shoulder, every set has at least three of ’em. So you have this platform and you don’t use it, you don’t know how to use it, you’re quiet, you’re not particularly eloquent on the issue. Michael Bennett said more in about an hour after determining what his agenda was than Kaepernick has the entire six, eight months. … I admire what he did, but he is not an ideal messenger.” More from The Post: ‘There’s no place to go after eight-man’: Small towns seek to preserve football ‘Don’t you play Madden?’ Video games are creating smarter youth football players ‘The leading edge of a much larger iceberg’: New Jersey high school disbands football team ||||| "It's not going to happen this year, and it's not going to happen in five years or 10 years," Kornheiser added. "But Bob is right: At some point, the cultural wheel turns just a little bit, almost imperceptibly, and parents say, 'I don't want my kids to play.' And then it becomes only the province of the poor, who want it for economic reasons to get up and out. ||||| CLOSE SportsPulse: While many sports are seeing rise in youth participation tackle football is seeing a dramatic drop in participation. Nancy Armour details the future of football in America and the NFL. Bob Costas (Photo: Bob Donnan, USA TODAY Sports) COLLEGE PARK, Md. — As far as longtime sports broadcaster Bob Costas is concerned, the future of football in the United States is clear — and bleak. “The reality is that this game destroys people’s brains," he said Tuesday night. Speaking at a roundtable discussion at the University of Maryland, Costas, who hosted Football Night in America on NBC for more than a decade, said the sport could collapse over time, barring a development in technology to make it reasonably safe. He said the decline of football, which was once “a cash machine,” is the most significant story in American sports. “The cracks in the foundation are there,” Costas said. “The day-to-day issues, as serious as they may be, they may come and go. But you cannot change the nature of the game. I certainly would not let, if I had an athletically gifted 12- or 13-year-old son, I would not let him play football.” MORE: NFL hot seat rankings: Um, it seems Giants' Ben McAdoo in serious jeopardy MORE: 40 things to watch for in second half of 2017 NFL season Costas spoke alongside USA TODAY Sports columnist Christine Brennan and ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon at the university’s annual Shirley Povich Symposium, named after the late Washington Post sports columnist. The panel touched on a wide range of topics, including Jemele Hill’s suspension at ESPN and the ever-changing landscape of sports journalism, but the future of football became a recurring theme. Kornheiser likened football's trajectory to that of boxing, saying that safety concerns could make the game obsolete in the coming decades. “It’s not going to happen this year, and it’s not going to happen in five years or 10 years," Kornheiser said. "But Bob is right: At some point, the cultural wheel turns just a little bit, almost imperceptibly, and parents say, ‘I don’t want my kids to play.’ And then it becomes only the province of the poor, who want it for economic reasons to get up and out. "If they don’t find a way to make it safe, and we don’t see how they will ... the game's not going to be around. It's not." Wilbon said football also lacks the international appeal of sports such as basketball and soccer, in part because it has sought to control its personalities. "Football wants to distance itself and put a moat between itself and its fan base. It doesn't want to talk to them," Wilbon said. "'Well, Tom Brady's available on Tuesdays to talk.' Well, LeBron (James) is available every damn day. He's available every day on Instagram, on Twitter, on whatever it is. And it's not filtered." Costas said the NFL’s apparent defense mechanism — to seek more information and continue to study the dangers of the sport — will only hurt its own cause. “The more information (that) comes out, the worse it looks,” the 28-time Emmy Award winner said. He added that existing literature and research will eventually lead families to what he called a “common-sense conclusion," that children should not play tackle football until they’re 18, if they play at all. “But then where’s the talent pool for college? What happens to college football?” Costas continued. “The whole thing could collapse like a house of cards if people actually begin connecting the dots.” Contact Tom Schad at tschad@gannett.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad. PHOTOS: NFL Week 10 Power Rankings

– Bob Costas says football, at least as we know it, may soon "collapse like a house of cards" because of one "fundamental fact": "This game destroys people's brains." USA Today reports the Emmy award-winning sports broadcaster and former host of Football Night in America called the decline of the NFL as a "cash machine" the biggest story in American sports while speaking Tuesday at the University of Maryland. And Costas said that decline is not about athletes' knees but their brains. "Unless and until there is some technology which we cannot even imagine, let alone has been developed, that would make this inherently dangerous game not marginally safer, but acceptably safe, the cracks in the foundation are there," the Washington Post quotes Costas as saying. Costas said this is not some "left-wing conspiracy," adding: "The truth is the truth." In one of three studies on CTE released by Boston University since July, researchers found evidence of CTE in all but one of 111 brains belonging to former NFL players, the New York Daily News reports. And Costas noted that multiple independent studies show tackle football is most dangerous for the brains of youths under 20. He said parents will soon make the "common-sense" choice, as he would, to not let their kids play tackle football at least until they're 18, eroding the talent base for college football and the NFL. ESPN's Tony Kornheiser agreed with Costas at Tuesday's event, saying the NFL could go the way of boxing. "If they don’t find a way to make it safe, and we don’t see how they will ... the game's not going to be around," he said.

Guinness World Records has just confirmed that Scooter, a 30-year-old Siamese from Mansfield, Texas, is the new Oldest living cat. Born March 26, 1986, Scooter lives with his owner Gail Floyd, who was there the day the kitten was born – and he’s been right by her side ever since. As a kitten, Scooter liked to play in Gail’s hair and even became accustomed to riding on her shoulder, going with her wherever she went. Nowadays, nothing has changed. He wakes Gail up every morning at 6 AM, “talking” and jumping around, and is always waiting by the door when she arrives home from work. On Scooter’s longevity, Gail believes keeping him active is what keeps him happy. She says, “He likes to see new places and he likes people.” Scooter has travelled to 45 of the 50 US states with Gail and often pays visits to the nursing home where Gail’s mom lives. Friends of Gail echo her sentiments and describe Scooter as an active cat, full of energy and playful. However, this record-breaking cat’s life has not been without pitfalls. At four weeks he sadly lost his mother, and in October 2014, Scooter broke his leg and has been undergoing medical testing and treatment ever since. Despite his struggles though, his veterinarians say, “Scooter is quite an amazing cat, with a strong will to live.” He enjoys getting blow dried after a bath and his favourite snack is chicken – which he’s treated to every other day. The record-breaking feline claims the title from previous record holder 26-year-old Corduroy (b. 1 August 1989), of Sisters, Oregon. video While impressive, Scooter’s record is still short of the Oldest cat ever — Crème Puff of Austin, TX, who lived 38 years 3 days (more than double the average life expectancy of the species). ||||| MANSFIELD, Texas (AP) — A Siamese cat born during President Ronald Reagan's administration has been named by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living cat. Guinness says Scooter celebrated his 30th birthday on March 26. He lives in Mansfield, Texas. Owner Gail Floyd attributes Scooter's longevity to staying active. She tells Guinness he keeps busy by traveling and has visited 45 of the 50 states. Some of his favorite activities include getting blow-dried after baths and snacking on chicken every other day. Scooter isn't Guinness' oldest cat of all time, though. That mark belongs to a fellow Texas cat, which lived to be 38.

– A Siamese cat born during President Ronald Reagan's administration has been named by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest living cat, reports the AP. Guinness says Scooter celebrated his 30th birthday on March 26. He lives in Mansfield, Texas. Owner Gail Floyd attributes Scooter's longevity to staying active, and says he keeps busy by traveling and has visited 45 of the 50 states. “He likes to see new places and he likes people," she tells Guinness. Some of his favorite activities include getting blow-dried after baths and snacking on chicken every other day. Scooter isn't Guinness' oldest cat of all time, though. That mark belongs to a fellow Texas cat, which lived to be 38.

0 Up votes, mark as useful 0 Down votes, mark as not useful ||||| A former intern for the 2012 Republican presidential ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan and for Newt Gingrich’s presidential campaign was charged with cyberstalking young women and blackmailing them into sending nude photos in federal court on Tuesday. Adam Savader, a 21-year-old from Great Neck, N.Y., obtained nude photos of 15 different women and threatened to publish the photos unless the women sent him even more naked pictures, according to a criminal complaint. Some of the victims were Savader’s high school and college classmates. Text Size - + reset Savader’s Twitter bio identifies himself as “Formerly @PRyan’s sole intern on @MittRomney’s campaign and a @newtgingrich campaign staffer.” He has over 17,000 followers on the social networking site. The New York Daily News identifies him as a political science student at the State University of New York at Farmingdale. Savader used Google Voice numbers to send text messages threatening the women under the pseudonym “John Smith.” The first victim, a woman living in Ann Arbor, Mich., had her AOL account hacked and nude photos she had uploaded stolen from it. Savader allegedly posted one of the photos to the photo-sharing site Photobucket.com and sent her a link. Savader allegedly sent the woman a picture of her mother to show her he could access her family and told the woman he was masturbating to her photos. Police were able to trace the phone numbers and IP addresses associated with “John Smith” to Savader’s home in Great Neck and a home in Quincy, Mass., where Savader was living with a friend. The process repeated itself with other women, according to the complaint. In one case, Savader threatened to send the nude photos to the Republican National Committee, the victim’s sorority and her parents. In another, he claimed he had nude photos of the victim’s mother. “WAIT!” Savader allegedly texted one victim. “Listen to me. If we don’t have a deal I will send the pictures to those people. Is that what u want? remember what’s at stake. do u want ur family and everyone in DC to see your t—-s? Just agree to e-mail me a pic of you in a bra.” Three of the women Savader allegedly threatened have not been identified. The text messages were sent between late September 2012 and April 1, 2013. It’s unclear if any of the women actually sent Savader photos after his threats. Savader appeared before a magistrate Tuesday in federal court. He will be tried in Michigan, where the first case was reported. “I’ve known Adam his entire life and he has never behaved in a way that would lead me to believe these allegations are true,” Michael Shoshnick, Savader’s lawyer, told the Daily News. ||||| 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.

– Adam Savader: "American patriot," "Reagan Republican," alleged sleazebag? The 21-year-old, who worked as an intern on the Romney/Ryan campaign and was a campaign staffer for Newt Gingrich, was yesterday charged with cyberstalking and blackmailing women into sending him nude photos of themselves, Politico reports. Savader allegedly claimed to have naked photos of 15 different women or their family members, and threatened via text message to release them (to, variously, parents, the Republican National Committee, sorority sisters, and "everyone," per the FBI complaint) if they didn't send more, Raw Story reports. One such text: "WAIT! ... remember what’s at stake. do u want ur family and everyone in DC to see your t—-s? Just agree to e-mail me a pic of you in a bra." How the alleged blackmailing occurred in one case, according to the complaint: Victim 1 received texts sent via Google Voice requesting nude photos and containing a link to Photobucket.com, where a nude photo of the woman was posted; it had been stolen from her hacked AOL account. The numbers and IP addresses were ultimately traced to two homes where Savader lived, one in Great Neck, NY, where Victim 1 was also from. As Politico reports, the "process repeated itself" with other women; some had gone to high school or college with Savader. It's not clear if any of the women complied with his requests, notes Politico. He faces a max of five years in prison.

Thick, off-the-scale smog shrouded eastern China for the second time in about two weeks Tuesday, forcing airlines to cancel flights because of poor visibility and prompting Beijing to temporarily shut factories and curtail fleets of government cars. Chinese security personnel march in thick haze near the portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong in Beijing Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Extremely high pollution levels shrouded eastern China for the second... (Associated Press) A couple wearing protective masks poses for a self portrait in thick haze on Tiananmen Square in Beijing Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Extremely high pollution levels shrouded eastern China for the second time... (Associated Press) Visitors stand on Tiananmen Square across from a portrait of former Chinese leader Mao Zedong in thick haze in Beijing Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Extremely high pollution levels shrouded eastern China for... (Associated Press) A man wears a mask on Tiananmen Square in thick haze in Beijing Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2013. Extremely high pollution levels shrouded eastern China for the second time in about two weeks Tuesday, forcing airlines... (Associated Press) The capital was a colorless scene. Street lamps and the outlines of buildings receded into a white haze as pedestrians donned face masks to guard against the caustic air. The flight cancellations stranded passengers during the first week of the country's peak, six-week period for travel surrounding the Chinese New Year on Feb. 10. The U.S. Embassy reported an hourly peak level of PM2.5 _ tiny particulate matter that can penetrate deep into the lungs _ at 526 micrograms per cubic meter, or "beyond index," and more than 20 times higher than World Health Organization safety levels over a 24-hour period. Liu Peng, an employee at a financial institution in Beijing, said he will keep his newborn baby indoors. "It's really bad for your health, obviously," Liu said. "I bike to work every day and always wear a mask. The pollution in recent years is probably due to the increase in private cars and government cars." Visibility was less than 100 meters (100 yards) in some areas of eastern China, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. More than 100 flights were canceled in the eastern city of Zhengzhou, 33 in Beijing, 20 in Qingdao and 13 in Jinan. Every year, China's transport system bursts at the seams as tens of millions of people travel for the Lunar New Year holiday, in the world's largest seasonal migration of people. Ren Haiqiang, a bank worker in his early 30s, said he had booked tickets to fly out of Beijing on Thursday to visit family in the coastal city of Dalian, but now worried about flight cancellations. "Traveling over the holiday is already a huge hassle, along with all the gift-giving and family visits. We thought flying would be the best way to avoid the crush, but if the weather continues like this we'll be in real trouble," Ren said as he waited in line at a bakery in downtown Beijing. Beijing's city government ordered 103 heavily polluting factories to suspend production and told government departments and state-owned enterprises to reduce their use of cars by a third, Xinhua said. The measures last until Thursday. Beijing's official readings for PM2.5 were lower than the embassy's _ 433 micrograms per cubic meter at one point in the afternoon_ but even that level is considered "severe" and prompted the city government to advise residents to stay indoors as much as possible. The government said that because there was no wind, the smog probably would not dissipate quickly. Patients seeking treatment for respiratory ailments rose by about 30 percent over the past month at the Jiangong Hospital in downtown Beijing, Emergency Department chief Cui Qifeng said. "People tend to catch colds or suffer from lung infections during the days with heavily polluted air," he said. Air pollution has long been a problem in Beijing, but the country has been more open about releasing statistics on PM2.5 _ considered a more accurate reflection of air quality than other pollutants _ only since early last year. The city hit its highest readings on Jan. 12, when U.S. Embassy readings of PM2.5 reached as high as 886 micrograms per cubic meter. Celebrity real estate developer Pan Shiyi, who has previously pushed for cities to publish more detailed air quality data and who is a delegate to Beijing's legislature, called Tuesday morning for a "Clean Air Act." By late afternoon, his online poll had received more than 29,000 votes, with 99 percent in favor. On Monday, Wang Anshun was elected Beijing's mayor after telling lawmakers the municipal government should make more efforts to fight air pollution, according to Xinhua. Last week, he announced plans to remove 180,000 older vehicles from the city's roads and promote government cars and heating systems that use clean energy. ___ Associated Press writer Christopher Bodeen and researcher Flora Ji contributed to this report. ||||| Photographer Goran Tomasevic captures the moment two Syrian rebels are hit by sniper fire in Damascus. BEIJING | BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing temporarily shut down 103 heavily polluting factories and took 30 percent of government vehicles off roads to combat dangerously high air pollution, state media reported on Tuesday, but the capital's air remained hazardous despite the measures. Air quality in Beijing has mostly stayed above "very unhealthy" and "hazardous" levels for about two weeks. On Tuesday, it hit 517 on an index maintained by the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, which described the pollution as "Beyond Index". Pollution in Beijing regularly exceeds 500 on an index that measures particulate matter in the air with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers. Above 300 is considered hazardous, while the World Health Organisation recommends a daily level of no more than 20. Earlier this month pollution hit a record, 30-45 times above recommended safety levels, blanketing the city in a thick, noxious cloud that grounded flights and forced people indoors. Beijing's pollution problem has caused widespread public outrage, alarming the ruling Communist Party, which has failed to rein in pollution despite repeated pledges to get tough. Premier Wen Jiabao told top leaders at a forum that the "recent fog and haze have affected the people's normal life and health". "We should take effective measures to speed up the enhancement of our industrial structure, push for energy conservation and build an ecological civilisation," Wen was quoted as saying on state television. "Use actions so that the people can see hope." State news agency Xinhua said the Beijing municipal government held an urgent meeting on Tuesday "for the emergency work of controlling the heavy air pollution". "All counties, departments, businesses and institutions should take the lead in suspending the service of 30 percent of official vehicles," Xinhua said. Beijing would also shut down 103 heavily polluting businesses. But the emergency measures only last until Thursday. The government has already announced that it would take 180,000 old vehicles off the roads in Beijing this year and control the "excessive" growth of new car sales in the city. (Reporting by Sui-Lee Wee; Editing by Michael Perry)

– Once again, air pollution in Beijing is literally off the charts. It's gotten so bad that airlines have had to cancel flights as locals wear face masks for protection, and state news says it's difficult to see beyond 100 yards in sections of eastern China. Airborne particulate matter with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers has hit 526 micrograms per cubic meter, the US embassy says. That's "beyond index" (the scale goes to 500), and more than 20 times what the World Health Organization calls safe, the AP reports. The government has closed 103 factories and cut its vehicle use by 30%, Reuters adds. Over the past two weeks, pollution levels have largely held to dangerous numbers; the WHO says anything above 20 isn't healthy, while above 300 is "hazardous." It's a particularly bad time for flights to be canceled, with travel peaking around the Chinese New Year on Feb. 10.

Altria’s decision to proactively respond to a regulatory crackdown on tobacco products that appeal to teenagers is a positive that positions the company well in appeasing antismoking advocates and addressing the competitive pressure from rival Juul, one analyst said Thursday. Altria Inc. MO, +2.10% said that it is pulling its MarkTen Elite and Apex by MarkTen e-cigarette pods from off store shelves until it either gets the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s blessing to sell them, or the issue of teens becoming addicted to nicotine is otherwise resolved, the company said in its third-quarter earnings release. The company will also stop selling products with any flavors other than regular tobacco, mint or menthol. The FDA recently announced a review of teens and e-cigarette smoking, with top official Commissioner Scott Gottlieb decrying an epidemic, driven by the availability of smokeless products. Much of his ire was directed at Juul Labs, which has been marketing a line of online products with flavors including “crème brûlée” and “cool cucumber,” that contain high levels of nicotine and resonate strongly with young people. See now: Young people apparently don’t realize these popular ‘crème brûlée’ e-cigarettes contain nicotine Related: Why smoking among teens has reached historic lows Gottlieb said efforts to convert adult smokers to less harmful e-cigarettes shouldn’t come at the expense of younger people’s health. The FDA is planning to release evidence of its findings next month and is considering a ban on flavored e-cigarettes and further restrictions on online sales. “Although we don’t believe we have a current issue with youth access or use of our E-vapor products, we are taking this action because we don’t want to risk contributing to the issue,” Altria Chief Executive Howard Willard told analysts on a call to discuss quarterly results, according to a FactSet transcript. “Additionally, we will support federal legislation to establish anyone as the minimum age to purchase any tobacco product.” Read now: Juul’s headquarters get surprise inspection by FDA The company estimates that about 5% of adult tobacco users are legal age through 20 and that they account for about 2% of cigarette industry volumes, 4% of smokeless industry volumes and 15% of E-Vapor industry volumes, he said. “We view Altria’s proactive decision to remove MarkTen Elite & Apex pod products and to restrict its cig-a-like product flavors pending a market order from the FDA or clarity on youth access as positive,” said Wells Fargo analyst Bonnie Herzog. She reiterated her outperform rating on the stock. Willard disappointed those investors who were hoping today’s release would be accompanied by some kind of news about a move into the cannabis sector. Asked on the call to elaborate on plans, the CEO reiterated that the company is exploring opportunities in the space, on the grounds that cannabis may not always be federally banned. ‘I’ll hold back on explaining in more detail kind of how we view the category because we are relatively early in our exploration,” he said. Canada’s move to fully legalize cannabis for adult recreational use and the growing number of U.S. states that allow it for either medical or recreational use have fueled excitement that a legal sector is emerging that may be worth billions of dollars. Drinks companies, notably Constellation Brands Inc. STZ, +1.22% have made moves in the sector; Constellation has invested $4 billion in Canada’s Canopy Growth Corp. and others are said to be eyeing the sector. For all of MarketWatch’s coverage of Canadian legalization, click here. Tobacco companies are widely viewed as a natural fit for the sector, but big players are wary of the federal law, which continues to classify weed as a Schedule I drug, placing it in the same category as heroin and cocaine. That ban has made it impossible for companies to have bank accounts with institutions that are federally backed and blocked them from capital markets. Altria posted net income of $1.94 billion, or $1.03 per share, for the third quarter, up from $1.87 billion, or 97 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.08., ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.06. Revenue climbed to $6.84 billion from $6.73 billion, while revenue net of excise taxes was $5.29 billion. The FactSet consensus was for revenue of $5.21 billion. The company narrowed its full-year adjusted EPS guidance to a range of $3.95 to $4.03, which compares with a consensus of $4.00. Shares were flat in early afternoon trade, but are down about 13% in 2018, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.75% is up 0.6% and the S&P 500 SPX, +0.85% has gained 0.7%. Read now: Marijuana stocks finally bounce back from long losing streak, but Aurora Cannabis falls again ||||| Tobacco giant Altria MO 0.37% Group Inc. is pulling its pod-style e-cigarette devices from the market and discontinuing the sale of many e-cigarette flavors to combat underage use—a move that puts pressure on upstart Juul Labs Inc., which has grown rapidly by selling such products. The Food and Drug Administration has warned of a public-health crisis from widespread use of e-cigarettes by children, and threatened to ban a broad swath of flavored products. Altria’s “cigalike” device is designed to look and feel like a traditional cigarette. Most of its cartridge refills come in tobacco or menthol flavors. Photo: Altria Altria’s e-cigarettes, sold under the MarkTen and Green Smoke brands, are just a small slice of the U.S. market. Juul is the dominant player, with devices resembling USB sticks and pods in mango, cucumber and other flavors. In a letter to the FDA, Altria Chief Executive Howard Willard said underage use of e-cigarettes is “compounded by flavors that go beyond” traditional tobacco and menthol flavors. Altria, whose traditional cigarette brands include Marlboro, said it would continue to sell most of its e-cigarettes and that the drop in sales would be immaterial to its overall business. In contrast, most of Juul’s growth has come from flavored pods, and its expansion has threatened Altria’s lucrative, but shrinking, cigarette franchise. Juul declined to comment on Altria’s move. Altria represented 5.6% of the U.S. e-cigarette market for the four weeks ended Oct. 6, according to a Wells Fargo analysis of Nielsen data. That doesn’t include online sales. Juul, whose products are sold online and in convenience stores, gas stations and vape shops, accounted for 74.5%. As sales soared this year for Juul’s vaporizers, Altria expanded distribution of a similar product called MarkTen Elite with flavors such as Strawberry Brulee, Apple Cider and Hazelnut Cream. Former Altria chief Marty Barrington touted the product at an analyst conference in February, saying Elite’s pods held more than twice as much liquid as Juul’s. Juul’s vaporizer resembles a USB stick. It uses pod refills containing nicotine-laced liquid in flavors such as mango and cucumber. One refill pod contains as much nicotine as of a pack of cigarettes. Photo: Juul/Associated Press Altria this year also expanded online sales for a device called Apex, with prefilled tanks in Spiced Fruit and Piña Colada flavors. Elite was in 25,000 stores and Apex was available online in 10 states. Sales of both will be discontinued until the FDA authorizes them, the company said. Altria said it would continue to sell e-cigarette products that resemble traditional cigarettes but limit them to tobacco, menthol and mint flavors for now. These so-called cigalike devices have been less popular among children than USB-shaped vaporizers with flavored pods, such as Juul’s. Altria said about 80% of its e-cigarette volume from the third quarter will remain on the market after it pulls the Elite and Apex devices and the flavored cartridges for its other e-cigarettes. Given Altria’s small share of the vaping business, some analysts have worried that rising sales of Juul devices could steal market share from Altria and also cannibalize the traditional cigarette business, where Marlboro still dominates the market. On Thursday, Altria reported that its third-quarter revenue rose 1.6% from a year earlier, but that sales for the first nine months of the year fell 1.2% to $19.3 billion. Shipments of Marlboro cigarettes were down 5.8% in the nine months, though Altria offset those declines with higher prices. Altria said Thursday it would support federal legislation requiring a minimum age of 21 to purchase all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Federal law currently sets the minimum age at 18, though six states have raised their minimum age to 21. “We believe e-vapor products present an important opportunity for adult smokers to switch from combustible cigarettes,” Mr. Willard wrote in his letter to the FDA. “Yet, the current situation with youth use of e-vapor products, left unchecked, has the potential to undermine that opportunity for adult smokers.” Shares of Altria rose 1.4% on Thursday. Altria’s move comes after the FDA warned in September that it could impose new restrictions on e-cigarette sales, including potentially banning flavors other than tobacco and menthol. The agency had asked Juul, Altria, British American Tobacco PLC and other major e-cigarette manufacturers to present convincing plans for reducing teen use, or risk having their products yanked from the market. Juul, which was valued at $16 billion in a funding round this summer, has said its products are intended to help adult smokers quit and that it has taken several steps to combat underage use, including raising the minimum purchase age on its website to 21, adding age-verification tools to its website, and limiting how many pods a single customer can buy each month. Mr. Willard said Altria supports raising the minimum age to 21 because federal data show that young people gain access to tobacco through their friends. He said 5% of tobacco consumers are between 18 and 20 years old, representing 2% of cigarette smokers and 15% of e-cigarette users. Newsletter Sign-up The FDA “appreciates any voluntary steps companies can take to address the youth access and appeal of e-cigarettes,” a spokesman said. “All policy options are on the table, including taking additional steps to address flavors that appeal to kids and combat illegal sales to minors.” After years of declining U.S. smoking rates, sales of e-cigarettes have jumped in the past year, fueled in part by online startups selling vaporizers and nicotine-laced liquids. Each $4 Juul pod contains as much nicotine as a pack of cigarettes. The number of high-school students who used e-cigarettes in the past 30 days has risen roughly 75% since last year, according to preliminary federal data. That would equate to about three million, or about 20% of high-school students. Meanwhile, use among middle-schoolers has increased nearly 50%. Nearly a third of 13-to-18-year-olds who responded to a survey conducted in May by The Wall Street Journal with research firm Mercury Analytics said they currently vape. Most of the teens who vape said they are doing it for reasons other than to quit smoking, according to the Journal’s survey conducted in 49 states. More than half said they do it because they like the flavors that e-cigarette liquids come in and they think vaping is fun. More than two-thirds said they believe vaping can be part of a “healthy life.” Write to Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com ||||| CLOSE Teen vaping is reaching epidemic levels and FDA is considering regulation to curb it. One proposal would be banning flavoring of e-cigarette liquids. USA TODAY Brandon Nguyen, co-founder of Vapor Solutions DMV, is seen vaping at the store in Falls Church, VA. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY) Tobacco maker Altria Group pledged Thursday to stop selling certain vaping products until federal regulators sign off on those items or "the youth issue is otherwise addressed." The move came after the Food and Drug Administration said recently that it was weighing a ban on certain flavored e-cigarette liquids amid mounting concerns about teenagers vaping. Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and maker of Marlboro cigarettes, is halting sales of multiple items: MarkTen Elite pod-based products. Apex by MarkTen pod-based products. All favored variants of MarkTen and Green Smoke "cig-a-like products" except tobacco, menthol and mint varieties. FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently met with Altria "to discuss actions that could be taken," Altria said in a statement. More: Teens hooked by vaping: FDA weighing a ban on flavored e-cigarette liquids More: Feds' new campaign against youth vaping 'epidemic' targets middle and high schoolers More: 'Dripping' may be a new, dangerous trend for teens who vape The agency has pressed vaping companies to roll out measures to prevent teenagers from vaping and to stop marketing the products to young people. The FDA has also been under pressure from health groups that sued the agency for allowing products vaping to hit the market without approval. More than 2 million middle school, high school and college teens use battery-powered devices to heat liquid-based nicotine into an inhalable vapor. Nearly 12 percent of high school students vaped in the past 30 days, according to the 2017 National Youth Tobacco Survey released in June 2018. Medical professionals say vaping can lead to nicotine addiction and tobacco usage. Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey. Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2018/10/25/altria-group-flavored-vaping-liquid/1759794002/

– E-cigarette users will soon have slightly fewer options. Altria, parent company of Marlboro maker Phillip Morris USA, announced Thursday that it will stop selling e-cigarette refill pods and most of its flavored e-cigarette products, the Wall Street Journal reports. During a call with analysts, CEO Howard Willard said that the company is concerned about youth access to e-cigarettes, per Market Watch, and will stop selling the products until the FDA makes a final ruling on them or youth access to e-cigs is otherwise addressed "We're taking this action because we don't want to risk contributing to the issue," he said. Studies show that more than 2 million kids and teens use nicotine vaping devices, according to USA Today. And they are attracted to flavors, such as strawberry brulee and hazelnut cream, that sound more like they belong to desserts and specialty drinks than to tobacco products. The affected Altria products include MarkTen Elite, Apex by MarkTen, and all flavored products, except for tobacco flavor, menthol, and mint. A spokesman for the FDA, which has threatened to ban flavored e-cig products, tells the WSJ that it "appreciates any voluntary steps companies can take to address the youth access and appeal of e-cigarettes." The paper notes that Altria's move puts pressure on Juul, which dominates the e-cigarette market through selling flavored pods. Juul did not comment on the story. (E-cigarettes have been known to explode.)

poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201701/545/1155968404_5293817837001_5293815934001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Spicer: 'Our intention is never to lie to you' The White House press secretary also doubles down on his claim that Trump's inauguration drew the largest audience ever. The White House’s intention is never to lie, press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday, moments before doubling down on his claim that President Donald Trump’s inauguration drew the largest audience “both in person and around the globe.” Days after delivering a five-minute statement to the press in which he stated at least five demonstrably false so-called facts and took no questions, Spicer was challenged on what his role is as the White House press secretary at his first official briefing. Story Continued Below “Is it your intention to always tell the truth from that podium? And will you pledge never to knowingly say something that is not factual?” ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked Monday. “It is. It’s an honor to do this, and yes, I believe that we have to be honest with the American people,” Spicer told reporters. “I think sometimes we can disagree with the facts. There are certain things that we may not fully understand when we come out, but our intention is never to lie to you.” Trump and his top aides took heat over the weekend for false claims they made to the press corps about the size of the crowd at Trump's inauguration, which counselor to the president Kellyanne Conway described Sunday as “alternative facts.” On Saturday, Spicer falsely claimed that Trump garnered “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period — both in person and around the globe.” He also misstated the presence of magnetometers, inaccurately portrayed D.C. Metro data and incorrectly claimed that floor coverings were used for the first time Friday, supposedly accentuating areas where people weren’t standing. “You’re saying it’s a falsehood,” Conway told host Chuck Todd of NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “Sean Spicer, our press secretary, gave alternative facts to that.” On Monday, Spicer indicated his unprecedented rebuke of the news media from the White House briefing room was the culmination of frustration from Trump and his staff on how the political outsider who’s ascended to the presidency has for months been rendered in the media. Spicer went through a stream of headlines that have continually doubted Trump and his decisions: he can’t win the Republican nomination, he can’t beat Hillary Clinton in a general election, he won’t win this state or that state, his crowds aren’t that big, he isn’t that successful a businessman, Spicer recalled. “The default narrative is always negative, and it’s demoralizing,” he said, pleading for fairer news coverage. “Sometimes we’ll make mistakes — I promise you that. But it’s not always gotta be negative. Some days we do do the right thing. Some days we are successful. Part of this is saying when we’re right, say we’re right. When we’re wrong, say we’re wrong. But it’s not always wrong and negative.” Spicer likened his statement over the weekend to a mistake by a reporter or news outlet that calls for a correction, suggesting his aim wasn’t to lie — much like mistakes in the media aren’t intentional — but that he relied on faulty data, specifically with statistics about Metro ridership compared to past inaugurations. “At the time, the information that I was provided by the inaugural committee came from an outside agency that we reported on,” he explained about ridership numbers. “And I think knowing what we know now, we can tell that WMATA’s numbers are different, but we were trying to provide numbers that we had been provided. That wasn't like we made them up out of thin air.” Nevertheless, he also doubled down on his claim of Trump’s inauguration being the most viewed ever, though he stated it in a slightly different fashion. Citing Nielsen ratings and CNN’s reported online viewership, Spicer asserted that “it’s unquestionable” that Trump’s was the most watched, if one adds up in-person attendance, and TV and online viewership. “And I don’t see any numbers that dispute that,” he said. Spicer, as the public spokesman of the Trump administration, vowed to do his best every week and share “the facts as I know them” at his daily briefings, promising that the White House will correct their mistakes, if necessary. He also seemed to confirm reports and speculation that he was directed by the president to deliver his angry reproach Saturday. “I came out to read a statement, I did it,” he said. “We’re here today. I'm gonna stay here as long as you want. I think you guys might want to leave before I do. But, look, I want to make sure that we have a healthy relationship.” ||||| White House spokesman Sean Spicer promised reporters to always be truthful in his role as White House press secretary and addressed misstatements he made about Metro ridership on Inauguration Day. (Reuters) White House press secretary Sean Spicer acknowledged Monday that there were some problems with the explanation he gave over the weekend for why he considers President Trump's inauguration audience the largest ever, but he continued to stand by the assertion. Spicer said figures he provided Saturday about the number of trips taken on Metro during the inauguration were at odds with numbers provided by the Metro system itself. He said the numbers he used were not made up but were given to him by the Presidential Inaugural Committee, which received them from an “outside agency.” [Sean Spicer’s defense of himself and explanation of Donald Trump’s sensitivity, annotated] Beyond the number of people at the ceremony in Washington on Friday, Spicer clarified that his definition of a viewing audience does not just include those standing on the Mall or watching on television but also the “tens of millions” who watched online. “It's unquestionable,” Spicer said of his argument that Trump's inauguration had the largest viewing audience, although he did not provide exact numbers or comparisons with previous inaugurations to back up his assertion. “And I don't see any numbers that dispute that when you add up attendance, viewership, total audience in terms of tablets, phones, on television. I'd love to see any information that proves that otherwise.” [Analysis: There’s no evidence that Trump’s inauguration was the most-watched in history. Period.] Spicer did not address some of the other questionable data points he listed on Saturday, when he summoned the press corps to deliver a statement criticizing coverage of Trump's inauguration while arguing Trump had “the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” While criticizing the media for reporting crowd counts, because the U.S. Park Service does not provide them, Spicer insisted that when the president took the oath of office, there were 720,000 people sitting in three sections on the Mall. He implied that aerial photos of the crowd, which appeared to show a far smaller turnout than for former president Barack Obama's first inauguration, could not be trusted because a white ground covering was used, accentuating empty spaces. Spicer left the Saturday briefing without taking questions from reporters. On Monday, Spicer took dozens of questions from reporters during a briefing that lasted more than 90 minutes. He opened the briefing — his first official one — by vaguely joking about his controversial statements over the weekend and saying his Twitter feed proves he is not the most popular press secretary. But soon, a reporter pressed Spicer on what happened and asked whether he plans as press secretary to always be truthful and never knowingly say something that isn't factual. “Our intention is never to lie to you,” Spicer said. “You're in the same boat: I mean, there are times when you guys tweet something out or write a story and you publish a correction. That doesn't mean that you were intentionally trying to deceive readers and the American people, does it? And I think that we should be afforded the same opportunity. “There are times when we believe something to be true or we get something from an agency or we act in haste because the information available wasn't complete, but our desire to communicate with the American people and make sure that you have the most complete story at the time, and so we do it. But, again, I think that when you look net-net, we're going to do our best every time we can. I'm going to come out here and tell you the facts as I know them, and if we make a mistake, I'll do our best to correct it.” Spicer continued to push reporters to hold themselves to the same levels of accountability that they hold the White House. He again pointed to an inaccurate report Friday night by a reporter who mistakenly thought the bust of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. had been removed from the Oval Office. When it was revealed that the bust was still there, the reporter quickly issued a correction and an apology to his colleagues. Spicer responded on Twitter on Friday: “Apology accepted.” “We had a tweet go out about Martin Luther King — think about how racially charged that is,” Spicer said Monday. “And someone rushes out and says to the entire press corps that the president of the United States has removed the bust from his office.” Spicer said that while the reporter apologized to his colleagues, “Where was the apology to the president of the United States? Where was the apology to millions of people who read that and thought how racially insensitive that was. Where was that apology?”

– New White House press secretary Sean Spicer eased off his confrontational approach with reporters at his first official press briefing Monday, following a weekend in which he berated reporters and then took all kinds of flak for his "alternative facts." Questioned about his honesty Monday, he responded, "Our intention is never to lie to you," adding, "I'm going to come out here and tell you the facts as I know them, and if we make a mistake, I'll do our best to correct it," per the Washington Post. On that front, Spicer acknowledged that he gave inaccurate figures Saturday about Metro ridership on inauguration day, saying they'd been passed along by an "outside agency." But he continued to insist that the inauguration was watched by the most people in history, if you count TV, internet, and those there in person, reports Politico. “And I don’t see any numbers that dispute that,” he said. (Over the weekend, he asserted that Trump had the largest attendance "both in person and around the globe," with the "in person" part quickly rebutted by crowd estimate experts.) Spicer also pushed back against what he described as relentlessly negative coverage about President Trump, going back to the campaign. "It's demoralizing," he said in a plea for fairer coverage. Still, he opened the press conference with a joke seemingly to defuse the tension, saying that he'd told predecessor Josh Earnest that he won't be overtaking him as the most popular press secretary anytime soon. At the New York Times, Glenn Thrush offers this takeaway after the 90-minute presser: "On Saturday, Spicer’s attitude signaled that it would be impossible for the press to cover the White House. Those fears were allayed somewhat today."

University of Iowa researchers are part of a team that found a single loud voice can skew the result of voice votes, a common decision-making feature in American public life. Credit: Sondra Cue of University of Iowa The louder the voice, the cloudier the choice: So says research led by the University of Iowa, which found that a single loud voice can skew the result of voice votes, a common decision-making feature in American public life. Voice voting is used at civic, local, and county governmental meetings. It's also employed regularly in Congress (especially the Senate) and in state legislatures to pass resolutions. The format is simple: A presiding officer states a question, and the group that replies either yea or nay the loudest is declared the winner. But the technique can turn out to be confusing and even produce erroneous results, researchers at the UI and at the National Center for Voice and Speech argue in a paper published this month in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. "All voters should realize that a soft (voiced) vote is basically an abstaining vote and that one loud vote is equivalent to many votes with normal loudness," says Ingo Titze (pronounced TEET-Zah), professor in the UI's Department of Communications Sciences and Disorders in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and corresponding author on the paper. The researchers calculate it would take at least 40 normal loudness voices to overcome the bias of a single loud vote, in order to establish roughly a two-thirds majority. Take the 2012 Democratic National Convention, for example. When Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa asked the several-thousand-member crowd whether the party should reinsert the phrases "God-given talents" and "Jerusalem is and will remain the capital of the State of Israel" into the party's platform document, the voice vote was so divided that Villaraigosa had to repeat the questions three times before declaring—some say erroneously—that the resolution had passed by a two-thirds margin. Titze was watching the convention that night. "I'm an acoustician, so the voice vote really perked up my ears," he recalls. "There were very emotional people in that audience. People were literally jumping up and shouting 'No! No!' It got me thinking: What good is a voice vote when there's a real issue at stake—real emotion involved?'" To find out, Titze and Anil Palaparthi, a research engineer with the National Center for Voice and Speech (NCVS) in Utah, ran a series of experiments simulating various voice-vote scenarios. The researchers assembled 54 student "voters" in a spacious classroom, with five "judges" positioned at the front, closing their eyes when judging loudness. The student voters were divided into two camps—ayes and nays —and then instructed to shift their numbers and the loudness of their voices, to simulate various voice-vote scenarios. The judges said which group they thought sounded louder after each scenario. In one scenario, for example, ten voters progressively shifted their voices from one voting bloc to the other, until they had a two-thirds majority. The judges had to determine based on sound alone when that threshold had been reached. (Listen to the audio here: http://clas.uiowa.edu/files/clas/external-relations/E2.wav) The researchers arrived at several conclusions. When more voices joined a group, the judges noticed an increase in loudness beginning with the second added voice. When voters progressively raised the volume of their voices, judges noticed the increase beginning with only one voter speaking more loudly than the others. This means, Titze explains, that "in a small group, a single voter can skew a two-thirds majority by simply speaking louder than the other voters. And unless individual loudness is controlled, any voice vote for a simple majority is highly suspect." The researchers propose locating voters at equal distance from the vote tabulator or controlling for sound on voters' microphones. Another approach would be to ask everyone to keep their voices at a conversational level. Still, "there's something to be said about hearing people's emotions when an issue comes before them," says Titze, who's also executive director at the NCVS. "Voice voting may not be useful to make a final decision, but at least it gives people the chance to express themselves verbally, and there's some value in that." Explore further: Preferences shaped by evolution draw voters to candidates with lower-pitched voices ||||| (ISNS) -- At the Democratic National Convention in 2012, the leadership wanted two resolutions passed and the chairman asked the 22,000 delegates for voice votes on both. Passing the motions required a two-thirds majority. He asked for a vote, then two re-votes and even then, the response was ambiguous. The reason, researchers at the University of Iowa in Iowa City found, is that except under unrealistic controlled circumstances, voice votes are useless. Their research suggests that the "ayes" don't necessarily have it. The chair told the delegates that the motion passed. But Ingo Titze, an authority on voice and speech, thought the result was unclear at best, and probably predetermined. He decided to run an experiment at one of his undergraduate classes in Iowa City. The results are published in the current issue of the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America. His conclusion was that unless the vote is overwhelming -- something like a two-thirds majority -- no one can really tell the difference between a winning motion and a losing one. He also found that it doesn't matter whether you call for the "yeas" and "nays" or the "yes" and "no." And, if you have a quiet voice, don't bother -- your vote won't be heard; the loudest voices will carry the day even if they are in the minority, he found. Voice votes, which are sanctioned by a widely used guide to parliamentary procedure called Robert's Rules of Order, are a quick way to determine a majority, especially when an actual count would be difficult, certainly the case at the 2012 Democratic convention, held in a huge arena in Charlotte, North Carolina. "In a house like that, I don't think there is an alternative," Titze said. "You can't use buttons or another electronic vote and you can't pass out pieces of paper to 5,000-10,000 people." The issues at the convention were amendments to the party's platform. One would assert that Jerusalem was the recognized capital of Israel, the other was a reference to "God-given potential," both of which the party's leaders wanted but met resistance from the delegates. The chair, Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, called for a voice vote, a vocal "aye" or "no." The motion required a two-thirds majority and by sound, the result seemed to be a tie. "Let me do that again," he said. The second time was the same. Villaraigosa looked totally confused. He called for a third vote, which again sounded uncertain. He simply declared the motions had carried, as was typed into his Teleprompter. This, Titze said, made it clear the results were phony. This bothered Titze so he set up a series of experiments in a class of about 70 students. The overwhelming majority of the students were women so to alleviate the gender imbalance, he had only the woman participate. Titze said he doubted the fact he used no men altered the results. Women actually are typically perceived as louder than men because their voices sound at a higher frequency, he said, "so they have an automatic guarantee of louder voices." They were instructed in a series of tests to say "yes," "no," "nay," "aye," or "yea" at various levels. A team of five people sitting with their eyes closed so they could not get visual clues judged how the votes turned out. Through the stages of the experiment, the group changed its loudness and the number of people speaking at different volumes. The students were told at which volume to speak: "as if across a table," "teaching a class of about 40 students," or "shouting to someone across the street." Determining a simple majority was impossible. The percentage had to get up to 60-40 before the judges could accurately determine a winner. "The vote is very, very biased toward loud voices," he said. "Soft voices are like no voices in a vote." "Soft voices are abstentions," said Amee Shah, director of the Research Laboratory in Speech Acoustics and Perception at Cleveland State University, who did not participate in the research. "Softer voices do not get through." She said voice votes would work in a small group if the chair took into consideration who might have the loudest voice and moderated the results accordingly. Otherwise, even recognizing a two-thirds vote would be difficult. Titze said the conditions necessary to rely on an accurate voice vote -- no one shouting, no outside noise, everyone speaking at the same volume -- are unlikely in the real world. The nays apparently have it. Joel Shurkin is a freelance writer based in Baltimore. He is the author of nine books on science and the history of science, and has taught science journalism at Stanford University, UC Santa Cruz and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He tweets at @shurkin.

– Let's say you've got 22,000 people in a room, and you need them to quickly decide on something. What do you do? Well, at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, the chairman used a practice common at all levels of government: a voice vote. It's a simple process: Voters simply say "yea" or "nay," and a chairman judges by response. There's just one problem: Voice votes are great at determining who's the loudest, but lousy at determining majority opinion, a new study concludes. Researchers ran a series of test votes, and found that unless one side had at least a 60% majority, it was impossible to determine the winner. What's more "the vote is very, very biased toward loud voices," lead researcher Ingo Titze says. The findings suggest it takes at least 40 normal voices to balance out one loud one if trying to establish a two-thirds majority, according to Phys.org. That's what the DNC was trying to do, and the result was a disaster; after three utterly inconclusive votes, chair Antonio Villaraigosa simply said the measure passed. "In a house like that, I don't think there is an alternative," Titze tells Inside Science. "You can't pass out pieces of paper to 5,000 to 10,000 people."

Attacking a symbol made the protest movement powerful, provoked a backlash, and made reform an unlikely outcome In the Joan Didion essay "Goodbye to All That," the California born writer observes that it is not possible for people in the East to appreciate what New York City means to other Americans. "To an Eastern child, particularly a child who has always had an uncle on Wall Street and who has spent several hundred Saturdays first at F.A.O. Schwarz and being fitted for shoes at Best's and then waiting under the Biltmore clock and dancing to Lester Lanin, New York is just a city, albeit the city, a plausible place for people to live," she writes. "But to those of us who came from places where no one had heard of Lester Lanin and Grand Central Station was a Saturday radio program, where Wall Street and Fifth Avenue and Madison Avenue were not places at all but abstractions ("Money," and "High Fashion," and "The Hucksters"), New York was no mere city." Instead it was "an infinitely romantic notion, the mysterious nexus of all love and money and power," and so it remains. The Occupy Wall Street protestors beat their drums in lower Manhattan within sight of big financial firms and their suits. But their chants aren't aimed at Goldman Sachs and its board, or junior executives who commute in from Connecticut, so much as the average American's idea of Wall Street. The symbol is what gives the protestors and their movement the bulk of its strength -- and it is, at the same time, the movement's fatal weakness. How to explain this seeming contradiction? The protestors benefit by treating Wall Street as an abstraction because it permits them to tap into familiar narratives. Allies are made of everyone who believes, as so many do, that dishonest financial elites take advantage of the basically honest masses; that big, greedy corporations maximize their profits by screwing regular folks; that the top one percent of Americans possess wealth that is obviously incommensurate with what they've earned relative to "the 99 percent." For Occupy Wall Street, the problem is that a counter-narrative every bit as familiar also appeals to many Americans. These are people who believe that wealth in this country accrues to talented people who work hard and benefit their fellow man through the market; that envying the successful is a kind of poison corrosive to any society; that to attack Wall Street is the same as declaring that you've got no confidence in capitalism itself; and that for all its flaws, our free market economic system has generated tremendous wealth and prosperity for rich and poor alike. So long as the protestors in the financial districts of American cities attack symbolic Wall Street, they'll attract folks who see the world the same way that they do. As Matt Yglesias writes, it's "an incredibly useful platform for engagement and education." But an attack on symbolic Wall Street inevitably provokes a backlash by defenders of symbolic Wall Street, for whom it symbolizes different things. The ensuing debate is no likelier to end in a declared winner than a long conversation about political philosophy between Ronald Reagan against Jimmy Carter. There is a time for battling over first principles and political philosophy, especially for those of us who enjoy doing it. But it isn't all the time. How remarkable that in America, where the political spectrum is so narrow relative to other countries, and the consensus in favor of being a mostly free market liberal democracy so large, our politics is so frequently mired in ideological battles; and waged in rhetoric that is absurd when one reflects on the continuity in ideology and policy from one Congress and presidency to another. It's no wonder that so many Americans are frustrated by political debate, political protest, and political campaigns. More often than not, they're all conducted at a level of abstraction that is both needless and maddening. What drum circle would I join? One dedicated to the proposition that it's often enough to grapple with the world as it is -- to see that we're not confronted by the impossible question, "Is Wall Street basically good or malign;" what we must actually answer are questions like, "What sort of regulations, if any, should govern the market for derivatives of mortgaged backed securities," and "Should the federal government subsidize home ownership," and "What should the reserve requirements be for lending institutions." Those are contentious questions, and they can't be totally separated from value judgments or political philosophy. But they're manageable, in a society that agrees about as many things as ours, if we take them discretely, and avoid elevating them into symbolic battles about bigger things whenever it is possible. Figuring out precisely how to feel about Occupy Wall Street or "We are the 53 Percent" is difficult for many. Much easier to decide that it's wrong to create a mortgage-backed security filled with loans you know are going to fail so that you can sell it to a client who isn't aware that you sabotaged it by intentionally picking the misleadingly rated loans most likely to be defaulted upon; or that it actually doesn't make sense to blame Wall Street for inflation in college costs, the student loan market they spurred, and the culture that sent a message to too many young people that borrowing for education is always a good investment. ||||| How Occupy Wall Street Is Like the Internet, or a tale of a randomly-blogged funny protest sign Conor Friedersdorf, an associate editor at The Atlantic, shares a strange but true story of how his words wound up on a protest sign 3,000 miles from his home: "How Occupy Wall Street Is Like the Internet." The short version: over the weekend, I blogged this snapshot taken by BB reader Ben Furnas of an Occupy Wall Street protester in New York. She's cute, and she's carrying a funny sign. A friend of Conor showed him the blog post, and said (more or less): dude, Conor! that's a quote from an article you wrote! Conor is trying to track the sign-holder down, to complete this excellent meta Internet tale. Do you know this woman? Below is a related video by John Grace that reveals the person who made the sign. ||||| Yglesias It’s Not How Many Followers You Have, It’s Who Follows You Felix Salmon adds to the growing legend of the world’s least-likely protest sign: Ben Furnas only has 325 followers on Twitter, but that’s all it took to make this photo of his go seriously viral over the past few days. He posted it on Twitter at 5:42pm on Saturday, with no commentary other than the hashtags #ows and #win. It didn’t take long (I’m a little bit unclear about the timezone of BoingBoing timestamps) before Xeni Jardin posted it on her hugely popular blog. And from there it went, well, everywhere. But herein lies one of the secrets of the faux-meritocracy of the internet. Furnas may appear to be a mild-mannered law student with only 325 Twitter followers. But in an earlier life he was a key player in a ton of CAPAF’s policy products and he’s extremely well socially and professionally connected to the younger cohort of political media people. So that 325 includes reporters and editors from The Washington Post, Politico, Slate, Good, ThinkProgress, Mother Jones, and the Nation and think tank folks from CAP, Third Way, New America, and the Manhattan Institute. Given that particular nexus of people, it’s hardly a long and winding path to wide exposure for something interesting. This, I think, is an illustration of something important. People sometimes talk about the Internet as if it somehow supplants or replaces personal relationships. But in practice, it often acts as a force multiplier for them. ||||| The strange but true story of a forest-dwelling journalist whose words wound up on a protest sign 3,000 miles from his home Browsing the Web just now, I had a surprising experience that could only occur in this era of political protest. Holed up in a redwood forest on the Northern California coast, the nearest McDonald's two hours away, I clicked through to some photos of Occupy Wall Street protesters in New York City, and saw that one of their signs displayed in big block letters 46 words that I wrote! They're being held aloft by an attractive 20-something blond woman I've never met before. This is the story of how they got there -- or at least the small part of it I know, which is all that's required to see why it could only happen now, and how political engagement in America is changing. As you'll soon agree, it is impossible to know when the story begins, but perhaps it started with J.J. Gould, deputy editor of TheAtlantic.com. An item he posted Thursday caught my attention. It sought to explain what most media observers don't get about the Occupy Wall Street protests. Gould noted the staggering diversity of messages displayed by the protesters. "Some will be confused, sure, maybe ridiculous; but many have already shown themselves to be, whether ultimately right or wrong, informed, smart, and serious. Why summarily 'oppose' them?" he asked. "Why not, say, engage them in conversation? There's no good reason to suspend criticism about Occupy Wall Street, or necessarily to buy into any one of its zillion messages; but there's no good reason, either, just to pick our favorite things to hate ... and then tell ourselves that the whole multifaceted, rapidly changing movement must be those things writ large." I thought Gould was right. And reading his post, I was also alerted to an insight that Douglas Rushkoff had at CNN.com. "We are witnessing America's first true Internet-era movement," Rushkoff wrote, "which does not take its cue from a charismatic leader, express itself in bumper-sticker-length goals and understand itself as having a particular endpoint. ... unlike a political campaign designed to get some person in office and then close up shop, this is not a movement with a traditional narrative arc. As the product of the decentralized networked-era culture, it is less about victory than sustainability. It is not about one-pointedness, but inclusion and groping toward consensus. It is not like a book; it is like the Internet." Hmmm. What does it mean for a protest movement to be like the Internet? For me, that was one of those get-up-and-get-a-beer lines. "A Get-up-and-Get-a-Beer-Line isn't a bad line," explains Mickey Kaus. "It's often a good line, a line cherished and protected like a beloved child by its proud author. But it's a line packed with so much resonant meaning, or so many different possible meanings -- all interesting and profound! -- that you get up to get a beer ...." I got up and got a beer. Then I went to a nearby beach with my fiance and her dog. The dog's name is Isabel, and once she reaches the sand, she runs very fast in a huge circle, encircling us in paw prints, then sprints to the water, where for reasons unknown she pulls all the stray pieces of kelp she can from the shoreline up to dry sand. As she does this vital work, there is sun-speckled blue water all the way to the horizon, occasional pelicans gliding by, a bluff as backdrop with small waterfalls trickling down. I'd forgotten all about Occupy Wall Street. Yet J.J. Gould's piece and Douglas Rushkoff's thoughts must have been working their way through my subconscious, because when I got home that night, a post started to form in my mind. I still didn't quite grok what it meant to have a non-narrative protest movement that resembled the Internet more than a book. But I worked out some other thoughts on screen for an hour, finally coming up with an item titled "Occupy Wall Street's Biggest Strength Is Neutering It." ||||| Ben Furnas only has 325 followers on Twitter, but that’s all it took to make this photo of his go seriously viral over the past few days. He posted it on Twitter at 5:42pm on Saturday, with no commentary other than the hashtags #ows and #win. It didn’t take long (I’m a little bit unclear about the timezone of BoingBoing timestamps) before Xeni Jardin posted it on her hugely popular blog. And from there it went, well, everywhere. By this morning, Conor Friedersdorf, the author of the words in question, was already writing a meta-post about the photo, and how it demonstrates that OWS is “the product of the decentralized networked-era culture”. Xeni, too, had a meta-post of her own. And the makers of the sign were revealed to be Brooklynites Will Spitz and Caitlin Curran. (Sorry, they’re a couple.) Still, the meme was far from out of juice: when I posted the photo on my Tumblr at 4pm this afternoon, grabbing it from Barry Ritholtz, it very quickly became by far the most liked and shared thing I’ve ever put up on that platform. A lot of that is because Curran is one of those protestors that photographers dream of. And then there’s the setting — Times Square, with Starbucks in the background and the big Nasdaq sign. But the heart of the photo is the language on the sign — language much more powerful and striking than the blog post (or even the sentence) from which it was lifted. It’s funny, on the sign — something true, and accurate, and touching, and grammatical, and far too long to be a slogan, and gloriously bereft of punctuation, and ending even more gloriously in a mildly archaic preposition. Friedersdorf has managed to encapsulate the essence and the impropriety of the Abacus deal in just 45 words, and it’s fantastic that Spitz and Curran — and Furnas and Jardin and everybody who shared this image — managed to give those words the global recognition they deserved. And most wonderfully of all, this sign seems to resonate just as much with the general public, most of whom have never heard of Abacus, as it does with Abacus nerds like myself. In any case, I’m very glad that Abacus is coming back. During the first Abacus-go-round, I toyed with the idea of making a self-indulgent derivative artwork of the famous quote by “Fab” Fabrice Tourre: What if we created a “thing”, which has no purpose, which is absolutely conceptual and highly theoretical and which nobody knows how to price? I’d print these words in a sans-serif face on aluminum, or maybe in neon, and use them to comment not only on the futility of Wall Street, but also on the parallels between Wall Street and the art world. (William Powhida is much better at this sort of thing than I am; his show, called Derivatives, which includes my birthday present, opens Saturday at Postmasters, and you should go check it out. ) This picture is a vastly better way of bringing Abacus to the public’s attention. And it’s also a fantastic example of why it’s great that OWS isn’t a carefully-organized movement with an easily-identifiable and discrete set of demands. The fact that OWS is open-ended means that it’s much more open to the kind of creativity which went into this sign, and also means that snapshots like this one are much more likely to go viral. The sentiment behind OWS has resonated worldwide — and I’m sure that this photo has already been forwarded all over Goldman Sachs. It’s a very healthy reminder, for squids both junior and senior, that the world will not soon forget what they got up to at the end of the subprime boom.

– It's pushing 50 words and thus not your usual protest sign, but an image from Occupy Wall Street nevertheless managed to get into wide circulation over the last few days. A short version of the tale: Ben Furnas took the photo of a young woman holding the sign and posted it on his Twitter feed. It then got picked up and reposted by Xeni Jardin at BoingBoing and took off from there. (Full text of the sign: "It's wrong to create a mortgage-backed security filled with loans you know are going to fail so that you can sell it to a client who isn't aware that you sabotaged it by intentionally picking the misleadingly rated loans most likely to be defaulted upon") That line comes from this column by Conor Friedersdorf of the Atlantic, who has since written about seeing his words show up on a sign in another column here. At his Reuters blog, Felix Salmon loves everything about the sign, especially the language. "It’s funny, on the sign—something true, and accurate, and touching, and grammatical, and far too long to be a slogan ..." he writes. At Think Progress, Matthew Yglesias (in a post headlined "It's Not How Many Followers You Have, It's Who Follows You") explains that Furnas may have only 300-plus followers, but many are young movers and shakers in political media. Add it all up, and you get a viral photo.

(CNN) A Tupac fan will be starin' through the rear view of the slain rapper's fully loaded Hummer H1 after paying well above a quarter-million dollars. Shakur's customized off-road vehicle, bought by the hip-hop artist only three months before he died in 1996, was sold at auction Thursday for $337,114, according to Boston-based RR Auction. Shakur personally customized the vehicle, which is equipped with a 6.5-liter, turbo diesel V-8 engine with automatic transmission. The odometer read 10,101 miles at the time of the sale. The colossal Hummer boasts off-road lights, a 360-degree spotlight, a grille guard, diamond-plate bumpers, oversized off-road wheels and tires, and an external PA system with three sirens, according to RR Auction. Tupac Shakur died in September 1996, six days after being shot in Las Vegas. The interior is trimmed in burl wood with beige leather upholstery, and is fit with a 12-disc Clarion sound system, Sony GPS and a central tire inflation system. Read More ||||| The last vehicle purchased by rapper Tupac Shakur, aka 2Pac, before his 1996 death commanded a healthy sum at auction earlier this month. The rapper's customized 1996 AM General Hummer H1 Hardtop sold for $337,144 during the RR Auction. The lot was estimated at $100,000. "It's an incredible piece of hip-hop history that evokes the invincible spirit of one of rap's true lyrical giants," said Robert Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction, in a release. "We are thrilled at the price achieved and with the continued success of our specialty themed auctions." View 25 Photos 2Pac purchased the Hummer H1 about a month before his death. Power comes from a 6.5-liter turbodiesel V-8 backed by an automatic transmission. The vehicle has traveled just 10,101 miles, according to the odometer. The exterior of the H1 features a grille guard with off-road lights and roof-mounted off-road lights, a 360-degree spotlight, and an external PA system with three sirens. Cosmetic upgrades include diamond-plate bumpers and a lift-kit to fit a 38-inch Dick Cepek wheel and tire combo. There is also white lettering over the rear fenders that reads "ELIMINATOR." The H1 also features a central tire inflation system and a 12,000-pound winch. Inside, the custom Hummer H1 features beige leather upholstery and burl wood trim. The audio system features a Clarion head unit and 12-disc changer, as well as a Sony GPS system. Other features include tinted windows, sliding rear glass, air conditioning, and full power accessories. Not many amenities when compared to other high-dollar cars of the day, but the civilian version of the H1 was derived from a bare-bones military vehicle after all.

– An anonymous 2Pac fan in the Midwest just paid more than $337,000 for the late-rapper's customized Hummer H1 at auction, CNN reports. Tupac Shakur bought the vehicle three months before he was killed in 1996 at the age of 25. An executive vice president at RR Auction calls the Hummer an “incredible piece of hip-hop history that evokes the invincible spirit of one of rap's true lyrical giants.” According to Motor Trend, the value of the lot was only estimated at $100,000. In addition to multiple customized features—12-disc CD changer, spotlight, external PA system, and more—the Hummer comes with Tupac's vanity license plate and a cassette of Michael Jackson's Thriller.

According to the filing, Charney told accounting employees that they were "Filipino pigs … with your faces in the trough"; mimed holding a shotgun to an employee's forehead; stored footage on company equipment of himself having sex with models and employees; and sent sexually graphic messages to employees. The filing also alleged Charney tried to destroy the evidence, telling employees to delete "naughty" messages. ||||| An American Apparel store. Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images Almost exactly a year ago, American Apparel founder Dov Charney was suspended from his roles as president and CEO of the company and replaced as chairman of the board on allegations of misconduct. He was officially terminated in December, and hasn't stopped trying to regain control of the company since, lodging a number of lawsuits against the brand and its executives. The latest complaint, filed Friday, deals with the events of late June last year, when Charney was first pushed out of the company. This time around he's suing American Apparel and David Danziger, who resigned from the board of directors last week, for defamation and intentional interference with actual and prospective economic relations, among other issues. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website The play by play goes like this, according to the suit: In time for the annual shareholder meeting on June 18, 2014, a number of board members pressured Charney to vote to re-elect Danziger, Robert Greene and Allan Mayer to the board, all while voicing their continued support for Charney as CEO. After Charney did vote them in — without his votes, the complaint says, they wouldn't have been able to get re-elected — Mayer informed him that he was being stripped of his employment. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website So Charney turned to the second largest shareholder, Johannes Roth of FiveT Capital, to help him pass a vote to increase the size of the board from 9 to 13, which would enable him to take control of it again. When he learned about this, Danziger contacted Roth directly "and told him, with full knowledge that his statements were false, that Charney was being investigated for matters 'criminal in nature.'" Roth withdrew his support. Friday's lawsuit claims that American Apparel has caused "severe, irreparable harm to Charney's personal and professional reputation" and has and will caused others from wanting to do business with him. He's seeking at least $30 million in damages. Reached by email for comment, an American Apparel spokesperson said this of the lawsuit: "Friday’s complaint is yet another example of the habitual nuisance lawsuits that Dov Charney and his lawyer continue to file, and which we continue to defeat (as has been reflected by the recent rulings and stipulations in our favor)." While the legal battles rages on with no end in sight, American Apparel's relationship with consumers isn't so hot, either. Sales fell 9 percent in the first quarter of the year, with losses coming in at $26 million. The company's stock price hit its lowest point of the year this month. Update: Charney's wasn't the only filing on Friday. According to a report from the Los Angeles Times, American Apparel also filed court documents with the Los Angeles Superior Court making a number of allegations about Charney's behavior, including that he made racially degrading comments to accounting employees and that he stored footage of himself having sex with models and employees on company computers. Charney's lawyer denies that the allegations, which were a response to a previous defamation suit the ousted founder filed against American Apparel and chairwoman Colleen Brown, are true.

– American Apparel has had enough of Dov Charney "suing everyone," including his former company, and is airing some alleged dirty laundry in the hope that it'll halt the lawsuit blitz. The Los Angeles Times reports the company has filed court documents containing what it calls a "trove of lurid details" of Charney's alleged behavior: that he kept footage of himself in sexual situations with models and employees on the company's server; called workers in the accounting department "Filipino pigs ... with your faces in the trough"; tried to strangle a worker he'd called a "long-haired wanna-be Jew"; and mimed holding a gun to an employee's forehead. The company says the documents, filed Friday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, show the company had cause to fire Charney last year; his team argues the firing was "illegal." American Apparel Chairwoman Colleen Brown says evidence of Charney's misconduct is "voluminous." Brown is identified in one of at least two defamation suits against the company by Charney's team, the latest of which was itself filed Friday and asks for $30 million in damages, reports Fashionista. But Charney's lawyers have denied all accusations, arguing "an amorous message" was only found "when the company broke into Mr. Charney's email." False claims or not, the documents show American Apparel is "willing to play hardball," a business law professor says, noting Charney's alleged statements could have been handled privately. Instead, the company took an "aggressive legal position to try and knock down the adversary."

Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| Morolake Akinosun tweeted when she was 17 that she would compete in the 2016 Olympics. Now, the 22-year-old Olympic runner is about to fulfill her dream. Akinosun tweeted this almost exactly five years ago, and now it's all happening. Akinosun told BuzzFeed News that she sent out the prophetic tweet in 2011 shortly after watching the televised World Championships for track and field. "Watching it may have inspired me to tweet that," Akinosun told BuzzFeed News. Akinosun, who attended Waubonsie Valley High School in Illinois, said it was the summer before her senior year and she was about a month into the recruiting process for college track and field at the time she sent the tweet. She hadn't yet chosen to attend the University of Texas, from which she will graduate in December. Akinosun spent her first year at University of Illinois, but transferred to Texas to follow her coach Tonja Buford-Bailey after she took a job there in 2013. "At the time I tweeted that out, it was more of a dream and an aspiration," Akinosun said. "A goal has to be somewhat realistic," she added, explaining that in 2011, "I wasn't on the level yet and I didn't know for sure that I would ever get there, but I for sure wanted to get there." Now, she's only a week away from flying to Rio de Janeiro to compete in the 4x100-meter relay for the 2016 Olympics. "When I crossed the finish line in Eugene a few weeks ago," Akinosun said, referring to Oregon-based Olympic trials that qualified her for Rio, "it was sort of like disbelief ... and then I realized I was really going to the Olympics and I started crying." ||||| Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) By finishing fourth in the Olympic Trials 100m, Morolake Akinosun made her first Olympic team and made her tweet from 2011 a reality. Akinosun tweeted on July 28, 2011, that in 2016 she would graduate from a school she had not yet chosen (University of Texas) and be going to the Olympics. Akinosun, after finishing her college career this spring, was not among the most heralded sprinters going into the Olympic Trials, with a top time of 11.07 seconds for 2016. It would require somewhere around 11.00 seconds to make the Olympic 4x100m relay team by finishing in the top six at the Trials on July 3. Akinosun shined at Trials, breaking 11 seconds for the first time in her first-round heat, then doing it again in the semifinals and the final (10.95 seconds). Akinosun is now slated to race in the Olympic 4x100m relay first round on Aug. 18, and if she performs well, perhaps earn a place on the relay final quartet one day later. MORE: U.S. long jumper pulls out of Olympics In 2016 I will be 22, graduated from a school I have not chosen yet, and going to the olympics (: — Morolake Akinosun™ (@MsFastTwitch) July 28, 2011

– In the summer of 2011, a 17-year-old heading into her senior year at an Illinois high school started thinking more seriously about her future, and she determinedly announced her plans via social media. "In 2016 I will be 22, graduated from a school I have not chosen yet, and going to the Olympics," Morolake Akinosun tweeted—a post that turned out to be more prophetic than she could have ever imagined. "At the time I tweeted that out, it was more of a dream and an aspiration," the now-22-year-old tells BuzzFeed, just a week before she hops on a plane to Rio to dash down the track for the 4x100-meter relay race in the 2016 Games (her first-round sprint will take place on Aug. 18, per NBC Sports). After she left Waubonsie Valley High School, Akinosun spent some time studying at the University of Illinois before transferring to the University of Texas, which is where she'll accept her diploma from in December. She headed to the Olympic qualifying trials in Eugene, Ore., earlier this summer and shocked even herself with the success that's now sending her to Brazil. "When I crossed the finish line … it was sort of like disbelief … and then I realized I was really going to the Olympics and I started crying," she says. The funny thing is, Akinosun had completely forgotten about her tweet into the online ether until it popped up recently on her Timehop app. She tweeted a pinch on the arm to herself Saturday: "I tweeted that 5 years ago. It's 2016. I graduate from Texas in December. I'm going to the Olympics next week." (Who won't be competing: all of Russia's weightlifters.)

CLOSE Gloria Bell expresses condolences for the family of Nikki Reed, killed in the crash that trapped her son for three days. Mike Argento This story was first published Sept. 21, 2016. Nikki Reed, 37, who had been missing since Saturday, was found deceased in a one-vehicle accident on Tuesday. (Photo: Indiana State Police, Versailles District) Kevin Bell and girlfriend Nikki Reed of Seymor, Ind., were driving back to Jackson County along U.S. Route 50 on Saturday after a long trip from Pennsylvania when something happened and Bell lost control of the Ford Explorer. It plunged down a steep embankment, eventually smashing head-on into a tree – killing Reed and trapping an injured Bell for two days. Reed died instantly. And Bell was unable to get out of the wreckage or call for help until Tuesday, Indiana State Police said. The 39-year-old Bell finally managed to pull himself free, his injured legs unable to carry him up the hill. Once he'd gathered his strength, Bell began pulling himself up the embankment and eventually reached the top, police said. He hoisted himself up on a guardrail, where he was spotted eventually by a passing motorist late Tuesday afternoon. Reed, 37, was reported missing by her family on Sunday after they said she hadn't been heard from since she drove to Pennsylvania to pick up Bell on Saturday, according to an Indiana State Police, Versailles District release. Bell's family also said they hadn't been able to contact him since Saturday. Shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, Indiana State Police got a report of a crash near the Jennings-Ripley county line. “It’s not something you want to respond to and they were shocked when they discovered that," said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, spokesman for the Indiana State Police post in Versailles, Ind. “It took us some time to realize that the people were who we were searching for.” Troopers soon found Reed's body in the crash. Bell was taken to the St. Vincent Jennings Hospital in nearby North Vernon, Ind. His injuries weren't life-threatening and he was transferred to an Indianapolis-area hospital Wednesday. ► READ MORE: High court rules against Bevin university cuts ► READ MORE: Social workers warn of growing risks of the job Wheeles said police updated Reed's family about the investigation on Tuesday and said they were devastated when they found out she was dead. It was not immediately clear whether Bell had food or water while he was trapped. The pair both had phones, but troopers are trying to determine whether they were inaccessible or inoperable. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. “The family didn’t have a clue what happened for two or three days," Wheeles said, adding it's an "unfortunate situation." While the missing person's search was undergoing, Nikki's daughter, Brooklyn Reed, told WHAS-11 that her mom left early Friday morning for Dover, Pa., to pick up Bell. She promised she'd be home by 2 p.m. Saturday for her youngest son's birthday party. Brooklyn Reed said she last spoke with her mother around noon Saturday when Bell asked her daughter to pick up a cake for her brother at Wal-Mart. ► READ MORE: U of L trustees, foundation trade barbs at meeting ► READ MORE: Family judge says gay marriage is like "jumbo shrimp" ► READ MORE: Historic River Road mansion to be protected "She told me to call her before I went so I called her and she said everything was fine," Brooklyn Reed told WHAS-11. "She said she was in Kentucky so I didn't think anything of it. So I went in and she said to call her when I came back out so I went to call her and she didn't answer her phone." Brooklyn Reed created a page on You Caring, a crowdfunding website, in order to raise money for her mother's funeral expenses. As of Wednesday afternoon, the effort had raised roughly $200 of its $5,000 goal. "I don't know what happened or how it happend (sic). All I know is that I want this to not be true, I just wish it was a dream!" she wrote in a message accompanying the post. "I love my mom so much! I wish she was still here so I can hug her an (sic) tell her I love her one more time! Please anyone help! Any amount will help!" Kristie Bevers, who identified herself as Reed's best friend, told WHAS-11 during the investigation that they knew something was wrong when she didn't come home. She said Nikki Reed called her Saturday morning, but she missed it. In a public memorial page set up on Facebook, Bevers was among family and friends that shared their favorite memories of Reed. "So many people lost an amazing woman in a blink of an eye," Bevers wrote. "We never lost hope searching even when we kept hitting dead ends. So I ask for everyone to pray for the kids, Mark (Brookyln's father), her family and Mark's family. This is very unexpected and not the outcome that any of us wanted." Reporter Justin Sayers can be reached at 502-582-4252 or jsayers@gannett.com. Buy Photo A missing poster shared on Facebook featuring photos of Nikki Reed and Kevin Bell. Reed was found dead and Bell severely injured in a one-vehicle accident in Indiana Tuesday. (Photo: Justin Sayers, The CJ) Read or Share this story: http://cjky.it/2diWa4f ||||| Scene of a fatal crash in southern Indiana that left a Seymour, Indiana woman dead. (Photo: Provided ISP) A severely injured man crawled from the wreckage of a fatal crash three days after the vehicle he was driving left an Indiana roadway and crashed into tree, police said. Kevin Bell, 39, of Dover, Pennsylvania, suffered injuries to his legs from a Saturday crash on US 50 near the Jennings County and Ripley County line that left the other passenger, Nikki K. Reed, 37 of Seymour, Indiana, dead. Bell could not get out of the wreckage or call for help until Tuesday, Indiana State Police said, when he managed to pull himself free. Once he'd gathered his strength, Bell pulled himself up the embankment, police said. He hoisted himself up on a guardrail, where he was spotted by a passing motorist late Tuesday afternoon. Bell and girlfriend Reed of Seymour, Ind., were driving back to Jackson County along U.S. 50 on Saturday after a long trip from Pennsylvania when something happened and Bell lost control of the 1999 Ford Explorer. The vehicle traveled down an embankment at the 8600 block of US 50 and struck a tree. Reed, who was in the front passenger seat, suffered fatal injuries and died instantly. Reed had been reported missing Sunday by her family and the missing person investigation determined that Bell, Reed's boyfriend, had been out of contact with his family since Saturday. Family members said Reed went to Pennsylvania to pick up Bell. Police said the scene of the crash was well off US 50 and not immediately visible from the road. Shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, State Police got a report of a crash near the Jennings-Ripley county line in Southern Indiana. “It took us some time to realize that the people were who we were searching for,” said Sgt. Stephen Wheeles, spokesman for the Versailles post. Troopers soon found Reed's body in the wreckage. Bell was taken to the St. Vincent Jennings hospital in North Vernon, Ind. His injuries weren't life-threatening, and he was transferred Wednesday to an Indianapolis-area hospital. Wheeles said police updated Reed's family about the investigation Tuesday and said they were devastated when they found out she was dead. It was not immediately clear whether Bell had food or water while he was trapped. Bell and Reed each had a phone, but State Police were trying to determine whether they were inaccessible or inoperable. The cause of the crash remained under investigation. “The family didn’t have a clue what happened for two or three days," Wheeles said, adding it's an "unfortunate situation." A missing persons flier shared by family and friends of Nikki Reed and Kevin Bell after the couple went missing over the weekend. (Photo: Provided) While the missing person's search was undergoing, Nikki's daughter, Brooklyn Reed, told Louisville, Ky., station WHAS-11 that her mother left early Friday morning for Dover, Pa., to pick up Bell. She promised she'd be home by 2 p.m. Saturday for her youngest son's birthday party. Brooklyn Reed said she last spoke with her mother around noon Saturday when Bell asked her daughter to pick up a cake for her brother at Wal-Mart. "She told me to call her before I went so I called her and she said everything was fine," Brooklyn Reed told WHAS-11. "She said she was in Kentucky so I didn't think anything of it. So I went in and she said to call her when I came back out so I went to call her and she didn't answer her phone." Brooklyn Reed created a page on YouCaring, a crowdfunding website, to pay for her mother's funeral. As of Wednesday afternoon, the effort had raised roughly $200 of its $5,000 goal. Read or Share this story: http://cin.ci/2cVk2GP ||||| SEYMOUR, Ind. (WHAS11) – They were hoping for a safe return. “She wouldn't leave me or my brothers at all. If she was leaving she would tell us, but I don't think she would ever leave us,” Brooklyn Reed, Nikki Reed’s daughter, said. On Tuesday, a family on edge got the news they've been dreading. “As soon as I heard that she was not here, I knew something was wrong,” Kristie Bevers, best friend, said. WHAS11 News has now learned a mother of three missing since this weekend was killed in a car crash in Jennings County, Indiana. We talked to them while they were still searching for answers. “We want her to come home. We're not mad at her, we just want her to be safe,” Brooklyn said. Brooklyn says she was the last one to talk to her mom, Nikki on Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m. “She had me go to Walmart to get a cake for my little brother and she told me to call her before I went so I called her and she said everything was fine. She said she was in Kentucky so I didn't think anything of it. So I went in and she said to call her when I came back out so I went to call her and she didn't answer her phone,” Brooklyn said. Brooklyn says her mom had left early Friday morning to pick up her boyfriend Kevin Bell in Dover, Pennsylvania. But she promised to be home by 2:00 p.m. on Saturday for her youngest son's birthday party. Her best friend Kristie Bevers says Nikki called her Saturday morning but she missed the call. “It bothers me because I could've talked to her. I could've heard her voice one more time,” Bevers said. Indiana State Police say they were actively searching for Nikki and are now confirming she was killed in a car accident, police saying the car was found in an embankment in the woods. Reed's family is now in shock and are trying to piece together exactly what happened. ISP says Nikki's boyfriend, Kevin Bell, did survive the crash. He was taken to the hospital. Police say this investigation is still ongoing. ||||| See more of In Memory of Nikki Hobbs Reed on Facebook

– A Pennsylvania man seriously injured in a crash that killed his girlfriend was trapped in the SUV with her body for three days before he was able to crawl from the wreckage and seek help, reports the Cincinnati Enquirer. Kevin Bell, 39, lost control of his Ford Explorer on a road in southeast Indiana, state police said. The SUV slid down a steep embankment and slammed into a tree. Nikki Hobbs Reed, 37, died instantly. Trapped and suffering leg injuries, Bell stayed with her body until Tuesday afternoon, when he managed to crawl to the road and hoist himself over a guardrail, reports the Courier-Journal. He was spotted by a passing motorist, who called police around 5pm. Reed's family in Indiana reported her missing on Sunday, after she failed to show up to her son's birthday party on Saturday afternoon, per WHAS. "The family didn't have a clue what happened for two or three days," said a state police spokesman. Both people in the car had phones; it was unclear whether they were working. A police investigation is continuing. Reed's daughter told WHAS that her mother left Friday morning for Dover, Pa., to pick up Bell and was expected back home by 2pm Saturday. Brooklyn Reed said she last spoke to her mom in the early afternoon. "She said she was in Kentucky, so I didn't think anything of it," she said. But when Brooklyn Reed called her back, there was no answer. "So many people lost an amazing woman in a blink of an eye," Nikki Reed's best friend, Kristie Bevers, wrote on Facebook.

Criminal charges have been filed against 14 people, including attorneys and Wall Street professionals, in a widening $53 million insider trading case that has already snared one of the richest men in America, federal prosecutors said Thursday. The actions raise to 20 the number of people who have been charged in the case first disclosed last month with the arrests of Galleon Group founder and hedge fund operator Raj Rajaratnam and five others. At the time, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara called the first arrests "a wakeup call for Wall Street." "Today the alarm bells have only grown louder," he said at a news conference Thursday. Bharara said that total profits alleged by prosecutors was $40 million while the Securities and Exchange Commission raised the total to $53 million, saying it includes millions in profits not described in the criminal complaints. He said he knew people would ask if the insider trading case was the tip of the iceberg of illicit trading on Wall Street. "We don't have an answer to that but we aim to find out," he said. He said eight people were arrested Thursday on securities fraud charges and another five have already pleaded guilty are are cooperating. Another person is still at large, he said. A bail hearing for Rajaratnam, who is free on $100 million bail and has been listed among the nation's richest people, was scheduled for later Thursday. Rajaratnam has denied through his lawyer participating in the scheme to use inside information to trade stocks at a profit ahead of public announcements. In court papers, new details about the alleged scheme emerged to show how the government built its case. According to papers filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Zvi Goffer operated an insider trading network in 2007 and 2008 that included a lawyer who fed tips gleaned from his firm's work on acquisition deals. Goffer worked at Shottenfeld Group LLC in Manhattan in 2007 and at Galleon Group for the first nine months of 2008 before he started his own trading firm, the papers said. He is 32 and lives in New York City. The papers put Goffer in a central role. It was not immediately clear who would represent him at an initial court appearance. A criminal complaint prepared by FBI Agent David Makol said Goffer paid others to obtain secrets about public companies' planned merger and acquisition activity that he then used to execute profitable securities trades. The complaint said Goffer provided conspirators with prepaid cellular telephones so they could communicate in a way that reduced their chance of detection by law enforcement. Among those who fed him tips that reached Goffer was Arthur Cutillo, a lawyer with Ropes & Gray, a law firm that held secrets regarding mergers and acquisitions, the complaint said. The tips included information about the announcement in September 2007 that Bain Capital Partners LLC would acquire 3Com, a technology company, the court papers said. According to the complaint, Cutillo, 33, of Ridgefield, N.J., fed tips to another lawyer, Jason Goldfarb, who relayed them to Goffer. Goldfarb, 31, lives in Manhattan. It was not immediately clear who would represent the defendants in court. In a statement, Ropes & Gray said it was "deeply disappointed to learn about this situation, which suggests an extreme breach of this person's duty of trust to our clients and to the firm." It added: "We cannot comment in detail on an ongoing investigation but we are moving quickly to protect our clients and are cooperating fully with authorities." The complaint said the government broke the case with the help of a confidential informant and three court-authorized wiretaps, including one on Goffer's cellphone that captured conversations in 2007 and 2008 and another on Goldfarb's phone. The informant, who executed trades based on insider information while working at a hedge fund, has cooperated with the FBI since July 2007 and has agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud in the hopes of getting leniency, the complaint said. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan, the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission scheduled a midday news conference Thursday to discuss the case. ___ Associated Press writers Tom Hays in New York and Marcy Gordon in Washington contributed to this story. ||||| After weeks of speculation on Wall Street, prosecutors brought a fresh round of insider trading charges on Thursday that left no doubt they were aiming at hedge funds and the networks of market gossip that are endemic on trading floors. The charges, against 14 money managers, lawyers and other investors, followed the arrest last month of a hedge fund billionaire, Raj Rajaratnam, on charges that he had profited from inside information. In the latest criminal complaints, prosecutors described a network that used prepaid cellphones to avoid detection, and that was pierced in part through surveillance and wiretaps. One law enforcement official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing, said the authorities expected to make more arrests in the coming weeks. The investigation is part of a broad Federal Bureau of Investigation push into crimes related to hedge funds, including the addition of a third securities fraud unit in New York, the official said. And for the first time, the authorities hinted that they might be brushing against the pinnacle of the hedge fund world, S.A.C. Capital Management, a $12 billion Connecticut fund company. Neither S.A.C. nor any current employee has been charged with wrongdoing. The broadest of Thursday’s complaints names seven defendants, including Arthur J. Cutillo, a lawyer at the prestigious firm of Ropes & Gray, who is accused of offering tips on impending takeovers that the firm worked on. The tips were then passed among a group of lawyers and traders. Prosecutors also announced five guilty pleas from hedge fund managers in Massachusetts and California, including one from Roomy Khan, the witness at the center of the case against Mr. Rajaratnam. As part of a plea agreement made public on Thursday, prosecutors agreed not to charge Richard Choo-Beng Lee, a California fund manager who worked at S.A.C. from 1999 through January 2004, on any insider trading he committed at S.A.C. as long as he had disclosed the insider trading to them. Mr. Lee pleaded guilty in October to insider trading while running his own hedge fund last year. Jeffrey L. Bornstein, Mr. Lee’s lawyer and a partner at K&L Gates, said Mr. Lee was cooperating with the authorities and could not comment on the letter or what information Mr. Lee might be able to provide. A spokesman for S.A.C. said he could not comment on the letter. Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, said the investigation, which began more than two years ago, was continuing. He added that investors who believed they were at risk of being charged should come forward voluntarily. “I urge you to come knocking on our door before we come knocking on yours,” Mr. Bharara said. In all, 20 defendants have now been charged in the overlapping cases, and five have pleaded guilty. Defense lawyers who were not involved in the case said the government’s tactics, which included phone taps and wiring cooperating witnesses, were more typically used in organized crime than in securities fraud cases. Still, the investigation has not publicly ensnared any of the biggest hedge funds. And the total profits that the schemes are said to have produced are relatively modest, about $60 million so far. Mr. Rajaratnam is not named in any of the complaints or pleas announced on Thursday. But Galleon, his company, appears to be at the center of the investigation. The two men identified as leaders of the ring, Zvi Goffer and Craig Drimal, are former employees of Galleon. Mr. Goffer worked at Galleon from January to August 2008, while Mr. Drimal had an office at Galleon, according to the complaint. A person knowledgeable about Galleon said that Mr. Goffer had been laid off last year as part of a broader staff reduction, while Mr. Drimal was once an employee. Thursday’s complaint does not claim that the men used insider information on Galleon’s behalf. Instead, it claims that they traded for their own accounts, making millions of dollars buying stocks in companies that were about to be taken over. Mr. Drimal made the largest profits, earning $8 million, according to the complaint. The defendants were concerned about the possibility of wiretaps and informants and frequently talked about ways to avoid being caught, according to the complaint. It said that in February 2008, Mr. Goffer warned Jason C. Goldfarb, another defendant, against making trades that were too obvious.

– Two former Galleon Group employees and a Ropes & Gray lawyer were among 14 people charged today in the expanding insider trading case surrounding the hedge fund founded by Raj Rajaratnam, who was busted last month. The traders and lawyers snuck around, communicating in code over throwaway cellphones, but had the FBI on their tails for more than 2 years, the New York Times reports. The SEC puts the total profits from the scheme at $53 million, up from the $40 million the feds originally estimated, the AP reports. Asked whether the case was just the tip of a Wall Street iceberg, US Attorney Preet Bharara responded, "We don't have an answer to that but we aim to find out."

View Images Faneuil Hall in Boston, Massachusetts, lies within the city's hundred-year tidal flood zone. Photograph by S. Greg Panosian, Getty What do prehistoric pueblos, rocket launch pads, and a colonial-era meeting hall have in common? They are all being threatened by climate change, according to a new report from the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). The report, released today, details how 30 national landmarks across the United States may be irreparably damaged or even lost forever due to the effects of climate change. The threatened sites span the continent from Florida to Alaska and encompass eras from prehistory to the space age. "It's the whole sweep of American history," says Adam Markham, director of climate impacts for the UCS. Amid all the concern over climate change, relatively little attention has been paid to how it will affect cultural resources. "It's an ignored issue in the world of climate change assessment," says Markham. "We needed to fill that gap because the threats are quite alarming." The report, called "National Landmarks at Risk," does not encompass all historic sites affected by climate change. "We looked for places," says Markham, "where there was a very strong set of climate data which enabled us to see impacts happening now or in the future that are attributable or consistent with climate change." The list of threats includes rising seas, coastal erosion, flooding, heavy rains, drought, and intense wildfires. Too Much Water Along the Atlantic coast north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, sea levels have risen four times the national average, and historic downtowns face inundation. Boston's Faneuil Hall, where the Sons of Liberty plotted the Boston Tea Party, lies within the city's hundred-year tidal flood zone, which has experienced as many extreme high tides in the past decade as it had in the previous 80 years. (Read "Rising Seas" in National Geographic magazine.) In Annapolis, Maryland, home of the U.S. Naval Academy and the first post-Revolutionary War capitol, storm surges have caused water to "ascend three feet or more above mean sea level at least 10 times" in the past decade, according to the report. Jamestown, the site of the first permanent English colony in North America, could actually disappear. The settlement is located on an island that sits less than five feet above sea level. Virginia's coastal waters are projected to rise up to six feet by 2100. View Images MATTHEW TWOMBLEY, NG STAFF. SOURCES: NOAA; NATIONAL HURRICANE SERVICE; NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE One of the country's newest national monuments may not survive the century. Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Monument, signed into existence by President Obama in 2013, may be largely submerged by 2050. Located along the Chesapeake Bay, the park reflects the wetland landscape that Tubman traveled through as she guided local slaves to freedom. "It's very vulnerable," says Mary Foley, regional chief scientist with the National Park Service. "We're going to see higher flood events, higher tides, and loss of marshes to open water." Even sites from recent history will require drastic changes to last into the next generation. NASA, a major provider of global data on climate change, is dealing with rising seas at many of its locations. According to the report, "More than two-thirds of NASA facilities [are] within 16 feet of sea level," including the Kennedy Space Center launch pads from which the Apollo missions and the space shuttles lifted into space. NASA has restored nearby protective dunes several times, but storm surges still break through. At NASA's oldest site, Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, aging buildings are being torn down and rebuilt as far from the Chesapeake Bay as property lines allow. But right now, says Russell De Young, a senior research scientist at Langley, "storm surges from nor'easters and hurricanes could inundate the whole facility and make it unusable." Too Little Water Across the western U.S., the danger comes from too little water. Fires in the archaeologically rich Southwest are now longer, hotter, and larger as rising temperatures increase the likelihood of drought and lengthen the fire season. View Images If average temperatures increase by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit—a smaller increase than current projections for the Southwest—fires will increase fourfold in New Mexico. In recent years, intense fires have raged through Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado and Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico, both significant ancient Pueblo sites. Flames damage artifacts that have endured for millennia—for instance, burning off the ceramic glazes that allow archaeologists to date pottery. "Fire resets the clock. It removes artifacts from time," says Rachel Loehman, a U.S. Forest Service ecologist who studies the effects of fire and climate change on artifacts. "If we start losing the archaeological record, we're never going to get it back." ||||| A new Union of Concerned Scientists report warns that if climate change continues unchecked, Americans might have fewer historical sites to be proud of. The report, which UCS says is the first to really delve into the impact of climate change on cultural and historical sites, lists 30 at-risk sites currently threatened by the changing climate, and looks at 17 case studies, from Jamestown to the Statue of Liberty, where rising sea levels and more frequent and intense weather events (like hurricanes, floods and fires) are threatening to erase the locales from the map. "Most communities in America have some kind of historic site. These are places that people have heard about, they visit, or they want to visit. These are places that people either know about, or have seen or care about," explains Adam Markham, Director of Climate Impacts for the UCS. "Our interest was in making this issue of climate change relevant to people who maybe haven’t thought of it much before—tourists who want to visit parks, people who care about historic preservation, people who are interested in history." One of the oldest sites threatened by climate change listed in the report is Jamestown, the first permanent English colony established in America. The waters around the colony have been rising at twice the rate of the global average, causing shoreline erosion that has allowed river water to seep into the soil beneath the island. This puts a wealth of buried artifacts at risk—and it is causing archeologists to completely reevaluate how they excavate the site. Instead of leaving the artifacts in the ground to be excavated at a future date, when improved technology would lessen the risk of causing damage to delicate artifacts, archeologists are now worried that they might need to remove artifacts sooner—potentially damaging their lens into the earliest piece of American colonial history in the process. But the archeologists are running out of time to make their decision—according to the UCS report, Jamestown is likely to be completely submerged by the end of the century. "I think climate change is going to transform the way that people think about managing archeological and cultural resources over the next couple of decades," Markham explains. Annapolis, Maryland, just up the coast from Jamestown, boasts the largest collection of 18th-century colonial era buildings in the country, but as sea levels continue to rise, the threat of a major storm event hangs heavy over the coastal town. Annapolis is home to a wealth of American history: it served as the capital of the United States after the Revolutionary War; the Treaty of Paris, which ended that war, was ratified in the State House in 1784; it also served as host to the Continental Congress in 1783 and 1784. But it's also a town with a history of facing brutal storms—in 1775, a hurricane damaged the State House's wood dome. Centuries later, 2003's Hurricane Isabel caused $120 million in damage—and while it's impossible to connect a single storm event to climate change, scientists have noted that warming ocean temperatures could make the occurrence of extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, more frequent and intense. "One of the legacies of Isabel was our Market House, which had been in place for over 180 years," explains Lisa Craig, chief of historic preservation for the city. "In essence, Hurricane Isabel inundated the house, and we were dealing with the issue of how to rehabilitate that building, and it hasn’t been until the last six months that it has been fully open and operational." For a town that welcomes around 4 million visitors each year, it's difficult to let historic buildings lie unused and damaged by storm conditions or nuisance flooding, which Craig notes has increased in recent years, causing over a month's worth of flooding each year around Dock Street in Annapolis' historic district. "It’s hard to repopulate a business location," Craig explains. "When those uses disappear, when those businesses go away, when you have to bear the significant cost of retrofitting a building to meet new flood standards—when you have to do that, it takes a toll not only on the building, but the economy of the community." Spurred by their experience with the Market House and increased flooding, Annapolis has been working to institute a plan to deal with, and mitigate, damage caused by climate change. Their Cultural Resource Hazard Mitigation Plan will survey 140 at-risk buildings in the historic district, and work to create a plan to better prepare those buildings for flooding—or the eventual big storm. "Incrementally, piece-by-piece, we’re putting together the toolkit for owners to, on their own terms, put together a response strategy," Craig explains. "We are a resilient community that has been around for hundreds of years. We are fully aware of the impact of sea-level rise, and we are taking responsible steps to address that." Boston isn't usually among the locations discussed when climate change effects are discussed, but the UCS report warns that the city's historic district—including Faneuil Hall and the Blackstone Block Historic District, home to the Union Oyster House, the oldest restaurant in Boston—could be in serious trouble thanks to rising sea levels. Though the city mostly dodged the worst impacts of Hurricane Sandy in 2012, environmental officials warn that damage from the storm could have been much worse. "We had very little damage, but five hours earlier or later it would have been dead on [with high tide] and we would have been facing what New York faced," explains Nancy Girard, commissioner of the city of Boston's Environment Department. "We are very, very concerned about some of these historic buildings because they are right in the path [of flooding]." Faneuil Hall is especially at-risk due to its proximity to the bay—and its age. Girard notes that for a building as old as Faneuil Hall (which is where Samuel Adams and others planned the Boston Tea Party), structural mitigation techniques would be difficult. "We can't elevate those buildings, and they have basements," she explains. "We'd have to sandbag them." But it's not America's colonial history that's threatened by the effects of climate change. As the report notes, archeologists who study prehistoric America are seeing its negative impacts as well—and some worry that climate change might rob us of the chance to answer one of American archeology's most interesting questions: When, and how, did life come to the New World? Most theories point to the idea that all Native Americans are descended from Siberians who crossed the Beringia land bridge between 26,000 and 18,000 years ago, but the debate is far from settled, which means archeologists are still hoping to dig up evidence in the frozen expanses of Alaska, where some of the earliest signs of life in the Americas has been found. "With those really old sites—the ones that really capture people’s imagination—we haven’t been able to do that much work across the entire area," explains Shelby Anderson, an Assistant Professor in the Anthropology Department at Portland State University. "There are surely many old sites dating from, we think, some of the earliest migrations to the New World, and probably many more sites we haven’t even found yet." But archeologists are running out of time to explore these sites. As global temperatures rise, the permafrost that has preserved potential remains is beginning to thaw, eroding archeological sites in the process. "We’re losing the chance to find new sites, to investigate the few known sites and some of those could be really key to answering the questions about human migration to the New World," Anderson says. "You’re completely losing the opportunity to answer that question." Historical Sites Listed in the UCS Report: Alaska: Alaska Native Villages and National Parks on the Northwest Alaska Coast—Cape Krusenstern National Monument; Kivalina; the Bering Land Bridge National Preserve; Shishmaref California: Groveland Hotel, Groveland, California; Cesar Chavez National Monument, Keene, California California, Florida, Virginia and Texas: NASA Sites in Virginia, Florida, Texas and California Colorado and New Mexico: Mesa Verde National Park; Bandelier National Monument; Santa Clara Pueblo Florida: Historic State Park, St. Augustine, Florida; Shell Mound Sites in Southern Florida Hawaii: Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical and Koloko-Honokohau National Historical parks, Hawaii’s Big Island Maryland: Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad State Park, Maryland; Annapolis’ Historic downtown and the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland Massachusets: Faneuil Hall and the Blackstone Block Historic District, Boston, Massachusetts South Carolina: The Old and Historic District in Charleston, South Carolina Virginia: Jamestown, Virginia; Fort Monroe, Virginia Sites That Have Already Taken Steps To Become More Resilient to Climate Change: New York: The Statue of Liberty (Liberty Island) and Ellis Island, New York North Carolina: Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, North Carolina

– Rising seas and wildfires caused by climate change are threatening to wipe out huge swathes of American history, from prehistoric sites in Florida and Alaska to the first English colony at Jamestown to NASA sites including the Kennedy Space Center, scientists warn. A Union of Concerned Scientists report highlights 30 sites at risk of being damaged or entirely wiped out by extreme weather events, the Smithsonian reports. "It's the whole sweep of American history," the director of climate impacts for the UCS says. Some sites, including the Statue of Liberty, have taken steps to become more resilient to climate change, but Jamestown, one of the oldest sites listed, is in danger of becoming completely submerged by the end of the century, and rising waters have already forced archaeologists to change how they excavate the site. In Maryland, Annapolis, home to the largest collection of 18th-century colonial buildings in the US, is at risk from major storms, while ancient Pueblo sites in the Southwest have already been damaged by fires that get stronger as the region gets hotter and drier. "Fire resets the clock. It removes artifacts from time," a US Forest Service ecologist tells National Geographic. "If we start losing the archaeological record, we're never going to get it back."

Abstract Conclusive evidence for sexual dimorphism in non-avian dinosaurs has been elusive. Here it is shown that dimorphism in the shape of the dermal plates of Stegosaurus mjosi (Upper Jurassic, western USA) does not result from non-sex-related individual, interspecific, or ontogenetic variation and is most likely a sexually dimorphic feature. One morph possessed wide, oval plates 45% larger in surface area than the tall, narrow plates of the other morph. Intermediate morphologies are lacking as principal component analysis supports marked size- and shape-based dimorphism. In contrast, many non-sex-related individual variations are expected to show intermediate morphologies. Taphonomy of a new quarry in Montana (JRDI 5ES Quarry) shows that at least five individuals were buried in a single horizon and were not brought together by water or scavenger transportation. This new site demonstrates co-existence, and possibly suggests sociality, between two morphs that only show dimorphism in their plates. Without evidence for niche partitioning, it is unlikely that the two morphs represent different species. Histology of the new specimens in combination with studies on previous specimens indicates that both morphs occur in fully-grown individuals. Therefore, the dimorphism is not a result of ontogenetic change. Furthermore, the two morphs of plates do not simply come from different positions on the back of a single individual. Plates from all positions on the body can be classified as one of the two morphs, and previously discovered, isolated specimens possess only one morph of plates. Based on the seemingly display-oriented morphology of plates, female mate choice was likely the driving evolutionary mechanism rather than male-male competition. Dinosaur ornamentation possibly served similar functions to the ornamentation of modern species. Comparisons to ornamentation involved in sexual selection of extant species, such as the horns of bovids, may be appropriate in predicting the function of some dinosaur ornamentation. Citation: Saitta ET (2015) Evidence for Sexual Dimorphism in the Plated Dinosaur Stegosaurus mjosi (Ornithischia, Stegosauria) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western USA. PLoS ONE 10(4): e0123503. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123503 Academic Editor: Matjaž Kuntner, Scientific Research Centre, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, SLOVENIA Received: October 31, 2014; Accepted: February 21, 2015; Published: April 22, 2015 Copyright: © 2015 Evan Thomas Saitta. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited Data Availability: All relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files. Funding: This work was supported by Princeton University’s Office of the Dean of the College, Princeton University's Mountlake Field Research Fund, and Princeton University's Fred Fox Class of 1939 Fund. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing interests: The author has declared that no competing interests exist. Introduction The genus Stegosaurus [1] can be found in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the western United States, although it has been recovered from Portugal as well [2]. It was an herbivorous quadruped with a small head, long tail, stout forelimbs, and long, columnar hind limbs. Stegosaurus had parasagittal dermal armor along its back consisting of vertically oriented plates that varied in size and shape from the neck to the tail and two pairs of long spikes at the end of the tail [3]. Once thought to have had 17 plates, a new specimen has been discovered with 18 [4]. The most common reconstruction puts the plates in two, staggered rows extending along the back of the animal, an idea supported by known articulated specimens [5] and the fact that no two plates on any individual were exactly the same size and shape [6]. Preserved Sharpey’s fibers indicate the orientation of ligaments that held the plates up in a vertical orientation [7]. The tail spikes were arranged in two pairs at the end of the tail, with the larger pair more anterior. The spikes are thought to have exhibited a more posterolateral orientation compared to the plates [5]. Studying sexual selection in dinosaurs poses a challenge because distinguishing sexual dimorphism from non-sex-related individual, interspecific, and ontogenetic variation is difficult [8,9]. Small sample sizes also hinder efforts to statistically demonstrate sexual dimorphism [10]. Previous attempts to identify sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs have not fully considered alternative explanations [11–23], and early work was not quantitative [24,25]. Despite strong evidence for sexual dimorphism in the pterosaurs Darwinopterus [26] and Hamipterus [27], some researchers have proposed that dinosaur ornamentation, such as the back plates of Stegosaurus, was not sexually dimorphic and instead was used for species recognition [28–32] or was under mutual sexual selection [33]. A lack of demonstrated instances of sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs is often cited as evidence for a lack of sexual selection occurring in the group [28–32]. Previous claims of sexual dimorphism within Stegosauria have suffered from the same issues as other attempts to observe sexual dimorphism in non-avian dinosaurs. Geometric morphometrics identified two types of proximal-end femur shape independent from overall size differences in Kentrosaurus aethiopicus [22]. The ratio of the occurrence of robust femora to gracile femora was about 2:1. However, slight differences in long bones could be a result of non-sex-related individual or ontogenetic variation. This study did not examine the ontogeny of these femora using histological thin sections. The long bones of dinosaurs grew along their long axis by ossification of cartilage at their proximal and distal ends [34]. As the ossified portions of these femora were the only parts preserved during fossilization, ontogeny might affect the morphology observed at their ends. Other studies found that in some individuals of K. aethiopicus [15] and Dacentrurus armatus [19], which normally have four pairs of sacral ribs, the first sacral vertebra provides an extra set of sacral ribs. Due to the isolated nature of these bones, this variation could not be correlated to any other variation in the skeleton. However, one specimen of K. aethiopicus has robust femora and four sacral ribs [35,36]. Both sacral types can be observed in different specimens of Stegosaurus. Variation in sacral rib count has been interpreted as sexual dimorphism without investigation into possible non-sex-related individual or ontogenetic explanations. Claims of sexual dimorphism in stegosaurs, like those for other non-avian dinosaurs, did not test all alternate hypotheses for the variation they observed, making them inconclusive. S. mjosi is the easiest species to diagnose within the genus. It should be noted that while S. mjosi is used here, this species has been previously referred to as Hesperosaurus mjosi, and its taxonomic status is debated [37–39]. Arguments for the validity of Hesperosaurus as a separate genus from Stegosaurus likely need further addressing. The holotype specimen is HMNS 14 (previously HMNS 001 [37]). Three more specimens have been discovered at the Howe Ranch in Wyoming [4,38,40]. These include SMA 0092 (previously SMA L02 [38]), VFSMA 001 (previously SMA 3074-FV01 [39] and SMA M04 [38]), and SMA 0018 (previously SMA V03 [38]). At least five new individuals are added here from the JRDI 5ES Quarry (S1 Fig) near Grass Range, Montana, along with at least two individuals from the Meilyn Quarry in Como Bluff, Wyoming [41], based on the number of pelves. Among other diagnostic characters (especially in the vertebral series and pelvis [37–39]), the most important diagnostic character of this species is the teardrop-shaped, non-bifurcated tips of neural spines on the anterior caudal vertebrae, making S. mjosi unique among North American stegosaurs. The shapes and sizes of forty S. mjosi plates were examined along with those from three articulated specimens of other species of Stegosaurus for comparison. Plate measurements were taken by hand using calipers and a tape measure as well as from scaled photographs. The most likely lateral outline was determined by examining the plate for broken edges, and each fairly complete plate was categorized as either complete enough for an accurate outline to be reconstructed (n = 26 for S. mjosi) or not entirely complete, but still allowing for a plausible outline to be reconstructed (n = 14 for S. mjosi). Principal component analysis (PCA) was carried out on the S. mjosi plates to observe variation in size and shape. In addition to investigating the taphonomy of the JRDI 5ES Quarry, the ontogenetic statuses of the stegosaur bones were examined using the same methodology of previous histological studies of Stegosaurus [42–44]. This histological analysis involved X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans of 11 plates and four tail spikes and thin sections of samples taken from the base, middle, and apex of nine plates as well as from the midshaft of a tibia and femur. Discussion The dimorphism in the plates could be explained by several alternative hypotheses other than sexual dimorphism: non-sex-related individual variation, one individual possessing both morphs of plates, interspecific variation, and ontogenetic variation. Alternate Hypothesis: Non-sex-related Individual Variation The dimorphism is not a result of non-sex-related individual variation. PCA, combined with simple observation, demonstrates that intermediately shaped plates are lacking. Clearly intermediate morphologies would typically be expected under non-sex-related individual variation. Results such as these satisfy previously proposed criteria for quantitative evidence of size- and shape-based dimorphism [20]. Alternate Hypothesis: One Individual Possessing Both Morphs of Plates The two plate morphs do not occur in any single individual. The dimorphism occurs along the entire plates series as both morphs can be classified into cervical, dorsal, or caudal plates. As plates of both morphs demonstrate a range of angle values similar to that seen in the complete, articulated specimens (S20 Fig), both represent plates from all regions of the plate series from head to tail. The size of S. mjosi plates also peaks at roughly the same angle value as seen on the articulated specimens (~70°). Furthermore, all isolated specimens of S. mjosi possess plates of solely one morph. SMA 0092 is a tall morph individual while HMNS 14, SMA 0018, and VFSMA 001 are wide morph individuals. Alternate Hypothesis: Interspecific Variation The dimorphism is not a result of interspecific variation. Taphonomy of the JRDI 5ES Quarry suggests that individuals of both morphs co-existed, and possibly comprised a social group, because they were likely together at the time of death and their bodies were not transported before burial. It should be noted that being together at the time of death does not necessarily imply sociality as mass death assemblages of asocial species can be found in the fossil record [46]. The single stratigraphic horizon implies a simultaneous burial for the different individuals. The paleocurrent was weak as indicated by the mudstone lithology as well as the lack of common orientation among the long axes of bones, suggesting a low energy depositional environment. The lack of other macroscopic fossil taxa in the stegosaur bed might have been due to eutrophic or ephemeral conditions. The presence of associated elements as well as small and fragile bones suggests little transportation before burial. As the bones show no polishing or wear and are not divided into Voorhies groups, any large degree of water transportation is unlikely. The lack of bite marks and shed teeth suggests that scavengers did not transport the bones. The jumbled pattern of bones in the quarry is likely due to disassociation as a result of decomposition of the carcasses prior to burial as well as movements of the bones post-burial as the clays swelled and contracted through hydration and desiccation. Bone disassociation as a result of swelling and contracting clays is seen in other Morrison dinosaur quarries such as the Cleveland-Lloyd Quarry [47]. The group in the JRDI 5ES Quarry appears to be monospecific. If the two morphs represented different species, morphological features that might indicate niche partitioning would be expected, such as in the skull or limbs. Instead, only the plates were found to be dimorphic after examination of the JRDI 5ES Quarry specimens and all other S. mjosi specimens. Although the largest isolated specimens of S. mjosi are wide morphs, there is not enough evidence as of yet to determine if the two morphs showed differences in body size. The JRDI 5ES Quarry is the first instance of a multi-individual, monospecific Morrison Formation site to contain Stegosaurus. While both tall and wide morphs plates have been found in the Meilyn Quarry, the lithology suggests fluvial transportation and other dinosaur species are found alongside the stegosaur individuals [41]. Alternate Hypothesis: Ontogenetic Variation The dimorphism is not a result of ontogenetic variation. Prior histological work has already provided some evidence against this alternate hypothesis. The wide morph is known from fully-grown, old adults specimens HMNS 14 [44] and SMA 0018 [43]. Wide morph specimen VFSMA 0001 and tall morph specimen SMA 0092 were sexually mature adults that were still growing [43]. The JRDI 5ES Quarry bone bed has produced a pair of femora only 70 cm in length (compared to the maximum size of S. mjosi femora at 96 cm) as well as the largest known tall morph plate. As the individuals from this quarry come in a range of sizes, the possibility of ontogenetic variation had to be examined. Initial observations hinted at the presence of maturity in the quarry, as there are very large plates of both morphs that often show well-developed external vasculature. Both morphs of plates in the quarry show indicators of sexual maturity described by previous researchers [42–44]. Internal, vascular piping in the plates is one such indication. Histological features further show reduced or halted growth and increased remodeling that appear after sexual maturity and as the individual reaches full size. The presence of an EFS in two of the tall morph plates indicates that these plates had ceased their growth and came from fully-grown adults. The wide morph plates tend to show features of young adults that are sexually mature, yet still growing, while the tall morph plates tend to show more features of fully-grown, old adults. The slight difference in ontogeny between the two morphs in the quarry is further evidence that the two morphs of plates come from separate individuals rather than from different positions along the back of one animal. However, it cannot be said with confidence how many individuals of each morph contributed to the collection of plates recovered at the JRDI 5ES Quarry. All that is known is that there are at least five individuals found in the quarry based on the number of pelves, and that the plates from this site must come from at least two individuals, one of each morph. The axial channels in the spikes are evidence of the presence of old adults [44] while the histology of the tibia and femur are evidence of the presence of sexually mature adults that are still growing [43]. In combination with previous histological studies on other specimens, plates of both morphs of S. mjosi came from sexually mature, young adults as well as fully-grown, old adults. The discovery of an old adult, tall morph individual that was fully-grown completes the expected ontogenetic ranges seen in both morphs under the premise of sexual dimorphism. One morph is not the immature form of the other. Conclusions With all alternate hypotheses apparently ruled out, sexual dimorphism is the most likely explanation for the observed variation in the plates. The evidence provided here is the first support for sexual dimorphism in a non-avian dinosaur that rules out all other possible explanations for the observed morphological variation. More importantly, the dimorphism occurs in the ornamentation. As a result, S. mjosi ornamentation was likely a secondary sexual characteristic. No medullary bone was found in the femur or tibia sampled from the JRDI 5ES Quarry that might allow for one of the morphs to be assigned as definitively female. Without this particular tissue, and without any specimens preserved with eggs inside the body cavity, it is not possible to assign sexes to the two morphs with absolute certainty. However, modern analogs might be able to provide clues. Stegosaurs were very unusual animals, and no extant species are perfect analogs. However, bovids might be one of the best options. In addition to both being large, quadrupedal herbivores, stegosaur plates and modern bovid horns are both composed of a boney core surrounded by a keratin sheath. Applying the same reasoning garnered from studies of modern bovid horns [48–50] to S. mjosi plates, the wide morph may represent the male while the tall morph could represent the female (Fig 4). Compared to females, males are typically expected to invest more energy into growing and maintaining their ornamentation. Wide morph plates are 45% larger in maximum surface area than tall morph plates, and an energetics perspective would assign the wide morph as male. The larger wide morph plates were probably under sexual selection like male bovid horns and functioned to create a broad, continuous display surface along the animal’s back, like a billboard. Unlike sparring male bovids, the nature of Stegosaurus plates suggests that sexual selection occurred through female mate choice rather than male-male competition. In contrast to the immobile, vertical plates, tail spikes might have been able to function in antagonistic behavior. However, male-male competition is unlikely due to the possible lethality of Stegosaurus spikes [5,51,52]. In contrast, the ornaments of male bovids are typically thought to have evolved for non-lethal confrontation [48,49]. Furthermore, if Stegosaurus used its spikes in male-male competition, dimorphism would be expected in the spikes rather than the plates. The tall morphs, due to their more erect angle and pointed apex, were probably under natural selection like female bovid horns and functioned as prickly predator deterrents. PPT PowerPoint slide PowerPoint slide PNG larger image larger image TIFF original image Download: Fig 4. Hypothetical silhouettes of male and female S. mjosi. The wide morph exhibits more overlap between adjacent plates than does the tall morph, leading to a more continuous display surface. Sexual dimorphism in the size and shape and plates might have also occurred with other sexual differences such as sexual dichromatism. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123503.g004 The function of Stegosaurus plates, along with the ornamentation of other dinosaur species, has been a long-running debate in paleontology. These results suggest that Stegosaurus plates possibly had multiple functions because, despite the presence of sexual dimorphism, females still possessed plates. Based on an understanding of modern species, these likely included sex-related display and defense. These results may suggest that previously described ornament variations in dinosaurs are actually cases of sexual dimorphism. For example, the ontogeny of Triceratops horns [53] seems to match sexual variation seen in modern bovid horns, where males have horns with downward pointing tips that are better for sparring and resistance of lateral stresses and females have thinner and straighter horns with tips that point up and away from the skull that are more efficient stabbing weapons [48]. With the first evidence of sexual dimorphism in a dinosaur species, future histological research could examine the possibility of some Triceratops specimens with “juvenile” horns being sexually mature and fully-grown. Materials and Methods The plate morphologies of all available S. mjosi specimens identified by this study were examined (HMNS 14, SMA 0018, SMA 0092, VFSMA 001, as well as newly identified specimens housed at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center and Judith River Dinosaur Institute). Additionally, several articulated Stegosaurus specimens not of the species S. mjosi (DMNS 2818, NHMUK R36730, and USNM 4934) were examined for comparison. NHMUK R36730 has been previously referred to as SMA DS-RCR-2003-02 [54], SMA RCR0603 [43], and SMA S01 [38]. Specimens used in this study are housed in the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (DMNS), Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences (HMNS), Judith River Dinosaur Institute (JRDI), Natural History Museum in London (NHMUK), Sauriermuseum Aathal (SMA), United States National Museum (USNM), Verein für das Sauriermuseum Aathal (VFSMA), and Wyoming Dinosaur Center (WDC). The CT scans, in CD-ROM format, and the histological thin section slides of the JRDI 5ES Quarry specimens are housed with the specimens themselves at the Judith River Dinosaur Institute. After establishing a quantitative basis for dimorphism in plate shape, this variation was tested against various alternate explanatory hypotheses. This involved further methodologies including examination of the taphonomy of the JRDI 5ES Quarry using the quarry map and basic sedimentology of the site, X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans of the JRDI 5ES plates and spikes, and the preparation of histological thin sections of samples taken from JRDI 5ES plates and long bones. Plate Measurements Measurements were made by hand and from scaled photographs taken with a Nikon D40 camera (18–55 mm lens) using Adobe Photoshop CC on a MacBook 7 with 2 GB of RAM and a 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor. As some plates were on mounted specimens and were difficult to get close to, the distance at which photographs were taken varied. Photographs were taken at a distance as close to the plate as possible such that the entire plate was included in the frame and the plate was viewed in lateral profile. Measurements for PCA were made of the angle between the center of the base and the apex in degrees, the length of the base in cm, the perimeter of the plate in cm, the ‘width’ of the plate in cm (typically the major axis in wide morphs and minor axis in tall morphs), the distance from the center of the base to the apex in cm, and the surface area of the plate in cm2 (Fig 5). The angle between the base of the plate and the apex was taken as the acute angle formed between the line connecting the anterior and posterior limits of the base and the line connecting the apex to the midpoint of the previous line. The shape of the large caudal plate on wide morph specimen HMNS 14 (#1 in S4A Fig) lent itself to have ‘width’ measured in the same manner as those of tall morph plates such that ‘width’ equals the minor axis. The shape of the first dorsal plate on tall morph specimen SMA 0092 (#1 in S3B Fig) lent itself to have ‘width’ measured in the same manner as those of wide morph plates such that the ‘width’ equals the major axis. Surface area was calculated to the nearest cm2 by measuring the area of one side of a plate from a scaled photograph, and then multiplying by two to get the whole surface area of the plate. The base of the plate, presumably embedded in the skin during life, was included in this measure since it is difficult to estimate what portion of a plate was exposed above the skin. A plausible lateral outline for each plate was determined to the highest accuracy that the completeness of the fossil allowed. To determine this, plates were examined for broken edges and thickness measurements were taken at various points along the edge using a pair of digital calipers. If a plate is unusually thick at one location, then it is likely that this edge is broken because most plates continuously thin from base to apex and from the center to the edges. The same outline used to calculate surface area was used to determine the perimeter of the plate. Principal component analysis was done using the prcomp() function of stats package version 3.1.0 in R version 0.98.501 (S1 Script). Default options were used for prcomp() except that scale = TRUE. S6 Fig and S20 Fig were also created in R. PPT PowerPoint slide PowerPoint slide PNG larger image larger image TIFF original image Download: Fig 5. Diagrammatic depiction of measurements. (A) Vertical oval/triangular plates (JRDI 5ES-579). Tall morph S. mjosi plates typically fall under this category. The minor axis, rather than the anteroposterior width, was the value used for ‘width’ in PCA. (B) Horizontal oval plates (JRDI 5ES-523). Wide morph S. mjosi plates typically fall under this category. The major axis was the value used for ‘width’ in PCA. (C) Sub-right trapezoidal plates (DMNS 2818). The major axis and anteroposterior width tend to converge. The major axis was the value used for ‘width’ in PCA. (D) Shoulder plates (NHMUK R36730). These plates have a distinctive diamond shape. The distance from the center of the base to the apex and the major axis tend to converge. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0123503.g005 Histological Analysis CT scanning was done at the radiology department of Billings Clinic in Billings, Montana (Siemens Somatom Sensation 64, Siemens corporation, 0.6 mm acquisition, 1.0 mm slice thickness, 140 kV, 180 mA). Eleven plates (JRDI 5ES-237, JRDI 5ES-256, JRDI 5ES-296, JRDI 5ES-357, JRDI 5ES-401, JRDI 5ES-518, JRDI 5ES-523, JRDI 5ES-525, JRDI 5ES-552, JRDI 5ES-553, JRDI 5ES-579), one of which was only a fragment of a base, and four tail spikes (JRDI 5ES-232, JRDI 5ES-245, JRDI 5ES-258, JRDI 5ES-260) were scanned. Scans were saved onto CD-ROM and then viewed using Syngo FastView software on a Dell desktop with 32 GB of RAM and a 3.6 GHz Intel Core i7-3820 processor Samples for thin sectioning were taken from the base, middle, and apex of nine plates from the JRDI 5ES Quarry as well as from midshaft on the cranial surface of one femur (JRDI 5ES-229) and one tibia (JRDI 5ES-501) along the mediolateral plane. Wedge-shaped samples approximately 2 cm wide and 2 cm tall were cut from the plates and tibia using a dremel saw with a diamond-coated blade. The sample from the femur was taken using a drill press to retrieve a core approximately 1 cm in diameter from midshaft. These samples were then sent to Spectrum Petrographics, Inc. in Vancouver, Washington to be made into 27 mm by 46 mm slides embedded in EPOTEK 301 and cut to 30 microns in thickness. Slides were analyzed using a Leica DM750 light microscope with plane and crossed polarized light settings and equipped with a Leica ICC50 HD camera. These images were then viewed using Leica Acquire software. Plate Numbering of Articulated Specimens The following reasoning was applied in order to determine plate numbers on articulated Stegosaurus specimens for S6 Fig USNM 4934 has 17 plates [39,55], the anterior 11 of which are inaccessible due to the current position of the specimen in its display. It should be noted that previous reconstructions have also combined material from USNM 4934 and USNM 4714 [6], with some even adding an 18th plate [56]. DMNS 2818 has 16 plates [5,57,58]. NHMUK R36730 has 18 plates, more than any other stegosaur previously discovered [4]. Therefore, it is likely that all Stegosaurus individuals had 18 plates and it was assumed that specimens with fewer plates are incomplete rather than representing biological variation in plate number. The degree of articulation of USNM 4934 decreases from anterior to posterior along the specimen. It seems probable that USNM 4934 is missing its most posterior plate (plate #18) and that DMNS 2818 is missing its last two most posterior plates (plates #17 and #18). These posterior tail plates would be smaller than the tail plates that were preserved with the specimens, making them more likely to be transported away from the rest of the body. As for NHMUK R36730, the method of numbering the plates follows that used in the mounted cast at the Sauriermuseum Aathal [4] with three modifications (S21 Fig). First, in the mounted specimen, a gap in the series of plates was inferred and filled in with a hypothetical 19th plate (placed in the 14th plate position on the mount). There is no reason to add an extra plate when only 18 were discovered, so this hypothetical plate was ignored. Second, the plate originally described as the 5th plate is now plate #18 because its morphology clearly matches those of distal tail plates in other Stegosaurus specimens. Third, the plate originally described as the 15th plate is now plate #11 because this plate was found isolated from the rest of the body close to the anterior half of the skeleton. It was assigned the 11th position because it has a surface area in-between the plates directly anterior and posterior to it. By labeling this plate as a dorsal plate rather than a caudal plate, it results in plate #13 being the largest on the body. The largest plate on DMNS 2818 is also plate #13 [5,58]. Acknowledgments Most of this research was done while in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at Princeton University, and I thank the University and others for support. The Judith River Dinosaur Institute (Billings, MT) excavated and prepared the JRDI 5ES Quarry specimens with the help of many volunteers. Billings Clinic (Billings, MT) carried out the CT scanning with technologists C. Banfield and J. Orendorff operating the scanner while J. Burton, J. Duncan, R. Hargrove, and M. Kongaika arranged for the scans to take place. N. Murphy (JRDI) and M. Lent (Billings, MT) assisted in taking samples for thin sections, as well as the CT scanning. M. Lent provided the drill press. Spectrum Petrographics, Inc. (Vancouver, WA) produced the thin sections. L. Goodell (Princeton University) provided access to the microscope. T. Bolliger (SMA), M. Brett-Surman (USNM), L. Ivy (DMNS), P. Larson (Black Hills Institute of Geological Research), and H. J. Siber (SMA) assisted me on my visits to various institutions. K. Carpenter (Utah State University Eastern) provided images of HMNS 14. H. Finlayson (DMNS), M. Lukens (Laramie, WY), T. Saitta (Jacksonville, FL), and W. Wahl (WDC) assisted in measuring bones. M. Benton (University of Bristol), J. Vinther (University of Bristol), J. Gould (Princeton University), A. Maloof (Princeton University), B. vonHoldt (Princeton University), D. Richmond (Devon Energy, Oklahoma City, OK), and N. Murphy provided comments. Author Contributions Conceived and designed the experiments: ETS. Performed the experiments: ETS. Analyzed the data: ETS. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: ETS. Wrote the paper: ETS. ||||| Around 150 million years ago, it might not have been that difficult to look at a Stegosaurus and tell whether it was a male or a female. Today, however, it's a big challenge. Researchers find themselves staring at piles of bones, often unable to tell whether they're looking at multiple animals, different species, or one individual with a number of variations. Because of that, researchers seem to agree that there's been no convincing evidence so far for sex-based differences — like the mane on a male lion, a phenomenon scientists call "sexual dimorphism" — in any dinosaur, despite those differences being common among modern animals. "It's a feature we'd expect to see." Despite those difficulties, a researcher at the University of Bristol now says that he's found the "best evidence yet" for sexual dimorphism in one species of Stegosaurus. In a paper published this afternoon in PLOS One, Evan Saitta describes differences in the plates running along the spine of the Stegosaurus mjosi that may differentiate the species' males and females. "There's simply no other explanation" for the different plates, Saitta tells The Verge. In the work, performed while he was an undergraduate at Princeton University, Saitta identified two types of plates: one that was narrow and tall and another that was shorter but much wider. "By ruling out other possible explanations, I can say with some confidence that I think it is sexual dimorphism that's causing the two distinct types of plates," he says. The males, he posits, likely had the wider plates, potentially as a way to attract mates. To land on sexual dimorphism, Saitta first had to rule out quite a few other alternate possibilities — possibilities that papers in the past have failed to address. Those include whether these plates could have come from Stegosaurus of different ages, from different species of Stegosaurus, or from common variations within the species that would occur regardless of sex. Having eliminated those possibilities using aging techniques and observations of multiple specimens, Saitta settled on sexual dimorphism as the reason for the differences. "Male and female sexual dimorphism is the only thing that's left," he says. "It makes sense, too. It's a feature we'd expect to see." "I would not accept this as evidence of sexual dimorphism." While sexual dimorphism is certainly a possible explanation, other researchers aren't quite as convinced as Saitta. Kevin Padian, a paleontologist and professor of integrative biology at University of California, Berkeley who wasn't involved in the study, says that he sees "no evidence" of a distinction between the two plate types that Saitta identifies. "Without better association documented, or better skeletochronology, you can’t tell," Padian writes in an email to The Verge. "At any rate I would not accept this as evidence of sexual dimorphism, or of dimorphism at all." Basically, Padian sees Saitta's study as falling victim to the same gaps in research as prior reports on sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs. He doesn't see the study as being able to rule out the many alternate possibilities for why these differences exist. "There is no convincing evidence of how many animals are present, how the bones and plates may be associated, whether the animal(s) in question may be fully grown, or what the absolute age of any specimen is," Padian writes. Another paleontologist contacted by The Verge, who was not involved in the study and did not want to publicly criticize the work, agreed that there were issues with the findings. He said that the study presents a good case for dimorphism, but that it isn't necessarily sexual — it could still turn out to represent other differences, such as distinctions between species. If dimorphism is present, it could be for other purposes Saitta disagrees with their conclusions, writing in an email to The Verge that it sounded like Padian "looked for anything that might counter my claims without actually reading through the whole of the evidence." (Padian says that the study's supplemental material doesn't change the story.) "Determining sexual dimorphism is about ruling out other possibilities," Saitta writes. "I stand by my statement that these stegosaurs represent the best evidence yet for sexual dimorphism, as did my peer reviewers, since other possibilities have been tested for." Albert Prieto-Marquez, an evolutionary biology researcher who is also at the University of Bristol but was not involved in the study, reiterates that idea in an email to The Verge. "This is a rare case among dinosaurs in which sexual dimorphism could be shown to be the hypothesis that best fits the morphological data in the fossils," he writes. Concerns with the paper only underscore how difficult it remains to identify sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs. That is — if it existed at all. It's possible that dinosaurs' ornamentation, like the plates on the back of a Stegosaurus, were actually used for other purposes, such as identifying separate species, rather than identifying males and females within a species. "Some people were suggesting that maybe it was for species recognition and all that," Saitta says. "I think that's a generalization. Simply looking at living animals today, the presence of sexual dimorphism is so widespread ... that it's unbelievable to think that no dinosaurs were sexually dimorphic. I just don't see how that's possible." ||||| A member of staff from the Natural History Museum poses for a photograph next to the world's most complete Stegosaurus skeleton, in London December 3, 2014. WASHINGTON For extinct creatures like dinosaurs known only from fossils, it is notoriously difficult to differentiate the males from the females of a species because sex distinctions are rarely obvious from the skeletons. But in the case of the well-known Jurassic dinosaur Stegosaurus, a study published on Wednesday may provide a handy how-to guide on telling the boys from the girls based on the shape of the big bony plates protruding from its back. Stegosaurus, which roamed the western United States about 150 million years ago, was a large, four-legged plant-eater with two rows of plates along its back, as well as two pairs of spikes at the end of its tail to clobber predators. The largest Stegosaurus species reached about 30 feet (9 meters). The species in this study, Stegosaurus mjosi, measured roughly 21 feet (6.5 meters). A Montana Stegosaurus "graveyard" contained fossils of several individuals, with plates coming in two distinct varieties: some wide, others tall. The wide ones reached sizes 45 percent larger in surface area than the taller ones, which were nearly 3 feet (90 cm) high. "Males typically invest more into their ornamentation than do females, so the larger wide plates were likely from males," said Evan Saitta, a 23-year-old paleontology graduate student at Britain's University of Bristol whose study appears in the journal PLOS ONE. "The broad, thin structure of the plates and their positioning on the back of the animal suggests that they were used in sexual display, analogous to the tail of a peacock. The broad, wide plates likely made a continuous display surface along the animal's back to attract mates, like a billboard." To test whether the plate differences were instead because some individuals were young and others old, CT scans and microscopic analyses were performed that showed the bone tissue had ceased growing, meaning both varieties came from full-grown adults. Anatomical and other differences between the sexes of a single species, like a male lion's mane or a male deer's antlers, are called sexual dimorphism. Sexual dimorphism examples have been proposed in other dinosaurs, but many scientists find those inconclusive. Saitta said the Stegosaurus plates may be "the most convincing evidence for sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs to date." University of Bristol paleontologist Michael Benton added, "It suggests that many dinosaurs used sexual display, as birds and mammals do today, usually the males displaying or mock fighting to attract attention of females." (Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler) ||||| The first convincing evidence for sexual differences in a species of dinosaur has been described by University of Bristol MSc student, Evan Saitta, in a study of the iconic dinosaur Stegosaurus, published today in the scientific journal PLOS ONE. Stegosaurus, a large, herbivorous dinosaur with two staggered rows of bony plates along its back and two pairs of spikes at the end of its tail, lived roughly 150 million years ago during the Late Jurassic in the western United States. Some individuals had wide plates, some had tall, with the wide plates being up to 45 per cent larger overall than the tall plates. According to the new study, the tall-plated Stegosaurus and the wide-plated Stegosaurus were not two distinct species, nor were they individuals of different age: they were actually males and females. Professor Michael Benton, Director of the Masters in Palaeobiology at the University of Bristol said: “Evan made this discovery while he was completing his undergraduate thesis at Princeton University. It’s very impressive when an undergraduate makes such a major scientific discovery.” Sexual dimorphism (a term used to describe distinct anatomical differences between males and females of the same species) is common in living animals – think of the manes of lions or the antlers of deer – yet is surprisingly difficult to determine in extinct species. Despite many previous claims of sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs, current researchers find them to be inconclusive because they do not rule out other possible explanations for why differences in anatomy might be present between fossil specimens. For example, two individuals that differ in anatomy might be two separate species, a young and an old individual, or a male and a female individual. Having spent six summers in central Montana as part of an excavation crew digging up the first ever Stegosaurus ‘graveyard’, Evan Saitta was able to test these alternative explanations and others in the species Stegosaurus mjosi. The group of dinosaurs excavated in Montana demonstrated the coexistence of individuals that only varied in their plates. Other skeletal differences indicating separation of ecological niches would have been expected if the two were different species. The study also found that the two varieties were not a result of growth. CT scanning at Billings Clinic in Montana, as well as thin sections sampled from the plates for microscope analysis, showed that the bone tissues had ceased growing in both varieties. Neither type of plate was in the process of growing into the other. With other possibilities ruled out, the best explanation for the two varieties of plates is that one type belonged to males and the other, females. Speculating about which is which, Evan Saitta said: “As males typically invest more in their ornamentation, the larger, wide plates likely came from males. These broad plates would have provided a great display surface to attract mates. The tall plates might have functioned as prickly predator deterrents in females.” Stegosaurus may not have been the only dinosaur to exhibit sexual dimorphism. Other species showed extra-large crests or nose horns, which were potentially sexual features. Male animals often fight or display for mates, just like red deer or peacocks today. Not only does Saitta’s work show that dinosaurs exhibited sexual dimorphism, it suggests that the ornamentation of at least some species was used for sexual display. The presence of sexual dimorphism in an extinct species can provide scientists with a much clearer picture of its behaviour than would otherwise be possible. Paper ‘Evidence for Sexual Dimorphism in the Plated Dinosaur Stegosaurus mjosi (Ornithischia, Stegosauria) from the Morrison Formation (Upper Jurassic) of Western USA’ by Evan Saitta in PLOS ONE

– If the sight of broad, wide plates along the back of a stegosaurus fails to drive you wild with desire, that's probably because you're not a female stegosaurus. In what the University of Bristol calls the "first convincing evidence for sexual differences in a species of dinosaur," researcher Evan Saitta says you can tell the male stegosauruses from the ladies by their plates. He tells Reuters that in males, the "broad, wide plates likely made a continuous display surface along the animal's back to attract mates," serving much the same showoff function as a peacock's feathers. Females had taller, narrower plates that probably served to ward off predators, he says. Some paleontologists have their doubts about the conclusion of the study, which is published in the journal PLoS ONE, but Saitta tells the Verge he studied enough specimens to rule out other explanations, like age or variations within the species, for the differences in plates. And the study may be just the beginning of dinosaur sexing, as researchers take a fresh look at features like nose horns: The stegosaurus finding "suggests that many dinosaurs used sexual display, as birds and mammals do today, usually the males displaying or mock fighting to attract attention of females," a fellow University of Bristol paleontologist tells Reuters. (New research suggests the brontosaurus really did exist.)

Yahoo appears to be making progress in efforts to sell itself, despite some initial skepticism. The latest piece of evidence: Among those vying for the company is the unusual combination of the investor Warren E. Buffett and Dan Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. That consortium is one of several suitors that have moved into the second round of bidding for Yahoo, according to people briefed on the matter. Mr. Gilbert is leading the bid, said the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly. Mr. Buffett’s conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, is offering to provide financing, as he has done with the investment firm 3G Capital in its takeovers of H. J. Heinz and Kraft, and is leaving the negotiations to Mr. Gilbert, according to the people. The unusual presence of Mr. Gilbert and Mr. Buffett in the bidding suggest just how far Yahoo and its advisers have cast their net to find potential buyers for the embattled Internet company. ||||| SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Warren Buffett struck media gold with a 2012 investment in debt-laden Media General Inc MEG.N. Now the famed investor may try to reprise that success by supporting a bid for Yahoo Inc’s YHOO.O Internet assets. Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, prepares to speak at the Fortune's Most Powerful Women's Summit in Washington October 13, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo The Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) chairman is backing a consortium that includes Quicken Loans Inc founder Dan Gilbert, that is seeking to buy Yahoo’s online portfolio, Reuters reported on Friday. The consortium is in the second round of bidding in the auction for Yahoo’s assets, people familiar with the matter said. Buffett is helping to finance the offer, one of the people added. If they succeed, the investment would be a relatively rare foray into digital media for Buffett, whose portfolio is heavily weighted toward U.S. insurers, industrial companies and major consumer brands. Yahoo, once the world’s largest consumer email service, has struggled in recent years to compete with Alphabet Inc’s Google (GOOGL.O) and Facebook Inc (FB.O) for digital advertising market share. In February, CEO Marissa Mayer announced the company would auction off its Internet business and cut 15 percent of its workforce. It is also selling $1 billion to $3 billion in noncore assets such as patents and property. Poynter Institute media business analyst Rick Edmonds said Buffett’s history of betting on struggling companies that maintain a large consumer base could work in Yahoo’s favor. In the case of Media General, Buffett bought a majority of the company’s newspapers, making him one of the largest publishers in the United States as the industry struggled with plummeting advertising and subscription revenue. Buffett also provided nearly $450 million in debt relief to Media General, whose remaining business focused on dozens of local U.S. television stations and related websites, in return for a stake of nearly 20 percent in the company. The day the transaction was announced, Media General’s shares jumped 30 percent. The stock closed Friday at $17.12, up from $3.32 in May 2012. “It’s kind of consistent with Buffett’s pattern of buying things that are out of favor, undervalued and have a big customer base,” Edmonds said. The paradox is Yahoo’s huge, it remains huge, and it’s got a lot of customers. It’s not the case customers are fleeing them right and left, it’s just that no one can get a good pattern of growth.” Pivotal Research Analyst Brian Wieser agreed the move would be a familiar one for Buffett. “Yahoo is known for having a lot of assets that have a lot of potential that for a host of reasons have not realized that potential,” he said. Former Yahoo president and chief financial officer Susan Decker said last month on CNBC that the next owner should “create a distinction in consumers’ minds about why they love Yahoo still.” She said that plan would be helped if Yahoo is “private or part of a much larger corporation.” During a CNBC interview earlier this month Buffett said that Yahoo’s business has “continuously slipped” but did not mention a bid or a specific turnaround strategy. Buffett and Dan Gilbert have been close friends since 2012, when Gilbert joined the Giving Pledge, an initiative created by Buffett and Bill Gates to encourage billionaires to give away at least half of their wealth during their lifetime or at death. Berkshire Hathaway provided insurance on a $1 billion prize offered by Quicken Loans to anyone who completed a perfect bracket in the 2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s basketball tournament. No one pulled off the feat. “There could well be more business relationships in the future, but beyond that it’s a friendship,” Buffett said, referring to Gilbert, in a telephone interview with Reuters on April 5. Part of the consortium’s interest may lie in Yahoo Finance. Gilbert has shown strong interest in that unit, according to a source who asked not to be identified. Buffett has credited Yahoo with doing a “terrific” job during live streaming of Berkshire’s April 30 shareholders conference. At that meeting he also admitted that Berkshire had been slow to adapt to new technology as far as its investments were concerned. (This story corrects paragraph 12 to show analyst was referring to Yahoo’s assets, not Buffett’s assets. Deletes reference in paragraph 13 to involvement of former Yahoo CEO Levinsohn and Berkshire board member Decker) ||||| Berkshire previously provided financing to investment firm 3G Capital for its takeovers of Heinz and Kraft. Berkshire was also an equity partner in that transaction, and remains a major equity partner in Kraft Heinz. Read MoreCan Buffett-backed bid unlock Yahoo growth where others failed? The Yahoo deal would be different, as Berkshire would only putting up financing if it's secured. Reuters first reported on Friday that Buffett would consider helping finance Gilbert's offer for Yahoo. Gilbert is the chairman of Quicken Loans and the owner of the National Basketball Association's Cleveland Cavaliers. Former senior Yahoo executives Dan Rosensweig and Tim Cadogan have been advising Gilbert, according to Recode. The process of selling the struggling internet firm is in its second round. Verizon Communications, which acquired AOL last year for $4.4 billion, is among the other bidders. Earlier this month, AOL CEO Tim Armstrong told CNBC: "It makes sense to look at [Yahoo]." Private-equity giant TPG Capital and a group that comprises rival PE firms Bain Capital and Vista Equity Partners, are also in the running for Yahoo, according to The New York Times. In the Bain-Vista bid, former senior Yahoo executives — including Ross Levinsohn, Bill Wise, and Ken Fuchs — are involved in the process, Recode reported. Read MoreA classic Buffett investing strategy doing better than you Yahoo, once the world's largest consumer email service, has struggled in recent years to compete with Alphabet's Google and Facebook for digital advertising market share. In February, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer announced the company would auction off its internet business and cut 15 percent of its workforce. The company is also selling $1 billion to $3 billion in noncore assets, such as patents and property. Former Yahoo president and CFO Susan Decker, who joined Berkshire in 2007, told CNBC last month that Yahoo has spread itself too thin. "Because of the breadth of what Yahoo does, they sort of became mediocre in so many properties." Decker said. "Yahoo would benefit from going private or becoming part of a larger corporation." Buffett and Gilbert have been close friends since 2012, when Gilbert joined the Giving Pledge — an initiative created by Buffett and Microsoftco-founder Bill Gates to encourage billionaires to give away at least half of their wealth. Berkshire provided insurance on the $1 billion prize offered by Quicken Loans to anyone who completed a perfect March Madness bracket in the 2014 National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament. No one pulled off the feat. Buffett told CNBC on the Monday after Berkshire's April 30 annual shareholders meeting that Yahoo Finance did a "terrific job" live streaming what's been described as the Woodstock of capitalism in Omaha Nebraska. This year was the first time Berkshire allowed the meeting to be streamed on the internet.

– The second round of bidding for Yahoo is underway, and a couple of bidders are getting an outsize amount of attention: what the New York Times terms the "unusual" pairing of Quicken Loans founder/Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and Warren Buffett. (Though maybe not so unusual: CNBC reports the two men have been good friends since 2012, when Gilbert signed on to Buffett and Bill Gates' Giving Pledge.) In comments to CNBC, Buffett indicated Gilbert is steering the ship here, saying, "Yahoo is not the type of thing I'd ever be an equity partner in. I don't know the business and wouldn't know how to evaluate it, but if Dan needed financing, with proper terms and protections, [Berkshire Hathaway] would be a possible financing help." Berkshire Hathaway took on a similar financing role in 3G Capital's takeovers of Heinz and Kraft. Reuters, which first reported news of the pairing on Friday, talks to analysts about what a successful bid by Gilbert and Buffett could mean. One line of speculation: that Berkshire director Susan Decker, a former president of Yahoo, could recommend rehiring some past Yahoo execs. Also reportedly in the second round: Verizon, and private equity firms TPG Capital and Bain Capital/Vista Equity Partners.

Melania Trump raked in six figures in royalties from photos that some news organizations used in coverage of the first lady. The photos came with a requirement that they only be used in “positive coverage.” NBC News’s Andrew W. Lehren, Emily R. Siegel, and Merritt Enright report that President Donald Trump’s 2017 financial disclosure forms revealed that Melania Trump had earned between $100,000 and $1,000,000 from Getty Images, a photo agency that many news outlets (including Vox) use to illustrate stories. The royalties came from a series of more than 180 posed photographs, which were shot by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux between 2010 and 2016. The photographs are posed shots and portraits of Melania, often with her husband and their son Barron. They’ve also been featured on a few magazine covers. The photographer, Mahaux, also took Melania Trump’s official White House portrait. The big caveat about this arrangement, according to NBC News: Agencies were only allowed to use the photos for positive coverage. According to NBC News, Getty included that requirement in its catalog. But it doesn’t seem as if it were made obvious to the news organizations that Melania Trump would be getting a cut of the photo revenue herself. A lot of news organizations apparently used these photos at some point, including NBC News itself. Yahoo News, the Daily Mail, and the Houston Chronicle are among the publications that used these photos while the Trumps were in office. Some of the photos were also used prior to 2017, but how much the Trumps earned from them isn’t clear as it wasn’t itemized on the financial disclosure form. (According to NBC News, some news organizations have now removed the images.) The whole story is strange for two reasons. First, it’s odd for news organizations would use photographs that came with any strings attached to its coverage — though it’s not clear how closely that rule was followed. Second, most subjects of photographs don’t get to take a share of the profits — at least not if they’re politicians or public figures. (Other celebrities sometimes receive royalties for their images, according to NBC.) Getty Images told NBC News that confidential agreements dictate the terms of the deal. The White House said in a statement that Trump’s financial disclosures — which included this detail about the photo royalties — was certified by the White House Ethics Counsel and Office of Government Ethics. This photo deal adds to the list of ethics concerns about the Trump administration, and whether the president and those in his orbit are profiting from his presidency. Trump is currently being sued over whether he’s in violation of the Constitution because his businesses, including his DC hotel, accepted payments from foreign governments. Other transactions have raised eyebrows, including the approval of Trump trademarks in China, and Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s combined $82 million in outside income in 2017 — and raised questions about potential conflicts of interest. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated By Andrew W. Lehren, Emily R. Siegel and Merritt Enright Since her husband took office Melania Trump has earned six figures from an unusual deal with a photo agency in which major media organizations have indirectly paid the Trump family despite a requirement that the photos be used only in positive coverage. President Donald Trump's most recent financial disclosure reveals that in 2017 the first lady earned at least $100,000 from Getty Images for the use of any of a series of 187 photos of the first family shot between 2010 and 2016 by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux. It's not unheard of for celebrities to earn royalties from photos of themselves, but it's very unusual for the wife of a currently serving elected official. More problematic for the many news organizations that have published or broadcast the images, however, is that Getty's licensing agreement stipulates the pictures can be used in "positive stories only." According to the revenue statement in President Trump's May financial disclosure, Melania Trump earned between $100,000 and $1,000,000 in photo royalties in 2017 from the Getty deal. A photo of Barron and Melania Trump taken by Regine Mahaux and licensed via Getty Images was used in a 2016 NBC Nightly News segment. Federal officials are only required to give an income range in their filings, and both Getty and the White House declined requests to provide more precise figures or list the places the images had appeared. But NBC News found at least a dozen organizations that had paid to use Mahaux's restricted images of the Trumps in 2017, resulting in indirect payment to the first family. Yahoo News, NBC News, Marie Claire, the Daily Mail, My San Antonio, Houston Chronicle, House Beautiful, and SF Gate, the website for The San Francisco Chronicle, are among those that have featured Mahaux's highly stylized family portraits since Trump took office. The February 2017 issue of the Russian edition of the fashion magazine Elle included a gilded Mahaux portrait of the first family. A Mahaux group portrait of Donald, Melania and son Barron Trump was featured on the May page of the White House 2017 calendar that was on sale in the White House gift shop for $14. Bent Publishing, which publishes the calendars, confirmed that it licensed the Mahaux photo for the 2017 calendar. The 2018 calendar now on sale at the gift shop does not include any Mahaux images. NBC News also found that numerous entities had used the images before President Trump took office, though no income from the Getty deal was itemized in any financial disclosure prior to 2017. In August 2016, Mahaux's portrait of then-candidate Trump and his wife was featured in the official Republican National Convention guide book that was given to each delegate. Campaign finance records show the money to pay for the guide came from political donations to the Republican National Committee. The program was produced by Great Lakes Publishing, which said it got the image from a committee involved in arranging the convention. Jeff Larson, a political consultant who ran that committee, said, "We didn't pay any royalties that I know of for that photo." NBC's Nightly News included the images in a Nightly News segment on Melania Trump that aired July 18, 2016, during the Republican National Convention. The French edition of Vanity Fair put one of the pictures on the cover of its August 2016 issue. Fox News used the photos in a variety of news segments in 2016. Greta Van Susteren's show "On the Record" included two portraits of Melania Trump during an interview Van Susteren did with the future first lady. In November 2016, after Trump's upset election win, the first episode of the Fox News show "OBJECTified," hosted by TMZ founder Harvey Levin, depicted the life and rise of Donald Trump. The episode included two of the images taken by Mahaux. A Fox News Channel spokesperson said in a statement that the Mahaux photos used by Fox "were provided by the Trump campaign and Melania Trump's office, who told us they had full ownership and rights to the photos." A screenshot of a My San Antonio/San Antonio Express article featuring a Regine Mahaux image of Melania Trump. My San Antonio took the story down after an inquiry from NBC News. An NBC News spokesperson said NBC News did not agree or sign a statement that the image would be used for positive coverage, and was never informed that a portion of the royalties would go to the Trump family. Several news organizations removed the images from their websites after inquiries by NBC News. Yahoo took them down and said in a statement: "We were not aware of this specific arrangement with Getty nor was our editorial influenced by it. We have removed the image from Yahoo Lifestyle." The San Francisco Chronicle deleted the images from its website as well, and said it was looking into how they came to be used. The photographs were also pulled from the websites for The Houston Chronicle and The San Antonio Express-News following inquiries by NBC News. Hearst Communications Inc. owns the three newspapers and their websites. The images remained on other Hearst websites like those for the magazines House Beautiful and Marie Claire. Representatives for those publications did not return repeated calls and emails. French Vanity Fair, Russian Elle, and the Daily Mail and Paris Match, which also used the photographs, did not respond to requests for comment. A 2017 calendar featuring Donald, Melania and Barron Trump was offered for sale at the White House gift shop, and included a Regine Mahaux photo. A portion of the gift shop's revenues is donated to rural police departments. In a standard photo contract, the photographer gets royalties and the photo agency receives fees for each use of an image. Models are not paid royalties. Paying royalties to the Trumps and limiting the use to only positive stories is unusual for news organizations, according to Akili Ramsess, executive director of the National Press Photographers Association. She said that celebrity wedding or baby photographs are sometimes licensed so part of the fees flows back to the celebrity. Keith Major, another Getty photographer who has also photographed Melania Trump, said he does not share royalties with her. Getty's licensing agreement does not offer any hint that money is also paid to the Trumps, and the arrangement did not appear to have become public until the income was listed in the president's May financial filing. However, Getty does make clear in its catalog that the images can only be licensed with permission by Getty or, in some cases, Mahaux, and that the images may be used for "positive stories only." News organizations likely would not have known about the payments to Melania Trump, but could have been aware of the published stipulation about positive coverage in the catalog. Indira Lakshmanan, a media ethicist at the Poynter Institute, said, "If I'm a news editor, I would use photos that don't have any restriction attached to them. There's a lesson for editors, for public figures. There are plenty of photos out there that you can use that don't have these restrictions." Getty Images told NBC News that the details and amounts of payments to the Trumps are covered by confidential agreements. The agency declined to say whether there are separate royalty arrangements with other members of the Trump families, and declined all comment on the deal other than to say that once a photo has been licensed, Getty pays "contracted royalties back to the photographer and/or individual(s) as covered by their confidential agreement." In a statement, a White House spokesperson said: "President Trump's recent Public Disclosure Report, which included information regarding Mrs. Trump's income and assets, was filed after being certified by the White House Ethics Counsel and the Office of Government Ethics. The report speaks for itself." When NBC News reached photographer Regine Mahaux by phone, she said "everything is legal" and then asked that any questions be submitted to her by email. NBC repeatedly emailed her questions but did not get a reply. Mahaux took the photos during sessions in 2010, 2011 and 2016. Most feature some combination of Trump, Melania and son Barron. At least one of the photos, depicting the future first lady floating inside a swan boat on a still lake, and her swinging from a chandelier, combines images into a composite. Getty noted in its online catalog that many of the images of the Trumps have been "retouched," including those that later appeared in various news publications. Mahaux has worked closely with the Trumps since 2010. Several albums on the Getty website feature her intimate photoshoots with the family in Trump Tower. "I like working with the family's image – it speaks to me. It inspires me," Mahaux told a French news outlet in 2017. Mahaux also took Melania Trump's official White House portrait, which is public and not subject to the licensing arrangement. Melania's 2017 income from the Mahaux photos is an increase from previous years, based on the president's financial filings. Royalties from Getty Images do not appear in any of the financial statements submitted by Trump in the three prior years. Melania Trump likely earned some money during those years, but the income was below the federal government's threshold required for declaring the income. Most modern first ladies have launched books and other commercial products during their stints in the White House — and then donated the entire proceeds to charity. Laura Bush donated a book advance to education charities, and Michelle Obama gave the proceeds from her book American Grown to the National Park Foundation. Among Trump administration spouses, Vice President Mike Pence's wife, Karen, announced that revenues from her children's book would be donated to a children's hospital in Indiana and an anti-sex-trafficking nonprofit. In 2017, Ivanka Trump, the president's daughter and wife of senior adviser Jared Kushner, said she would give most of the advance and any future royalties from her book "Women Who Work" to charity. The White House declined to comment on whether the Trumps have steered any of the proceeds from the Getty deal, which was consummated before Melania Trump became first lady, to a charity. Absent a public announcement, their annual tax returns might provide a hint — but unlike all other modern first families, the Trumps have not released them. However, some of the proceeds from at least one of Mahaux's pictures of the first lady seem to have made their way to charity through another means. The White House gift shop, which sold the 2017 White House calendar, donates part of its earnings to help rural police departments.

– NBC News spotted an oddity in the latest financial disclosure report from President Trump: It shows that first lady Melania Trump earned at least $100,000 in 2017 from certain photos used in mainstream news outlets. The story breaks it down: Melania Trump has posed for nearly 200 photos by Belgian photographer Regine Mahaux since 2010, often with her husband and son Barron. Those photos are available for a fee at Getty Images, and at least a dozen media outlets have used them over the years—including NBC News, Fox News, Yahoo News, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, and the Daily Mail. The kicker: Getty stipulates that the photos can be used only for positive coverage. When NBC reporters contacted reps at the various news organizations, including their own, they generally found that the outlets were unaware of the fine print stipulating positive coverage and had no idea royalties were going to the Trumps. Yahoo, for example, took down a photo in question. "We were not aware of this specific arrangement with Getty nor was our editorial influenced by it," it says in a statement. "We have removed the image from Yahoo Lifestyle." The whole thing is odd on two fronts, notes Vox: First, that "news organizations would use photographs that came with any strings attached to its coverage—though it's not clear how closely that rule was followed." And second, that someone other than a celebrity would be receiving royalties from photos of them, particularly a first lady.

The Republican National Committee is rolling out a plan to review what worked and what didn't for the party in the 2012 cycle, appointing five people at the top of a committee that will make recommendations on things like demographics, messaging and fundraising. The Growth and Opportunity Project is going to be chaired by RNC committee member Henry Barbour, longtime Jeb Bush adviser and political operative Sally Bradshaw, former George W. Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer, Puerto Rico RNC committee member Zori Fonalledas, and South Carolina RNC member Glenn McCall. Priebus, who is running for a second term, is holding a call with committee members to roll out the plan this afternoon. The plan is to focus on: campaign mechanics, fundraising, demographics, messaging, outside groups, campaign finance, the national primary process and, last but not least, what the successful Democratic efforts revealed about the way forward, and recommend plans for the way forward, sources familiar with the plan said. Priebus had told a large group of donors in New York last week that the review would be conducted outside the building and would not be led by RNC staff. But sources familiar with the project said that there are 2 RNC senior staffers, Ben Kay and Sara Armstrong, assigned to the project as support staff, saying the goal between them and the RNC members involved was to have, as one source said, "both inside and outside influence" to bring in a several different points of view. Still, the source insisted that "the GOP has problems but they are solvable. We have to look at what we are doing right and what we’re doing wrong and lay out our vision and plans for Americans so everyone knows what we stand for. 2010 was the biggest mid-term win for one party since the 1938 election. Our ideas still resonate, but we need to examine what’s working and what isn’t. We have 30 Governors right now, but we want to listen and learn so we do better in presidential years as well." Still, given the complaints about the party, the composition of the committee includes at least one Priebus ally - Barbour - and others with ties to Bush-world. It includes demographic diversity, but less so ideologically. Officials said the review will include a broad swath of people within the party, including donors and grassroots members, but it remains to be seen how conservative activists react. The main focus of the review is inclusion of new voters for future victories, the sources said, calling the eight areas of review an initial start, with other areas getting talked about as time goes on. There will be "informal discussions with small and large groups," and formal sit-downs and conference calls. They will look to give Priebus a review in the coming months, the source said. The RNC isn’t the only group assessing how 2012 went so terribly wrong. The high command of American Crossroads, the most powerful of the GOP SuperPACs, met last week in Washington, Republican sources tell POLITICO. Heavyweight advisers Haley Barbour, Ed Gillespie and Karl Rove were all in town for the meeting, which featured a discussion of the campaign and the first extensive conversation about how the group should approach the 2014 mid-terms. The group is not expected to play a role in the two 2013 gubernatorial races, deferring to the RGA, but is considering how to shape the next round of congressional elections. At the top of the agenda: influencing candidate selection in GOP primaries. But before they turn completely to 2014, Crossroads is still diagnosing last month’s results. The group digested a series of 2012 memos mixed brutal analysis with some self-reassurance. In the first category, pollster Glen Bolger bluntly warned in top paragraph of his memo that the GOP is in danger of becoming a party that can only win in non-presidential years when the composition of the electorate doesn’t reflect the country. Pointing to Republican’s difficulties with Hispanics, Bolger, who is partners with Mitt Romney’s 2012 pollster, wrote: "the Republican Party is in danger of becoming the 'Win In Off Years Only Party' unless we make a full-throated improvement with Hispanic voters. And, we have to admit it is us, not them." Yet even as they attempt to learn from what happened, Crossroads also is preparing to make clear to their donors that they weren’t blind to the difficulties of Romney’s winning the presidency. One of the internal memos prepared for the meeting detailed on a state-by-state basis the group’s final polling in each state and the actual results. Their surveys were closer to the outcome than Romney’s internal data. Last week’s pow-wow was something of a prelude before Crossroads comes up with their final report on 2012, which is expected to take place after the first of the year. * This post and its headline have been updated ||||| 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. ||||| Pop quiz, hotshot. You’re in a nationally televised debate for the presidency, at a time of tremendous economic hardship, trying to endear yourself to a socially conservative audience in Iowa. What do you do? What do you do? Well, if you’re Mitt Romney, apparently the answer is high-stakes gambling. Romney actually challenged Rick Perry to a ten thousand dollar bet onstage. Really. It’s a shame, too, because Romney had just won the crowd over with his opposition to the Newt Gingrich Moonraker project we all just learned about. In Romney’s defense, he didn’t really have another move, as Texas Gov. Rick Perry was pressing him on his inconsistent positions on the individual insurance mandate. “I’m listening,” Perry said. “I’m hearing you say all the right things. But I read your first book and it said in there that your mandate in Massachusetts, which should be the model for the country — I know it came out of the reprint of the book, but, you know, I’m just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend.” “You know what, you’ve raised that before, Rick. and you’re wrong,” a testy Romney replied. It was true then, it’s true now…” Perry said. “Rick, I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet,” Romney said, extending a hand. Perry hesitated, left Romney hanging. “I’m not in the betting business.” Romney continues to insist that he never posited his mandate as a national solution, but as readers of this site well know, that simply isn’t true. I’ll bet a fiddle of gold. Here’s the clip, from ABC News: Please enable Javascript to watch. Update: ABC’s Jake Tapper fact checks the bet and has reaction to it below:

– Front-runner Newt Gingrich took a few licks but stood his ground tonight at the GOP presidential debate in Iowa, Politico reports. After Romney described himself as a businessman—not a politician like Gingrich—Newt fired back: "Let's be candid. The only reason you didn't become a career politician is because you lost to Ted Kennedy in 1994." After the audience "ooohed," Romney returned fire: "Losing to Teddy Kennedy was probably the best thing I could have done for preparing me for the job I’m seeking," the New York Times reports. In other highlights: Gingrich repeated his position that Washington should let illegals stay in the US under certain strict conditions. "That's not amnesty," he said. Romney countered that Gingrich's plan "will then create another magnet that draws people into our country illegally"—but didn't say he would try to deport illegal immigrants. Gingrich defended his remark that Palestinians are an "invented people," and said it's time people admit that Israel is a nation under fire from "terrorists." Countered Romney: "You don't speak for Israel. If Bibi Netanyahu wants to say what you said, let him say it." Bachmann called Gingrich part of the problem and referred to him and Romney as "Newt Romney"—meaning their policies are basically the same. "If you want a difference, Michele Bachmann is the proven conservative," Bachmann said. "It's not Newt Romney." Rick Perry attacked Gingrich's character by saying that "if you cheat on your wife, you'll cheat on your business partner." Gingrich has been married three times, and admitted to cheating on his second wife. Replied Newt: "It is a real issue. People have to look at the person to whom they are going to loan the presidency." Fact Check: Gingrich said he has never supported cap and trade to curb pollution, but he did favor it in 2007 on PBS' "Frontline." Romney and Michele Bachmann almost agreed on the payroll tax cut. Bachmann said she opposes extending the tax for another year, and Romney agreed, calling it a "little Band-Aid." But he also supported a one-year extension: "It's a temporary tax cut and it will help people in a very difficult time." Romney actually challenged Perry to a $10,000 bet, Mediaite reports. Perry accused Romney of supporting individual insurance mandates, and Romney denied it: "Rick, I’ll tell you what, 10,000 bucks, $10,000 bet," he said, and offered a hand. Perry retorted, “I’m not in the betting business." All the candidates except Romney talked about economic setbacks they had endured in life. Gingrich mentioned growing up "above a gas station" and referred to the struggles of his family business, Gingrich Productions. (He didn't mention the $500,000 line of credit he and his wife had at Tiffany's.) Click here for post-debate reactions on the winners and losers.

This summer, we visited over 80 communities in 24 different states in 60 days. We went to places where the NRA has strongholds — and visited a number of communities that have been affected by gun violence to meet fellow survivors. At each stop, we registered young people to vote and talk about how we can stand up to anyone that is a blockade to gun safety – including the NRA and corrupt leaders. For more information about the Road to Change, text CHANGE to 977-79. ||||| Hogg, who plans to work on voter registration during his gap year ahead, said: "I’m glad I’m getting my diploma and not my death certificate." who plans to work on voter registration during his gap year ahead, said: "I’m glad I’m getting my diploma and not my death certificate." The bus tour, "March for Our Lives: Road to Change," will include meetings with victims and survivors. It follows the 850 rallies and protests that drew hundreds of thousands of people around the globe on March 24. Another key leader of the tour is Parkland grad Emma González, 18, whose powerful moment of silence was a highlight of the Washington rally. Emma, now stopped for selfies wherever she goes, is headed to the New College of Florida in Sarasota. now stopped for selfies wherever she goes, is headed to the New College of Florida in Sarasota. She told me her message to politicians about gun reform is: "If you don't support this, ... it'll look like you're going against kids." The tour launches Friday, June 15, at a Peace March in Chicago, led by students from St. Sabina Academy. From there, students will make 50 stops in states that include Texas, California, South Carolina and Connecticut. A separate, simultaneous Florida tour will make more than 25 stops in the state, visiting every congressional district. will make more than 25 stops in the state, visiting every congressional district. "More than 4 million Americans turned 18 this year, making them eligible to vote for the first time," says a March for Our Lives news release. Americans turned 18 this year, making them eligible to vote for the first time," says a March for Our Lives news release. What the students are calling for: "universal, comprehensive background checks; creating a searchable database for gun owners; funding the Centers for Disease Control to research gun violence; ... and banning high-capacity magazines and semi-automatic assault rifles." 1 more thing: MSD students graduated in a Sunday ceremony where NBC "Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon was the surprise speaker. In a video of his address, reported by AP, Fallon said: "You are not just the future — you are the present. Keep changing the world. Keep making us proud." reported by AP, Fallon said: "You are not just the future — you are the present. Keep changing the world. Keep making us proud." "First thing is this: When something feels hard, remember that it gets better." When something feels hard, remember that it gets better." Fallon joked that the students "won't be classmates any more. You'll be adults who will Facebook search each other at 2 in the morning for the next 10 years." Go deeper: How the Parkland teens spearheaded a worldwide movement Get more stories like this by signing up for our daily morning newsletter, Axios AM. ||||| 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 ||||| The March for Our Lives organizers are embarking on the next phase of their anti–gun violence movement: a 60-day bus tour across the US this summer to register young people to vote and to continue highlighting the NRA’s influence over politics. “This tour is about exposing people who take money from the NRA and registering people to vote — those are the two main things we’re trying to push with this,” Jaclyn Corin, a student who survived the Marjory Stoneman Douglas high school shooting in February, told BuzzFeed News on Sunday. They’re calling it “March for Our Lives: Road to Change.” It begins with a peace march on June 15 in Chicago and will take students to more than 50 stops in more than 20 states, including Iowa, California, South Carolina, Connecticut, and Texas, the state where 10 people were killed at Santa Fe High School last month. “I think that it’s important that we include everybody in this conversation, because it’s everybody that’s affected by this issue, and we have to work together to solve it,” Parkland student and organizer David Hogg told BuzzFeed News. “And I think being on the ground is the best way to do that.” “Just a handshake or looking somebody in the eye, rather than speaking to them through the TV, is a lot more impactful,” he said. Emma González, who recently graduated from Marjory Stoneman, said she and her fellow survivors are still being trolled online. She hopes the bus tour will connect the activists with those who are opposed to their movement. “It’s so easy to be mean [when you’re] anonymously online, and when you take that anonymity away you are people again,” González said. “Hence why we’re going to these places that think we’re crisis actors,” added Corin, referring to far-right conspiracy theories that the Marjory Stoneman students are actors. ||||| 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

– Some of the most high-profile Parkland survivors hinted over the weekend at something big coming down the pike, and that news has just dropped. Axios reports the March for Our Lives activist group, which includes Marjorie Stoneman Douglas students David Hogg, Emma Gonzalez, and Jaclyn Corin, will be conducting a 60-day bus tour, with 75 stops in 20 states, to register young voters, advocate for gun control, and, as Corin puts it to BuzzFeed, "[expose] people who take money from the NRA." The "March for Our Lives: Road to Change" tour will kick off on June 15 at a peace rally in Chicago. In addition to the national tour, a separate Florida-specific tour will visit every congressional district in the state, making more than 25 stops, per a release. Why a bus tour? "Just a handshake or looking somebody in the eye, rather than speaking to them through the TV, is a lot more impactful," Hogg says. Among their stops will be communities where gun control is a sensitive topic. "Preaching to the choir essentially doesn't do much, but going to the places that disagree with us is really where we're going to make the change," Corin says. One person they hope to involve, though they've been critical of what he's done on gun control so far: President Trump. "I'd be willing to work with him on this issue if he is willing to work with us," Hogg says.

Cisneros thought they were dummies and it was a fake scene, but when she walked up to one of the bodies, pushing the hair back to see the face, she realized the girl was real. ||||| LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police say they've arrested several people in connection with the Halloween hit-and-run deaths of three teenage girls who were trick-or-treating in a Los Angeles suburb. Police and emergency respoders at the scene where three teenage girls trick-or-treating in costume were hit by a vehicle and killed while walking across a Southern California intersection in Santa Ana... (Associated Press) Rachel Emenakes brings flowers to a street-side memorial in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 for three teenage trick-or-treaters killed in a Friday night hit-and-run accident. "I hope the outpour... (Associated Press) A woman visits the street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 for three teenage trick-or-treaters killed in a Friday night hit-and-run... (Associated Press) Mementos are placed in a street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 for three teenage trick-or-treaters killed in a Friday night... (Associated Press) Brianna Diaz, 12, left, and Sandra Anderson, 13, of Orange, Calif. light a candle at a street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014... (Associated Press) Lindsay Martinez, 14, and her mother Oralia of Orange, Calif. look at the growing street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 for... (Associated Press) Mourners gather at the street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2014 for three teenage trick-or-treaters killed in a Friday night hit-and-run... (Associated Press) Sandra Anderson, 13, left, and Brianna Diaz, 12, of Orange, Calif. embrace each other at the street-side memorial at North Jacaranda Street and Fairhaven Avenue in Santa Ana, Calif. on Saturday, Nov.... (Associated Press) Santa Ana police say officers made multiple arrests as of Sunday morning. Police declined to provide additional details ahead of a news conference scheduled for Monday. Authorities say 13-year-old twin sisters and a 13-year-old friend were struck and killed Friday night in a Santa Ana crosswalk. A damaged black Honda SUV was found a short distance from where the collision occurred. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. Police are looking for two people who abandoned their SUV after the vehicle fatally struck three teenage girls who were trick-or-treating in the Los Angeles area. The black Honda was left a short distance from the Santa Ana crosswalk where the 13-year-old twin sisters and a friend, also 13, were hit Friday night, witnesses said. Investigators tracked the SUV to the address where it was registered Saturday, but the owner has since moved, Santa Ana police spokesman Anthony Bertagna said. "At this point, we don't know where the registered owner lives," Bertagna said. A witness told the Los Angeles Times the girls were wearing costumes with black leggings and dark clothing when they were hit in a crosswalk near an elementary school about 6:45 p.m. Friday. Two of them were declared dead immediately, and a third died as paramedics prepared to take her to a hospital, Orange County fire Capt. Steve Concialdi said. The twin sisters were Lexi and Lexandra Perez, and the third victim was Andrea Gonzalez, the Orange County Sheriff's Department said. The front of the vehicle was heavily damaged, Bertagna said. Authorities are seeking video-surveillance footage from nearby property owners while interviewing witnesses. Investigators also collected evidence from the SUV, including fingerprints and DNA samples, he said. "It was Halloween. There were a lot of people out there," Bertagna said. "These guys fled this car. Did they call somebody to pick them up? Did they live in the neighborhood? Did they run into a house?" Sharon Stewart, who cuts hair at a nearby barber shop, told the Times that she was eating outside when she heard what sounded "like a terrible crash. A couple of thumps. Then I heard screaming. I turned, and I saw a car leaving and people yelling. So I thought, 'It's a hit-and-run.' " The vehicle passed her, so she got in her car and followed, she said. Stewart saw a young man run from the scene and heard him yelling at what she thought was his companion. "I only saw one guy, but I know there was somebody else," she said. Maria Ramirez, 14, who lives about a half block from where the hit-and-run occurred, told the Orange County Register that she attended middle school with the twins. She last saw them at school Friday, she said. "I can't believe it happened," Ramirez said of the deaths of her friends, while she gathered late Friday night on the sidewalk with dozens of onlookers. "They were fun, good girls." Other crashes killed or injured trick-or-treaters around the country: — In the nearby city of Irvine, police said a man was struck and killed while trick-or-treating with his 4-year-old son. The Register reports the child suffered significant injuries and remained in critical condition Saturday. The driver cooperated with investigators. — In New York state, a 3-year-old boy was killed and a 16-year-old girl was seriously injured when they were hit by a car as they crossing a two-lane road in Greece, police said. The driver is cooperating and has not been charged. — A 2-year-old in Florida trick-or-treating with a group died when he was hit by a bus. He was in a stroller with two other children when the adult pushing them across a street realized he had dropped his cellphone. The man stopped the stroller in the median and told the children to stay while he retrieved the phone. The child got out of the stroller and was hit by a driver who did not see him in the street, authorities said. — Authorities in Washington state said two 7-year-old girls and a 20-year-old woman sustained life-threatening injuries when they were hit by a car while trick-or-treating in Vancouver. The Columbian reported that police said a car jumped a curb and hit the trio.

– Police today made multiple arrests in a Halloween hit-and-run that killed three teenage girls and left a California neighborhood reeling, the AP reports. Police in Santa Ana, Calif., gave no details on the arrests but had tracked the black Honda SUV to the registered owner's home. Meanwhile, about 70 mourners came together yesterday at a curbside memorial, saying the impact was so horrific that the 13-year-olds—twins Lexandra and Lexi Perez, and friend Andrea Gonzalez—looked like airborne dummies or rag dolls, the LA Times reports. A teenager living nearby thought it was fake until she brushed a girl's hair back and saw the truth: "I knew she was dead," she says. "Her eyes were closed. She looked peaceful." A 46-year-old man who lives in the Perez twins' apartment complex says they were known as "las munequitas" or "the dolls," were always together, and said a polite "good day" in Spanish and English. A 13-year-old who says he was Andrea's boyfriend describes her as "always energetic and kind. She was caring. She was sweet." She wrote him a love poem, he says, describing her feelings with candy wrappers. A neighbor who tried chasing the SUV and later checked the girls for pulses got emotional when talking about his own kids. "They cross here," he says. "Some of them go to this school." He says all three trick-or-treaters wore dark costumes with black leggings.

West Carrollton resident Tony Yahle died Aug. 5. In fact, he was dead for nearly one hour. As he slept that night, his breathing alarmed his wife, Melissa. She called for help, and he was rushed to Kettering Medical Center. A team of medical personnel attempted to stimulate his heart, but it stopped beating for 45 minutes. He was declared dead. As nurses prepared him to be seen by his family, Yahle began to show signs of life. Yahle was taken by medical helicopter to Ohio State University’s medical facility, where he awakened five days later. + Lisa Powell Tony Yahle of West Carrollton was declared dead after his heart stopped functioning for more than 40 minutes. He and his ... read more Lisa Powell × A 37-year-old diesel mechanic, Yahle said he had no awareness of what happened until family members told him. He said he did not have any afterlife experience that he can recall. “I have no memory of anything. I went to bed … woke up five days later in the hospital.” What caused Yahle’s heart to stop that night is still unknown. His cardiologist said it is beyond rare. “In the last 20 years, I’ve never seen anybody we have pronounced dead … and then for him to come back … I’ve never seen it,” said Dr. Raja Nazir. “Actually, I’ve never heard of it.” Nazir said Yahle has been a topic of discussion among medical circles. “They couldn’t find any defects in my heart,” Yahle said. “The last guess they had was that it was a possible viral infection.” Yahle’s son, 18-year-old Lawrence, said he spoke to his father after his death, right before he revived. “I pointed at him and said, ‘Dad, you’re not going to die today.’ I stood there for a few more seconds. I was about to walk back to comfort the family, and that’s when he started showing signs of a heartbeat. “It went from hopeless to hope in an instant,” Lawrence Yahle said. Melissa Yahle said that throughout the incident, she felt God’s presence. “People can believe it or not, but God actually spoke to me and said, ‘If you have faith, it will be done.’ From that moment on, I never doubted,” she said. “It has definitely strengthened my faith, and my family’s faith,” Tony Yahle said. ||||| When 17-year-old Lawrence Yahle learned his father was dead earlier this month at Kettering Medical Center in Ohio, he ran down the hall to see nurses around his father's body. They weren't trying to revive him anymore. Distraught, Lawrence pointed and shouted, "Dad, you're not going to die today." Moments later, Anthony Yahle's heart monitor showed signs of life, Dr. Raja Nazir, his cardiologist at Kettering Medical Center, told ABCNews.com. It wasn't a regular heart beat, but once or twice a minute, the monitor would pick up tiny electrical movements. "When I looked at the electrical activity, I was surprised," Nazir said. "I thought we'd better make another effort to revive him." Nazir gave one of Yahle's hanging medicine bags a squeeze to restore his blood pressure and the team began working on him again. "Very slowly, the heart rate was picking up," Nazir said. That was more than a week ago, on Aug. 5. Doctors thought Yahle, a 37-year-old diesel mechanic, would need a heart transplant or be in a vegetative state the rest of his life, but he's home resting and seems fine. "I'm calling it a miracle because I've never seen anything like it," Nazir said. Yahle's near-death experience started at 4 a.m. that day, when his wife, Melissa Yahle, woke up and realized his breathing didn't sound right. Melissa, who has been a nurse for seven years, said she tried unsuccessfully to wake him up. Melissa and Lawrence performed CPR until an ambulance could arrive, and first responders found a heartbeat after shocking Yahle several times. At the hospital, doctors expected Yahle's arteries to be clogged, but they were clear. Things were looking positive until later that afternoon, when Yahle's heart stopped. He "coded" for 45 minutes as doctors tried to revive him, but eventually Nazir realized it was time to call the time of death. "We looked at each other," Nazir said. "We'd given him all the medicine we had in our code cart. At some point, you have to call it off." Nazir said he wasn't sure exactly how long Yahle was "dead," before Lawrence ran down the hall to tell his father he couldn't die that day. "Suddenly that trickle of a thing came back," Nazir said. "We were lucky we saw and reacted to it, and that brought him back." Nazir said it was "mind boggling." Melissa said she, Lawrence and the people from their church who were praying with them witnessed a miracle. Yahle was transferred to Ohio State University, and he returned home to West Carrollton on Aug. 10 with a defibrillator in his chest. He doesn't remember any of the experience after he went to bed on Aug. 4. "He doesn't have one broken rib," Melissa said. "He's not sore. These are things that just clinically don't happen." Yahle is set to go back to work on Monday, and doctors may do a heart biopsy to find out more about what happened. Read about a woman who woke up right before doctors harvested her organs.

– It's apparently the week of astounding brought-back-to-life stories. The latest person to return from the dead is Anthony Yahle, whose case is being hailed a miracle by doctors. The Ohio man was rushed to the hospital on Aug. 5 after his wife realized he was breathing oddly in his sleep and found herself unable to wake him. Since his arteries were clear, doctors were optimistic—until his heart stopped beating. They spent 45 minutes trying to revive the 37-year-old before declaring him dead. But his 17-year-old son wasn't about to give up. "I pointed at him and said, 'Dad, you're not going to die today,'" reports WFAA. "Suddenly that trickle of a thing came back," says cardiologist Raja Nazir. He tells ABC News that what he observed wasn't a normal heartbeat, but a small electrical blip not much more often than twice a minute. "I though we'd better make another effort to revive him," he says—and a regular heartbeat was eventually restored. Yahle fully awoke five days later, and though doctors thought he'd need a heart transplant, he appears in fine health. "He doesn't have one broken rib," his wife says. "He's not sore. These are things that just clinically don't happen." Though doctors now point to a possible viral infection, Yahle (who has no memory of the event nor of any sort of "afterlife" moment) tells the Dayton Daily News, "Nobody really has an explanation for it." He adds: "A miracle happened. If it strengthened everyone's faith, I'll take the lumps for it." (Click for the story of an Australian woman who was also brought back from the dead earlier this month.)

El Paso County Sheriff's investigators are speaking to Kaufman County, Texas law enforcement officials after a prosecutor and his wife were killed in an incident similar to the shooting of Tom Clements, head of the Colorado Department of Corrections. "We have nothing to indicate that they are connected but just based on a (District Attorney) being involved we figured it was worth our while to reach out," Sgt. Joe Roybal, El Paso County Sheriff's Department spokesman, said Sunday. Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife Cynthia were found dead in their home about 20 miles from Dallas on Saturday. The killings came less than two weeks after Clements was shot dead when he answered his front door on March 19. Authorities believe Evan Spencer Ebel, a former Colorado inmate and white supremacist, killed Clements before dying in a shootout with Texas deputies on March 21. Following the murder of Kaufman County Assistant DA Mark Hasse two months ago, McLelland reportedly said that he carried a gun everywhere he went and took extra care when answering the door at his home. El Paso County investigators communicating with their Texas counterparts by phone. "There is nothing substantial that would require our investigator to go down there personally," Roybal said. Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671, tmcghee@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dpmcghee ||||| Read The Dallas Morning News’ original, detailed report here. Before he became Kaufman County’s district attorney, Mike McLelland worked for a few years as an assistant Dallas public defender representing the mentally ill. He handled criminal and civil cases involving people who were committed to the Terrell State Hospital, a psychiatric facility. The people he represented often suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, among other conditions, and were “extremely sick individuals who weren’t on their medication and were very unstable,” said Dallas Chief Public Defender Lynn Pride Richardson. In criminal cases, he would typically represent people from the time they were found incompetent to stand trial by a psychiatrist until they were deemed competent and their case was disposed of in the courts, Richardson said. Richardson said she did not recall any cases in which McLelland had run-ins with disgruntled clients. Richardson’s predecessor, Brad Lollar, hired McLelland around 2006 or 2007 for the public defender position. He said McLelland’s duties included representing patients who challenged involuntary commitments. “They’re there on involuntary commitments and they’re entitled to have a hearing before a judge, a hearing judge out there, and he would be appointed to represent them,” Lollar said. McLelland’s wife was also a nurse at the same hospital and Lollar said he believes that was part of why McLelland wanted the position. “He was very qualified for the position we put him in,” Lollar said. “We were happy to have him and of course we’re all shocked by his passing.” When McLelland prepared to run for Kaufman County district attorney, he spoke to Richardson about his political ambitions, she said. “The conversation that I had with him was basically saying that he wanted to win, that he thought he had a good chance because the incumbent had had some legal problems,” said Richardson, who called McLelland a “laid-back kind of guy.” Lollar said there are numerous possible angles for investigators to consider in the case. “It could be local meth lab people down there in Kaufman County, it could be Mexican cartel, it could be the Aryan Brotherhood,” he said. “Or it could just be someone with a personal grudge” as a result of a prosecution McLelland was involved in, Lollar said. ||||| A north Texas district attorney took no chances after one of his assistant prosecutors was slain two months ago. Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere he went and took extra care when answering the door at his home. This undated photo taken from the Kaufman County, Texas, website shows Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland. McLelland and his wife were found killed in their house, Saturday, March 30, 2013,... (Associated Press) "I'm ahead of everybody else because, basically, I'm a soldier," the 23-year Army veteran boasted in an interview less than two weeks ago. On Saturday, he and his wife were found dead in their home just outside the town of Forney, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) from Dallas, killed in an attack for which authorities have given no motive. "Everybody's a little on edge and a little shocked," Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said. "It appears this was not a random act." The killings came less than two weeks after Colorado's prison chief was gunned down at his front door by a white-supremacist ex-convict, and two months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was shot to death in a parking lot a block from his office on Jan. 31. No arrests have been made in Hasse's slaying. Kaufman County Sheriff David Byrnes confirmed Sunday that the McLellands had been shot. As for whether their deaths were related to Hasse's slaying, Byrnes said there was nothing to indicate that "for sure," but declined to discuss it further during a news conference. McLelland himself, in an Associated Press interview, raised the possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a white supremacist gang. McLelland, elected District Attorneyin 2010, said that Hasse hadn't prosecuted any cases against white supremacists but that his office had handled several, and those gangs had a strong presence in the area. "We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year," McLelland said after Colorado's corrections director, Tom Clements, was shot to death March 19 when he answered the doorbell. Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh said recently the FBI was checking to see if Hasse's killing could be related to Clements'. Evan Spencer Ebel, a former Colorado inmate and white supremacist who authorities believe killed Clements, died in a March 21 shootout with Texas deputies about 100 miles (160 kilometers) from Kaufman. McLelland, 63, said after Hasse's slaying that he carried a gun everywhere he went, even to walk his dog. He figured that was where assassins were more likely to try to get him. He said he had warned all his employees to be constantly on the alert. "The people in my line of work are going to have to get better at it," he said of the danger, "because they're going to need it more in the future." The number of attacks on prosecutors, judges and senior law enforcement officers in the U.S. has spiked in the past three years, according to Glenn McGovern, an investigator with the Santa Clara County, California, District Attorney's Office who tracks such cases. But they're still rare. McLelland is the 13th prosecutor in the U.S. that the National Association of District Attorneys has recorded killed since the organization began keeping track in the 1960s. For about a month after Hasse's slaying, sheriff's deputies were parked in the district attorney's driveway, said Sam Rosander, a McLelland neighbor. The FBI and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation into the McLellands' deaths. McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were the parents of two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas. The couple had moved into the home a few years ago, Rozell said. "Real friendly, became part of our community quickly," Rozell said. "They were a really pleasant happy couple." ___ Associated Press writers Michael Graczyk in Houston, Angela K. Brown in Fort Worth and Peter Banda and Nicholas Riccardi in Denver contributed to this report. ||||| Kaufman County’s district attorney and his wife were found slain Saturday, raising fears that their deaths may be part of a plot that included the killing of one of the county’s assistant district attorneys in January. Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh and other officials confirmed that Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia Woodward McLelland, had been shot at their home near Forney. Their deaths followed the Jan. 31 slaying of Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse. “It is a shock,” Aulbaugh said late Saturday. “It was a shock with Mark Hasse, and now you can just imagine the double shock. … Until we know what happened, I really can’t confirm that it’s related, but you always have to assume until it’s proven otherwise.” Aulbaugh said that the Texas Rangers were helping with the investigation at the McLellands’ home in an unincorporated part of the county but that the sheriff’s department will be leading the investigation. “Because we have to treat it as related [to the Hasse investigation], we’ll be working side by side again,” Aulbaugh said. A law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity described the scene at the McLellands’ home as an awful scene. “There are shell casings everywhere,” the official said. “This is unprecedented. This is unbelievable. This is huge.” There had been an early report that whoever had killed the McLellands had kicked in the door of the home, but later accounts indicated that was not the case. A friend of the family reportedly entered the home to check on the couple after a family member was unable to contact them. The discovery of the McLellands’ bodies spurred a massive response from law enforcement, including the FBI. While dozens of marked and unmarked vehicles patrolled the area, officers went door to door to interview neighbors. Authorities worked quickly Saturday night to confirm that other employees in the Kaufman County district attorney’s office were safe, and they believed that everyone was accounted for. Security was being provided at the homes of others who authorities feared might be targets. Eric Smenner, a Kaufman defense attorney, said the immediate police protection for the staff of the district attorney’s office was essential. “They need to shut the office down for a while,” he said. “I think everybody there is a target. They’re not safe in the streets in downtown Kaufman. They’re not safe in their homes.” He said the recent events reminded him of violence often seen in Mexico. “It looks like somebody is making a pretty concentrated effort to target the most important people in that office,” he said. Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said the attack on the McLellans "appears to be a targeted act," and he urged residents in the area to remain calm. Some of the McLellands’ neighbors said they believed the couple may have been killed late Friday. Some thought they had heard loud noises then but had assumed what they heard was thunder from storms passing through the area. The discovery of the bodies came as investigators were pursuing a variety of angles in the death of Hasse, 57. He was shot to death as he walked from his car to the courthouse Jan. 31. Witnesses saw a dark brown or silver sedan, perhaps a Ford Taurus, fleeing the scene, and authorities soon issued a bulletin for two black-clad men who may have been wearing tactical vests. After Colorado’s prisons chief was killed at his home March 19, the FBI began looking into whether that case could have any connections to Hasse’s death. The suspect in the Colorado case, Evan Spencer Ebel, was a member of the white supremacist 211 prison gang, and federal authorities had been looking into whether the violent Aryan Brotherhood of Texas gang was involved in Hasse’s death. However, after police killed Ebel, 28, while he was trying to escape authorities March 21 in Decatur, officials said they had not found any connections between him and the Hasse slaying. Despite the lack of progress in the case, McLelland had expressed hope that though a motive in his assistant’s death remained elusive, more tips would materialize. He had said in February that though he wasn’t scared for his own safety, he was taking precautions. “I’ve shifted up my details some, but otherwise I can’t do that much,” said McLelland, who was elected district attorney in 2010. “There’s no holes for me to hide in, and that’s not my style anyway.” In December, the Texas Department of Public Safety had issued a statewide bulletin warning that authorities had received “credible information” that the Aryan Brotherhood was “actively planning retaliation against law enforcement officials” who helped secure indictments in Houston against dozens of members, including the gang’s leadership. “High ranking members … are involved in issuing orders to inflict ‘mass casualties or death’ to law enforcement officials who were involved in cases where Aryan Brotherhood of Texas are facing life sentences or the death penalty,” the bulletin stated. In February, weeks after Hasse’s death, McLelland had said Kaufman County employees still felt a sense of wariness and uncertainty. “The people in the office, they have essentially lost a family member,” he said. “It’s been incredibly hard for folks because it was so sudden, so completely unexpected and so out of left field. I find myself longing for the good old days of three weeks ago.” McLelland, 63, and his wife, 65, who worked as a psychiatric nurse at Terrell State Hospital, had five children, including a son who is a Dallas police officer. Staff writer Julieta Chiquillo and The Associated Press contributed to this report. Kaufman County slayings timeline DECEMBER 2012: The Texas Department of Public Safety issues a statewide bulletin warning that authorities had received “credible information” that the Aryan Brotherhood was “actively planning retaliation against law enforcement officials” who helped secure indictments in Houston against dozens of members, including the gang’s leadership. JAN. 31: Kaufman County prosecutor Mark Hasse is shot and killed while getting out of his car near the county courthouse. Authorities acknowledge they are investigating the possibility of a link between the slaying and the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang. However, they quickly add that to their knowledge, Hasse was not currently handling any cases involving Aryan Brotherhood members. They say that labeling the organization the focus of their probe would be premature. FEB. 9: At a memorial service for Hasse, Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland vows that the prosecutor’s killers will be brought to justice. MARCH 22: Authorities say the FBI is looking into whether Hasse’s slaying could have any connections to the March 19 slaying of Colorado prisons chief Tom Clements. A federal official said the suspect in Clements’ slaying, Evan Spencer Ebel, was a member of the white supremacist 211 prison gang. SATURDAY: McLelland and his wife, Cynthia Woodward McLelland, are found fatally shot at their home. From staff reports

– The north Texas district attorney found murdered with his wife yesterday had been carrying a gun to guard against possible assassins, the AP reports. Wary after one of his assistant prosecutors was killed, Mike McLelland kept the weapon on him at all times, even when walking his dog (he figured his enemies would strike when he was outside). And he told employees to be cautious at all times. "The people in my line of work are going to have to get better at it," said McLelland of the danger after Mark Hasse's slaying and the murder of Colorado prison chief Tom Clements. In other developments: McLelland said Hasse might have been killed by white supremacists—a possible angle in the death of Clements. "We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year," McLelland said of his office. The El Paso County Sheriff's Office is investigating similarities between the McLelland and Clements killings, the Denver Post reports. "We have nothing to indicate that they are connected but just based on a [district attorney] being involved we figured it was worth our while to reach out," said a spokesman. Before becoming the district attorney of Kaufman County in 2010, McLelland had worked as a defender for the mentally ill, reports the Dallas Morning News Crime Blog. They often suffered from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia and were "very unstable" when not on medication, said a public defender. But she didn't recall any specific conflicts between McLelland and unhappy clients. Surveillance cameras at McLelland's house may reveal more about the killing, reports the Dallas Morning News. Earlier reports that the assailants had kicked in the door were not accurate. (Clements was killed when he answered his door.) Click for the full story, including alleged threats by the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas to retaliate against law enforcement officials.

Self-proclaimed “bad girl” Rihanna is living up to her nickname. The pop star managed to insult and upset one of her biggest fans, who was mercilessly mocked for modeling her prom outfit after one the singer wore. Alexis Carter, 16, said when she first saw Rihanna’s green, winged outfit she knew she had to have it. Rihanna debuted the original outfit at a 2010 awards show in Berlin. "I was like, 'Oh my God, I love this outfit, I wanna go with this outfit let me go show my mom,' and I was like, 'Mom, mom, mom, I wanna wear this, it's cool, I love it, oh my god,'" she told Fox Baltimore. A family friend made the outfit for her, and it was well-received at her prom, she said. But once photos of Alexis posing in the outfit starting circulating on social media, she was mocked on Twitter, with users altering pictures of her and adding the hashtag #PromBat. To make matters worse, her idol chimed in with mocking tweets of her own. Rihanna posted two photos of Alexis, including one of the teen next to Wu Tang’s bat-like logo. "I was very offended. Why throw shade on it when you had on the exact same thing? The poses was different but the outfit wasn't,” Alexis told Fox Baltimore. "She don't love her fans like she says she does.” She told the news station that it's been several days but the insults haven’t let up, and she’s afraid to show her face outside. A rep for Rihanna did not immediately return FOX411's request for comment. Click here for more from Fox Baltimore. ||||| Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more ||||| Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more

– Rihanna is in hot water after a teen fan accused the singer of mocking her on Twitter. Alexis Carter, 16, decided to go to her Hollywood-themed Baltimore prom wearing an outfit similar to one Rihanna wore at a Berlin awards show in 2010, Fox News reports. (See Rihanna's version of the unusual outfit in the gallery.) But a picture of Alexis in her version of the ensemble, which features "wing-like attachments" according to Fox Baltimore, went viral—and not in a good way. The hashtag #PromBat started trending on Twitter, and then Rihanna herself got in on the action. The singer tweeted two pictures of Carter's outfit—one that compared it unfavorably to Rihanna's version, and one that compared it to the Wu-Tang Clan's bat-like logo. "I was very offended," Alexis says. "Why throw shade on it when you had on the exact same thing? The poses was different but the outfit wasn't." She may now be a former Rihanna fan: The singer doesn't "love her fans like she says she does," Alexis adds. (And this isn't the first time Rihanna has angered a young fan via Twitter...)

Wedding crashers who hogged the dance floor and posed in family pictures APOLOGIZE to bride after ruining her big day Couple come forward to say they just wanted to join the party Bride Krista Lamlin turned down their offer of a belated gift By Jessica Jerreat and Snejana Farberov A couple who crashed the wedding of a Pennsylvania bride and groom have come forward to apologize for turning up uninvited. Newlyweds Krista Lamlin and Andrew Reilly had turned to the internet to try to track down the pair, after they were spotted enjoying their wedding reception three months ago. The hotel hosting the reception escorted the uninvited guests off the premises, but when the newlyweds saw how much the pair featured in their photos they wanted to know who they were. Spotted: The wedding crashers, seen enjoying champagne at the reception, have come forward to apologize ' We wanted to know if there was malicious intent or if they just wanted to party,' she said. After hearing about the appeal the wedding crashers, who have not been named, came forward to apologize to the newlyweds. They said they had been staying at the V alley Forge Casino and Radisson Hotel in January and, when they saw the party, thought it would be fun to join in. The couple offered to buy the bride and groom a belated wedding gift, but Ms Lamlin refused. ' I didn't ever want to get them in trouble. I apologized to them for calling them out, but I did want to get the message out there that it wasn't OK to do,' she told ABC News. She added that if she hadn't spent so much time planning her wedding, the crashers may have gone unnoticed. Unwelcome guests: Newlyweds Krista Lamlin and Andrew Reilly, left, started an internet appeal to find the couple, pictured right. The uninvited guests later came forward to confess to gatecrashing the reception ' Just be aware of who is on your dance floor. Had these people just hung out in the background, I probably wouldn't have noticed them,' she said. On the day of the reception, Ms Lamlin spotted the couple sitting at a table surrounded by her cousins. ‘I knew who I had sat at that table and knew they didn't belong,’ she told ABC6. What helped the alleged wedding crashers blend in with Ms Lamlin and Mr Reilly's 120 guests was their attire, which consisted of a button-down shirt and tie for the man and a little black dress for the woman. The couple made no effort to keep a low profile during the festivities, spending most of the night on the dance floor and waving happily at the camera. The brazen party-goers even posed for photos, one of which depicts the two grinning and embracing. Happy couple: Krista Lamlin and Andrew Reilly were married in January Attention to detail: Lamlin did her own seating plan so she and Reilly, right, soon realized the guests they had seen at a table with family members had not been invited to the reception Answers: Krista Lamlin says she wanted to know why the couple, above, had decided to crash her big day The ruse eventually caught up with the sneaky duo, who were escorted out of the venue by the hotel's wedding coordinator. The newlyweds, who live in Reading, Pennsylvania, appealed to ABC6 Action News to help them find and identify the mystery guests. Ms Lamlin said she was upset because the unwelcome guests had marred her wedding video and photos, which were supposed to be reserved for their friends and family. ||||| Their wedding cake was served three months ago, but a Pennsylvania couple only recently received just deserts after their nuptials were crashed by a bold twosome. When Krista Lamlin and Andrew Reilly realized there were two uninvited guests at their reception in Valley Forge, Pa., this January, at first they found the incident amusing. But when the two brazen crashers appeared in wedding photos and a video months later, the newlyweds decided to make the images public and track down the couple. READ: Helipad Wedding on Offer at Famous Dubai Hotel "I had first noticed that they were sitting at a table with my cousins, and I had done my own seating arrangement so I knew who was supposed to be seated where," Lamlin told ABC News. "So I asked around just to make sure they weren't a family member that I hadn't met." They weren't. The couple had invited 120 guests to their wedding at the Valley Forge Casino and Radisson Hotel, but it seemed everyone had noticed the two strangers enjoying themselves on the dance floor and at the bar. While Lamlin wasn't initially upset, the hotel had the crashers removed, she said, because they were eating and drinking when the couple hadn't paid for them. "It was pretty comical at first," she said. "We were OK with it until we saw the wedding pictures and video later and realized that they were all over the media." In addition to the frustration of having so many unwanted images of strangers, the now married couple also wanted to know why the intruders had been there at all. "My mom got the idea to post their picture to the Action News Facebook page to find out who they were and why they did it," she said. "We wanted to know if there was malicious intent or if they just wanted to party. Why'd they do it?" READ: Zach Braff Hilariously Photobombs Newlyweds The crashers soon responded and issued an apology to the couple, saying that they had also been staying at the resort where the reception was held and simply saw a good party that they wanted to join. "I didn't ever want to get them in trouble," said Lamlin. "I apologized to them for calling them out, but I did want to get the message out there that it wasn't OK to do." The crashers offered to give the couple a belated wedding gift, but Lamlin told ABC News she declined. She said she has made peace with the situation. But she did share a pearl of wisdom for other brides to be: "Just be aware of who is on your dance floor," said Lamlin. "Had these people just hung out in the background, I probably wouldn't have noticed them."

– A Pennsylvania newlywed was sort of amused to see party-crashers at her wedding—at first. Then she decided to hunt them down, ABC News reports. Krista Lamlin spotted the well-dressed pair at her Jan. 18 wedding reception in Valley Forge, Pa., at a table with her cousins. "They were dressed to go," she tells ABC6. "They were ready for the wedding because they didn't look bad, they blended right in." She had the hotel remove them, and that was that—until she later sat down to go through the wedding pictures and video "and realized that they were all over the media." So Lamlin posted photos (see one at the Daily Mail) on Facebook—she said it was her mom's idea—to learn whether the crashers had "malicious intent" or "just wanted to party." The crashers soon answered with an apology and said they were only tourists at the resort seeking a good time. They even offered to send a wedding gift, but Lamlin declined. She apologized for calling them out, but wanted to make it clear that they had crossed the line. "Just be aware of who is on your dance floor. Had these people just hung out in the background, I probably wouldn't have noticed them." (Well, at least they didn't steal her cake.)

March 22 (Reuters) - Wynn Resorts Ltd said on Thursday that former Chief Executive Steve Wynn no longer holds a stake in the company after he agreed to sell all his remaining 8 million shares in privately negotiated transactions. The company also announced it was selling 5.3 million shares to Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group at $175 per share. ||||| Angela Saxton, a former spa attendant ​at ​T​he Mirage in​ Las Vegas​,​ said an executive warned her against complaining about an alleged sexual assault by Steve Wynn. Photo: Bridget Bennett for The Wall Street Journal LAS VEGAS—Angela Saxton was a young spa attendant at a casino run by Steve Wynn in the 1990s when, she said, the mogul sexually assaulted her. One day later, the casino’s head of human resources sought her out to deliver an unequivocal message. “You need to keep your mouth shut,” the executive, Arte Nathan, told her, according to Ms. Saxton. Mr....

– Steve Wynn's alleged inappropriate sexual behavior was allowed to continue for decades as casino managers looked the other way—or looked to punish his victims, former employees tell the Wall Street Journal. The CEO and chairman of Wynn Resorts resigned in February after the Journal reported on accusations of sexual misconduct, including from a manicurist who said she was forced to have sex with Wynn. Now, it shares accounts from former employees of Wynn Resorts, who say they were threatened to keep from speaking out about abuse. A former spa attendant at the Mirage says a human resources executive told her to "keep your mouth shut" a day after Wynn allegedly sexually assaulted her in a gym hot tub in the 1990s. Her boss at the time says she felt "sick inside" because "instantly you would be gone if you do anything or say anything." Another employee says her supervisor didn't believe her when she said Wynn forced her to perform oral sex. An employee of Wynn Las Vegas' salon in the mid-2000s says such complaints were to be directed to Doreen Whennen, the hotel's then-VP, or then-chief operating officer Marc Schorr, whom employees say gave lingerie to female workers and made comments about women's breasts. Neither seemed to take action, while Whennen sometimes said "to look in the employees' files to see if there were any past problems that could be a pretext to get rid of them," the Journal reports. "It was always the person's fault," the salon employee says. "Nobody really looked into it." A lawyer for Wynn—who just sold all of his remaining stake in Wynn Resorts, per Reuters—calls the latest allegations "salacious." Wynn Resorts says an internal investigation is underway.

Deputy Leader of Faithful to God and Britannia. "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first" John 15:18 London ||||| Deputy Leader of Faithful to God and Britannia. "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first" John 15:18 London ||||| Prime minister’s spokesperson says president was wrong to share tweets from Jayda Fransen, who faces harassment charges Donald Trump retweeted a handful of anti-Muslim videos posted by the deputy leader of a British far-right group, prompting a rare condemnation of the US president by Theresa May whose official spokesperson called Trump’s actions wrong. One of the videos Trump highlighted to his 43.6 million Twitter followers from the feed of Jaydan Fransen of Britain First purported to show a group of Muslims pushing a boy off a roof. Another claimed to show a Muslim destroying a statue of the Virgin Mary, and a third claimed to show a Muslim immigrant hitting a Dutch boy on crutches. The credibility of the last video was immediately undermined when the the Dutch embassy in the US said the perpetrator of the violent act in the video was born and raised in the Netherlands. By retweeting Britain First, Trump offends a decency he cannot understand | Brendan Cox Read more The US president retweeted the videos without comment, before turning to more familiar territory, suggesting a boycott of “Fake News CNN”, celebrating the level of the stock market, and commenting on the firing of NBC anchor Matt Lauer. Trump’s decision to share the tweets was labelled “abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our country” by the Labour party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, while several other members of parliament said his planned state visit should be cancelled. Fransen, 31, is deputy leader of Britain First, a minor anti-Islam party with an estimated 1,000 followers that has had no electoral success. Fransen lost her deposit when she stood for parliament in a 2014 byelection, receiving just 56 votes. She has been charged with using threatening or abusive language following an appearance at a far-right rally in Belfast this summer. She is due to appear at a Belfast court next month. Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Britain First deputy leader, Jayda Fransen. Photograph: Ben Stevens/PA Theresa May’s spokesman said on Wednesday: “Britain First seeks to divide communities by their use of hateful narratives that peddle lies and stoke tensions. They cause anxiety to law-abiding people. British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far right which is the antithesis of the values this country represents, decency, tolerance and respect.” But despite criticising Trump, No 10 rejected calls from Labour MPs, including David Lammy and Chuka Umunna, to revoke the US president’s invitation to pay a state visit to Britain. May’s spokesman said: “The invitation for a state visit has been extended and accepted. Further details will be announced in due course.” Sajid Javid, the only Muslim cabinet minister, tweeted: Sajid Javid (@sajidjavid) So POTUS has endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me. He is wrong and I refuse to let it go and say nothing Britain First was deregistered by the Electoral Commission this month after it failed to pay a routine £25 fee, which means it cannot place candidates on ballot papers under the party name. Thomas Mair, who murdered the Batley and Spen MP Jo Cox one week before the EU referendum in 2016, shouted “Britain first!” when he fired his gun. Cox’s widower, Brendan, said on Wednesday that Trump “should be ashamed of himself”. He accused Trump of spreading hatred and trying to legitimise the far right in Britain. Brendan Cox (@MrBrendanCox) Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself. Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, described Trump’s decision to share the tweets as “deeply disturbing” and urged him to make a statement “to make clear his opposition to racism and hatred in all forms”. Justin Welby ن (@JustinWelby) I join the urgent call for President @realDonaldTrump to remove his Britain First retweets and make clear his opposition to racism and hatred. https://t.co/JosYO7vwEG pic.twitter.com/v66KQVtWQq Fransen was delighted with the attention, which prompted her Twitter following to grow by more than 10,000. “Thanks for the retweets @realDonaldTrump,” she said. “I’m facing prison for criticising Islam. Britain is now Sharia compliant, I need your help!” The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, dismissed concerns about the credibility of the videos, telling reporters: “Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real. [Trump’s] goal is to promote strong border security and strong national security.” She added: “The threat is real, the threat needs to be addressed and the threat has to be talked about and that’s what the president is doing in bringing that up.” Q&A Who are Britain First? Show Hide Britain First is an Islamophobic group​ run by convicted racists.​ It was founded in 2011 by former members of the far-right British National Party (BNP) and loyalist extremists in Northern Ireland. It organises mosque invasions where followers, often dressed in paramilitary uniforms, raid multicultural areas in the UK. The group has an influential presence on Facebook and actively uses social media to publicise anti-Islamic material. Its leader, Paul Golding, a former BNP councillor, and his deputy Jayda Fransen have been arrested several times.​ Fransen was found guilty in November 2016 of religiously aggravated harassment after she hurled abuse at a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.​ A month later Golding was ​jailed for eight weeks for breaching a court order banning him from entering a mosque. Rightwing terrorist Thomas Mair shouted “Britain first” before killing the MP Jo Cox during the EU referendum campaign in 2016. The Islamophobic videos were originally tweeted by Fransen on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning before being picked up by Trump. They were not sequentially posted, meaning the president would have had to scroll through her timeline before picking out which videos to retweet. The Muslim Council of Britain had urged the prime minister to distance herself from Trump over the comments. In a statement the umbrella body for British Muslims said: “This is the clearest endorsement yet from the US president of the far-right and their vile anti-Muslim propaganda. We cannot give such bigotry a free pass.” Trump has often used his Twitter account to promote dubious figures. Earlier this week, he highlighted a website called MagaPill which promotes a variety of conspiracies. He has also used his account to retweet a Mussolini quote, to share a post from the account @whitegenocidetm and to circulate false and racially inflammatory crime statistics. When asked in 2015, he said that he considered retweets endorsements. “You know, I retweet, I retweet for a reason.” Additional reporting by Jon Henley and Daniel Boffey ||||| President Trump retweeted three anti-Muslim videos Nov. 29, posted by the far-right group 'Britain First.' Here's what you need to know about the videos. (Elyse Samuels,Deirdra O'Regan/The Washington Post) President Trump on Wednesday shared three inflammatory anti-Muslim videos on Twitter posted by a far-right British activist, drawing backlash from across Britain, including a sharp rebuke from the British prime minister's office. The videos — whose authenticity could not be independently verified — were first shared by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of Britain First, which bills itself as a political party but has been widely condemned as an extremist group that targets mosques and Muslims. Britain First has previously posted a number of misleading videos, and the three Trump shared were provocatively titled “Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!,” “Muslim destroys a statue of Virgin Mary!” and “Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!” Fransen, 31, who lives in a London suburb, was convicted of religiously aggravated harassment in November 2016 after abusing a woman wearing a hijab. Fransen was arrested again earlier this month after comments she made during a speech in Belfast. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment as to why the president retweeted Fransen’s provocative and unverified videos. It was not immediately clear how the videos came to Trump's attention, but conservative columnist Ann Coulter, whom Trump follows on Twitter, retweeted one of them on Tuesday. The video of the rooftop mob dates to July 2013 and was purportedly filmed in Alexandria, Egypt, shortly after the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist and the country’s first democratically elected president. The coup set off weeks of protests and violent clashes between Morsi’s supporters on one side, and Egyptian security forces and military supporters on the other, culminating in an Egyptian security force raid on a pro-Morsi protest camp that killed as many as a thousand people. [Trump's tweets offer road map to his own insecurities] Trump’s retweets stirred widespread criticism in Britain, including a statement from the office Prime Minister Theresa May saying Trump was “wrong” to redistribute material from a group that promotes “hateful narratives.” “British people overwhelmingly reject the prejudiced rhetoric of the far-right which is the antithesis of the values that this country represents: decency, tolerance and respect,” said the statement, read by a spokesman from 10 Downing Street. It added that Britain First “seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives” and uses falsehoods to “stoke tensions.” “They cause anxiety to law-abiding people,” the statement said. Wednesday evening, Trump responded on Twitter: "Theresa @theresamay, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!" The Netherlands Embassy, too, also took to Twitter to respond, noting that that video Trump claimed depicted a “Muslim migrant” beating up a Dutch boy was actually a Dutch native. “ Facts do matter, ” the embassy wrote, directing its comments at the president. “The perpetrator of the violent act n this video was born and raised in the Netherlands. He received and completed his sentence under Dutch law.” The president has a history of retweeting other controversial supporters, including white supremacists and neo-Nazis, and during his campaign proposed a ban on all Muslims from entering the country. White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders defended Trump’s post as evidence he wants to “promote strong borders and strong national security.” But she sidestepped questions on whether the president should give his Twitter endorsement to content whose authenticity was not verified. “Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real, and that is what the president is talking about,” Sanders told reporters. Following Trump’s retweets, Fransen took to Twitter to tout the U.S. president’s promotion of her videos. “Donald Trump himself has retweeted these videos and has around 44 million followers!” she wrote. “God Bless You Trump! God Bless America!” Trump’s tweets were strongly condemned by the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. “By his unconscionable and irresponsible actions this morning, President Trump is clearly telling members of his base that they should hate Islam and Muslims,” said Nihad Awad, the group’s national executive director. “These are actions one would expect to see on virulent anti-Muslim hate sites, not on the Twitter feed of the president of the United States. Trump’s posts amount to incitement to violence against American Muslims. His actions should be condemned by all American political and religious leaders, regardless of their party or faith.” Piers Morgan, a British journalist and television host who was also a winner on Trump’s “Celebrity Apprentice,” was also quick to rebuke the president. “Good morning, Mr President @realDonaldTrump — what the hell are you doing retweeting a bunch of unverified videos by Britain First, a bunch of disgustingly racist far-right extremists? Please STOP this madness & undo your retweets,” he wrote. Britain First was founded in 2011 and has sought to have its members elected to Parliament but has failed to win seats. Nick Ryan, of the anti-extremist group Hope Not Hate, told the Independent newspaper it was “pretty incredulous that the leader of the free world would stoop to sharing content from one of the most notorious far-right groups in the U.K.” In June 2016, Labour Party member of Parliament Jo Cox was killed by an assailant alleged to have shouted “Britain first!” Leaders of the Britain First group said there were no ties between the attacker and their organization. The assailant, however, had links to neo-Nazi groups. On Wednesday, Cox’s widower, Brendan Cox, tweeted: “Trump has legitimised the far right in his own country, now he’s trying to do it in ours. Spreading hatred has consequences & the President should be ashamed of himself.” The anti-Muslim group Britain First posted a video of their march through Luton, England. The following day, some 25 Muslim and Christian leaders gathered in the same town to denounce the group's actions. (Griff Witte,Jason Aldag/The Washington Post) William Booth in London and Abigail Hauslohner and Brian Murphy in Washington contributed to this report. ||||| Deputy Leader of Faithful to God and Britannia. "If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first" John 15:18 London ||||| THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, DONALD TRUMP, HAS RETWEETED THREE OF DEPUTY LEADER JAYDA FRANSEN'S TWITTER VIDEOS! DONALD TRUMP HIMSELF HAS RETWEETED THESE VIDEOS AND HAS AROUND 44 MILLION FOLLOWERS! GOD BLESS YOU TRUMP! GOD BLESS AMERICA! OCS @ JaydaBF @ realDonaldTrumppic.twitter.com/BiQfQkTra9 ||||| The deputy leader of Britain First has been found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment afer she hurled abuse at a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. Jayda Fransen, 30, was fined nearly £2,000 for wearing a political uniform and shouting at Sumayyah Sharpe during a "Christian patrol" of Bury Park in Luton, on Saturday 23 January. Fransen admitted telling Ms Sharpe that Muslim men force women to cover up to avoid being raped "because they cannot control their sexual urges", adding "that's why they are coming into my country raping women across the continent". Join Independent Minds For exclusive articles, events and an advertising-free read for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent With an Independent Minds subscription for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Get the best of The Independent Without the ads – for just £5.99 €6.99 $9.99 a month Shape Created with Sketch. Britain First controversies Show all 8 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Britain First controversies 1/8 20 November 2014: Britain First claims credit for success of Ukip campaign With the Tory defector Mark Reckless forecast to win the hotly-contested by-election in Rochester and Strood, Britain First suggested they only campaigned “to bolster the Ukip campaign”. Prior to the start of the vote some bookmakers had Nigel Farage’s party as huge 1/100 favourites to take the seat, which would make Mr Reckless their second MP at the expense of the Conservative Party. And with things going so smoothly for Ukip, the far right-wing group Britain First has tried to claim some of the credit 2/8 5 November 2014: Britain First accused of hijacking the poppy as Remembrance Day approaches to promote its own agenda The far-right group used the symbol, which is a registered trademark of the Royal British Legion, on its website masthead and in Facebook posts driving more people to its page. It is seen alongside Britain First’s logo telling people to “take our country back” and crudely superimposed into the centre of the European Union flag with a message about “national sovereignty”. Members of opposition group Exposing Britain First believe many Facebook users are sharing poppy posts without realising who it comes from or what they stand for 3/8 28 October 2014: Britain First accuses Ukip of 'playing political game' with snub over Rochester photo Britain First accused Ukip of “playing the political game” after Nigel Farage’s party reprimanded its campaigners for posing for a picture with members of the far-right group. A spokesperson for Ukip said the picture, taken while both parties were campaigning for the Rochester by-election on Saturday, was a “mistake” would “not happen again” 4/8 25 October 2014: Britain First starts 'direct action' on Mail and Sun journalists over Lynda Bellingham post Britain First encouraged its followers to boycott the Daily Mail and The Sun after it was accused of using actress Lynda Bellingham's death to boost support. The party has threatened to launch "direct action" on the journalists after they said that the group used the cancer victim's death as a way to gain more attention on social media. Britain First posted a photograph to their Facebook subscribers of Mrs Bellingham with co-star Christopher Timothy, above the caption: "RIP actress Lynda Bellingham. Britain First", which garnered more than 6,000 'likes' and 500 shares 5/8 28 July 2014: Britain First founder Jim Dowson quits over mosque invasions and 'racists and extremists' The founder of Britain First resigned from the far-right group over its “provocative and counterproductive” mosque invasions. James “Jim” Dowson, a former British National Party (BNP) member and anti-abortion campaigner, announced his departure on 27 July 2014. While Britain First blamed “media pressure” and family issues for the decision and said he would be missed “enormously” in a saccharine post, Mr Dowson publicly shamed the group’s tactics as “unacceptable and unchristian” Britain First/Facebook 6/8 15 July 2014: Britain First 'battalion' invades mosque demanding removal of 'sexist' entrance signs A self-styled battalion of the far-right group Britain First “invaded” a mosque in south London. The stated aim of the altercation was to “demand the removal of sexist signs” outside the Crayford Mosque. The signs designate separate entrances for men and women, so they can enter for segregated worship as is the custom in most mosques. Men and women also sit apart in Orthodox Jewish synagogues and some Sikh gurdwaras. A film of the encounter was posted on Facebook, set to dramatic drumming music and ending with the slogan: "Britain First Defence Force. No fear. No retreat. No surrender." Britain First/Facebook 7/8 27 June 2014: Britain First's Facebook page taken down for 'hate speech' Britain First’s Facebook page was taken down for hate speech – only to be restored again an hour later. Facebook claimed the extremist group’s page was taken down by mistake but a screenshot posted by anti-fascist campaigners Hope Not Hate seemed to show the social media site had removed Britain First in response to a complaint. With almost 500,000 “likes” Britain First’s page has a following that far outstrips the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, arguably making it the UK's biggest political site 8/8 27 April 2014: Inquiry over far-right Britain First party's use of Lee Rigby slogan on voting slip The election watchdog faced an inquiry over its decision to allow a far-right party to use a slogan referencing the murdered soldier Lee Rigby. The Electoral Commission apologised for allowing Britain First to use the description “Remember Lee Rigby” on voting slips for next month’s European elections but Jenny Watson, the chair of the commission, said on Sunday that “an immediate and full independent investigation” would follow to “prevent this from ever happening again” PA 1/8 20 November 2014: Britain First claims credit for success of Ukip campaign With the Tory defector Mark Reckless forecast to win the hotly-contested by-election in Rochester and Strood, Britain First suggested they only campaigned “to bolster the Ukip campaign”. Prior to the start of the vote some bookmakers had Nigel Farage’s party as huge 1/100 favourites to take the seat, which would make Mr Reckless their second MP at the expense of the Conservative Party. And with things going so smoothly for Ukip, the far right-wing group Britain First has tried to claim some of the credit 2/8 5 November 2014: Britain First accused of hijacking the poppy as Remembrance Day approaches to promote its own agenda The far-right group used the symbol, which is a registered trademark of the Royal British Legion, on its website masthead and in Facebook posts driving more people to its page. It is seen alongside Britain First’s logo telling people to “take our country back” and crudely superimposed into the centre of the European Union flag with a message about “national sovereignty”. Members of opposition group Exposing Britain First believe many Facebook users are sharing poppy posts without realising who it comes from or what they stand for 3/8 28 October 2014: Britain First accuses Ukip of 'playing political game' with snub over Rochester photo Britain First accused Ukip of “playing the political game” after Nigel Farage’s party reprimanded its campaigners for posing for a picture with members of the far-right group. A spokesperson for Ukip said the picture, taken while both parties were campaigning for the Rochester by-election on Saturday, was a “mistake” would “not happen again” 4/8 25 October 2014: Britain First starts 'direct action' on Mail and Sun journalists over Lynda Bellingham post Britain First encouraged its followers to boycott the Daily Mail and The Sun after it was accused of using actress Lynda Bellingham's death to boost support. The party has threatened to launch "direct action" on the journalists after they said that the group used the cancer victim's death as a way to gain more attention on social media. Britain First posted a photograph to their Facebook subscribers of Mrs Bellingham with co-star Christopher Timothy, above the caption: "RIP actress Lynda Bellingham. Britain First", which garnered more than 6,000 'likes' and 500 shares 5/8 28 July 2014: Britain First founder Jim Dowson quits over mosque invasions and 'racists and extremists' The founder of Britain First resigned from the far-right group over its “provocative and counterproductive” mosque invasions. James “Jim” Dowson, a former British National Party (BNP) member and anti-abortion campaigner, announced his departure on 27 July 2014. While Britain First blamed “media pressure” and family issues for the decision and said he would be missed “enormously” in a saccharine post, Mr Dowson publicly shamed the group’s tactics as “unacceptable and unchristian” Britain First/Facebook 6/8 15 July 2014: Britain First 'battalion' invades mosque demanding removal of 'sexist' entrance signs A self-styled battalion of the far-right group Britain First “invaded” a mosque in south London. The stated aim of the altercation was to “demand the removal of sexist signs” outside the Crayford Mosque. The signs designate separate entrances for men and women, so they can enter for segregated worship as is the custom in most mosques. Men and women also sit apart in Orthodox Jewish synagogues and some Sikh gurdwaras. A film of the encounter was posted on Facebook, set to dramatic drumming music and ending with the slogan: "Britain First Defence Force. No fear. No retreat. No surrender." Britain First/Facebook 7/8 27 June 2014: Britain First's Facebook page taken down for 'hate speech' Britain First’s Facebook page was taken down for hate speech – only to be restored again an hour later. Facebook claimed the extremist group’s page was taken down by mistake but a screenshot posted by anti-fascist campaigners Hope Not Hate seemed to show the social media site had removed Britain First in response to a complaint. With almost 500,000 “likes” Britain First’s page has a following that far outstrips the Conservatives, Labour and Liberal Democrats, arguably making it the UK's biggest political site 8/8 27 April 2014: Inquiry over far-right Britain First party's use of Lee Rigby slogan on voting slip The election watchdog faced an inquiry over its decision to allow a far-right party to use a slogan referencing the murdered soldier Lee Rigby. The Electoral Commission apologised for allowing Britain First to use the description “Remember Lee Rigby” on voting slips for next month’s European elections but Jenny Watson, the chair of the commission, said on Sunday that “an immediate and full independent investigation” would follow to “prevent this from ever happening again” PA Ms Sharpe was with her four young children at the time. Fransen denied the words were intended to be offensive at a trial in Luton and South bedfordshire Magistrates' Court. "The reason I said them was because from everything I have studied, I understand them to be true," Fransen said in her defence. District Judge Carolyn Mellanby said she believed the group had gone to the area "looking for trouble" - but said Ms Sharpe had been mistaken as an "easy target". "I have no doubt the words used towards her [Ms Sharpe], in her expression, represented everything against her and what she believes in," she said. "In other words, offensive, insulting, abusive and, in my judgment, intended to cause offence and alarm and distress to her religion." In a video posted to Facebook after the verdict, Fransen said: "It was just absolutely absurd in the court. It was just a really clear display of Islamic appeasement." She said "we have an establishment that is against anything patriotic in this country and is only concerned with appeasing the Muslim community". Paul Golding, the leader of Britain first, said: "The fact of the matter is, it's one rule of law for Muslims, the protected species in this country, and another for British people."

– President Trump had a busy morning on Twitter Wednesday, and his decision to retweet three anti-Muslim videos is making headlines not only in the US but in the UK. That's because the videos originated with an ultranationalist political figure in Britain named Jayda Fransen. The videos, here, here, and here, have the titles of "Islamist mob pushes teenage boy off roof and beats him to death!," "Muslim Destroys a Statue of Virgin Mary!," and "Muslim migrant beats up Dutch boy on crutches!" The authenticity of the videos couldn't be verified, reports the Washington Post. Fransen, deputy chief of the far-right group Britain First, has a history of anti-Islamic statements. She was convicted last year of "religiously aggravated harassment" after shouting at a woman wearing a hijab in public, reports the Guardian. In that 2016 incident, the 31-year-old Fransen said her comments, in which she said Muslim women had to wear hijabs because Muslim men couldn't restrain themselves, were not meant to be offensive, per the Independent. Fransen said she feared Muslim men "coming into my country raping women across the continent." Earlier this month, she was charged with making speeches using "threatening, abusive, or insulting words or behavior" in Belfast, reports the BBC. One of the videos retweeted by Trump was first shared by conservative Ann Coulter, and Fransen seemed thrilled with Wednesday's development. "Donald Trump himself has retweeted these videos and has around 44 million followers!" she tweeted, though in all caps. "God bless you Trump! God bless America!"

GoDaddy made quite the impression during the Super Bowl. Whether that impression was good or bad, well, that's up for debate. The veteran Super Bowl advertiser provoked strong reactions with its extreme close-up of model Bar Refaeli making out with a nerd. Some viewers reacted with disgust leading up to, and during the game. "Audi should be pissed that its excellent kissing-themed ad was followed by the nastiest kiss in history," AdFreak tweeted. Media critic Eric Deggans wrote, "I'm not speechless. I said ugh!" in response to The Huffington Post's tweet, "You've left us speechless #GoDaddy." Even former Republican National Committee chairman Michael Steele weighed in, saying: That #godaddy commercial was VERY DISTURBING. — Michael Steele (@Steele_Michael) February 3, 2013 GoDaddy has cultivated a tradition of airing racy ads during the Super Bowl. Last year, its ad starred women wearing revealing clothing and ended in a saucy cliffhanger, and asked viewers to watch the end of the commercial online. The company's newest ad did not win many fans among those turned off by its past commercials. Rachel Sklar tweeted, "If GoDaddy's idea of a successful commercial is making me hate them even more, then they had a successful commercial." Later, during the power outage that struck the Superdome, James Poniewozik joked, "Guys, I don't want to panic anyone, but if the blackout lasts long enough, eventually they have to rerun that GoDaddy commercial." ||||| 0 of 49 Everyone knows that the Super Bowl commercials have become almost as important as the game itself. The rise of YouTube and social media has only skyrocketed interest. The increased attention and all the pre-Super Bowl buzz for ads have driven up the cost substantially. In 2013 the average 30-second spot costs upward of $4 million. That's roughly a 90 percent increase from a decade ago. Some companies make the most of their money by producing really outstanding and memorable commercials that resonate with the public. The best ads earn a permanent place in television history, and are rerun countless times long after the game ends. Other companies just waste an unbelievable amount of money on stupendously terrible ads that are endlessly ridiculed or worse—forgotten in seconds. Let's take a look at the good, the bad, and the dreadfully mediocre Super Bowl commercials of 2013. Find me on Twitter to let me know your favorites! Follow @blamberr

– Longtime Super Bowl advertiser GoDaddy has outdone itself with an ad that is being talked about nearly as much as the blackout, the Huffington Post reports. The web hosting firm's spot featured an extreme close-up of supermodel Bar Refaeli making out with a stereotypical nerd, and reactions ranged from amused to disturbed. "Guys, I don't want to panic anyone, but if the blackout lasts long enough, eventually they have to rerun that GoDaddy commercial," quipped Time columnist James Poniewozik when the lights went out. Click here for a look at some of the best ads, and here for Bleacher Report's take on the best, worst, and mediocre.

***UPDATE: Politico has suspended Williams. Full report here. Politico, the unofficial web-branch of MSNBC, and whose staff spends more time on MSNBC than Chris Matthews, has a so-called reporter named Joseph Williams who all but called Mitt Romney a racist on Martin Bashir’s show today. Williams says declaratively that Romney is only comfortable around white people. But if you think the video clip is disgraceful, wait till you see Mr. Williams’ greatest tweets collection assembled below. “Dick” jokes about Ann Romney. Really. — — The full clip is actually worse. Williams just isn’t any Politico reporter, by the way, he’s their White House Correspondent, but one who regularly shills for Obama on Twitter — furthering the Obama campaign’s talking points on race and Romney’s wealth. Oh, and he also makes penis jokes about Ann Romney. Picture of a Politico White House Correspondent in action…when he thinks no one is watching: – And naturally, NASCAR is racist, donchaknow: – This is our MSM. This is Politico. This is why God created Andrew Breitbart. Follow John Nolte on Twitter @NolteNC ||||| Regrettably, an unacceptable number of Joe Williams's public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility. His comment about Governor Romney earlier today on MSNBC fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way. Joe has acknowledged that his appearance reflected a poor choice of words. This appearance came in the context of other remarks on Twitter that, cumulatively, require us to make clear that our standards are serious, and so are the consequences for disregarding them. This is true for all POLITICO journalists, including an experienced and well-respected voice like Joe Williams. Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter.

– Politico has suspended White House correspondent Joe Williams following his implication that Mitt Romney is only at ease among "white folks." Williams told Martin Bashir on MSNBC yesterday that Romney is "very, very comfortable ... with people who are like him," Thus he can be "awkward" in town hall meetings, but "when he comes on Fox and Friends, they're like him, they're white folks who are very much relaxed in their own company." Daily Intel points out that a Romney penis joke Williams made on Twitter only added fuel to the fire. And so Politico responded. Williams' comments "fell short of our standards for fairness and judgment in an especially unfortunate way," Politico bosses wrote in a staff memo. "An unacceptable number of Joe Williams' public statements on cable and Twitter have called into question his commitment to this responsibility," they noted. "Following discussion of this matter with editors, Joe has been suspended while we review the matter."

Kabul, Afghanistan (CNN) -- President Barack Obama, speaking early Wednesday in Afghanistan at the tail end of a surprise visit there, discussed how the war will end and promised a steady drawdown of U.S. troops. Obama committed to pulling 23,000 troops out of the country by the end of summer and sticking to the 2014 deadline to turn security fully over to the Afghan government. He said that NATO will set a goal this month for Afghan forces to be in the lead for combat operations next year. "We will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains. That will be the job of the Afghan people," the president said during a speech at Bagram Air Base. Read extensive excerpts of the speech His unannounced trip was Obama's third visit to Afghanistan since taking office. It coincided with the first anniversary of the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden in neighboring Pakistan, and comes as Obama is fighting for re-election. Hours after Obama left the country, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force reported a loud explosion in the capital, Kabul. Gen. Mohammad Ayoub Salangi, Kabul chief of police, told CNN it was a suicide car bomb. The blast killed five people outside a compound known as Green Village, according Sediq Seddiqi, a spokesman for Afghan Interior Ministry. An undetermined number of others also were injured. The president promised not to keep troops in harm's way "a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security," but promised to "finish the job" and "end this war responsibly." Obama spoke of a "negotiated peace," and said his administration has been in direct talks with the Taliban. "We've made it clear that they can be a part of this future if they break with al Qaeda, renounce violence, and abide by Afghan laws," he said. Finally, the president vowed: "This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end." Earlier in his trip, Obama and Afghan President Hamid Karzai signed an agreement outlining cooperation between their countries once the U.S.-led international force withdraws in 2014. Some U.S. forces will remain in a post-war Afghanistan as military advisers, but both U.S. and Afghan officials have yet to decide how many troops will continue supporting the Afghan military, and for how long. See reactions to Obama's surprise trip At a signing ceremony for the Strategic Partnership Agreement, Obama said that neither country asked for the war that began more than a decade ago, but now they would work in partnership for a peaceful future. "There will be difficult days ahead, but as we move forward in our transition, I'm confident that Afghan forces will grow stronger; the Afghan people will take control of their future," Obama said. Addressing a concern in Afghanistan that the United States will abandon the country once its troops leave, Obama said, "With this agreement, I am confident that the Afghan people will understand that the United States will stand by them." He later added that the United States "did not come here to claim resources or to claim territory. We came here with a very clear mission to destroy al Qaeda," referring to the terrorist organization responsible for the September 11, 2001, attacks. Obama's address came nine years to the day after then-President George W. Bush delivered his "Mission Accomplished" speech aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, announcing the end of major combat operations in Iraq. Karzai offered his thanks to the American people for helping Afghanistan, and the presidents shook hands after signing the document in the atrium of the King's Residence, part of the Presidential Palace in Kabul. "This agreement will close the season of the past 10 years and is going to open an equal relationship season. With the signing of this agreement, we are starting a phase between two sovereign and independent countries that will be based on mutual respect, mutual commitments and mutual friendship," Karzai said. Obama warned the Afghan people and, later, U.S. troops he met with, of difficult days ahead. In remarks to troops at Bagram, Obama sounded emotional as he said that soldiers could see friends get hurt or killed as the mission winds down. "There's going to heartbreak and pain and difficulty ahead, but there's a light on the horizon because of the sacrifices you've made," he said. The security risks in Afghanistan were evident from the secretive nature and timing of the trip. Obama landed in Afghanistan in the cover of darkness, and the signing ceremony occurred in the late evening. Back in the United States, politicians reacted to the president's visit -- some with praise, others claiming it was politically motivated. Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney said, "I am pleased that President Obama has returned to Afghanistan. Our troops and the American people deserve to hear from our president about what is at stake in this war. Success in Afghanistan is vital to our nation's security. It would be a tragedy for Afghanistan and a strategic setback for America if the Taliban returned to power and once again created a sanctuary for terrorists." Sen. James Inhofe, R-Oklahoma, was less supportive. "Clearly, this trip is campaign-related. We've seen recently that President Obama has visited college campuses in an attempt to win back the support of that age group since he has lost it over the last three years. Similarly, this trip to Afghanistan is an attempt to shore up his national security credentials, because he has spent the past three years gutting our military," he said in a statement. The Strategic Partnership Agreement provides a framework for the U.S.-Afghanistan partnership for the decade after the U.S. and allied troop withdrawal, according to senior administration officials who briefed reporters on the flight. Specific levels of U.S. forces and funding are not set in the agreement and will be determined by the United States in consultation with allies, the officials said on condition of not being identified. Noting the anniversary of the bin Laden mission, the officials called it a resonant day for the Afghan and American people. More than 130,000 troops from 50 countries serve in Afghanistan, according to the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force. The United States is the biggest contributor, providing about 90,000 troops, followed by the United Kingdom (9,500), Germany (4,800) and France (3,600). The war that began in 2001 is increasingly unpopular in the United States, with the latest CNN/ORC International poll in late March showing 25% of respondents supporting it and 72% opposing it. More than 2,700 troops from the United States and its partners have died in the war, the majority of them American. In 2011, the United States outlined its plan to withdraw its troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014. The move was followed by withdrawal announcements by most of the NATO nations. Last week, Afghan National Security Adviser Rangin Daftar Spanta and U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker initialed a text that outlined the kind of relationship the two countries want in the decade following the NATO withdrawal. The deal had been long expected after Washington and Kabul found compromises over the thorny issues of "night raids" by U.S. forces on Afghan homes and the transfer of U.S. detainees to Afghan custody. It seeks to create an enduring partnership that prevents the Taliban from waiting until the U.S. withdrawal to try to regain power, the senior administration officials said. Obama visited Afghanistan in March 2010 and returned in December of the same year. He also visited Afghanistan in 2008 as a presidential candidate. CNN's Tom Cohen, Barbara Starr, Keating Holland, Nick Paton Walsh and journalist Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report. ||||| The speech did not lay out any new timetable for what Mr. Obama said was the goal for Afghanistan: “a future in which war ends and a new chapter begins.” “Our troops will be coming home,” Mr. Obama said. “Last year, we removed 10,000 U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Another 23,000 will leave by the end of the summer. After that, reductions will continue at a steady pace, with more of our troops coming home. And as our coalition agreed, by the end of 2014 the Afghans will be fully responsible for the security of their country.” It was almost prime time in Washington, and the wee hours of the morning in Afghanistan, when President Obama spoke live on television. His message would certainly be seen live by millions of Americans and very few Afghans. But it had to be addressed to both. His American audience is attuned not only to the echoes of the strike in neighboring Pakistan that killed Bin Laden last May, but also to the way Mr. Obama’s management of two wars is playing in this year’s presidential campaign. “I recognize that many Americans are tired of war,” he said. “I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security. But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.” He emphasized that the goals are limited. “To build a country in America’s image, or to eradicate every vestige of the Taliban,” he said, would “require many more years, many more dollars, and most importantly, many more American lives.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story “Our goal is to destroy Al Qaeda, and we are on a path to do exactly that,” he said. In political terms, the emphasis was on bringing two wars to a close. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. “We have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war,” he said. “Yet here, in the predawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon. The Iraq war is over. The number of our troops in harm’s way has been cut in half, and more will be coming home soon.” His Afghan audience, and the government of President Karzai, with whom he signed the strategic partnership, is focused on questions of stability after the Americans depart. “You will not stand alone,” he said to them. The new agreement “establishes the basis of our cooperation over the next decade, including shared commitments to combat terrorism and strengthen democratic institutions.” Earlier, in an appearance with Mr. Karzai, Mr. Obama had declared, “I am confident that the Afghan people will understand that the United States will stand by them.” And in a visit with the troops, he told them, too, that the American withdrawal would be an honorable one. “We’re not going to do it overnight. We’re not going to do it irresponsibly,” Mr. Obama said. “We’re going to make sure that the gains, the hard-fought gains that have been made, are preserved.” Any details about the exact pace of the withdrawal are unlikely to come before the November elections. The agreement deals not only with military and security issues, but also with assistance in building Afghanistan’s economy and its democracy, both of which are frail. It allows a vestigial American military presence without committing either side to numbers, and it gives Afghanistan sovereignty without cutting it loose entirely from the United States as a sponsor and mentor. Advertisement Continue reading the main story “We will not build permanent bases in this country, nor will we be patrolling its cities and mountains,” Mr. Obama said in his televised speech. A White House fact sheet noted that “the Strategic Partnership Agreement itself does not commit the United States to any specific troop levels or levels of funding in the future, as those are decisions will be made in consultation with the U.S. Congress. It does, however, commit the United States to seek funding from Congress on an annual basis to support the training, equipping, advising and sustaining of Afghan National Security Forces, as well as for social and economic assistance.” And some details have to be worked out with the other allies who are about to meet in Chicago to map the way forward to 2014, when NATO’s full engagement in Afghanistan is to give way to something that, even with this new partnership agreement in hand, remains only loosely defined.

– President Obama wrapped up his surprise trip to Afghanistan—during which he signed an accord with Hamid Karzai on how the US will wind down its presence after 2014—with an address to Americans. He declared that the US has "a clear path to fulfill our mission in Afghanistan," but vowed to end war "responsibly," reports CNN and the New York Times. Some excerpts: "My fellow Americans, we have traveled through more than a decade under the dark cloud of war. Yet here, in the predawn darkness of Afghanistan, we can see the light of a new day on the horizon." “The goal that I set, to defeat al-Qaeda and deny it the chance to rebuild, is now within our reach." “I recognize that many Americans are tired of war. I will not keep Americans in harm’s way a single day longer than is absolutely required for our national security. But we must finish the job we started in Afghanistan, and end this war responsibly.” “We’re going to make sure that the gains, the hard-fought gains that have been made, are preserved.” He promised the US would "fight alongside" the Afghans when necessary, even after 2014. "This time of war began in Afghanistan, and this is where it will end."

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about Science. NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address. ||||| Two partial skulls (shown here in a digital reconstruction) of an early human were discovered at an archaeological site (shown here) in Xuchang in central China. Fossils unearthed in China appeared to be strange patchworks of extinct and modern human lineages, with the large brains of modern humans; the low, broad skulls of earlier humans; and the inner ears of Neanderthals, a new study reported. These new fossils suggest that far-flung groups of ancient humans were more genetically linked across Eurasia than often previously thought, researchers in the new study said. "I don't like to think of these fossils as those of hybrids," said study co-author Erik Trinkaus, an anthropologist at Washington University in St. Louis. "Hybridization implies that all of these groups were separate and discrete, only occasionally interacting. What these fossils show is that these groups were basically not separate. The idea that there were separate lineages in different parts of the world is increasingly contradicted by the evidence we are unearthing." [In Photos: New Human Relative Shakes Up Our Family Tree] Modern humans first appeared in Africa about 150,000 to 200,000 years ago, and recent archaeological and genetic findings suggest that modern humans first migrated out of Africa starting at least 100,000 years ago. However, a number of earlier groups of so-called archaic humans left Africa beforehand; for instance, Neanderthals lived in Europe and Asia between about 200,000 and 40,000 years ago. The fragmentary nature of the human fossil record has made it tricky to determine the biology of the immediate predecessors of modern humans in eastern Eurasia, Trinkaus said. Unearthing details from this region could shed light on an otherwise poorly understood aspect of human evolution, yielding insights into how modern and archaic humans interacted, he added. In the new study, scientists analyzed fragments of two human skulls that lead study author Zhan-Yang Li, an archaeologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, unearthed during fieldwork in the city of Xuchang in central China between 2007 and 2014. The fossils are about 105,000 to 125,000 years old, the researchers said. Back when these ancient humans lived, the site where they were found was a spring-fed lake amid a mosaic of open grasslands and some forests, said study co-author Xiu-Jie Wu, a paleoanthropologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Researchers found fossils of more than 20 other mammal species there, including those of rhinos, deer, horses, gazelles and rodents, and about one-sixth of these bones had cut marks, suggesting that humans preyed on them, Wu told Live Science. The partial human skulls combined the features seen in different groups of humans across Eurasia. Like early modern humans, these skulls had large brains and modest brow ridges, the researchers said. However, like earlier humans from eastern Eurasia, the skulls had low, broad braincases. In addition, the semicircular canals in the skulls' inner ears and the arrangement of the rear portion of the skulls more closely resembled the features of Neanderthals from western Eurasia, the scientists said. This collection of features in central China suggests that populations of humans across Eurasia were more connected with each other more than previously thought, Trinkaus said. "We're seeing a general interconnectedness of all these populations across the Old World," Trinkaus told Live Science. "Features that we might normally think of [as] belonging to one region or another do appear across the whole range of populations, although the frequency at which those features appear may differ across regions." Fieldwork in this region will hopefully unearth the complete skull (showing the face) and teeth of these ancient humans, "so we can tell what they looked like," Wu told Live Science. The scientists detailed their findings in the March 3 issue of the journal Science. Original article on Live Science. ||||| A molar from an early human species called Denisova is shown in this image released to Reuters in December 2010. Scientists think skull remains recently found in China could belong to a Denisovan, or another previously unknown hominid. —In 2007, researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing were finishing up an archaeological dig in Lingjing, China, when a team member spotted some quartz tools poking out of the mud. After extending the dig, the tools were extracted, revealing an even more significant discovery: a small, ancient skull fragment approximately 100,000 to 130,000 years old. Over the next few years, the researchers returned to the site multiple times, finding more cranium pieces until they were able to reconstruct two partial skulls from more than 40 separate fragments. But when the team analyzed the skull fragments, they realized that the skulls neither fit the bill for Homo sapiens nor Neanderthals but that they shared characteristics of both human species. Ultimately, the researchers were unable to positively determine exactly what kind of human the skulls belong to, opening the door to a wide range of intriguing possibilities. In an article published Friday in the journal Science, the researchers note that the skull fragments date to the Late Pleistocene epoch, a time marked by the expansion of H. sapiens and the extinction of other species in the genus Homo. During the early part of that epoch, Neanderthals roamed Europe and western Asia while humans began to journey out of Africa. But fossil records of human species in Eastern Asia from that time period are thin, muddying the picture of that era for a substantial region of the planet. The skulls found in China were found to bear very close resemblances to those of Neanderthals, including a very similar inner ear bone and a prominent brow ridge. But the brow ridge was much less pronounced than one would expect from Neanderthals, with a considerably less dense cranium, as one might expect in an early H. sapiens. Researchers also found that the skulls were large by both modern and Neanderthal standards, with a whopping 1800 cubic centimeters of brain capacity. "They are not Neanderthals in the full sense," study co-author Erik Trinkaus, a paleoanthropologist at Washington Univer­sity in St. Louis, told Science Magazine. So what are they? It's hard to say, since the skulls contain features associated with modern humans, Neanderthals, and other Eastern Asian humans from the epoch. "The overall cranial shape, especially the wide cranial base, and low neurocranial vault, indicate a pattern of continuity with the earlier, Middle Pleistocene eastern Eurasian humans. Yet the presence of two distinctive Neanderthal features ... argue for populational interactions across Eurasia during the late Middle and early Late Pleistocene," said Dr. Trinkaus in a statement. Essentially, the skulls seem to belong to an unknown species that is none of the above – or, to be more accurate, a mix of all of the above. "I don't like to think of these fossils as those of hybrids," study co-author and anthropologist Trinkaus told News.com.au. "Hybridization implies that all of these groups were separate and discrete, only occasionally interacting. What these fossils show is that these groups were basically not separate. The idea that there were separate lineages in different parts of the world is increasingly contradicted by the evidence we are unearthing." While this specific group of early humans the skulls belong to might never have been discovered before, it is possible that the remains may belong to a little-known hominid species known as Denisovans, which existed around the same time and mixed with modern humans and Neanderthals. But there's one catch: scientists don't have any Denisovan skulls to compare the China samples with. Only a few Denisovan remains have been previously uncovered, including a single finger bone and a large tooth, which scientists determined was distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans through DNA tests. "It is not possible to infer skull morphology from ancient DNA directly," Phillipp Gunz, an evolutionary anthropologist at the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig who was not involved in the study, told The Washington Post. "I therefore hope that future studies will be able to extract ancient DNA from these or similar specimens," though he added that many of the features in the skulls did match up with what many experts imagine Denisovan skulls to be like. Follow Stories Like This Get the Monitor stories you care about delivered to your inbox. Sign Up × Until a definitive DNA test is conducted on the skull samples, their true origins will remain a mystery. But there's still a lot that can be learned from them in the meantime. "The biological nature of the immediate predecessors of modern humans in eastern Eurasia has been poorly known from the human fossil record," said Trinkaus, in a Washington University, St. Louis statement. "The discovery of these skulls of late archaic humans from Xuchang substantially increases our knowledge of these people."

– First, back in 2007, they found tools. Then, a bone. Now archaeologists who've continued to return to the same dig in Lingjing, China, report in the journal Science that they've unearthed more than 40 separate skull fragments to pull together two partial skulls that date back 100,000 to 130,000 years. Of particular interest? They don't fit the known patterns of Homo sapiens or Neanderthals. In fact, it looks like they might borrow bits and pieces of both, further suggesting "populational interactions," as one researcher says in a statement, which is science speak for "have enough sex to procreate." The skulls just don't seem to fit into any one category. "I don't like to think of these fossils as those of hybrids," says one of the anthropologists, per Live Science. "Hybridization implies that all of these groups were separate and discrete, only occasionally interacting. What these fossils show is that these groups were basically not separate." Indeed, these people seemed to have the big brains of modern humans, but the prominent brow ridge and inner ear of Neanderthals. Their true origins will remain an enigma until DNA testing is successfully conducted, reports the Christian Science Monitor, which notes that they may be mysterious Denisovans, who lived around that time. Either way, the find "substantially increases our knowledge of these people," one researcher says. (Did we inherit allergies from our Neanderthal ancestors?)

The rosé was everywhere at Rose Café in Venice but Chrissy Teigen was sipping from a can of Red Bull. It was a little before noon. Attendees, most of whom wore sundresses and beachy waves, stood idly at the inaugural Chase Sapphire Sundays: Brunch with Chrissy Teigen event, drinking their frosé cocktails garnished with rose petals. They were trying to get a glimpse of their host, who, for the time being, was sitting behind a mesh screen, cross-legged on her chair. Advertisement - Continue Reading Below She was feeling tired, she said, maybe a little jet-lagged. Teigen, John Legend, and their 16-month-old daughter Luna have been vacationing a bit more than usual this summer. They had recently come back from Italy and would soon be leaving for another vacation. They are focusing on travel because "a lot of stuff's about to come," Teigen said. "We're going to try to have a child. This is for us to try to get in the zone of 'let's travel, let's be away together, let's see our closest friends,' and then we're going to have to do something super hard, which is the IVF process, all over again." 🐥 A post shared by chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) on Aug 8, 2017 at 9:01am PDT Before Italy, it was Bali, where they attended a wellness retreat. Teigen wanted to do a reset on her health. "I was, point blank, just drinking too much," she said, looking down at the table between us. She picked up my phone and turned it around in her hands. "I got used to being in hair and makeup and having a glass of wine. Then that glass of wine would carry over into me having one before the awards show. And then a bunch at the awards show. And then I felt bad for making kind of an ass of myself to people that I really respected. And that feeling, there's just nothing like that. You feel horrible. It's not a good look for me, for John, for anybody." Included in the $100 price of entry for the brunch were unlimited specialty cocktails and wine, a legion of servers always replenishing the supply. A special day in the life of a Sapphire card-carrying commoner. Not so much for a celebrity — especially not one who's been a spokesperson for Captain Morgan and Smirnoff. "Imagine everything we have," Teigen said. "Everything is there, always. I don't know how to go to an awards show and not drink." Advertisement - Continue Reading Below She has a history of alcohol abuse in her family, she said, and she's the type of person who "can't just have one drink." She is also taking a number of medications for postpartum depression and anxiety, which "alcohol is like the least thing that helps." She started to worry about where this was headed. "Nobody really brought it up to me," Teigen said. "They just assumed that it was OK because I always felt OK the next morning. I knew in my heart it wasn't right. It makes you very short with people. People think it's cutesy and fun to go on these boozy brunches, but there's more to it. I've never once been like, 'I'm sure glad I had that boozy brunch!'" Teigen made a shift in Bali. While there, she abstained from alcohol entirely and didn't find herself missing it. She ate better. She worked out. It was "really, really wonderful," she said. "I would wake up feeling amazing. My skin felt amazing. I was just so happy." What will be tricky is figuring out what to do now that she's back in Los Angeles, where access to alcohol is easy and free. One possibility is that she might end up going completely dry, which she also announced she'd do in April 2013. "I used to think it was kind of nutty to have to go totally sober," she said, "but now I get it. I don't want to be that person. … I have to fix myself." Released from her press commitments, it was time for Teigen to give her public what they came for. She walked through a mass of attendees toward a succulent wall and answered questions about travel and cooking. A woman with pink hair and a pink vest held a glass of rosé in her hand, captivated. Somewhere in the back, a man shouted, "I love you, Chrissy!" Teigen held a coupe of … something indeterminate and made a toast. "Thank you so much, this has been absolutely wonderful," she said, and went around clinking. Follow Helin on Instagram. ||||| 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 ||||| Teigen gets real about her struggle with alcohol and holds nothing back Chrissy Teigen is the goddess of authenticity, and an expert at telling it like it is. Her latest dose of brutally honest, what-you-see-is-what you-get reality? Her struggle with alcohol. Teigen recently opened up to Cosmopolitan, explaining why she was drinking a Red Bull while everyone else was sipping frosé cocktails before an event. “I was, point blank, just drinking too much,” she admitted. She said her drinking went from a drink or two here and there, and then spiraled from there. “I got used to being in hair and makeup and having a glass of wine. Then that glass of wine would carry over into me having one before the awards show. And then a bunch at the awards show. And then I felt bad for making kind of an ass of myself to people that I really respected. And that feeling, there’s just nothing like that. You feel horrible. It’s not a good look for me, for John, for anybody.” Teigen, her husband John Legend, and 16-month-old daughter Luna spent the summer traveling to places like Italy and Bali (ummm…jealous!) before they get ready for another round of IVF treatments. While the family was in Bali, Teigen went to a wellness retreat to reset her health. She eschewed alcohol entirely, ate more healthfully, exercised, and generally felt amazing. She admitted that staying the course will be more difficult once she’s back in the Hollywood scene and the stress of daily life takes hold, and she hasn’t ruled out going completely sober. With her lifestyle, where cocktails are constantly replenished, Teigen admitted that she didn’t “know how to go to an awards show and not drink.” And while awards shows might not be something the rest of us can relate to, the parenting-and-booze duo can be a difficult one to escape. In fact, sometimes it feels like motherhood and wine memes go hand in hand. Teigen said there’s a history of alcohol abuse in her family, and she has trouble having just one drink. She said that alcohol isn’t compatible with the medications she takes for postpartum depression and anxiety. And even though no one suggested it was a problem to her, she began to worry that her alcohol consumption was heading in an unhealthy direction. Our love of Chrissy Teigen is real and it is fierce. We stand and applaud when she claps back at haters who chide her for using IVF, mom-shamers who lecture her about how to hold her own damn baby, and the busybodies who want to know the intimate details of her struggle with infertility. We nod our heads when she gets real about the challenges of breastfeeding, we laugh our asses off when she trolls the trolls, and we give her virtual fist bumps when she tries (and fails) to stay awake at the Oscars. (Seriously, who can stay away past 11:00 at night anymore?) Teigen is is fully committed to her family, fresh out of fucks for things that don’t matter, and never fails to tell it like it is – and we love her for it, just like we love and support her for making this difficult admission and taking care of herself. “I used to think it was kind of nutty to have to go totally sober, but now I get it,” Teigen said. “I don’t want to be that person… I have to fix myself.”

– Chrissy Teigen, drinking Red Bull instead of wine or a cocktail during a recent brunch appearance, explains to Cosmopolitan that she recently decided to work on her health. "I was, point blank, just drinking too much," she explains in a frank interview. It became routine to have a glass of wine while getting her hair and makeup done, then another before the awards show, then more at the awards show ... and so on and so on. "And then I felt bad for making kind of an ass of myself to people that I really respected. And that feeling, there's just nothing like that. You feel horrible. It's not a good look for me, for John, for anybody." She and husband John Legend, who are planning to do IVF again soon in the hopes of having another baby, went on a wellness retreat in Bali, where she didn't drink at all and felt wonderful. Now that she's back home in LA, she's not sure how to navigate her scene, in which alcohol is often around, but she's considering abstaining entirely. She "can't just have one drink," she explains, and with a family history of alcohol abuse plus the medications for postpartum depression and anxiety she's taking, she's concerned about where things could go if she kept drinking to excess. She notes that no one in her circle seemed to think she had a problem, but "I knew in my heart it wasn't right." "I used to think it was kind of nutty to have to go totally sober, but now I get it. I don't want to be that person," she adds. "I have to fix myself." Many readers thanked her for her honesty. Sample Twitter response: "Totally went through the same thing a few months ago. Women should be discussing it more." Scary Mommy echoes that, noting "sometimes it feels like motherhood and wine memes go hand in hand."

Razieh Ebrahimi was forced to marry at the age of 14, became a mother at 15, and killed her husband at 17. Now at 21, she is on Iran's death row. Ebrahimi, who shot dead her husband while he was sleeping, faces imminent execution, despite international laws prohibiting execution for crimes committed by juveniles. Human Rights Watch, has urged Iran's judiciary to halt the execution. Earlier this week, Ebrahimi's lawyer also asked judges to consider a retrial, the semi-official Mehr news agency reported. "I married our neighbour's son when I was only 14 because my dad insisted," Ebrahimi was quoted as telling officials working on her case, according to Mehr. "My dad insisted I should marry him because he was educated and was working as a teacher. I was 15 when I gave birth to my child." Her child is believed to be now six years old. "I didn't know who I am or what is life all about," she said soon after being arrested. "My husband mistreated me. He used any excuse to insult me, even attacking me physically." Ebrahimi is said to have admitted to killing her husband with his own gun before burying him in the garden. Ebrahimi initially told the police her husband was missing but her own father found the dead body and gave her in to the police. Iran is signatory to the international convenant of civil and political rights (ICCPR) which prohibits death penalty for convicts if their act of crime is committed while they were under the age of 18. HRW called on the judiciary, which is independent of the Iranian government, to reverse its decision. "Every time an Iranian judge issues a death sentence for a child offender like Ebrahimi, he should remember he is in flagrantly violating his legal responsibilities to administer justice fairly and equitably," said HRW's Joe Stork. "Iran's judiciary should reverse its execution order of a battered child bride." Althought a death penalty for Ebrahimi was handed down by the judges, her victim's family have until the very last minute to pardon her, a decision they have so far refused. Under Iranian law the victim's family have a final say over the death penalty. In April an Iranian mother pardoned the man who had killed her sonjust moments before he was to be executed. Samereh Alinejad's act of forgiveness, has since inspired dozens of other families across Iran to pardon convicts at last minute. Iran's judicial authorities have previously denied accusations of juvenile executions, but according to HRW, the country has executed at least 10 juvenile offenders since 2009. The dispute appears to arise from Iran's own definition of a juvenile. The country does not provide a clear distinction between the age of majority – when minors cease to legally be considered children – and the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which is 15 for boys and nine for girls under Iranian law. Under the current civil code, girls can marry at 13 and boys at 15, HRW said. In 2013, Iran and Iraq were responsible for more than two-thirds of the executions that happened worldwide, according to Amnesty. Iran says most of its executions are related to drug-offences. Shadi Sadr, a London-based Iranian lawyer with the rights group Justice for Iran, told the Guardian that the case against Razieh Ebrahimi - also known as Maryan - underlined a hidden social and legal issue in Iran. "Forced girl marriage in Iran is a hidden social and legal issue," she said. "However, it should be noted that Maryam Ebrahimi's case is not a unique case at all. This March, for instance, Farzaneh Moradi, 28, was executed for murdering her husband. She was forced to marriage at 15, gave birth at 16, fell in love with another man at 19 and was accused of murdering her husband at 20." She added: "Women such as Maryam or Farzaneh, who are forced to marriage at childhood, are actually being raped constantly under the name of marriage. While they should go to school at that age, they are instead experiencing a life full of violence with no legal support. They eventually kill themselves or their husbands to end this vicious circle." Sadr said Justice for Iran's research shows in 2012 alone, 1,537 girls under the age of of 10 and 29,827 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 were registered for marriage in Iran. • This article was amended on 20 June 2014 to clarify that Razieh Ebrahami is also known as Maryam. ||||| (Beirut) – Iran’s judiciary should halt the execution of a woman convicted of murdering her husband when she was 17. The woman, who has admitted to shooting her husband while he was asleep, was married at 14 and is the mother of a 6 year old. Authorities have announced that she is at imminent risk of execution. International law strictly prohibits the execution of child offenders. Authorities arrested Razieh Ebrahimi – also referred to as “Maryam” in the local press – four years ago after she shot her husband in the head as he was sleeping and buried his body in the backyard, a source familiar with her case told Human Rights Watch. Ebrahimi, who is in prison in the southwestern city of Ahvaz, admitted guilt but expressed remorse. She said she snapped after several years of physical and verbal abuse by her husband. “Every time an Iranian judge issues a death sentence for a child offender like Ebrahimi, he should remember he is flagrantly violating his legal responsibilities to administer justice fairly and equitably,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director. “Iran’s judiciary should reverse its execution order of a child bride who says she was battered.” A criminal court convicted Ebrahimi of murder and sentenced her to death. Iran’s judiciary rejected Ebrahimi’s request for a retrial despite the fact that she was under 18 when she committed the murder. In early 2013, new amendments to the penal code went into effect, strictly prohibiting the execution of child offenders for certain categories of crimes, including drug-related offenses. No such prohibition exists, however, for children convicted of murder and a host of other crimes for which the punishments are fixed under Sharia law, including adultery and sodomy. Under article 91 of the amended code, a judge may sentence a boy who is 15 or older or a girl who is 9 or older to death for these crimes if he determines that the child understood the nature and consequences of the crime. The article allows the court to rely on “the opinion of a forensic doctor or other means it deems appropriate” to establish whether a defendant understood the consequences of their actions. Under Iranian law, in murder cases, the victim’s survivors retain the right to claim retribution in kind, to pardon the killer, or to accept compensation in exchange for giving up the right to claim retribution. The husband’s family has refused to pardon Ebrahimi. A source familiar with Ebrahimi’s case told Human Rights Watch that prison authorities attempted earlier to carry out her execution, but when she informed them that she was 17 when she killed her husband they returned her to her cell. The source said that following recent changes to Iran’s penal code the lawyer requested a retrial from the Supreme Court on the basis that she had been under 18 and did not understand the consequences of her actions, but the court refused. In an interview with an Iranian online magazine, Ebrahimi’s lawyer, Hassan Aghakhani, said that various branches of the Supreme Court have applied article 91 differently, and he hoped the judiciary could at the very least suspend his client’s execution until all branches of the court applied the article uniformly. Since 2009, Iran has executed at least 10 child offenders, making it the country with the world’s highest number of child executions. In 2014 alone there have been at least three unofficial reports of authorities executing child offenders for murder and rape charges, despite increasing international and domestic pressure on Iran to end the practice. Human Rights Watch is investigating these cases to determine whether those executed were, in fact, child offenders. Iran is one of only four countries known to have executed juvenile offenders in the past five years; the others are Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan, as well as Hamas authorities in Gaza. Iran is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which bans execution of child offenders. Since 2010, numerous UN rights experts and bodies, including UN experts, the Human Rights Council, and the Human Rights Committee have strongly condemned Iran’s execution of child offenders. In 2012 Human Rights Watch called on the Iranian government to amend its penal code to impose an absolute prohibition on the death penalty for child offenders. Human Rights Watch has also called on Iran’s judiciary to impose a moratorium on all executions in the country due to serious concerns regarding substantive and due process violations leading to the implementation of the death penalty. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances because it is an inherently irreversible, inhumane punishment. Under the Iranian Civil Code girls can marry at 13 and boys at 15. They can marry younger with the consent of their legal guardians and a competent court. International human rights standards recommend 18 as the minimum age for marriage. Child marriages violate many human rights, including education, freedom from violence, reproductive rights, access to reproductive and sexual health care, employment, freedom of movement, and consensual marriage. The statements of the children and women Human Rights Watch has interviewed in several countries illustrate the profoundly detrimental impact on their physical and mental well-being, and their ability to live free of violence. “Iran’s judiciary should prove its commitment to protecting children – the most vulnerable members of its population – by calling a halt to death sentences for child offenders,” Stork said.

– Human Rights Watch is trying to raise pressure on judges in Iran to call off the execution of a 21-year-old woman who killed her husband four years ago. Razieh Ebrahimi’s father forced her to marry a neighbor at age 14, and she gave birth to a child at age 15. She said she suffered physical and emotional abuse until, at age 17, she killed her husband with his own gun as he slept. The law defining a juvenile is murky in Iran, reports the Guardian, but HRW says Ebrahimi qualifies and thus shouldn’t be executed. Besides, says the lawyer for another rights group, young girls forced to wed “are actually being raped constantly under the name of marriage.” They should be in school, not living a “life full of violence with no legal support,” she says. “They eventually kill themselves or their husbands to end this vicious circle." No date is set for the execution, but if the HRW campaign fails, it’s possible that the victim’s family could save Ebrahimi by asking for a last-minute pardon. The practice is allowed in the country, as was dramatically demonstrated in April.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A family's landscaping project at their Todt Hill home led to a discovery nearly seven years in the making. A burglar stole a safe from their neighbor's home on Wooddale Avenue the night after Christmas in 2011. Both authorities and the family assumed the safe was lost forever. That was until deer destroyed the first four feet of Matthew Emanuel's arborvitae trees, which line the east side of his yard. He decided they needed to be replaced. "With the heavy snow we got this winter, a lot of them were falling down, they were top heavy," he told the Advance on Wednesday. Emanuel, who moved into the home about four years ago, decided to replace the ruined trees with bamboo because of its deer-resistant nature. He hired Bob Foley and his New Jersey company, Touch the Earth Inc., to do the job about two weeks ago. When they removed the arborvitae, it revealed a metal box. "I thought it had something to do with electricity or something," Emanuel said. But when the landscapers pulled it out and rolled it over, they noticed it had a dial. Emanuel said he started rolling the safe to see if anything was inside, but it didn't make any noise. When Foley and his team finished the work, they offered to help open the safe using a pickaxe. They found several zippered bags inside, Emanuel said. He said the bags contained a trove of jewelry and "hundred dollar bills that were in really bad, muddy, ugly shape." "I thought we found buried treasure," he said. Foley said he and his team couldn't believe it. "We were freaked out," he said. "It's something you can't make up." Emanuel and his wife, Maria Colonna-Emanuel, started the process of sorting and counting the money. "It was the most fragile dollars you could ever imagine, and almost all of them were hundreds," he said. While Emanuel wasn't able to save all the money he recovered from the safe -- some of it was in wet clumps -- what he could dry totaled $16,300. The family also found a Brooklyn address written inside some of the bags. They were able to link it to a neighbor, whom they only knew in passing. "We realized it must have been them, so Monday morning I walked on over to their house and knocked on their door," Emanuel said. "I asked them if they'd ever been robbed." It turned out they had been almost seven years ago, Emanuel said. While the homeowners attributed it to the notorious "Ninja Burglar," the office of District Attorney Michael E. McMahon could not confirm that the incident was linked to the burglaries for which Robert Costanzo was convicted in May 2017. A source said the home was investigated as part of that pattern. 'Ninja Burglar' sliced: Sentenced to 22 years; 3 years shaved due to legal issue "Ninja Burglar" Robert Costanzo accused of committing 160 burglaries on Staten Island and elsewhere was sentenced to 22 years in prison; he was originally slated to receive 25 years. Emanuel told the couple, who declined to speak to the Advance for the story, what he'd found and brought the wife to his home to show her. "She was like shaking and hugging me," he said. The family placed a ceramic elephant to mark the spot they found the safe. "It was exciting to find a treasure in your house," Colonna-Emanuel said. "We bought this elephant and said let's keep it there. It's a good luck spot." ||||| A Staten Island couple says they unearthed a box of buried treasure right in their own back yard. Matthew and Maria Emanuel say they were excited after finding a rusted, rotting metal box submerged in dirt at their Wooddale Avenue home while having new trees planted. But they were then stunned to learn the box was actually a safe with $52,000 worth of valuables inside — including wads of wet $100 bills and baggies stuffed with diamonds, gold and jade. “I thought, ‘We found buried treasure!’ ” Matthew Emanuel told the Staten Island Advance. “We were freaked out. It’s something you can’t make up.” Also inside the safe was a Brooklyn address written on a note inside one of the bags — which the Emanuels linked to one of their neighbors. “We realized it must have been them, so Monday morning, I walked on over to their house and knocked on their door,” Matthew Emanuel said. “I asked them if they’d ever been robbed.” The neighbors said they had — nearly seven years ago, he said. The NYPD confirmed that the safe was stolen during a burglary at the neighbors’ home in 2011, according to CBS. The owners of the safe declined to comment — but were thrilled to have their stuff returned, the Emanuels said. “She was like shaking and hugging me,” Matthew Emanuel said of the woman. Maria Emanuel added, “A couple of people asked us, ‘Why did you return it?’ It wasn’t even a question. It wasn’t ours.” The safe’s owners blamed the robbery on Robert Costanzo, the notorious “Ninja Burglar” who was convicted of 160 robberies on Staten Island, the Advance reported. But the Staten Island DA’s Office couldn’t say whether Costanzo was responsible.

– Treasure was found in May, not buried on a deserted island but languishing on Staten Island. The Staten Island Advance has the story of Matthew Emanuel, who hired a company to rip up his damaged arborvitae trees and replace them with bamboo. But when the trees were uprooted, a box that CBS New York reports had long been assumed by Emanuel to be a cable box or something similar turned out to be something else entirely: a safe that the New York Post describes as being "submerged in dirt." The group opened it with a pickaxe. "I thought we found buried treasure," Emanuel said: Inside were zippered bags filled with jewelry and "the most fragile dollars you could ever imagine, and almost all of them were hundreds." The bills he could preserve tallied $16,300; the contents' total value was $52,000. But in addition to the treasure was a clue: a Brooklyn address. Emanuel was able to connect it with a neighbor, so on Monday he went to their house to ask if they had ever been robbed—which they had, on Dec. 26, 2011. His neighbor "was like shaking and hugging me," says Emanuel, who now has a ceramic elephant standing where the safe was found. Explains his wife, "We bought this elephant and said let's keep it there. It's a good luck spot." (This teen stumbled on treasure tied to King Bluetooth.)

Photo: Twitter Image 1 of / 37 Caption Close Image 1 of 37 A wheel of fortune contestant named "Jonny" lost $7,100 when he said, "flamingo dance lessons." The correct answer was "flamenco dance lessons." Image source: Twitter Scroll ahead to see Vanna White through the ages. less A wheel of fortune contestant named "Jonny" lost $7,100 when he said, "flamingo dance lessons." The correct answer was "flamenco dance lessons." Image source: Twitter Scroll ahead to see Vanna White through the ... more Photo: Twitter Image 2 of 37 Vanna White through the years. Vanna White through the years. Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 3 of 37 WHEEL OF FORTUNE -- Season 10 -- Pictured: Hostess Vanna White -- Photo by: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank WHEEL OF FORTUNE -- Season 10 -- Pictured: Hostess Vanna White -- Photo by: Herb Ball/NBCU Photo Bank Photo: NBC, Getty Images Image 4 of 37 Vanna White Vanna White Photo: Time & Life Pictures, Getty Images Image 5 of 37 Image 6 of 37 Vanna White Vanna White Photo: Time & Life Pictures, Getty Images Image 7 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending "Vanna White Exclusive Photo Session" on April 1, 1984 at her home in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending "Vanna White Exclusive Photo Session" on April 1, 1984 at her home in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 8 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White being photographed at "Exclusive Photo Session" on April 1, 1984 at her home in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White being photographed at "Exclusive Photo Session" on April 1, 1984 at her home in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 9 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White and husband John Gibson being photographed on February 5, 1986 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White and husband John Gibson being photographed on February 5, 1986 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 10 of 37 Image 11 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending "Battle Of The Network Stars" on March 30, 1984 at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending "Battle Of The Network Stars" on March 30, 1984 at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 12 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White and husband George Santopietro attending "APLA Fashion Show Honoring Isaac Mizrahi" on May 4, 1994 at Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White and husband George Santopietro attending "APLA Fashion Show Honoring Isaac Mizrahi" on May 4, 1994 at Mann Chinese Theater in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 13 of 37 Vanna White; close-up; at her book signing for "Vanna Speaks"; circa 1970; New York. Vanna White; close-up; at her book signing for "Vanna Speaks"; circa 1970; New York. Photo: Art Zelin, Getty Images Image 14 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending the taping of "Bob Hope's Easter Special" on March 15, 1987 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending the taping of "Bob Hope's Easter Special" on March 15, 1987 at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 15 of 37 Image 16 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending "In Store Appearance Autographing Santa's Last Ride" on November 25, 1996 at Baby Guess Store in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending "In Store Appearance Autographing Santa's Last Ride" on November 25, 1996 at Baby Guess Store in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 17 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending the book party for Vanna White "Vanna Speaks" on May 21, 1987 at Caldor's in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending the book party for Vanna White "Vanna Speaks" on May 21, 1987 at Caldor's in Norwalk, Connecticut. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 18 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending "Vanna White Unveils New Clothing Line" on October 13, 1987 at Bloomingdale's in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending "Vanna White Unveils New Clothing Line" on October 13, 1987 at Bloomingdale's in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 19 of 37 TV Personality Vanna White attending "Gilda's Club Play To Win Event" on February 17, 1998 at the Sony Plaza Atrium in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) TV Personality Vanna White attending "Gilda's Club Play To Win Event" on February 17, 1998 at the Sony Plaza Atrium in New York City, New York. (Photo by Ron Galella/WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Getty Images Image 20 of 37 Image 21 of 37 Pictured: (l-r) Wheel of Fortune co host Vanna White during an interview with host Johnny Carson on September 4, 1986 -- Photo by: Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank Pictured: (l-r) Wheel of Fortune co host Vanna White during an interview with host Johnny Carson on September 4, 1986 -- Photo by: Alice S. Hall/NBCU Photo Bank Photo: NBC, Getty Images Image 22 of 37 Game Show Host Pat Sajak and Vanna White attending 'NATPE Convention' on January 22, 1996 at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage) Game Show Host Pat Sajak and Vanna White attending 'NATPE Convention' on January 22, 1996 at the Sands Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd./WireImage) Photo: Ron Galella, Ltd., Getty Images Image 23 of 37 Game show hostess Vanna White checking her teeth as she left Civic Auditorium, after Emmy Awards. Game show hostess Vanna White checking her teeth as she left Civic Auditorium, after Emmy Awards. Photo: Russell C. Turiak, Getty Images Image 24 of 37 9/30/99 T.V.'s Vanna White Takes On "Cabaret" For The Day. 9/30/99 T.V.'s Vanna White Takes On "Cabaret" For The Day. Photo: Evan Agostini, Getty Images Image 25 of 37 Image 26 of 37 LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 28: (L-R) Television personality Vanna White, entertainer Wayne Newton and actor/comedian Drew Carey appear in Newton's dressing room after the opening of his limited-engagement production "Once Before I Go" at the Tropicana Las Vegas October 28, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. less LAS VEGAS - OCTOBER 28: (L-R) Television personality Vanna White, entertainer Wayne Newton and actor/comedian Drew Carey appear in Newton's dressing room after the opening of his limited-engagement production ... more Photo: Ethan Miller, Getty Images Image 27 of 37 Wheel of Fortune Co-host Vanna White receives A Star On The Walk Of Fame on April 20, 2006 in Hollywood, California. Wheel of Fortune Co-host Vanna White receives A Star On The Walk Of Fame on April 20, 2006 in Hollywood, California. Photo: Frazer Harrison, Getty Images Image 28 of 37 Roger King, CEO, CBS Television Distribution; Vanna White, and Pat Sajak cut the cake at the "Wheel of Fortune" 25th Anniversary Party Sponsored by People Magazine on September 27, 2007 at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. (Photo by Brian Ach/WireImage) less Roger King, CEO, CBS Television Distribution; Vanna White, and Pat Sajak cut the cake at the "Wheel of Fortune" 25th Anniversary Party Sponsored by People Magazine on September 27, 2007 at Radio City Music Hall ... more Photo: Brian Ach, Getty Images Image 29 of 37 Joan Van Ark, Jillie Mack, Tom Selleck and Vanna White (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage) Joan Van Ark, Jillie Mack, Tom Selleck and Vanna White (Photo by SGranitz/WireImage) Photo: SGranitz, Getty Images Image 30 of 37 Image 31 of 37 TV personality Vanna White (L) and George Santo Pietro attend the 2014 Carousel of Hope Ball presented by Mercedes-Benz at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. TV personality Vanna White (L) and George Santo Pietro attend the 2014 Carousel of Hope Ball presented by Mercedes-Benz at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Michael Buckner, Getty Images Image 32 of 37 Vanna White visits KATIE, distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. (Photo by Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney-ABC via Getty Images) KATIE COURIC, VANNA WHITE Vanna White visits KATIE, distributed by Disney-ABC Domestic Television. (Photo by Lorenzo Bevilaqua/Disney-ABC via Getty Images) KATIE COURIC, VANNA WHITE Photo: Lorenzo Bevilaqua, Getty Images Image 33 of 37 Vanna White attends the 2014 Carousel of Hope Ball at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic) Vanna White attends the 2014 Carousel of Hope Ball at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on October 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic) Photo: Jason LaVeris, Getty Images Image 34 of 37 Vanna White attends The 32nd Annual Carousel Of Hope Ball at The Beverly Hilton hotel on October 23, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. Vanna White attends The 32nd Annual Carousel Of Hope Ball at The Beverly Hilton hotel on October 23, 2010 in Beverly Hills, California. Photo: Jeffrey Mayer, Getty Images Image 35 of 37 Image 36 of 37 Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White answers media questions prior to taping the show at the Broward County Convention Center on December 9, 2005 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Wheel of Fortune hostess Vanna White answers media questions prior to taping the show at the Broward County Convention Center on December 9, 2005 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Photo: Ralph Notaro, Getty Images ||||| A contestant on “Wheel of Fortune” missed out on an easy $7,100 Monday after botching his pronunciation of the word “Flamenco.” A contestant named “Jonny” may have thought he would easily take the cash home that would come with a trip to Europe. He had a complete answer on the board reading: “Flamenco Dance Lessons.” But rather than saying “flamenco,” the man said “flamingo” – the exotic pink bird – sending him into a state of disbelief after the show host Pat Sajak buzzed him for a wrong answer. Jonny’s botched pronunciation meant that his opponent, Ashley, had an easy walk and will be enjoying some of the Jonny’s money somewhere in the sunny parts of Europe. But this was actually Jonny’s second fail of the night. Earlier in the game, the contestant could not nail down the obvious answer on the board that read “dog and pony show me the money.” With just two letters to go, the wheel landed on the $2,500 mark – only for Jonny to shout for the letter C. ‘JEOPARDY!’ CONTESTANT LOSES 3,200 FOR PRONUNCIATION OF ‘GANGSTER’ VS. ‘GANGSTA’ Earlier this year, a contestant on “Jeopardy!” lost over $3,000 after calling Coolio's song "Gangsta's Paradise” as “Gangster's Paradise" with a hard R. ||||| 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

– Jonny had filled in all the letters of the Wheel of Fortune puzzle. He was on the cusp of grabbing $7,100. And then, when asked to solve the puzzle—which, clearly spelled out on the board, read "flamenco dance lessons"—he said "flamingo dance lessons" and waved goodbye to that $7,100. Game show host Pat Sajak buzzed Jonny's wrong answer Monday and asked another contestant to solve the puzzle instead in the cringeworthy clip that went viral after being tweeted out by Twitter user Sean Hennessey. "We need to explain what we all heard, and we know you meant to say it, but you gave us a 'g' instead of a 'c'," Sajak tells an obviously befuddled and distraught Jonny, per the Houston Chronicle. "But we'll look at things and make sure we did them correctly." Fox News reports that Jonny had another fail earlier in the game when, with just two blank spaces left on the board, $2,500 was at stake and he could not complete the puzzle "dog and pony show me the money."

HIV-infected ex-Lindenwood wrestler may have videotaped more sex victims (KMOV) --Prosecutors tell News 4 they now know more than 30 people could have gotten HIV from a former student at Lindenwood University who allegedly knew he had the deadly disease. He is accused of knowingly giving it to others. In October, Michael Johnson, 22, was charged with exposing sexual partners to HIV. Police later discovered multiple videos of Johnson having unprotected sex. They believe those partners were unaware Johnson was HIV positive and that they were being videotaped. The startling details were revealed after hidden camera sex tapes were uncovered, according to prosecutors. “On that laptop were 32 videos engaged in sexual acts with Mr. Johnson,” said Tim Lohmar, St. Charles County prosecutor. Lohmar said Johnson can be seen with 31 unidentified people in videos taken over four months. Most of the videos were shot on the campus of Lindenwood University in St. Charles. Johnson has already been charged with five counts of knowingly transmitting the disease. “It’s safe to safe that numerous of those videos were taken inside his dorm room; we know that because we recognize the furniture,” Lohmar said most of victims not only likely had no idea they were being video-taped; they were clueless that Johnson had HIV. That’s why Lohmar wants any potential victims to come forward immediately. It’s a matter not only of their individual safety but public safety as well. Lindenwood University school officials tell News 4 they will assist law enforcement with identifying victims. They say they had no idea the videos existed until just a few days ago. “I think it’s really scary, thinking someone like that is on campus, not thinking about others,” said Student Jenny Counts. Students are shaken up by this latest news, but glad that Johnson is still behind bars for now. If convicted of knowingly transmitting HIV, he could get up to life in prison. The Prosecuting Attorney’s Office requests that anyone who may have had an intimate relationship with Johnson or who may have information pertinent to this investigation contact the St. Charles Detective Bureau at 636-949-3330.” ||||| Close Get email notifications on Susan Weich daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Susan Weich posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.

– The case of a 21-year-old Missouri man accused of knowingly exposing people to HIV became infinitely more awful last week, when police revealed that he'd allegedly secretly videotaped himself having sex with as many as 31 other people. Former Lindenwood University wrestling star Michael L. Johnson was originally arrested back in October, after one of his partners told police that he'd become infected, according to the Indianapolis Star. Four more men soon came forward. Police believe Johnson knew he had HIV, but didn't tell his partners, and didn't use a condom. But last week, police revealed that they'd found a laptop with 32 videos of Johnson having unprotected sex with different people—only one of whom they'd previously identified, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and KMOV report. Based on the furniture, they believe the videos were shot in his dorm room. Police don't think any of the victims knew either that they were being recorded or that Johnson had HIV. They're urging those people, or anyone with information on the case, to come forward. Johnson has been charged with recklessly infecting another with HIV, and recklessly exposing others to infection, and faces up to life in prison.

Dylann Roof Asks To Fire Legal Team Of 'Biological Enemies' Enlarge this image toggle caption AP AP Dylann Roof, on federal death row for gunning down nine people two years ago at a historically black church in Charleston, S.C., wants his legal team dismissed because of the lawyers' ethnicity as he seeks to have his conviction and death sentence overturned. "My two currently appointed attorneys, Alexandra Yates and Sapna Mirchandani, are Jewish and Indian respectively," Roof wrote in a letter filed Monday with the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. "It is therefore quite literally impossible that they and I could have the same interests relating to my case." The handwritten note goes on to state, "Because of my political views, which are arguably religious, it will be impossible for me to trust two attorneys that are my political and biological enemies." Roof, who represented himself at the sentencing portion of his trial, targeted African-Americans in what federal prosecutors said was a bid to start a race war. On the evening of June 17, 2015, worshippers welcomed Roof at a prayer meeting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. After sitting among them for nearly an hour, Roof opened fire as people closed their eyes in prayer. Roof confessed to the crime during a taped interrogation. But at Roof's federal trial, defense attorney David Bruck argued that his client was influenced by hateful online rhetoric. The Post and Courier reported that Bruck wanted to present evidence of Roof's mental illness in a bid to spare his life, but Roof opposed it. In his letter, Roof says that Bruck is Jewish and that it "was a constant source of conflict even with my constant efforts to look past it." "My intentions are to have the appeals process for my case go as smoothly as possible," Roof writes, "the appeals should be worked on and written by lawyers with my best interests in mind." The Post and Courier reports that Yates and Mirchandani were appointed to represent Roof after he was sentenced to death in January. A federal jury found him guilty of hate crimes and murder late last year, and he later pleaded guilty to murder charges in South Carolina state court. ||||| Close Get email notifications on Jennifer Hawes daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Jennifer Hawes posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ||||| A federal court rejected a request by Dylann Roof, the unabashed white supremacist who killed nine black parishioners at a South Carolina church two years ago, to dismiss his attorneys because they’re Jewish and Indian. Roof, who was sent to death row for the June 2015 massacre at a historically black church in Charleston, requested that the two public defenders appointed to handle his appeal be removed from his case, saying their ethnicities are “a barrier to effective communication.” “Because of my political views, which are arguably religious, it will be impossible for me to trust two attorneys that are my political and biological enemies,” the 23-year-old said in a handwritten, three-page motion filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit. The court denied the request in a one-sentence ruling Tuesday. His attorneys, Alexandra Yates and Sapna Mirchandani, did not respond to requests for comment. Rishi Bagga, president of the South Asian Bar Association of North America, said that requesting an attorney’s removal should be based on legal abilities. He said Roof’s comments highlight a challenge among public defenders, who often have to represent clients who don’t reflect their own views. “It’s really part of a lawyer’s oath to represent someone to the best of their ability regardless of their own beliefs, religion or background or origin,” Bagga said. [‘Well, I killed them, I guess’: Jury watches Dylann Roof’s confession to church massacre] Roof has been on death row since a jury convicted him of dozens of charges, including federal hate crimes, for the deaths of nine parishioners who had invited him into their Bible study at Charleston’s Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church. Federal prosecutors said Roof committed the massacre to try to start a race war, and they presented as evidence his videotaped confession, in which Roof made no effort to deny the killings. The two-hour video, played during the third day of Roof’s trial in December, showed him calm — laughing at times — as he confessed to the deadly shooting. He was nonchalant when he explained to FBI agents why he chose to gun down six women and three men. With a few swift motions of his right arm, he demonstrated how he pulled out his .45-caliber Glock and opened fire — taking 77 total shots. “Well yeah, I mean, I just went to that church in Charleston and, uh, I did it,” Roof told agents when they asked him to explain what happened. Roof wavered briefly when the agents asked him to describe exactly what he had done. “Well, I killed them, I guess,” he said. He also tried to justify the killings, saying what he did was “so minuscule” to what black people are “doing to white people every day all the time.” An image of Dylann Roof’s motion asking a judge to remove his court-appointed attorneys from his case. “I had to do it because somebody had to do something,” he told the agents. “Black people are killing white people every day on the street, and they are raping white women.” Prosecutors also introduced Roof’s jailhouse journal, in which he wrote that he does not regret what he did. “I have not shed a tear for the innocent people I killed,” he said. Roof’s new court filing isn’t the first time he has complained about his attorneys. During his trial, he sought to drop his defense attorney, David Isaac Bruck, whom Roof threatened to kill if he got out of jail. Bruck is also Jewish. Roof sought to argue on his own behalf during the trial’s sentencing phase, a portion of a capital murder case during which defense attorneys argue for a more lenient sentence. A judge later determined that Roof was competent to represent himself as long as his legal team was on standby. In the handwritten motion filed Monday, Roof said Bruck’s Jewish heritage “was a constant source of conflict” despite Roof’s efforts to “look past it.” [‘I’m just a sociopath,’ Dylann Roof declared after deadly church shooting rampage, court records say] The “difficulties” at his trial, Roof argued, should justify removal of his public defenders serving as his appellate attorneys. He said his appeal “should be worked on and written by lawyers with my best interests in mind.” Roof was also charged at the state level. He avoided a second death penalty trial after pleading guilty in March to nine counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and a related weapons charge. He was given nine consecutive life sentences in April. Court records unsealed in May provided a glimpse into Roof’s mind. Experts who examined him said he was less concerned over his own fate and worried more about whether certain family members were eating together, how his cats were doing without him, what was written on his Wikipedia page and what he was going to wear in court. He also resisted the autism diagnosis from a psychologist hired by his defense team, saying autism was for “nerds” and “losers,” according to court records. The “state psychiatrist told me there is nothing wrong with me,” according to court records paraphrasing Roof’s statements. “I don’t have autism. I’m just a sociopath.” As Roof sits in a federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., a mural in Ann Arbor, Mich., was vandalized with racist graffiti supporting Roof. “Free Dylann Roof, I Hate N——,” it said, according to the Michigan Daily. Lindsey Bever contributed to this report. Read more: Charleston church shooter: ‘I would like to make it crystal clear, I do not regret what I did’ Dylann Roof says it’s ‘not fair’ he has to hear so much from his victims’ families. They all had to endure his racist screed. Dylann Roof has been sentenced to death. Will the government ever be able to execute him?

– Dylann Roof, the convicted white supremacist murderer of nine black churchgoers in Charleston, SC, wants to dismiss and replace his legal team because they are his "political and biological enemies," he says in a handwritten letter filed with the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals Monday. Roof, who's appealing his conviction and death sentence, says in the letter that his attorneys, Alexandra Yates and Sapna Mirchandani, "are Jewish and Indian respectively. It is therefore quite literally impossible that they and I could have the same interests relating to my case," the Post and Courier reports. "Because of my political views, which are arguably religious, it will be impossible for me to trust two attorneys that are my political and biological enemies," he continues. He also notes that his defense attorney at his federal trial was Jewish, and "his ethnicity was a constant source of conflict even with my constant efforts to look past it." (In fact, the defense team alleged Roof threatened to kill the lawyer if he was ever freed.) Roof represented himself during the sentencing phase of his trial. Federal prosecutors say his 2015 rampage at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church was an attempt to start a race war. Per the Washington Post, the court will review Roof's request and make a decision. The attorneys haven't commented. NPR has Roof's letter in full.

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 ||||| Capitol Hill police officers arrest a group protesting the Republican healthcare bill outside the offices of Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, July 17, 2017. The Senate... (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The implosion of the Senate Republican health care bill leaves a divided GOP with its flagship legislative priority in tatters and confronts a wounded President Donald Trump and congressional leaders with dicey decisions about addressing their perhaps unattainable seven-year-old promise of repealing President Barack Obama's law. Two GOP senators — Utah's Mike Lee and Jerry Moran of Kansas — sealed the measure's doom late Monday when each announced they would vote "no" in an initial, critical vote that had been expected as soon as next week. Their startling, tandem announcement meant that at least four of the 52 GOP senators were ready to block the measure — two more than Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., had to spare in the face of a wall of Democratic opposition. "Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful," McConnell said in a late evening statement that essentially waved a white flag. It was the second stinging setback on the issue in three weeks for McConnell, whose reputation as a legislative mastermind has been marred as he's failed to unite his chamber's Republicans behind a health overhaul package that's highlighted jagged divides between conservatives and moderates. In late June, he abandoned an initial package after he lacked enough GOP support to pass. The episode has also been jarring for Trump, whose intermittent lobbying and nebulous, often contradictory descriptions of what he's wanted have shown he has limited clout with senators. That despite a determination by Trump, McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to demonstrate that a GOP running the White House and Congress can govern effectively. Now, McConnell said, the Senate would vote on a measure the GOP-run Congress approved in 2015, only to be vetoed by Obama — a bill repealing much of Obama's statute, with a two-year delay designed to give lawmakers time to enact a replacement. Trump embraced that idea last month after an initial version of McConnell's bill collapsed due under Republican divisions, and did so again late Monday. "Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!" Trump tweeted. But the prospects for approving a clean repeal bill followed by work on replacement legislation, even with Trump ready to sign it, seemed shaky. Trump and party leaders had started this year embracing that strategy, only to abandon it when it seemed incapable of passing Congress, with many Republicans worried it would cause insurance market and political chaos because of uncertainty that they would approve substitute legislation. McConnell's failed bill would have left 22 million uninsured by 2026, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, a number that many Republicans found unpalatable. But the vetoed 2015 measure would be even worse, the budget office said last January, producing 32 million additional uninsured people by 2026 — figures that seemed likely to drive a stake into that bill's prospects for passing Congress. That would seem to leave McConnell with an option he described last month — negotiating with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. That would likely be on a narrower package aimed more at keeping insurers in difficult marketplaces they're either abandoning or imposing rapidly growing premiums. "The core of this bill is unworkable," Schumer said in a statement. He said Republicans "should start from scratch and work with Democrats on a bill that lowers premiums, provides long-term stability to the markets and improves our health care system." Similar to legislation the House approved in May after its own setbacks, McConnell's bill would repeal Obama's tax penalties on people who don't buy coverage and cut the Medicaid program for the poor, elderly and nursing home residents. It rolled back many of the statute's requirements for the policies insurers can sell and eliminated many tax increases that raised money for Obama's expansion to 20 million more people, though it retained the law's tax boosts on high earners. Besides Lee and Moran, two other GOP senators had previously declared their opposition to McConnell's bill: moderate Maine Sen. Susan Collins and conservative Rand Paul of Kentucky. And other moderates were wavering and could have been difficult for McConnell and Trump to win over because of the bill's Medicaid cuts: Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Rob Portman of Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia and Dean Heller of Nevada, probably the most endangered Senate Republican in next year's elections. The range of objections lodged by the dissident senators underscored the warring viewpoints within his own party that McConnell had to try patching over. Lee complained that the GOP bill didn't go far enough in rolling back Obama's robust coverage requirements, while moderates like Collins berated its Medicaid cuts and the millions it would leave without insurance. McConnell's revised version aimed to satisfy both camps, by incorporating language by Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas allowing insurers to sell skimpy plans alongside more robust ones, and by adding tens of billions of dollars to treat opioid addiction and to defray consumer costs. His efforts did not achieve the intended result. ||||| Washington (CNN) The Republicans' signature campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare came to a screeching halt Monday night after Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Jerry Moran of Kansas came together, shocked Capitol Hill and vowed to vote against the latest draft of the GOP's health care bill. "We should not put our stamp of approval on bad policy," Moran said in a bold statement that derailed Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's bid to overhaul the Affordable Care Act. McConnell could only lose two senators and still pass the bill, and Maine's Susan Collins and Kentucky's Rand Paul had already defected. Across town, over rosemary-grilled rib eye and summer vegetable succotash at the White House, President Donald Trump and GOP leaders were attempting to convince a group of reliably conservative rank-and-filers to join with them and vote for the health care bill. But as they dined on lemon ricotta agnolotti with heirloom tomato ragout and the "farm stand peach cobbler," the Senate rebellion against the health care bill was well underway. That's because Lee and Moran were working all day Monday on how they could announce their opposition together. The goal was to avoid being the notorious and definitive third "no" vote, aides told CNN. If they announced together, Moran and Lee could share the heat. But also implicit in their joint opposition was a clear fact: They represented different, significant concerns with the bill. Their joint opposition served to provide cover for other on-the-fence colleagues who may soon join them in publicly opposing the GOP's effort at finally making good on its cornerstone campaign promise of the past seven years. Trump and top White House aides were caught off guard Lee and Moran's move, a senior White House official said Tuesday, adding the President was "annoyed." Monday's dinner was a "strategy conversation," the official said where Trump made the case that now is the time for Republicans to deliver on their promise of repealing Obamacare. "If you have control of the House, Senate and White House, we have to get this done," Trump said, according to the official. "This dinner was with senators who know the ebbs and flows of legislation and it was more of here is what to expect going forward," the official added. "Although we didn't expect the announcement last night." Trump expressed some of that annoyance on Twitter Tuesday morning. "We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans. Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard. We will return!" Trump tweeted We were let down by all of the Democrats and a few Republicans. Most Republicans were loyal, terrific & worked really hard. We will return! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2017 A Senate GOP aide with direct knowledge of the ongoing upheaval told CNN that Lee and Moran are likely just the first of many to announce publicly they oppose the bill. "More senators are ready to jump," the aide said. "This wasn't done without that knowledge." The developments ended any hope that McConnell, with his Republican Senate majority, can pass the current version of the health care bill he's been crafting for months. He announced a plan to set up a vote on a straight repeal of Obamacare, a move that could let some Republican senators save face but likely wouldn't pass given lawmakers are skittish about repealing Obamacare without a replacement. "Regretfully," McConnell said in a statement late Monday, "it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful." A post shared by SJC (@jcornyn) on Jul 17, 2017 at 6:18pm PDT Pressure behind the scenes In recent days, aides said there had been several exchanges among wary senators about how and when to announce opposition to the bill. Going into the weekend, two Republican senators -- Collins and Paul -- were already publicly opposed to it. It only took one more lawmaker to stop the health care bill in its tracks. Of course, the weekend provided an unexpected turn of events. While Republicans were scheduled to vote on health care this week, Sen. John McCain underwent surgery for a blood clot, an unforseen medical episode that required the senior senator from Arizona to stay at home and rest. McConnell announced Saturday night the bill would be delayed. Without McCain in town, McConnell had no chance of passing health care. Behind the scenes, leadership applied pressure. They asked Republican rank-and-filers to keep their powder dry and come quietly to them with any problems they had with the bill rather than battling it out in the press. The goal for leaders was to continue working through the week and lobby members privately, with the idea being to set up the vote once McCain came back to Washington. "At this point, every day without another 'no' is a small victory," a senior GOP aide told CNN Monday morning. A Lee aide told CNN that Lee did not inform McConnell or his office directly about his statement. And, the aide said that the closest that the Utah senator ever got to supporting the bill was "at most undecided." The simplest explanation for his public opposition: In Lee's opinion, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's amendment -- which gave insurers more flexibility to offer skimpier plans in the health care market -- didn't go far enough to reduce premiums. "In addition to not repealing all of the Obamacare taxes, it doesn't go far enough in lowering premiums for middle class families; nor does it create enough free space from the most costly Obamacare regulations," Lee said in a statement. As soon as the news was out Monday night that the bill was sunk, Republicans from Trump to the recovering McCain had advice on the best path forward. "The Congress must now return to regular order, hold hearings, receive input from members of both parties, and heed the recommendations of our nation's governors so that we can produce a bill that finally provides Americans with access to quality and affordable health care," McCain said in a statement. McConnell then said that he'd move forward with a procedural motion and make as the first amendment a 2015 repeal bill -- which was ultimately vetoed by President Barack Obama that had earned support two years ago even from senators who are wavering today. That legislation was meant to be a messaging exercise and when leadership briefly considered bringing it back up again earlier this year, there was widespread distaste for the idea. The plan would repeal Obamacare, but delay the repeal for two years. JUST WATCHED Collins to vote 'no' on GOP health-care bill Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Collins to vote 'no' on GOP health-care bill 01:18 So much has changed in a week Republican leaders unveiled their overhauled health care bill less than a week ago. GOP leadership aides were upbeat following a lengthy meeting last Thursday afternoon in McConnell's office when Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma worked with McConnell and his top aides to convince four Republicans from states that had expanded Medicaid under Obamacare that the bill would work for their constituents. After the meeting, the aides thought the votes were trending in their direction and that Rob Portman of Ohio, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, and Dean Heller of Nevada would come around. They were so relieved that soon after the meeting several of McConnell and Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn's top leadership and health care aides joyfully bolted from their offices in the Capitol -- with supermarket-baked cookies and cakes in hand -- to celebrate the birthday of Eric Ueland, the bow-tied and cheerful staff director of the Senate Budget Committee who, like them, was deeply enmeshed in the intense and uncertain negotiations. It was a brief and welcomed sugary relief from the unrelenting pressure they had been under for months. Then came the weekend. In an attempt to win over a handful of skittish Republican governors, Vice President Mike Pence and Verma were dispatched to Rhode Island to the National Governors Association's summer meeting. But things went off the rails there. Connecticut Gov. Dan Malloy, a Democrat, described Pence's outreach as "pretty atrocious" as the vice president tried to make the case to governors that the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office was wrong about its estimate that 15 million people would lose health care over the next decade. Republicans weren't happy either. After a speech in which Pence claimed 60,000 disabled Ohioans were waiting to get health care, Ohio Gov. John Kasich's office openly dismissed the VP's numbers. It was unclear by the end of the meeting if Pence had done anything to convince Republican Brian Sandoval of Nevada to support the bill. Without Sandoval's blessing there were real questions as to whether Heller could back the plan. On Monday evening, things devolved even more. Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson , who had told reporters he'd vote "yes" to advance the GOP's health care bill last week, suddenly told reporters he was undecided. Johnson told reporters he'd come to question leadership after a report in The Washington Post cited an anonymous lobbyist saying that McConnell had been telling moderates that a change in the growth rate for Medicaid wouldn't actually go into effect. Johnson admitted he no longer was sure if he could support the motion to proceed to the health care bill. "You know I was strongly in favor of doing that last week before I read the comments by Sen. McConnell," Johnson said. "I've confirmed those from senators that those comments were made too so I find those comments very troubling, and I think that really does put in jeopardy the motion to proceed vote." Johnson called the comments "a real breach of trust." Of course, nothing in Washington is ever truly dead. One needs only to look back to March, when House Republicans pulled their health care bill from what would have been a failing vote, only to rebound and pass it two months later. On the triumphant day of passage, Trump hosted GOP congressmen at the White House for a victory celebration on a picture-perfect May afternoon — that now looks premature given the Senate bill was felled by dissension among several factions of the Senate Republican caucus. "We've developed a bond," Trump said at the time. "This has really brought the Republican Party together." ||||| President Donald Trump convened a strategy session over steak and succotash at the White House with senators Monday night, trying to plot an uphill path to repealing Obamacare and replacing it with a GOP alternative. He made an impassioned pitch on why Republicans needed to do it now — and the political peril they could face if they didn’t “repeal and replace” after promising to do it for years. He also vented about Democrats and the legislative process. “He basically said, if we don’t do this, we’re in trouble,” said one person briefed on the meeting. “That we have the Senate, House and White House, and we have to do it or we’re going to look terrible.” Story Continued Below Meanwhile, two senators — neither invited to the dinner — were simultaneously drafting statements saying that they couldn’t support the current Senate health care bill. They released the statements just after Trump’s White House meal concluded. Trump had no idea the statements were coming, according to several White House and congressional officials. His top aides were taken aback, and the White House was soon on the phone with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. The abrupt collapse of the current plan blew up what the White House wanted for months and undoubtedly set back Republicans in their goal to overhaul President Barack Obama’s legislation. It certainly frustrated a number of the president’s top aides, who have negotiated to-the-letter certain packages for certain senators for a summer solution. The most reliable politics newsletter. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook and get the latest news, every morning — in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. But Trump, who has not fretted over the details of the proposed legislation, seemed ready to try something else — trading rib-eye negotiations for his favorite pastime. Within an hour, Trump was back on Twitter, where he put forward a different idea — one he has posited privately for months — after talking to McConnell and top aides. “Republicans should just REPEAL failing ObamaCare now & work on a new Healthcare Plan that will start from a clean slate. Dems will join in!” he tweeted. Trump is fine doing it that way, said one White House aide — as “long as something gets done.” To Trump, the Obamacare fight has always been about scoring a win. He doesn’t care nearly as much about the specifics, people close to him say, and hasn’t understood why legislators won’t just make deals and bring something, anything, to his desk. He has said publicly and privately he didn’t understand it would take this long. “Nobody knew health care could be so complicated,” Trump said in February. At a different point, he said only Middle East peace would be harder. Along the way, Trump has weighed various options, from not paying cost-sharing subsidies and letting the law implode to repealing it without a replacement — which he veered back to Monday night on Twitter. “He told us months ago we could just let it blow up and blame the Democrats,” said one activist who met with Trump at the White House. He praised the conservative version of the law passed through the House in a Rose Garden fête before trashing it as “mean” in a meeting with moderate senators. Earlier Monday evening, just after Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) announced their opposition, a White House official said the team would go back to working with individual members on the bill. There was no desire, this person said, to restart negotiations from scratch. White House officials said they purposely picked veteran lawmakers who they saw as allies to attend the dinner with Trump, not legislators they thought were on the fence. But the bill was already on a knife edge, with a vote delayed this week due to the absence of Arizona Sen. John McCain due to a medical procedure. Trump has privately wondered why legislators don’t seem to listen to him, and the blow from Moran and Lee illustrated the limits of the president’s capacity to master the art of the Washington deal. “None of the people at the dinner were the ones they should have been worried about,” said one person involved in the discussions. Trump allies have sometimes attacked Republicans the White House needs to support the bill. He has alienated some senators with his unorthodox tweets and his inattention to policy details, even as they have praised others on his staff. He has sometimes expressed a view that Democrats would like to work with Republicans, as he did Monday night, even though his staff harbors skepticism. “Why would Trump call McCain crusty Monday afternoon?” one White House official asked. “Because that’s the word that came to his brain.” According to several people briefed on the matter, Trump and McConnell were prepared to make similar statements Monday evening. But Trump pre-empted the Senate majority leader — sending a quick tweet that took even some of his staff by surprise. “There it is,” one aide said, two minutes after promising news within “an hour.” “Regretfully, it is now apparent that the effort to repeal and immediately replace the failure of Obamacare will not be successful,” McConnell said, in a missive from Don Stewart, his spokesman. A White House official, per usual policy, said Trump’s tweet would speak for itself. ||||| Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) delayed a vote on a bill to repeal and replace Obamacare until Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) recovers from surgery. (Reuters) Perhaps the two “no” votes from Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would have been enough to sink the GOP health-care effort. Senate Republicans and virtually all political watchers have been cultivating a sense of suspense — who would be the third “no” vote? — when in fact there are likely, according to Collins, many more “no” votes (eight to 10, she said in TV interviews Sunday). Then a very public and simple barrier to passage emerged — Sen. John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) undetermined recuperation time. With two “no” votes already clinched, Senate GOP leaders could not even pretend to have sufficient support without McCain (who actually might be a “no” vote in the end). Now comes perhaps the death knell for Trumpcare: Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) both announced their opposition Monday night. To be clear, the Better Care Reconciliation Act was already at death’s door before McCain took ill and before Lee and Moran’s announcements. A handful of moderates continue to refuse to stomach huge Medicaid cuts. In an act of exceptional duplicity, McConnell reportedly told moderates not to worry about Medicaid cuts (presumably because Congress will never have the nerve to go through with them), which understandably angered conservatives. Republican Sen. Ron Johnson told a Wisconsin paper, “I am concerned about Leader McConnell’s comments to apparently some of my Republican colleagues — ‘Don’t worry about some of the Medicaid reforms, those are scheduled so far in the future they’ll never take effect.’ I’ve got to confirm those comments. … I think those comments are going to really put the motion to proceed in jeopardy, whether it’s on my part or others.” He continued: “Many of us, one of the main reasons we are willing to support a bill that doesn’t even come close to repealing Obamacare … was because at least we were devolving the management back to the states, and putting some level of sustainability into an unsustainable entitlement program. If our leader is basically saying don’t worry about it, we’ve designed it so that those reforms will never take effect, first of all, that’s a pretty significant breach of trust, and why support the bill then?” Additional time has never been an asset for the administration. The more time that passes, the more anger Team Trump seems to induce in wavering members. CNN reported: [Vice President] Pence and top Medicare and Medicaid administrator Seema Verma were deployed to Rhode Island over the weekend to meet with skeptical governors at the National Governors Association’s summer meeting. In private meetings, Pence and Verma tried to convince governors that the GOP’s health care bill would give them greater flexibility to design Medicaid programs that were better tailored to their needs. But the weekend didn’t go especially well for the administration. After a speech in which Pence claimed 60,000 disabled Ohioans were waiting to get care, a spokesman for Ohio Republican Gov. John Kasich dismissed the claim as false on Twitter. [Connecticut Democratic Gov. Dan] Malloy described Pence’s private meeting with the governors Saturday as “pretty atrocious” as Pence encouraged governors to dismiss an unfavorable score from the Congressional Budget Office that showed 15 million Americans would lose Medicaid coverage over the next decade. And of course the Congressional Budget Office’s scoring on the newest version of the bill has yet to come out. Each time the CBO has produced a score, decried as fake by the White House, a spasm of concern has gripped the Republican caucus. Republicans get cold(er) feet with each reminder of how many people will lose insurance, be cut off from Medicaid and/or have to pay more for coverage. On the floor of the Senate, Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) needled Republicans, imploring them to use the time to secure a CBO score and to hold hearings on the bill. (He told Republicans they should “use this extra week, or extra weeks, to do what Republicans should have done a long time ago: hold public hearings. Allow the stakeholders to come in and express their concerns.” That idea likely sends shivers down the spines of most Republicans as they contemplate the parade of doctors, patients, insurers, advocates for the elderly and other witnesses who would come forward.) In sum, given the choice between holding up the Senate until McCain returns and changing at least two of the declared “no” votes, or moving on so as to avoid the agony of extended dismal coverage and the humiliation of a losing vote on the floor, wouldn’t Republicans rather proceed to the debt limit, the budget and tax reform? Let’s be candid: McConnell knows that forcing some of his members (especially Dean Heller of Nevada) to vote in support of a grossly unpopular bill would be a political death sentence. He cannot in his heart of hearts be thrilled with the prospect of a vote, especially one he will now almost certainly lose; all he need to do is show he tried everything possible. Initially, McConnell may have figured a ridiculously early deadline for a vote in July could have cleared the decks (win or lose), but now he has a ready-made excuse for ditching the whole exercise. Sure, they can come back to the bill — sometime. Gosh, if only McCain hadn’t gotten ill. Well, now we’ve got four “no” votes. Let a hundred excuses bloom. UPDATE: McCain has now chimed in with what amounts to a fifth “no” vote. In a written statement he declares, “One of the major problems with Obamacare was that it was written on a strict party-line basis and driven through Congress without a single Republican vote. As this law continues to crumble in Arizona and states across the country, we must not repeat the original mistakes that led to Obamacare’s failure.” He urges Congress to “return to regular order, hold hearings, receive input from members of both parties, and heed the recommendations of our nation’s governors so that we can produce a bill that finally provides Americans with access to quality and affordable health care.”

– President Trump said it had to happen—but it isn't going to happen. The Republican plan to repeal and replace ObamaCare collapsed Monday night after two more GOP senators announced their opposition, leaving Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell without enough votes to move the legislation forward, and leaving the party with no clear path toward what it has been trying to achieve for seven years. A roundup of coverage: Sens. Mike Lee and Jerry Moran sealed the bill's fate by declaring their opposition, joining Sens. Rand Paul and Susan Collins. Aides tell CNN that the two men, who opposed the legislation for different reasons, decided to announce their opposition together so that neither would be seen as the deciding third Republican vote against the plan. While Lee and Moran were working on their statement, Trump was dining on steak, succotash, and "farm stand peach cobbler" at the White House with eight other senators while discussing health care reform. An insider tells Politico that Trump "made an impassioned pitch on why Republicans needed to do it now." "He basically said, if we don't do this, we're in trouble," the source says. "That we have the Senate, House, and White House and we have to do it or we're going to look terrible." According to the New York Times, the bill failed because the GOP has failed to learn this lesson: "An American entitlement, once established, can almost never be retracted." Conservative senators demanding full repeal of ObamaCare were unable to reach a deal with senators whose states accepted, and now rely on, ObamaCare's expansion of Medicaid. McConnell now plans to hold a fresh vote on repeal legislation passed by the House and Senate in 2015, which gives Congress two years to come up with a replacement for ObamaCare. But that strategy was abandoned by the GOP earlier this year because of concerns about chaos in the marketplace, and it may be a struggle to pass repeal-only legislation now, the AP reports. Trump tweeted in support of repeal after McConnell said it had become clear that the replacement bill wouldn't succeed. The Washington Post reports that in what appears to be a fifth nail in the legislation's coffin, Sen. John McCain issued a statement late Monday urging fellow lawmakers to not "repeat the original mistakes that led to ObamaCare's failure," including crafting the legislation on a "strict party-line basis." He called for Congress to "return to regular order, hold hearings, receive input from members of both parties, and heed the recommendations of our nation's governors."

London, England (CNN) -- A Saudi prince was found guilty Tuesday of murdering an aide at a London hotel in February, in a case prosecutors said had a sexual element. Prince Saud Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Al Saud was found guilty of both murder and grievous bodily harm in the killing of Bandar Abdulaziz. Abdulaziz died after a severe beating left him with swelling and bruising of the brain and fractured ribs and neck. He also had bite marks on his face, ears and arm. The prince had not denied killing the aide, but said he had not intended to do so. He is due to be sentenced Wednesday and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. He did not take the stand in his own defense. Because the prince did not deny killing Abdulaziz, the jury's job was to determine if he was guilty of murder or manslaughter. To do that, jurors had to determine the prince's state of mind and his intent at the time he killed Abdulaziz. The jury took just over an hour and a half Tuesday to reach its verdict. The prince -- who is both a grandson and a great-nephew of Saudi King Abdullah, since his parents are cousins -- showed no reaction as the jury's unanimous verdict was read in court. Police said after the verdict that the prince had shown no remorse when he was questioned about his servant's death, instead "concocting a story" about how he died. "When that was found to be a pack of lies, he tried to claim diplomatic immunity," but did not qualify for it, John McFarlane of London's Metropolitan Police told journalists outside the court Tuesday. Prosecutors said the prince's systematic mistreatment of the victim had a sexual element. The bitings suffered by Abdulaziz were not a factor in his death, but had "an obvious sexual connotation," prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said in his opening statement two weeks ago. The two men were in London earlier this year as Al Saud took in Morocco, the Maldives and other European cities on a long global holiday with Abdulaziz as his companion. Al Saud's lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry, said in his closing argument Monday that Al Saud "must live with the consequences" of having killed Abdulaziz, but he never intended to harm him. Kelsey-Fry reminded the jury that a pathologist had been unable to determine how Abdulaziz died but that only one of his injuries, by itself, could have killed him -- a compression of the neck, the barrister said, that could have been caused when Al Saud grabbed Abdulaziz briefly by the throat. An "awful, reprehensible, culpable act," he said, "but an act of murder?" Kelsey-Fry also challenged the prosecution's assertion that the defendant and the victim had a master-servant relationship, telling the jury that the two men had "enjoyed a genuine friendship." He also disputed suggestions from the prosecutor and several witnesses that the prince and his aide had a gay relationship. During their visit to London, the two men shared a hotel room, went shopping together and stayed out late in bars and nightclubs. Earlier in the day, prosecutor Laidlaw presented his closing argument. He told the jury they might consider drawing an "adverse inference" from the prince's refusal to face questions. The case "cries out for an explanation," he said, adding that the jury might care to reflect on how the prince might have answered questions about the nature of his relationship with Abdulaziz, why it was that he attacked him on more than one occasion, his account of what happened the night his aide died and why it was that he waited hours before informing anyone of his death. When he did contact authorities, Al Saud said that Abdulaziz had been assaulted by robbers three weeks earlier. He is a man, said Laidlaw, "incapable of telling the truth." CNN's Andrew Carey contributed to this report. ||||| A Saudi prince who beat and strangled his servant to death at the culmination of a campaign of "sadistic" abuse is facing a life sentence after being convicted of murder. Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, a grandson of the billionaire king of Saudi Arabia, was found guilty at the Old Bailey of killing Bandar Abdulaziz at their five-star hotel suite in central London. Saud had been drinking champagne and cocktails when he bit the 32-year-old hard on both cheeks during the attack in February. The pair had just returned from a Valentine's night out. The 34-year-old prince was found guilty of murder today after the jury had deliberated for an hour and 35 minutes. He showed no reaction as the verdict was returned. The court had heard that the murder of Abdulaziz was the final act in a "deeply abusive" master-servant relationship in which the prince carried out frequent attacks on his aide "for his own personal gratification". Jurors were told that by the early hours of 15 February, Abdulaziz was so worn down and injured – having suffered a "cauliflower" ear and swollen eye from previous assaults – that he let Saud kill him without a fight. The prince then spent hours on the phone to a mysterious contact in Saudi Arabia trying to decide how to cover up what he had done. He ordered two glasses of milk and bottled water on room service as he set about dragging the body into the bed and trying to clean up the blood. It was only about 12 hours later, after a chauffeur had received a call from Saudi Arabia telling him to go to the £259-a-night Landmark hotel, that the body was discovered in room 312. The prince claimed he had woken in the afternoon to find he could not revive his friend – by then stiff with rigor mortis – and explained his injuries by saying he had been attacked and robbed of €3,000 in London's Edgware Road a few weeks before. Detectives took him to the area to try to retrace the route, but as they did so, other officers who were reviewing CCTV at the hotel found footage of Saud mercilessly attacking his aide in a lift on 22 January. When he was then taken to Paddington Green police station and arrested, Saudi officials tried to claim he had diplomatic immunity, but this was scotched by a check of Foreign Office records. Saud tried to cover up the true nature of his relationship with his servant, claiming they were "friends and equals", but a porter at the Marylebone hotel where they had stayed said Abdulaziz was treated "like a slave". The prince also claimed he was heterosexual and had a girlfriend in Saudi Arabia, but he had booked appointments with at least two male escorts and one gay masseur, and looked at hundreds of images of men on gay websites. Photographs of Abdulaziz in "compromising" positions were found on his phone. Saud had denied killing his servant until shortly before the trial, before finally admitting that he had caused his death. Jurors rejected a claim by his barrister, John Kelsey-Fry QC, that Saud was guilty only of manslaughter. The prince was convicted of murder and a second count of grievous bodily harm with intent relating to the attack in the lift. Sources said detectives in the case had received little help after requests for information were sent through Interpol to their Saudi colleagues. Saud's lawyers also failed in a last-ditch attempt to stop details of his encounters with male escorts being revealed during the trial. In a sign of the anxiety about his sexuality becoming public, the prince's lawyers had initially argued that the legal argument about the escorts should be held behind closed doors. Kelsey-Fry said Saud had already faced abuse from Islamic fundamentalists being held alongside him at Belmarsh prison. The court heard that homosexuality remains a capital offence in Saudi Arabia, and the country in which the acts take place has little relevance to prosecution under the country's sharia law. Outside court, Detective Chief Inspector John McFarlane said: "The defendant used his position of power, money and authority over his victim Bandar to abuse him over an extended period of time. "CCTV recovered clearly shows Bandar was subjected to assaults in the hotel. The injuries which were noted by the pathologist clearly show Bandar was the victim of many more assaults over an extended period of time. This verdict clearly shows no-one, regardless of their position, is above the law." Saud was remanded in custody to be sentenced tomorrow.

– A Saudi prince who beat, strangled, and bit his servant to death in a London hotel has been found guilty of murder. Prosecutors, who showed video of the prince kicking and punching the servant inside a hotel elevator, said the savage killing was linked to sex, CNN notes. The prince, who tried and failed to gain diplomatic immunity, faces a possible life sentence in a British jail, and a possible death sentence—for homosexuality, not murder—if he is deported to Saudi Arabia.

Location: Esther Island- Prince William Sound Type: Unlawful Take- Bear and Cubs Dispatch Text: Corrections: The defendants were not indicted but were charged by information. Only Andrew Renner was charged with evidence tampering. On 8/6/2018, Andrew Renner, 41 of Palmer, and Owen Renner, 18 of Palmer, were charged by information on felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from a poaching incident on 4/14/2018. A. Renner and O. Renner shot and killed a sow black bear, along with its two cubs, in its den on Esther Island in Prince William Sound. The bears were a part of a USFS/ADF&G bear study. As a part of the study, the sow was collared and a motion activated game audio/video camera was set up at the den site. The video shows A. Renner and O. Renner skiing up to the den and then O. Renner firing two shots at the denning sow. A. Renner then kills the shrieking newborn bear cubs and discards their bodies away from the den. Two days after the animals were killed, A. Renner and O. Renner return to the kill site to pick up the shells and to dispose of the dead bear cubs. On 4/30/2018, A. Renner brought the sow black bear skin and the collar to ADF&G in Palmer and reported he killed the animal near Granite Bay in Prince William Sound on 4/14/2018. He further reported that while he realized after shooting it that the sow had teats, no cubs were present or located. The vessel, vehicle used to facilitate the hunt, and hunting rifles were seized during the investigation. Charges against the men include Unlawfully Take Female Bear with Cubs, Unlawfully Take Bear Cub x 2, Possess/Transport Illegally Taken Game x 3. A. Renner was additionally charged with Tampering with Physical Evidence, Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor and Unsworn Falsification in the Second Degree. ||||| Alaska State LibraryArchive-It Partner Since: May, 2008Organization Type: State Archives & LibrariesOrganization URL: http://library.state.ak.us/ The Alaska State Library promotes and coordinates library services to the community of Alaskan libraries, serves as the primary research library for state government, and collects, preserves, and makes accessible Alaska-related materials, including State of Alaska publications. ||||| PALMER — A father and son from the Matanuska Valley are accused of illegally shooting a sow black bear and its two newborn cubs in a den, then trying to cover up their actions without realizing a game camera was running the whole time. Andrew Renner, 41, and Owen Renner, 18, were charged this week with felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from the mid-April poaching incident on Esther Island in Prince William Sound, according to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch Wednesday. The charges were filed Monday in Anchorage District Court, records show. An attorney for Andrew Renner said he hadn't seen the charges and couldn't comment. The bears were part of a U.S. Forest Service and Alaska Department of Fish and Game study, and the men's activity was captured by a motion-triggered game camera, troopers say. The sow was also collared. A series of 30-second video clips from the camera provided investigators with evidence for their case, court documents show. One clip shows both Renners skiing near the den on April 14 and then noticing the sow, according to charging documents filed in the case. Owen Renner shoulders his rifle and fires at least two shots at her, according to sworn summary of an Alaska Wildlife Troopers report filed by Assistant District Attorney Aaron Peterson. "Cubs begin shrieking in the den after the initial shots are fired." The men listen for several minutes before realizing the cubs are making the sounds, the document says. They move closer and Andrew Renner, just a feet away, takes aim through his rifle scope and fires several more shots, killing the newborn cubs. "Andrew Renner is captured on video saying 'It doesn't matter. Bear down,' " Peterson wrote. The pair drag the sow from the den and see the collar, the document says. Renner can be heard saying, "I'm gonna get rid of these guys" while tossing the carcasses of the cubs onto the snow outside the den. He disappears with the cubs while his son waits at the den, the document says. The next clip shows Owen Renner saying, "We got the collar off," and his father responding, "We're gonna skin it that way," pointing away from the den, the document states. The younger man agrees," saying, 'They'll never be able to link it to us.' " They butchered the sow, put the meat in game bags and skied away, according to the summary. The camera also captured the men returning to the den site two days later to retrieve the collar, pick up spent shell casings and discuss disposing of the bear cubs, the document says. One of the men says he's going into the den to "make sure there aren't any little parts." They put the cub carcasses in a small transparent bag and skied away with them, the document says. A U.S. Forest Service employee reported the deaths of the sow and cubs to Alaska Wildlife Troopers on April 23. That's when troopers recovered the camera. The sow was one of 20 fitted with collars for a three-year study that started in 2016, according to Fish and Game. The study by the department and Chugach National Forest came in response to concerns about declining numbers of black bears in Prince William Sound. There is a legal, registration permit black bear hunt for the area from September into June. On April 30, Andrew Renner brought the sow bear skin and collar to Fish and Game in Palmer and said he'd killed it near Granite Bay, troopers said. He also said that, while he realized after shooting it the sow had teats, he didn't see any sign of cubs. He is also accused of falsifying the document by saying he shot the bear when his son was seen doing it, and not describing the kill as an "illegal take." Investigators seized a boat, vehicle and hunting rifles, troopers said. Misdemeanor charges against the men include unlawful take of a female bear with cubs, unlawful take of bear cubs, and the possession and transportation of illegally taken game. Andrew Renner was charged with tampering with physical evidence, a felony, as well as contributing to the delinquency of a minor — his son was 17 at the time — and unsworn falsification.

– On Esther Island in Alaska, a motion-detecting camera was set up in a bear den as part of a joint three-year study between the US Forest Service and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. What that camera captured has now led to felony and misdemeanor charges against a Palmer father and son, who authorities say shot dead a sow black bear and her two just-born cubs, then tried to cover it up once they saw the mother bear was collared, the Anchorage Daily News reports. Per court documents, Andrew Renner, 41, and Owen Renner, 18, were charged after video clips showed them skiing past the bear den on April 14, when the sow caught their eye. Per an Alaska State Troopers dispatch, Owen Renner then shot at the mother bear twice, and when the baby bears started "shrieking," Andrew Renner shot and killed them. Additional clips are allegedly said to show the Renners skinning and butchering the sow for meat, discussing getting the collar off her, and Owen Renner declaring, "They'll never be able to link it to us." The men are also reportedly seen coming back to the site two days later to pick up empty shells and retrieve the cubs' bodies. Troopers say later that month, Andrew Renner brought the bear skin and collar to ADF&G in Palmer and said he, not his son, had shot the sow, and that once he saw she had teats, he looked for but didn't see any cubs. It's illegal in Alaska, except at certain sites, to take cubs or sows with cubs. Andrew Renner now faces felony charges of tampering with evidence, as well as unsworn falsification and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (Owen Renner was only 17 in April). The men also face misdemeanor charges, including unlawful take of a sow with cubs and the cubs themselves.

The young woman who tweeted "2 Drunk 2 Care" just minutes before a deadly head-on collision that killed two on the Sawgrass Expressway was sentenced to 24 years in prison Monday. (Published Monday, May 4, 2015) The young Florida woman who tweeted "2 Drunk 2 Care" just minutes before a deadly head-on collision that killed two on the Sawgrass Expressway was sentenced to 24 years in prison Monday. Kayla Mendoza pleaded guilty in February to two charges of DUI manslaughter in the November 2013 deaths of Kaitlyn Ferrante and her best friend Marisa Catronio, both 21 at the time. She had been facing a maximum of 30 years in prison. The 22-year-old will also serve six years of probation after her prison sentence and will have a lifetime driving ban. Before she was sentenced, a tearful Mendoza read a letter in court to ask for forgiveness. Kayla Mendoza Gets 24 Years in Prison in 2 Drunk 2 Care Crash Kayla Mendoza is sentenced to 24 years in prison in the fatal crash that killed Kaitlyn Ferrante and Marrissa Cotronio. (Published Monday, May 4, 2015) "I know that I have made mistakes and the outcome is so much more than I could ever imagine," she said. Mendoza also spoke about Ferrante and Catronio. "No matter how much time passes they will never leave my heart. I think about them everyday and I regret my choices everyday," she said. "I don't remember deciding to drive that night so I can't even tell you what was going through my mind when I made that decision. I have no excuses for anything I've done, I just ask for forgiveness." The families of Ferrante and Catronio begged the judge for the maximum of 30 years and addressed Mendoza. "Kayla, you changed all that, you took all those dreams away," mother Christine Ferrante said. "And then I had to make the choice to pull her off of life support, that's something a mother should never have to do." "How do you forgive someone who's ruined your life and family's lives forever?" brother Justin Catronio said. 24 Years in Prison in 2 Drunk 2 Care Crash Kayla Mendoza is sentenced to 24 years in prison in the fatal crash on the Sawgrass Expressway. (Published Monday, May 4, 2015) Authorities said Mendoza, who was 20 years old at the time, had gone out to a Coral Springs bar after work where she drank two large fish bowl-sized margaritas. After the infamous tweet, Mendoza drove her white Hyundai the wrong way on the Sawgrass Expressway and slammed into a red car driven by Ferrante. It was later discovered that Mendoza was driving with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit, according to police. ||||| Follow CBSMIAMI.COM: Facebook | Twitter FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – The driver responsible for a wrong way wreck that took the lives of two young girls was sentenced Monday to 24 years in prison and six years of probation. Kayla Mendoza was under the influence when she crashed head-on on the Sawgrass Expressway, killing 21-year old Kaitlyn Nicole Ferrante and 21-year old Marisa Caran Catronio in November 2013. CLICK HERE To Watch Carey Codd’s Report Mendoza was facing a maximum of 30 years in prison for two counts of DUI Manslaughter. During the emotional sentencing hearing there was a torrent of emotions – sadness, anger, devastation. “How do you forgive someone who ruined your life and your family’s lives forever?” said Dustin Catronio, Marisa’s brother. Kaitlyn Ferrante’s mother told Mendoza that she tore her family apart. “You took took everything I worked so hard to keep safe and protected and destroyed it in one careless second, you destroyed it all,” Ferrante said. The victims’ families directed their anger at the self-described pothead princess at the sentencing hearing Monday. Mendoza tweeted ‘2 drunk to care’ then hours later drove drunk, the wrong way at high speeds on the Sawgrass Expressway in November 2013, killing both Catronio and Ferrante. “Drinking and driving is not an accident,” said Ferrante’s sister, Ashley. “No one accidentally does it. It’s a reckless and careless mistake.” The families of the victims told Mendoza her actions mean that these two young women would never start careers, get married or have children. “I so wanted that first dance at her wedding which I’ll never have,” Gary Catronio said, weeping. “I want her back.” And the parents are left with pain that no parent should endure. Natalie Catronio, Marisa’s mother, wrote a letter that a family member read in court. She mentioned her visits to Marisa’s grave. “It kills me when I have to leave her because I can just imagine her screaming after me, ‘Mom please don’t leave me here,” Natalie Catronio wrote. “And always I turn back to blow her a kiss and tell her how sorry I am that I couldn’t protect her that night.” Mendoza wept too and apologized for her actions. “No matter how much time passes, I will live with that every day – that I took their life,” Mendoza said. “The guilt is overwhelming.” Mendoza asked for mercy and a lighter sentence based on her remorse and her guilty plea but the judge refused, ending her away for 24 years and adding on six years of probation. The victim’s families said the punishment is fair. “No sentencing will ever bring my daughter but we are pleased with what the judge handed down to her,” Christine Ferrante said. “It doesn’t put behind us what we go through on a daily basis for what we lost that can’t be replaced,” Gary Catronio said. Under state law, Mendoza will not walk free until she is in her early 40’s. The victim’s families asked a judge to make an example of Mendoza for others about the dangers of drinking and driving and they believe the judge did. The victim’s families also continue to fight for safeguards to protect this community and others from wrong way drivers. Mendoza admitted she was under the influence at the time of the accident. Mendoza’s blood alcohol level was nearly twice the legal limit, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. In a video deposition taken by lawyers for the victims’ families, Mendoza said she has no recollection of driving on the highway or the crash. However, she did recall going out with drinks with co-workers the night of accident. At the time, she was only 20-years old. The receipt from Tijuana Taxi shows the underage Mendoza drank two large house margaritas and had two other drinks of Patron Silver tequila. The receipt shows a payment of $65.78. The receipt does not show that Mendoza ate anything. The Florida Highway Patrol says at some point that night or the next morning Mendoza tweeted “2 drunk 2 care.” Mendoza said the tweet has been taken out of context. She said it didn’t mean that she was going to get behind the wheel and whatever happened, happened. Instead, she said, it was meant for her boyfriend because the two had just recently argued. A benefit concert has been set up in Marisa Catronio’s name. For information and more details, click here. ||||| The driver who infamously tweeted she was "2 drunk 2 care" the night a wrong-way crash killed two other young women on the Sawgrass Expressway in 2013 was sentenced Monday to 24 years in prison. Kayla Maria Mendoza, 22, was facing up to 30 years after pleading guilty Feb. 18 to two counts of DUI manslaughter. Her sentence also carries a six-year probation term upon her release from prison. Her attorney, Will Anderson, said she could be released early for good behavior. With credit for time served, Mendoza will be about 42 to 46 years old when released from a women's prison near Ocala. "That feels like a lifetime" to her, Anderson said. Broward Circuit Judge David Haimes said sentencing Mendoza to the maximum 30 years would not be appropriate given her age, her remorse, and lack of criminal history. "Hopefully after you finish [this] sentence you can put this behind you," he told her. Kayla Maria Mendoza, 22, the driver who infamously tweeted she was “2 drunk 2 care” minutes before a wrong-way crash killed two other young women on the Sawgrass Expressway in 2013, was sentenced Monday to 24 years in prison. Among her terms: The inability to ever get a driver's license. "So it's crystal clear, you will never drive again," Haimes said. "Do you understand that?" Prosecutors said Mendoza was at the Tijuana Taxi restaurant in Coral Springs on the night of Nov. 16, 2013, with her supervisors and colleagues from her sales job at T-Mobile. Court documents show she drank two large margaritas, each in a "fish bowl size" glass, even though she was under the legal drinking age. Her blood alcohol level was .15, nearly twice the legal limit of .08, when she tried to drive home by traveling north in the southbound lanes along the Sawgrass Expressway for seven miles at more than 80 mph — even though she has never had a driver's license. There were also traces of marijuana in her system, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. handout / Sun Sentinel Marisa Catronio (left) and Kaitlyn Ferrante both killed in wrong way crash on sawgrass Expressway Nov 17, 2013. Marisa Catronio (left) and Kaitlyn Ferrante both killed in wrong way crash on sawgrass Expressway Nov 17, 2013. (handout / Sun Sentinel) Officials said civil lawsuits from the families are pending against both T-Mobile and Tijuana Taxi. Best friends Marisa Catronio and Kaitlyn Nicole Ferrante, both 21, were killed when Mendoza's Hyundai Sonata collided head-on with Ferrante's Toyota Camry near North University Drive. Catronio died at the scene after the car's engine crushed her into her seat. Ferrante died later at Broward Health North Medical Center when her family took her off life support and donated her organs. Mendoza suffered head injuries and broke both legs. Mendoza, a first semester college student and aspiring teacher, sobbed in court Monday as she begged both families to forgive her. "This was a terrible mistake and a tragedy for everyone involved," she said. "I can't explain how I feel. I think about them every day. I saw their pictures; they're so beautiful." Neither family said they were ready to forgive. Donna Ramirez, Catronio's cousin, accompanied the girl's father to pick out a white coffin. "I should be paying for a wedding," she recalled him sobbing. "How do you forgive someone who ruined your life and your family's life forever," Catronio's brother, Dustin, asked. Catronio and Ferrante were both the eldest of three siblings, and both attended Palm Beach State College. Catronio worked in a pediatrician's office. Ferrante wanted to become a neonatal nurse. "You took away all those dreams," Ferrante's mother, Christine, said. "You took the life of my precious daughter and you destroyed my family … My heart and soul are broken … I pass Kaitlyn's room and it's quiet and empty." A relative read a letter from Catronio's mother, Natalie. She talked about visiting her daughter's gravesite, and her daughter begging her not to leave her alone. "I turn and blow her a kiss," the letter read, and apologize for not protecting her that night. Ferrante's sister, Ashley, said both families are still trying to cope with their loss. "No sentence is going to be enough," she said. Ashley Ferrante is about two weeks away from delivering a baby girl. She said the baby's name will be Grace Kaitlyn, after Kaitlyn. lhuriash@sunsentinel.com or 954-572-2008

– The 22-year-old woman who tweeted "2 Drunk 2 Care" shortly before causing a fatal crash in Florida in 2013 was sentenced yesterday to 24 years in prison, NBC Miami reports. "I don't remember deciding to drive that night, so I can't even tell you what was going through my mind when I made that decision," a tearful Kayla Mendoza, who pleaded guilty to two charges of DUI manslaughter in February, told the court. "I have no excuses for anything I've done, I just ask for forgiveness." Mendoza, then 20, drank two oversize margaritas at a bar after work, then drove her car the wrong way on an expressway, hitting another car head-on. The crash killed the driver of the second car, Kaitlyn Ferrante, and Ferrante's best friend Marisa Catronio, both 21. "How do you forgive someone who's ruined your life and family's lives forever?" Catronio's brother said in court. Ferrante's mom told Mendoza, "I had to make the choice to pull her off of life support, that's something a mother should never have to do." Both families asked the judge to give Mendoza the maximum 30-year sentence. Though she was only given 24 years, Mendoza—who also had traces of marijuana in her system and a blood alcohol level almost twice the legal limit at the time of the crash—will also serve six years of probation after she is released and will never be allowed to drive again. (The Sun-Sentinel notes that Mendoza never had a driver's license.) Mendoza has said that her now-infamous tweet was not about driving, but was directed at a boyfriend with whom she was upset, CBS Miami reports. (A similar story also ended in tragedy.)

There is growing pressure on the Government to hold a full historical inquiry into the deaths of almost 800 children in a mother and baby home in Tuam, Co Galway between the 1920s and the 1960s. There were numerous calls from TDs, Senators and councillors yesterday for a full inquiry following the disclosure that many infants and children who died in the home run by the Bon Secours order were buried in an unmarked plot. Minister for Children Charlie Flanagan said yesterday that he was giving “active consideration to the best means of addressing the harrowing details emerging regarding the burial arrangements for children who died many years ago in mother and baby homes”. ‘Deeply disturbing’ “Many of the revelations are deeply disturbing and a shocking reminder of a darker past in Ireland when our children were not cherished as they should have been,” he said. In a statement last night, Archbishop of Tuam Michael Neary said while the archdiocese would co-operate with any inquiry, it did not have any involvement in the running of the home and had no records in its archives. “There exists a clear moral imperative on the Bon Secours Sisters in this case to act upon their responsibilities in the interest of the common good,” Dr Neary said. Records uncovered by local historian Catherine Corless showed a large number of children died at the home over 36 years between 1925 and 1961. Almost 800 newborns and older infants died in that period, an average of almost 30 per year. The building and land had been in use as a workhouse and mother and baby home since the 1840s. It is believed the remains were discovered some time ago but it is not established when they date from, or if any precede the operation of the home from 1925. Yesterday politicians from both Government and Opposition parties, including Galway East Minister of State Ciarán Cannon, called for an inquiry into the circumstances behind so many deaths in the home, as well as into the remains found in the unmarked plot. ‘Manslaughter’ One Government Senator from Galway, Fine Gael’s Hildegarde Naughton, claimed in the Seanad that what had occurred was “manslaughter”, although no others went that far. Tuam-based Fianna Fáil TD Colm Keaveney said the Taoiseach should take a strategic role in the matter, notwithstanding his being abroad on a Government trip to the US. He said Enda Kenny should order an interdepartmental investigation. “The issues around the horrendous disposal of bodies in unmarked locations raises questions about the role of the State and service providers,” he said. Some politicians said they would like an inquiry widened to all such homes not covered by the Magdalene inquires. ||||| Children’s Home, Dublin Road, Tuam, Ireland circa 1950. (Courtesy of Catherine Corless/Tuam Historical Society) Updated on June 24 with corrected headline. * In a town in western Ireland, where castle ruins pepper green landscapes, there’s a six-foot stone wall that once surrounded a place called the Home. Between 1925 and 1961, thousands of “fallen women” and their “illegitimate” children passed through the Home, run by the Bon Secours nuns in Tuam. Many of the women, after paying a penance of indentured servitude for their out-of-wedlock pregnancy, left the Home for work and lives in other parts of Ireland and beyond. Some of their children were not so fortunate. More than five decades after the Home was closed and destroyed — where a housing development and children’s playground now stands — what happened to nearly 800 of those abandoned children has perhaps now emerged: Their bodies were piled into a massive septic tank sitting in the back of the structure and forgotten, with neither gravestones nor coffins. (In PostEverything: “Philomena” author Martin Sixsmith writes, “Sadly, the mass grave at Tuam is probably not unique.”) Some in Ireland are hoping to memorialize the spot where nearly 800 children were found in an unmarked grave at a former home for unmarried mothers run by the Bons Secours Sisters. (Reuters) “The bones are still there,” local historian Catherine Corless, who uncovered the origins of the mass grave in a batch of never-before-released documents, told The Washington Post in a phone interview. “The children who died in the Home, this was them.” The grim findings, which are being reviewed by police, provide a glimpse into a particularly dark time for unmarried pregnant women in Ireland, where societal and religious mores stigmatized them. Without means to support themselves, women by the hundreds wound up at the Home. “When daughters became pregnant, they were ostracized completely,” Corless said. “Families would be afraid of neighbors finding out, because to get pregnant out of marriage was the worst thing on Earth. It was the worst crime a woman could commit, even though a lot of the time it had been because of a rape.” A photo of some of the children at “the Home” in 1924 (Connaught Tribune, 21st June 1924) pic.twitter.com/foGFqAKJ8m — Limerick1914 (@Limerick1914) May 27, 2014 According to documents Corless provided the Irish Mail on Sunday, malnutrition and neglect killed many of the children, while others died of measles, convulsions, TB, gastroenteritis and pneumonia. Infant mortality at the Home was staggeringly high. “If you look at the records, babies were dying two a week, but I’m still trying to figure out how they could [put the bodies in a septic tank],” Corless said. “Couldn’t they have afforded baby coffins?” Special kinds of neglect and abuse were reserved for the Home Babies, as locals call them. Many in surrounding communities remember them. They remember how they were segregated to the fringes of classrooms, and how the local nuns accentuated the differences between them and the others. They remember how, as one local told the Irish Central, they were “usually gone by school age — either adopted or dead.” According to Irish Central, a 1944 local health board report described the children living at the Home as “emaciated,” “pot-bellied,” “fragile” and with “flesh hanging loosely on limbs.” How could anybody hurt these beautiful little children? http://t.co/1KkcOWqCdW pic.twitter.com/Xr0YQeZq8P — The Raven (@TheRavenxx) June 2, 2014 Corless has a vivid recollection of the Home Babies. “If you acted up in class, some nuns would threaten to seat you next to the Home Babies,” she said. She said she recalled one instance in which an older schoolgirl wrapped a tiny stone in a bright candy wrapper and gave it to a Home Baby as a gift. “When the child opened it, she saw she’d been fooled,” Corless told Irish Central. “Of course, I copied her later and I tried to play the joke on another little Home girl. I thought it was funny at the time…. Years after, I asked myself what did I do to that poor little girl that never saw a sweet? That has stuck with me all my life. A part of me wants to make up to them.” She said she first started investigating the Home, which most locals wanted to “forget,” when she started working on a local annual historical journal. She heard there was a little graveyard near what had been the Home, and that piqued her curiosity. How many children were there? So she requested the records through the local registration house to find out. The attendant “came back a couple of weeks later and said the number was staggering, just hundreds and hundreds, that it was nearly 800 dead children,” Corless said. Once, Corless said in the phone interview, several boys had stumbled across the mass grave, which lay beneath a cracked piece of concrete: “The boys told me it had been filled to the brim with human skulls and bones. They said even to this day they still have nightmares of finding the bodies.” Locals suspect that the number of bodies in the mass grave, which will likely soon be excavated, may be even higher than 800. “God knows who else is in the grave,” one anonymous source told the Daily Mail. “It’s been lying there for years, and no one knows the full extent of the total of bodies down there.” *Correction: The original headline on this story was “Bodies of 800 babies, long dead, found in septic tank at former Irish home for unwed mothers.” No bodies have been found in a tank. The historian believes they are there based on her research. The Irish government is investigating. MORE NEWS: Photos of the day Rihanna’s ‘invisible’ dress, red carpet at Fashion Designers awards ||||| The entrance to the site of a mass grave of hundreds of children who died in the former Bons Secours home for unmarried mothers is seen in Tuam, County Galway June 4, 2014. DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland's Roman Catholic Church told the order of nuns who ran the former home where a mass grave of almost 800 children was found that it must co-operate with any inquiry into the discovery. Ireland is considering an investigation into what the government called a "deeply disturbing" discovery of an unmarked graveyard at a former home run by the Bon Secours Sister where 796 children died between 1925 and 1961. The Archbishop of Tuam said that while it did not have any involvement in the running of the home, his diocese was horrified and saddened to learn of the scale of the number of children buried at the Church-run home. "I can only begin to imagine the huge emotional wrench which the mothers suffered in giving up their babies for adoption or by witnessing their death. The pain and brokenness which they endured is beyond our capacity to understand," Archbishop Michael Neary said in a statement. "Regardless of the time lapse involved this is a matter of great public concern which ought to be acted upon urgently." The Bon Secours order was not available for comment. Ireland's once powerful Church has been rocked by a series of scandals over the abuse and neglect of children. Public records show that 796 children died in the county Galway "mother-and-baby home" before its closure, according to a local historian. Researcher Catherine Corless said the bodies were buried in a sewage tank on the grounds and that some of the dead were as young as three-months-old. The Catholic Church ran many of Ireland's social services in the 20th century, including mother-and-baby homes where tens of thousands of unwed pregnant women, including rape victims, were sent to give birth. Unmarried mothers and their children were seen as a stain on Ireland's image as a devout Catholic nation. They were also a problem for some of the fathers, particularly powerful figures such as priests and wealthy, married men. Like the Magdalene Laundries, where single women and girls were sent, the mother-and-baby homes were run by nuns but received state funding. They acted as adoption agencies and in that capacity were overseen by the state. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Angus MacSwan) ||||| DUBLIN — The government and the police are coming under increasing pressure to open an investigation into allegations that a Roman Catholic religious order secretly buried up to 796 babies and toddlers born to unmarried mothers in a septic tank over several decades. Speaking in the Irish Parliament on Wednesday, the minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Charlie Flanagan, called the discovery of what is described as an unmarked grave as “deeply disturbing and a shocking reminder of a darker past in Ireland when our children were not cherished as they should have been.” The burials are believed to have taken place on the site of a so-called mother-and-baby home in Tuam, County Galway, from 1925 to 1961. The institution, which was run by the Sisters of Bon Secours, was subsequently demolished, and a housing development now sits adjacent to the site. The Sisters have declined to comment. They were reported to be meeting with the local bishop. They have neither denied nor confirmed the practice. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated Grim reports that nearly 800 dead babies were discovered in the septic tank of a home run by nuns has set off a round of soul-searching in Ireland and sparked calls for accountability from government and Catholic Church officials. Fresh research suggests that some 796 children were secretly buried in the sewage tank of the home in Tuam, County Galway, where unmarried pregnant women were sent to give birth in an attempt to preserve the country's devout Catholic image. Officials said they were "horrified" at the discovery and said it revealed "a darker past in Ireland," a country often haunted by its history of abuse within powerful church institutions. The home was run by nuns from the Bon Secours Sisters congregation between 1925 and 1961. It was one of the "mother and baby" homes across Ireland, similar to the Sean Ross Abbey, in Tipperary, where Philomena Lee gave her child up for adoption in a story that was this year made into the eponymous Oscar-nominated film "Philomena." People who lived near the home said they have known about the unmarked mass grave for decades, but a fresh investigation was sparked this week after research by local historian Catherine Corless purportedly showed that of the hundreds of children who died at the home, only one was buried at a cemetery. Speaking to the Irish Mail, which first reported her research, she also said that health board records from the 1940s said conditions at the home were dire, with children suffering malnutrition and neglect and dying at a rate four times higher than in the rest of Ireland.

– This week's news that at least 796 Irish babies were buried in a septic tank on the property of a home for unwed mothers sometime between 1925 and 1961 was not the first time the presence of a mass grave there had been hinted at. The New York Times reports that word of the bodies first emerged in 1975 by way of two 12-year-old boys who were playing at the site and reported that their look into a hole in a concrete slab revealed a space "filled to the brim with bones." So why did it take four decades and a determined historian to expose what may have happened at the mother-and-baby home in Tuam, County Galway? Locals apparently wrote off the remains as remnants from a workhouse that pre-dated the home, or even a relic of the 1840s famine. Though the Washington Post earlier reported an investigation was under way, the Times indicates that's not the case: Police yesterday said in a statement, "There is no suggestion of any impropriety and there is no ... investigation. Also, there is no confirmation from any source that there are between 750 and 800 bodies present." (NBC News reports that historian Catherine Corless found only a single record of one of the children in question being buried at a cemetery.) Still, the police are being urged to open an inquiry, as is the government, with politicians clamoring for an investigation, reports the Irish Times. The one group that could possibly shed light on the situation—the Sisters of Bon Secours, which ran the home—has yet to issue a comment. Reuters reports that Ireland's Roman Catholic Church has instructed the nuns to assist with any investigation that might occur. Click for more on the story.

TORONTO - “Outright deception.” “Playing chicken with the justice system.” These are just a couple of the scathing comments Judge William Horkins made as he ripped apart the testimony of the three women who accused former CBC radio star Jian Ghomeshi of sexual assault. The evidence from the three complainants “suffered not just from inconsistencies and questionable behaviour, but was tainted from outright deception,” the judge said Thursday before finding Ghomeshi not guilty of four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking. “The bedrock of the Crown’s case is tainted and incapable of supporting any clear determination of the truth,” Horkins said. The judge said there was no corroborating evidence and no “smoking gun,” just the complainants’ testimony, which he found to be sorely lacking in credibility. Defence lawyer Marie Henein had cross-examination bombshells waiting for the complainants — information the women hadn’t shared with the police or Crown. The first complainant testified Ghomeshi suddenly yanked on her hair when they were kissing in his car in late 2002. A few days later, she said he abruptly pulled her hair while they were kissing in his home and punched her in the head. Court heard she told police she didn’t have further dealings with Ghomeshi except for writing him one e-mail in anger which she couldn’t recall if she sent. But under cross-examination, she admitted she sent friendly e-mails and a bikini photo of herself to Ghomeshi after the alleged assaults. These e-mails were “bait,” the witness explained, so she could confront her alleged abuser. The second complainant, actress Lucy DeCoutere of Trailer Park Boys fame, the only woman who can be identified in the case, testified Ghomeshi pushed her against a wall, started choking her and slapping her face when they’d been kissing in his bedroom in the summer of 2003. During cross-examination, Henein produced an e-mail the actress sent Ghomeshi hours after the alleged assault in which she expressed a desire to have sex with him. DeCoutere also gave Ghomeshi a hand-written letter that closed with the words: “I love your hands.” The third woman testified that while she was kissing Ghomeshi on a park bench in 2003 he bit her shoulder and squeezed her neck. She waited until just before she was scheduled to testify to let authorities know she masturbated Ghomeshi days after she alleges he attacked her. The judge said he accepted Henein’s “characterization” of the third complainant’s behaviour. “She was clearly ‘playing chicken’ with the justice system. She was prepared to tell half the truth for as long as she might get away with it,” Horkins said. In a statement released Thursday evening, Henein’s law firm said the case was determined on the evidence heard in court, “notwithstanding the unprecedented scrutiny and pressure.” “In our system of justice, that is what must happen in every case regardless of who is accused or what crime is alleged.” It says it’s been a “very long, exhausting and devastating 16 months” for Ghomeshi. Prosecutor Michael Callaghan said the Crown will examine the judgment and consider its position. “As you can imagine, we’re still within the 30-day appeal period,” he said outside the courthouse before a topless female protester jumped in front of him yelling: “Ghomeshi guilty!” spazzano@postmedia.com NOTABLE QUOTES FROM JUDGE BILL HORKINS’ RULING: * “There is no smoking gun. There is only the sworn evidence of each complainant.” * “The act of suppression of the truth will be as damaging to their credibility as a direct lie under oath.” * “The courts must guard against applying false stereotypes concerning the expected conduct of complainants. However, the twists and turns of the complainants’ evidence ... illustrate the need to be vigilant in avoiding the equally dangerous false assumption that all sexual assault complainants are always truthful.” * On errors and contradictions in the first complainant’s testimony: “One of (her) clear memories was simply, and demonstrably, wrong. She testified that Ghomeshi had a bright yellow Volkswagen ‘Love Bug’ or ‘Disney Car.’ He did not acquire this car until seven months after the event.” She testified that, after the second alleged hair-pulling attack, just listening to Ghomeshi’s voice on the radio “traumatized her.” “A year later, she attached a photo of her wearing a red string bikini. This is not an e-mail she could have simply forgotten about. It reveals conduct completely inconsistent with her assertion that the mere thought of Ghomeshi traumatized her.” * On the fact DeCoutere denied pursuing any kind of relationship with Ghomeshi: “DeCoutere very deliberately chose not to be completely honest with the police. She sent Ghomeshi a photo of her singing “Hit Me Baby One More Time” karaoke duet with him in 2004 Banff festival with the caption, ‘Proof you can’t live without me.’” “She e-mailed Ghomeshi saying she was going to ‘beat the crap’ out of him if they didn’t hang out together in Banff. DeCoutere was ... clearly pursuing Ghomeshi with an interest in spending more time together.” For a mobile version, click here. Ghomeshi Judgment ||||| Former Canadian radio star found not guilty of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking in first trial to emerge from barrage of allegations Former Canadian radio star Jian Ghomeshi has been acquitted of all charges in the first trial to emerge from the barrage of allegations against the prominent celebrity. After more than a month of deliberation, Judge William Horkins on Thursday found Ghomeshi, 48, not guilty of four counts of sexual assault and one count of choking, dating back to 2002 and 2003. Horkins said prosecutors had failed to establish Ghomeshi’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, and highlighted inconsistencies in the testimonies of the three female complainants. The judge said that the crown’s case relied solely on the word of the witnesses. “There is no other evidence to look to determine the truth. There is no tangible evidence. There is no DNA. There is no ‘smoking gun’,” he said. The Ghomeshi case was one of the country’s most high-profile trials in recent memory, and it sparked a national conversation on consent and sexual assault – and prompted fresh questions over the justice system’s ability to address allegations of sexual violence. Jian Ghomeshi verdict could have lasting impact on sexual assault victims Read more Those who work with sexual assault survivors said that Thursday’s decision would have a chilling effect on victims’ willingness to come forward. When they first emerged in the fall of 2014, the accusations stunned the country. Ghomeshi was a rising star at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, celebrated for his thoughtful interviews and socially progressive views. Eventually more than 20 women came forward with allegations of being slapped, punched, bitten, choked or smothered by the radio host. Ghomeshi denied the accusations, pleading not guilty to four charges of sexual assault and another of choking to overcome resistance. Delivering his verdict, Horkins stressed the acquittal was not the same as asserting the events in question never happened. But he said that in the course of the trial it became clear that each witness was “less than full and frank and forthcoming” in their statements to media, police and the court. I dated Jian Ghomeshi, Canada's fallen radio star | Ruth Spencer Read more In his decision Horkins said that “my conclusion that the evidence in this case raises a reasonable doubt is not the same as deciding in any positive way that these events never happened”. Moments after the judge read his decision, the three complainants left the courtroom with tears in their eyes. Ghomeshi’s mother and sister, who attended every day of the eight-day trial, hugged each other and Ghomeshi and embraced with his defense lawyer Marie Henein. Outside the courtroom, Ghomeshi’s sister Jila read a brief statement from his family. “We are relieved but not surprised by the court decision today. It can only be surprising to those who rushed to judgment before the trial had started and before a single word of evidence had been heard,” she said. As Ghomeshi and his legal team left the courtroom, a group of protesters gathered outside the courthouse chanting: “We believe survivors.” Michael Callaghan, the crown prosecutor, told reporters that he and his team would take the weekend to look at the judgment and consider their position. “We just received the judgment,” he said, noting that they have 30 days to appeal against the ruling. Callaghan’s remarks were interrupted by a topless protester who jumped in front of him, yelling “Ghomeshi’s guilty”. Police quickly tackled the woman to the ground. Jacob Jesin, the lawyer for one of the complainants, read a statement on behalf of his client, who thanked those who supported her during the trial. “I always understood that a conviction would be difficult,” she said in her statement. “The story may not have passed the high legal test for proof (but) it remains my position that the evidence of the substantive issues is truthful.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jian Ghomeshi leaves court after getting bail on multiple counts of sexual assault in 2014. Photograph: Mark Blinch/Reuters It took Horkin more than an hour to read out his 25-page judgment. In explaining his decision, the judge pointed to the evidence of the three complainants. “Each complainant demonstrated, to some degree, a willingness to ignore their oath to tell the truth on more than one occasion. It is this aspect of their evidence that is most troubling to the court.” The judge said the evidence provided by the first complainant – who alleged Ghomeshi forcefully pulled her hair and struck her multiple times on the side of the head in two separate encounters – had initially seemed rational and balanced. But Horkin said that the value of her evidence “suffered irreparable damage” when she was “exposed as a witness willing to withhold relevant information” from the police and the court. “It is clear that she deliberately breached her oath to tell the truth. Her value as a reliable witness is diminished accordingly.” In the case of the second complainant, identified as Lucy DeCoutere after she waived a publication ban on her identity, the judge pointed to inconsistencies in what she told the court and media about allegations that Ghomeshi choked her and slapped her without consent. “It suggests a degree of carelessness with the truth that diminishes the general reliability of the witness,” the judge said. In the case of the third complainant, who testified that Ghomeshi began roughly squeezing her neck as they were kissing on a park bench, the judge pointed to her revelation that she had engaged in sexual activity with Ghomeshi after the alleged assault. She had previously told crown counsel that she had tried to keep her distance from Ghomeshi after the alleged assault, meeting with him only in public, said the judge. “In assessing the credibility of a witness, the active suppression of the truth will be as damaging to their reliability as a direct lie under oath,” said the judge. He also pointed to the exchange of some 5,000 emails between her and DeCoutere after the allegations against Ghomeshi became public, some of which discussed strategies to use in pursuing charges against Ghomeshi. While the women’s “extreme dedication to bringing down Mr Ghomeshi” could reflect the legitimate feelings of victims of abuse, the judge said it raised the need for the court to proceed with caution. Lenore Lukasik-Foss, of the Hamilton Sexual Assault Centre, said she was shocked by the ruling, which was laced with words such as “deception” and “manipulative”. “The kind of language and the examples he was using just demonstrates his complete lack of knowledge around sexual violence and dynamics around abuse that happens between folks who are known to each other,” she said. Lukasik-Foss said her centre had already seen an uptick in the number of survivors reaching out for support in the wake of the decision. “It’s a pretty bleak day.” The high-profile trial gave Canadians an unprecedented glimpse into how the justice system deals with allegations of sexual assault. The portrait that emerged for many was of a flawed system riddled with challenges for complainants, said Lukasik-Foss. “I want rigorous defense. But we see that this is not a system that is equipped to deal with sexual violence,” she said. The trial also underlined the gap between a victim’s memory of traumatic events and the demands of the criminal justice system, said Nicole Pietsch, of the Ontario Coalition of Rape Crisis Centres. Many survivors of sexual trauma attempt to repress their memory, only to face intense questioning – often months or years later – when their case reaches trial. “Most of us can’t recall what we wore to an event last week,” she said. Jian Ghomeshi trial: why the prosecution's case fell apart Read more Asked about the case in a television interview, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau refused to comment but when asked about worries that the verdict may discourage survivors from coming forward in the future, he noted, “I think these are the kinds of discussions we need to be having as a society that values and has respect for women.” Others were more outspoken: Toronto city councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam said that the verdict “would not in any way undermine or repudiate the reality” of the complainants’ experiences. In a statement addressing the three women, she said: “We believe you – and we thank you for inspiring us with your courage by coming forward to tell your story and to fight for the belief that no matter how many years have passed, or how wealthy or well-respected the abuser is, sexual violence will not be tolerated in Canada.” Ghomeshi now faces a second trial in June, stemming from allegations that he touched the buttocks of a former CBC employee and said to her: “I want to hate-fuck you.” Managers of CBC apologised last year to their employees and audience after a damning report concluded they knew of Ghomeshi’s inappropriate behaviour but chose to instead protect the popular radio host. The public broadcaster said that Thursday’s verdict would have no impact on its decision to fire Ghomeshi in 2014. “We stand by this decision.” ||||| Former CBC host Jian Ghomeshi was acquitted of all charges in his sexual assault trial on Thursday, with the judge sharply criticizing the three complainants as "deceptive and manipulative" and advocates charging that the outcome proves the insufficiency of the justice system to address such matters. In a 25-page decision read from the bench, Justice William Horkins of the Ontario Court of Justice said the complainants' credibility was shattered by their continually shifting testimony and last-minute disclosures of information that reframed their relationships with Mr. Ghomeshi. "Each complainant was confronted with a volume of evidence that was contrary to their prior sworn statements and their evidence-in-chief," he said. "Each complainant demonstrated, to some degree, a willingness to ignore their oath to tell the truth on more than one occasion. It is this aspect of their evidence that is most troubling to the court." Story continues below advertisement The verdict: Full text of the judge's ruling in the Ghomeshi case Mr. Ghomeshi had faced four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking, after charges were laid in the wake of his high-profile dismissal from CBC in October, 2014. He faces a single count of sexual assault in a separate trial to be heard in June. In his ruling, Justice Horkins said his concerns were manifold, including possible collusion between two complainants, Lucy DeCoutere and the woman identified in the ruling as S.D., who exchanged thousands of electronic messages between October, 2014, and September, 2015. (The identities of S.D. and another complainant, known as L.R., are protected by a publication ban.) Justice Horkins didn't mince words. He wrote: "I find as fact that Ms. DeCoutere attempted to mislead the Court about her continued relationship with Mr. Ghomeshi." He noted ruefully that S.D., despite having met five times with police in the year prior to the trial and being "reminded of the need to be completely honest and accurate," waited until "almost literally the eve of being called to the witness stand" before disclosing that she and Mr. Ghomeshi had had a sexual encounter after the alleged assault. He was also dismissive of L.R. for failing to disclose until cross-examination that she had sent Mr. Ghomeshi beseeching e-mails and a photograph of herself in a bikini more than one year after suffering two alleged assaults at his hand. He noted that "one of the challenges for the prosecution in this case is that the allegations against Mr. Ghomeshi are supported by nothing in addition to the complainants' word […] There is no tangible evidence. There is no DNA. There is no 'smoking gun.' There is only the sworn evidence of each complainant, standing on its own, to be measured against a very exacting standard of proof. This highlights the importance of the assessment of the credibility and the reliability and the overall quality of the evidence." In a statement issued after the verdict, L.R. said she was "never invested in the outcome of the verdict." Speaking outside the courthouse on her behalf, her lawyer, Jacob Jesin, said: "For me, this journey allowed me to face Mr. Ghomeshi and tell my story publicly for the first time. I always understood that a conviction would be difficult." She added that she hoped her decision to come forward and challenge Mr. Ghomeshi in public "gives strength to other victims of sexual assault." Story continues below advertisement Story continues below advertisement Mr. Ghomeshi's counsel issued a statement to the press noting that the case "was determined on the evidence heard in a court of law." The statement added: "This has been a very long and exhausting 16 months for Mr. Ghomeshi. He will take time with his family and close friends to reflect and move forward from what can only be described as a profoundly difficult period in his life." Politicians stood by the women: Shortly before the verdict came down, NDP Leader Tom Mulcair posted a brief essay to Medium.com, titled I Believe Survivors, in which he said that sexual assault "is a crime that is seldom reported and that leads even less frequently to a conviction. This must change and we can all be part of changing this unacceptable reality." As news of the verdict spread, protesters gathered around the front of the Old City Hall courthouse. Chants of "We believe survivors" and "Stop rape now" grew in volume. "I feel let down by the system," Futhi Sikakane said. "Because, once again, we are told that nobody believes us, nobody believes survivors." When Crown counsel Michael Callaghan came outside to address the media, a bare-chested female demonstrator vaulted through the crowd, screaming about misogyny. She was tackled by police and arrested. Later in the day, protesters gathered for a rally at Old City Hall. Dayna Macdonald, who identifies as a survivor of sexual assault, said that, as disappointed as she was about Mr. Ghomeshi's verdict, she was expecting it. "I feel drained of energy because of it," she said. With reports from Mahnoor Yawar and Julien Gignac Story continues below advertisement Ghomeshi ruling: full text

– Ex-CBC broadcaster Jian Ghomeshi on Thursday wrapped up the first of two sexual-assault trials he faces, and the verdict came back not guilty, the Globe and Mail reports. An Ontario judge issued the ruling, clearing Ghomeshi of four counts of sexual assault and one count of overcoming resistance by choking in incidents said to have taken place with three different women—including Canadian actress Lucy DeCoutere—in late 2002 through the summer of 2003. Ghomeshi, who was fired by the CBC in October 2014, didn't take the stand during the eight-day, judge-only trial and no evidence was put forth by his legal team to directly refute the women's claims. But Judge William Horkins found the complainants were "less than full and frank and forthcoming" and "demonstrated, to some degree, a willingness to ignore their oath to tell the truth," per the Guardian. That was enough to generate reasonable doubt, he wrote. And the offensive against the complainants was aggressive. Per the Toronto Sun, Ghomeshi's attorneys produced emails the first unnamed woman sent to him a year after two alleged 2002 assaults, including an email with a picture of her in a bikini—which she says she sent to Ghomeshi to "bait" him into talking about the assaults. DeCoutere, meanwhile, says Ghomeshi slapped her and pushed her against a wall, "cutting off my breath." But his lawyers threw in her face a six-page handwritten love letter she had penned to him (which she noted didn't mean the assaults didn't happen). And the third woman hid that she performed a sex act on Ghomeshi after her alleged assault in July 2003—but she said she had simply been embarrassed about it and didn't think it relevant. Ghomeshi's second trial, tied to a charge of sexual assault at work in 2008, is set to start June 6.

Paul Ryan has had a charmed political career. Congressman at 29, then chairman of two powerful committees, vice-presidential nominee and speaker of the House by 45. Newsflash to Janesville: That streak could be coming to an end. Story Continued Below With GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump cratering in the polls and the House Republican majority at serious risk, Ryan's post-election career could take a number of different turns after Nov. 8 — none of them especially attractive. And as Ryan goes, so will Washington governance over the next few years. Here's a look at the three strongest possibilities for his immediate future: Ryan retains slim House majority The most likely scenario is that the House GOP loses from 10 to 20 seats on Election Day but maintains a slimmed down majority. That would make Ryan’s job — hardly a walk in the park now — a whole lot trickier. If Trump loses to Clinton in a landslide, a sizable number of Republicans could go down with him. That would leave Ryan scrambling to round up the votes to keep his gavel. He needs 218 Republicans to vote for him on the floor to become speaker in the next Congress. And while goodwill helped him clear that bar last year, the honeymoon is over. Conservatives give kudos to Ryan for opening the lines of communication in the House, and other Republicans in tough races lavish him with praise for raising record amounts of cash to help protect their seats and raise their profiles. But Ryan also angered a handful of lawmakers by distancing himself from Trump earlier this week, and some of the conservatives don’t like how he’s running the House. With a smaller majority, Ryan will have little margin for error in a floor vote over his nomination for speaker. That’s not much of a buffer: Nine Republicans voted against him last year when he took over from John Boehner. And while some members of the House Freedom Caucus are retiring, other members who backed him last time have declined to say whether they would do so again. The hard-line group of several dozen Republican lawmakers is already discussing demanding rule changes in exchange for voting for Ryan. Ryan’s staff has said he won’t be held hostage. Ryan has one overwhelming plus going for him, however: There's no apparent candidate who could garner the support to win the speakership. Ryan, many insiders say, is the only person who has the stature to lead such a divided conference, and that alone can guarantee him support. If he makes it to 218, the speakership election would be just the start of Ryan’s problems. Being in charge of a smaller majority would force Ryan to completely own any deals he cuts with a Clinton White House. That's certain to create friction in his ranks — and could complicate his political future. The rabble-rousing Freedom Caucus will make up a larger percentage of a diminished conference, which could push the House GOP to the right as the rest of Washington lurches to the left. Ryan would have a weak hand in negotiations with Democrats, too. It’s already become Washington conventional wisdom that House Republicans don’t fall in line behind their leader — a dynamic which could give his negotiating partners a leg up. “You’re going to get a very unpopular president … and you’re going to have a smaller yet more conservative House majority,” said a former House leadership staffer. “And the margin for error for Republican leaders is going to be so, so thin. … It will be difficult for them to do the basics of governing, from funding the government to reauthorizing noncontroversial programs.” Ryan leaves Congress There's a chance — an outside chance, most of his allies say — that Ryan could call it quits. One theory is that Ryan will step aside if Republicans balk at returning him to the speaker's chair, or make him jump over impossibly high hurdles to get there. This was never Ryan's dream job, and he's unlikely to allow conservatives to twist his arm. “Paul will never be taken hostage by those guys,” said a top GOP lawmaker, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “He will either be able to govern or he will give up the job.” The Wisconsin Republican's allies point to Ryan’s demand for GOP solidarity when he took over in November 2015 in the midst of the crisis sparked by Boehner's exit. Even then, nine Republicans voted against him. Consider this: None of the previous six speakers left of their own volition. Boehner, Newt Gingrich, Jim Wright, Tom Foley and Dennis Hastert were more or less forced out or lost their majority. Nancy Pelosi lost her gavel after an electoral bloodbath and stayed on as minority leader. Retirement could actually help Ryan if he wants to run for president. He'd be free of the shackles of the Freedom Caucus, the Senate and a Democrat in the White House. He could continue to speak out on his pet issues and causes, on his own timetable: Being speaker forces Ryan into many battles he doesn’t want, often in reaction to events. On the other hand, he'd lose an enormous national platform and have to fight every day for media attention that he’s guaranteed as speaker of the House. A sign reading, 'Shackle Ryan', is worn during a campaign rally for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on October 13, in West Palm Beach, Fla. | Getty Still, Ryan could use the time away from Congress to fill holes in his presidential résumé, especially on foreign policy. Overseas trips and meetings with foreign leaders could give him exposure. He could write a book — paging Bob Barnett! — laying out his vision for U.S. foreign policy. The ultimate policy wonk could lay out “big ideas” for remaking government, based in part on positions he's already espoused. Ryan, who's developed a national fundraising network, could continue to raise money even if he's out of office and keep sending cash to down-ballot Republicans. Ryan isn’t hard up for cash: He and his wife have a minimum net worth of nearly $3 million, according to his most recent financial disclosure report. If Ryan wanted to get into the private sector, the offers would come in rapid fire. He could teach, do some advocacy, start a nonprofit and consult in the private sector. That could also allow him to spend more time with his family, which he's long said is a priority. Minority Leader Paul Ryan It’s become gallows humor in the House Republican Conference: Maybe, just maybe, Ryan would be better off as minority leader. If Democrats take the majority, their margin is certain to be small, which means a House Minority Leader Paul Ryan would remain a serious force on Capitol Hill as the head of an empowered and aggrieved minority. There's a recent precedent for this: Pelosi slid from speaker to minority leader after the GOP's blowout win in 2010. Ryan's own predilection is toward incremental progress. His minority would likely consist of 200-odd votes, which would give him a strong hand in negotiations with President Hillary Clinton and Pelosi. From what we know of Ryan’s legislative profile, he wouldn’t be like former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), who decided to oppose President Barack Obama's 2009 stimulus package chiefly for political purposes. Ryan’s governing mantra is this, as voiced by the speaker himself in 2013 after he cut a massive budget deal with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.): “We came here to get something done. We always lock horns. We always argue. We never agree. I think it is about time, for once in a long time, we find common ground and agree.” “Positive steps in the right direction,” Ryan is also known to say. Think small-bore corporate tax reform or modest entitlement tweaks, or something of that nature, in return for a boost in infrastructure spending. That's a deal Ryan could cut. Ryan would also be freed from the internal political constraints that would otherwise hobble him in the majority. He would only have to earn half the conference’s support in an internal election to win the minority leader slot, as opposed to the 218 votes it takes to become speaker. Being minority leader could also help him if decides to run for president in 2020. Being the guy who gets things done, but also stands up to Clinton, could allow him to straddle the two poles of the Republican Party and put his opponents in a tough spot. It’s not easy to run for the White House from the House minority, but Ryan has defied expectations before. Of course, it would take a lot of dominoes to fall into place for this to happen. Democrats need to win 30 seats to boot the Republicans from the majority. Right now, top Republicans peg their losses somewhere between 10 and 20 seats. But they warn that 20 seats could quickly turn into 30 if Trump continues to focus on speaking to a narrow slice of the electorate that’s already supporting him. ||||| For Democrats, winning back the House won't be easy. Here's how it might happen. The ongoing implosion of the Donald Trump campaign, after release of a tape capturing the Republican presidential nominee's demeaning remarks about women along with claims by women that they had been groped by the candidate, has touched off widespread concern about the fallout on the rest of the GOP ticket. This week, dozens of down-ballot candidates running for House and Senate seats have repudiated the standard-bearer in a wave of defections not seen in decades. House Speaker Paul Ryan has effectively told down-ballot Republican candidates to put their own campaigns first. Ordinarily, changing control of the House is an uphill battle for the party out of power. That's because of the longstanding power of the incumbency brought about by decades of redistricting. Over the years, both parties have rewritten the boundaries of their districts to solidify their support by drawing a line around highly concentrated pockets of voters, insuring that congressional districts stay in each parties hands. In many districts, the daunting reality of the long odds in unseating an incumbent also makes it harder for the party out of power to field strong candidates. Even when an incumbent retires or moves on to run for Senate, a party's hold on a given district can be tough to break. This year, of the 40 House seats that are open to newcomers on both sides, more than half are considered "safe" for the party in power. As a result, party control typically shifts each two-year cycle in only about 15 percent of congressional districts. That means the battle for control is fought in just a few dozen contested seats. This time around, the breakdown favors Republicans, with just 38 of the 435 seats considered real contests. ||||| Close Get email notifications on Matthew DeFour | Wisconsin State Journal daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Matthew DeFour | Wisconsin State Journal posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ||||| It was October 1998, and Hillary Clinton’s midterm campaign swing for Democratic candidates brought the first lady on a Saturday afternoon to a middle-school gymnasium in Janesville, Wis. A 28-year-old conservative upstart from the town was running for Congress — and Clinton, rallying 1,200 people with a rip-roaring denunciation of Republicans, was trying to stop him. Clinton’s efforts failed, of course. Paul D. Ryan went on to win, and he has held his House seat in Wisconsin’s industrial southeastern corner for nearly two decades as he has risen to become the highest-ranking Republican in the country. Clinton and Ryan did not know each other then, and they barely have a personal rapport now. When they served together on Capitol Hill, they did not collaborate. They have crossed paths only a few times, in perfunctory meetings while she was secretary of state. Clinton, 68, and Ryan, 47, also have no apparent social ties — although they do share a book agent, Washington super-lawyer Robert Barnett. Nonetheless, their relationship could become Washington’s most important in determining whether the federal government functions over the next four years, should Clinton win the presidency and Ryan retain his majority — as polls show is probable, although not certain, for both. Ryan’s uneasy relationship with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump — one that appeared to reach its breaking point this week — has been front and center in this year’s melodrama of a campaign. It’s less clear what a Clinton-Ryan relationship would look like. House Speaker Paul Ryan said on July 6 that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton may have been given preferential treatment from the FBI in its investigation of her use of a private email server and should not receive classified information during her campaign. (Reuters) “It’s fine,” Ryan said flatly when asked about his relationship with Clinton at a late-September breakfast hosted by the Economic Club of Washington. “I’ve only had two or three conversations with her. . . . I can’t really say I know her very well.” The relationship would hinge on how Clinton decides to begin her presidency. She could claim an electoral mandate and launch a pitched battle to pass the more progressive parts of her agenda. Or she could start with a relatively incremental push on a menu of domestic issues on which she and Ryan have shared interests, including infrastructure investment, criminal-justice issues and anti-poverty measures. “Do they want to begin it at loggerheads or with some signal to a very frustrated electorate that there is ground to be gained by focusing on the overlap between their two agendas?” asked William A. Galston, an official in President Bill Clinton’s administration and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Mixed views about partnership There is a glaring fault line between optimism and pessimism about Clinton and Ryan forging a productive partnership. Some see the pair as policy wonks with pragmatic instincts who are poised to break the logjam. Others say their political caution and entrenched ideologies would prevent them from defying their bases to resolve disputes and build agreements. “To assume Washington is going to work next year is to assume she’s not Clinton and he’s not Ryan,” said former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who has been advising Trump and had made legislative pacts with Bill Clinton on issues such as welfare and spending. “Paul Ryan will not be dealing with Bill Clinton,” Gingrich said. “I had a guy I could talk to who had been the governor of Arkansas and dealt with that state’s legislature and helped to found a centrist organization,” he added, referring to the Democratic Leadership Council. “Hillary, on the other hand, is someone who is hard left. They are totally different people with different instincts.” The other power broker in the Clinton-Gingrich negotiations, Republican former Senate leader Trent Lott (Miss.), has a far different assessment. Donald Trump started attacking members of his own party in a series of tweets Tuesday after many Republicans rescinded their support for the presidential nominee. The Fix's Chris Cillizza weighs in on the unprecedented unraveling of the GOP. (Jayne Orenstein/The Washington Post) Lott pointed to the lessons Hillary Clinton took away from watching her husband negotiate with Congress, as well as the warm relationships she built with Lott and other Republicans when she served in the Senate. He said Ryan has an even temperament and eagerness to shed his party’s reputation as obstructionist, as evidenced by the budget deal he struck with Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) in late 2013. “Paul Ryan’s nature is to try and find a way to make things work,” Lott said. “And Hillary has seen how important communication is. She understands they’re not just a bunch of rogues up there. . . . You’ve got to be willing to give a little to get a little. That’s how Bill Clinton and I made deals across the board.” Ryan’s biggest obstacle to partnering with Hillary Clinton would probably be the House Freedom Caucus, a group of dozens of hard-line conservatives whose threats of rebellion led Ryan’s predecessor, John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), to resign and who have become a thorn in Ryan’s side. One member, Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.), who ousted then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in a primary two years ago, vowed to work with Clinton on issues such as fighting terrorism, but he said, “I don’t see a love fest.” “For us, it’s not about Paul Ryan,” Brat said. “It’s about constraining anyone who’s opposed to stopping the expansion of the federal government.” House Republican leaders have said that if Clinton is elected, they intend to continue their investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state, forecasting a stormy atmosphere. “Next year could be very much like 1998, when we impeached Bill Clinton,” Gingrich said. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who worked with Ryan on the House Budget Committee, said “the jury is still out” on the prospects for common ground. “The question for Paul Ryan is, is he going to be a speaker who wants to try and govern with President Clinton or continue to kowtow to the tea party faction?” Van Hollen said. “I think that battle within the Republican caucus is unavoidable. . . . If he wants to get stuff done, he’s going to have to be willing to have that showdown.” On top of the possible tensions between the speaker and Clinton could be a Senate with a narrow majority, with Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) or Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) as majority leader, depending on election results this fall. People who know Ryan said his amiable disposition can do only so much to help him connect with Clinton. “He’d be gracious and a gentleman, sure — less confrontational than Newt, and he’d be smoother than John Boehner,” said William J. Bennett, a close friend of Ryan’s and a former education secretary under President Ronald Reagan. But, Bennett said, “these aren’t people who are going out to dinner.” Further complicating Ryan’s calculations could be his political ambitions — namely, whether Ryan, the GOP’s vice-presidential nominee in 2012, would try to position himself to run against Clinton in 2020. Clinton probably would face similar pressures. She is distrusted by the Democratic Party’s liberal wing, which fueled the formidable primary challenge of Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.). Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and their followers have signaled they would try to halt any move to the middle by a President Clinton on bedrock programs such as Social Security and Medicare, which Ryan has long targeted for sweeping changes. Finding mutual goals? For Republicans, Clinton presents potentially a far different negotiating partner than President Obama. Obama came to office with little record of bipartisanship and with a disdain for the social rituals that have historically greased relations at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Clinton’s allies said she would be more sensitive to the political realities of divided government. “One of my favorite expressions about leadership is, ‘The best way to persuade is with your ears,’ and she truly understands that — the need to listen,” said Democratic former Senate leader Thomas A. Daschle (S.D.). Daschle led Senate Democrats through Clinton’s first four years in the chamber, and he recalled her painstakingly cultivating alliances across the aisle. For instance, she befriended Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), who only a few years earlier had argued the impeachment case against her husband. They traveled together overseas and worked on issues such as military benefits. And in 2006, when Clinton appeared in Time’s “100 Most Influential People” issue, it was Graham who penned a glowing tribute. “How do you build relationships?” Daschle asked. “It’s inclusion. It’s invitations to Camp David. It’s regular meetings at the White House. It’s socializing. It starts with that.” In his failed attempts at a “grand bargain” with Boehner, Obama’s approach was to appeal to Boehner’s sense of reason and convince him that a deal was best for the country, even if he suffered a backlash on the far right. But Clinton’s associates said she would approach similar talks like a mechanic, understanding Ryan’s constraints and identifying areas of mutual advantage. One such area could be an infrastructure spending bill, which Clinton has said would be an immediate priority. Ryan, too, has in the past year privately reached out to top Democrats about beginning infrastructure talks, which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other pillars of the Republican establishment have championed. Clinton also would seek to work immediately on an overhaul of immigration law, an issue that Ryan has advocated but that has become anathema in parts of the Republican conference. It is possible that a Trump loss in November could shift political winds in the GOP, creating momentum for Ryan to consider starting discussions. “It’s got to be done in stages and pieces, not some big, massive bill that ends up collapsing under its own weight,” Ryan said at the Economic Club about the prospect of an immigration pact next year. There are other areas of mutual agreement, such as on criminal justice. Clinton and Ryan have expressed concern about mass incarceration and advocated changes to sentencing laws, and there are bipartisan efforts afoot. Another issue is fighting poverty, something Clinton and Ryan prioritize, although they have clear disagreements on the solutions. Ryan sees it as his personal mission and thrust it to the forefront of the GOP policy agenda. His confidants said he would feel invested in reaching an anti-poverty accord with Clinton. Bob Woodson, a veteran community organizer who has mentored Ryan, said he could envision Clinton and Ryan touring beleaguered urban neighborhoods together. “Paul and I have taken many of these kinds of trips, and he does it in a way where politics isn’t part of it,” Woodson said. “It won’t be easy. She’s going to want more government; he’s going to want more choice in education and different ways of spending money to tackle these problems. But he’s the kind of person who could sit down and come up with five or six concrete steps where there is overlap.” Clinton’s selection of Ken Salazar, a former Interior Department secretary and senator from Colorado, as co-chairman of her transition team was seen by some in Washington as a telling signal. “Ken was well known for his ability to work across the aisle,” Daschle said. “Just selecting Ken was a strong statement about her desire to govern.” Ryan’s friends say a glimmer of hope may be the speaker’s aversion to the caustic animus toward the Clintons within his party’s ranks — a trait they say traces to his days as a staff member. The Midwesterner has never been comfortable about Clinton conspiracies or sordid accusations, despite his opposition to the Clintons’ policies. “He wasn’t like a lot of conservatives his age in the ’90s who wanted to dig up Clinton dirt and scandals,” said Vin Weber, a former Minnesota congressman who worked with a just-out-of-college Ryan at Empower America, a think tank that has since shuttered. “Rather than talk about Monica Lewinsky, he’d want to crusade against tax increases.” Ryan’s unease about Clinton barbs has been evident on the campaign trail and in private fundraisers, where he goes after her policies but not after her personally. “He’s with his party, but he never said that he can’t work with her,” Weber said. “That’s a key distinction. He’s certainly not for her — but he has never said he’s unwilling to engage.” Read more: Trump declares war on GOP, says ‘the shackles have been taken off’ Here’s how good a shot Democrats have of actually winning the House ‘Donald Trump will protect you’: Some fear he is running to be a dictator ||||| Ever since last Friday's Access Hollywood bombshell, Speaker Paul Ryan has treated Trump's campaign as a sinking ship and has sounded an alarm to donors to shift resources towards saving the majority. Meanwhile, we have been inundated with questions about whether the majority is now in play. We've long been skeptical, but purposefully waited a few days to gather as much fresh data as possible before offering our view. A week later, Donald Trump's behavior towards women continues to consume the news. But there's little evidence of a wholesale shift in the House landscape. The prospect that GOP voters staying home clearly increases the party's downside risk, but neither side's polling suggests the "bottom dropping out" for congressional Republicans. Democrats need a 30 seat gain to retake the House, but that's very difficult to do when there are only 37 competitive races -- including six already held by Democrats. Today, even if they won all 6 seats in Lean Democratic and all 18 seats in Toss Up, they would still need to win 11 of 13 races in Lean Republican to win the majority. By the time the Mark Foley scandal broke in late September 2006, the hill for Democrats was much less steep. To help keep the House in perspective amid the madness, consider a few things: 1. Trump hasn't dragged Republicans all that far down - Trump was already on a downward slope after the first debate, and new polls show the tape has increased Clinton's lead to anywhere from 7 points (Fox News) to 9 points (NBC/Wall Street Journal) to 11 points (Atlantic/PRRI). Democrats' advantage on the generic generic congressional ballot has widened too, but not by as much as Trump has fallen since mid-September. Both the Fox News and NBC/Wall Street Journal polls peg Democrats' generic advantage at 48 percent to 42 percent, up a few points from last month. But as Amy Walter pointed out, Democrats' lead on the this question in the NBC/Wall Street Journal poll was 15 points at this point in 2006 and 13 points in 2008. Given the redistricting that's taken place since, a 6 point national lead isn't enough to give Democrats the majority. 2. The voters Trump has bled are the likeliest ticket-splitters - According to the freshly released NBC/Wall Street Journal and Fox News polling memos, Trump's ebb over the past few week has come disproportionately from traditionally GOP-leaning college-educated whites, particularly women. These voters seem to float in and out of the Trump coalition depending on whether Trump or Clinton is dominating headlines. Importantly, these suburban-dwellers are also the voters likeliest to stick with Republicans down-ballot because a) they are fundamentally Republicans b) they turn out at very high rates and c) they are likelier than other demographic groups to know who their local congressional candidates are. That's a distinct scenario from the GOP than Trump's base staying home, which would hurt much more. And that's good news for the House GOP. 3. Republican members ditching Trump isn't new - Over the weekend, a parade of Republican elected officials announced they would not vote for Trump, bringing the total of GOP governors, representatives and senators opposing him up from 19 to 63. But most GOP members in the most Democratic districts had previously opposed him, and the vast majority of recent House defectors never endorsed him to begin with. We've been through the same cycle after each Trump outrage: the shock wears off, the focus shifts back to Clinton, and Trump is renormalized as a candidate. That may or may not happen this time. But the more Democrats shift to tying House GOP candidates to Trump - as Tom Nelson has begun to do in WI-08 - the more Republicans may shift to running as a "check" against Clinton and appeal to "anticipatory balancing." 4. Real separation between white-collar and blue-collar districts is underway - The shockwaves in the presidential race aren't felt evenly everywhere. In the past month, the races that have moved the most dramatically in Democrats' favor are taking place in white-collar districts where GOP incumbents haven't done much to distance themselves from Trump: Reps. Darrell Issa (CA-49), John Mica (FL-07), Kevin Yoder (KS-03) and Scott Garrett (NJ-05). Meanwhile, Trump's toxicity hasn't been as severe in downscale areas as it has been in wealthy suburbs. Democrats haven't yet broken through against Reps. Tim Walberg (MI-07) or Tom Reed (NY-23). And they aren't in as good shape as they would like to be against Rep. Rod Blum (IA-01) and Bruce Poliquin (ME-02). Same goes for open seats like MN-02 and WI-08. We were beginning to notice this separation even before the Trump tape. 5. The Trump-Ryan split has ramifications beyond November - Paul Ryan's decision to throw Trump under the bus to save his majority, and Trump's decision to lash out at Ryan as "weak and ineffective," could have even greater ramifications in January than November. That's because if Democrats cut Ryan's majority in half, the GOP's losses are much likelier to come from the ranks of Ryan loyalists than Trump loyalists or the Freedom Caucus. Such an outcome could make Ryan's job miserable in 2017. If Clinton wins, would Ryan even want to run for speaker when the job would probably entail breaking the "Hastert Rule" just to keep the government open or avoid debt default - incurring the wrath of his own party? And if Trump blames Ryan's stiff-arm for his loss, could Ryan even muster enough Republicans to win the race for speaker without resorting to pursuing Democratic votes? Bottom line: A week ago we were about to revise our House outlook of a 5 to 20 seat Democratic gain downward because it looked like Republicans were on track to keep their losses to single digits. Trump's "unshackled" antics could hurt GOP turnout and substantially increase the odds Democrats score a gain in the 10 to 20 seat range. But the playing field remains narrow, and 30 seats is still a reach today.

– With scandal swirling around Donald Trump, do the Democrats have a chance at retaking control of the House of Representatives? An analysis at the Cook Political Report finds that it's still quite a long shot to think that Democrats could manage the 30-seat gain they'd need. David Wasserman lays out a multitude of reasons why this is, but the numbers speak for themselves: There are only 37 competitive House races, and six of those are seats already held by Democrats. Of the rest, 18 are "toss up" states and 13 are "lean Republican" states. Even assuming the GOP maintains its majority in the House, questions are also swirling about what will become of Paul Ryan—like, for example, if Hillary Clinton wins the presidency, will he even want to run for what could be a "miserable" term as speaker? More reading on both subjects: CNBC concurs that winning back control of the House wouldn't be easy for Democrats, but argues that the hope of doing so "isn't so far-fetched." Politico lays out the plausible scenarios for Ryan's future. One of them: If he does run for speaker again, he could have a hard time getting enough votes. There's also the chance, albeit slim, he could quit Congress entirely. The Washington Post, however, talks to an assortment of insiders for a story suggesting that Ryan and a hypothetical President Clinton could find a way to work together. Ryan himself spoke Friday in Madison, Wis., against that hypothetical president, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. He did not mention Trump by name once, but decried Democrats' "hubris" and focused on Republicans maintaining control of the Senate. Speaking of the Senate, Bloomberg notes that though it's an easier shot than the House (a net gain of four seats is needed), it will still be challenging for Democrats to retake that chamber. (This man could be president with just six electoral votes.)

PORT RICHEY, Fla. (WFLA) – The mysterious winner of last week’s $450 million Mega Millions jackpot has finally come forward. Shane Missler, 20, who resided in Port Richey, was the single winner in the Jan. 5. Mega Millions drawing. He chose to take a one-time, lump-sum payment of $281,874,999.00. Shane said he wasn’t really surprised that he had won. He said he just had “a feeling” that he might. After realizing he had won, the first call he made was to his brother. Then he shared the news with his father over coffee the next morning. Given a recent Facebook post from what appears to be Shane’s page, he was likely aware of his winnings right after the drawing. When asked what he plans to do with the money, Shane said, “I’m only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity.” His Facebook page is being bombarded with comments from new friends. And his Twitter followers are growing at record speed. He started with 90 at the time of the announcement. The power of positive thinking should not be underestimated! — Shane Missler (@TheShaneMissler) January 11, 2018 The winning jackpot Quick Pick ticket was sold at a 7-Eleven on Ridge Road in Port Richey. Missler’s lawyers say he had purchased a winning scratch-off lottery ticket and converted it into five Mega Million quick pick tickets. The winning combination was on the fourth number. News Channel 8 spoke to other lottery players at the 7-Eleven. “I think it’s great it’s somebody from this county won it and it’s not somebody found another state. I think it’s awesome,” said Dana Brunelle. Janet Fouche is hoping she and her husband will also have some lottery luck. “We’re staying overnight tonight and he’s getting coffee, my husband, so I’m buying a ticket. Take a chance. Maybe it’s a lucky story.” The ticket was claimed at lottery offices in Tallahassee. “This gentleman has a whole life ahead of him and a lot of plans and he will be able to do whatever he wants in life,” said Randy Fox, with the Florida Lottery. Missler’s lawyers say he recently retired from his job at a local background screening company and plans to spend his future taking care of his family and “educating himself to be a good steward of this fortune.” “Although I’m young, I’ve had a crash course this week in financial management and I feel so fortunate to have this incredible wealth and team behind me. I intend to take care of my family have some fun along the way, and cement a path for financial success so that I can leave a legacy far into the future,” Missler said in a statement via his lawyers. STORIES OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON- ||||| FILE - In this July 1, 2016, file photo, Mega Millions lottery tickets rest on a counter at a Pilot travel center near Burlington, N.C. The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game has climbed to over... (Associated Press) FILE - In this July 1, 2016, file photo, Mega Millions lottery tickets rest on a counter at a Pilot travel center near Burlington, N.C. The jackpot for the Mega Millions lottery game has climbed to over... (Associated Press) TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A 20-year-old Florida man claimed the $451 million Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, choosing to get $282 million at once instead of more in annual installments. A Florida Lottery news release said Friday that 20-year-old Shane Missler, of Port Richey, had claimed the jackpot from the multistate game's Jan. 5 drawing. They say he chose to receive his winnings in a one-time, lump-sum payment of $281,874,999. "I'm only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family and do some good for humanity," he said in a statement. The winning numbers to claim the nation's 10th-largest jackpot were 28-30-39-59-70 with a Mega Ball of 10. The winning ticket was bought at a 7-Eleven in Port Richey. The retailer will receive a $100,000 bonus. The Tampa Bay Times reported that Missler was grinning widely and clutching a yellow envelope when he turned in his ticket Friday at Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. His father and his lawyer came with him. They released a statement on his behalf. "If there is one thing I have learned thus far in my short time on this earth it is that those who maintain a positive mindset and stay true to themselves get rewarded," Missler said in the statement. "I look forward to the future." Lottery officials said the money will be paid to a trust, set up with Missler as the managing member, called "Secret 007, LLC." "Although I'm young, I've had a crash course this week in financial management and I feel so fortunate to have this incredible wealth and team behind me," said Missler, who also told the Times that he plans to move out of Port Richey. "I intend to take care of my family, have some fun along the way and cement a path for financial success so that I can leave a legacy far into the future." ||||| TALLAHASSEE — About 1 a.m. Thursday, 20-year-old Shane Missler wrote on Twitter: "The power of positive thinking should not be underestimated!" By that time he already knew he had won the lottery. And not just any jackpot, but $451 million. Missler bought five quick-pick Mega Millions tickets last week at a 7-Eleven store in Port Richey, where his family lives. One was the sole winner of the fourth-largest Mega Millions jackpot of all time, lottery officials said. Missler, grinning widely and clutching a yellow envelope, turned it in Friday shortly after noon at the Florida Lottery headquarters in Tallahassee. He was with his dad and a lawyer, who released a statement on his behalf: "If there is one thing I have learned thus far in my short time on this earth it is that those who maintain a positive mindset and stay true to themselves get rewarded," Missler said. "I look forward to the future." FROM THE ARCHIVE: What to do if you win a Mega Millions jackpot Missler — not even old enough to celebrate his winnings with a drink — opted to take the lump-sum payment of $281,874,999. The Florida Lottery withholds federal income taxes at a rate of 25 percent, officials said, dropping the amount to $211,406,249.25. The Lottery shared in a statement that Missler "wasn’t really surprised that he had won" because he had "a feeling" that he might. About half an hour after the Jan. 5 drawing, he posted to Facebook: "Oh. My. God." When he learned he had all the numbers right, he called his brother first, then told his father while they shared cups of coffee the next morning. Lottery officials said the money will be paid to a trust, set up with Missler as the managing member. It is called "Secret 007, LLC." "Although I’m young, I’ve had a crash course this week in financial management and I feel so fortunate to have this incredible wealth and team behind me," Missler said in his statement to the Tampa Bay Times. "I intend to take care of my family, have some fun along the way and cement a path for financial success so that I can leave a legacy far into the future." The winning ticket was purchased the same day as the drawing from the 7-Eleven. The store, at 7131 Ridge Rd. in Pasco County, will receive a $100,000 commission. Missler used money he won from a scratch-off lottery game to buy the Mega Millions tickets. The winning combination, 28, 30, 39, 59, 70 and the Mega Ball, 10, came on the fourth set of numbers. Missler quickly "retired" from his job at a local background screening company, his lawyer, Walt Blenner, said in the statement. The 20-year-old, whose social media accounts are full of references to New England, the Boston Celtics and the Patriots football team, plans to move away from the Tampa Bay area. His online presence is overwhelmingly uplifting, with inspirational quotes dotting a Twitter feed and the bio section of a sparsely updated Instagram account reading: "I wake up everyday saying ‘Thank you’ " and "Chase your dreams." Late Friday afternoon, Missler tweeted once again: "Thank you everyone for the positive thoughts. This is only the beginning. I am truly grateful and most appreciative." His family is originally from Maine. Larry Thornton, who said he coached Missler on the soccer team at Spruce Mountain High School in Jay, Maine, recalled that even several years ago, the teen seemed mature among his peers and was a leader who made underclassmen feel welcome. "He’s going to find out what he needs to do and how he’s going to do it," Thornton said in an interview Friday. "I can’t see this going off the rails for somebody like him." FROM THE ARCHIVE: Abraham Shakespeare won the lottery, then lost it all Mega Millions is played in 44 states, Washington D.C. and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Last fall, administrators increased ticket prices and the starting jackpot, hoping to boost attention for the game around bigger winnings. The largest Mega Millions jackpot of all time was $656 million in March 2012. Three winning tickets were sold, in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland. A Florida winner split a $414 million jackpot in 2014, previously the high mark for any ticket sold in the Sunshine State. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Winning $450 million lottery ticket sold at Pasco County 7-Eleven JACKPOT: Zephyrhills woman claims largest single Powerball jackpot in U.S. history Pasco County is no stranger to lottery fever. In 2013, an 84-year-old woman was the sole winner of a $590.5 million Powerball drawing — then the largest single jackpot in American lottery history. She bought her ticket at a local Publix and took the lump sum. Readers are also looking at: How robo-call moguls outwitted the government and completely wrecked the Do Not Call list Times staff writer Colleen Wright contributed to this report. Contact Zachary T. Sampson at [email protected] or (727) 893-8804. Follow @ZackSampson.

– America's newest multi-millionaire is just 20 years old and credits "the power of positive thinking." Florida's Shane Missler was announced Friday as the winner of last week's $450 million Mega Millions jackpot—the 10th largest lottery jackpot in US history, the AP reports. And while he didn't come forward until Friday, it's pretty clear he knew what had happened much earlier, according to WFLA. Just after the Jan. 5 drawing, Missler posted this message on Facebook: "Oh. My. God." The Florida Lottery reports Missler "wasn't really surprised" he won because he had "a feeling" that he would. "If there is one thing I have learned thus far in my short time on this earth it is that those who maintain a positive mindset and stay true to themselves get rewarded," the Tampa Bay Times quotes Missler as saying in a statement released by his lawyer. Missler has elected to take a $281,874,999 one-time payment instead of annual installments, which would have netted him more in the long run. "I'm only 20, but I hope to use it to pursue a variety of passions, help my family, and do some good for humanity," he says. He's started by putting his winnings into a trust called "Secret 007, LLC" and "retiring" from his job. Missler says he plans to move away from the Tampa Bay area. "I intend to take care of my family, have some fun along the way, and cement a path for financial success so that I can leave a legacy far into the future," he says. Missler bought the winning ticket at a 7-Eleven in Port Richey with the money he won from a scratch-off ticket.

San Diego County Sheriff's officials say the man suspected of abducting 16-year-old Hannah Anderson has been killed in Idaho and the teen has been found safe. FILE - This combination of undated file photos provided by the San Diego Sheriff's Department shows James Lee DiMaggio, 40, left, and Hannah Anderson, 16. A massive search entered a seventh day Saturday,... (Associated Press) Map locates Boulevard, Calif., where the bodies of missing children were found; 1c x 2 inches; 46.5 mm x 50 mm; (Associated Press) A partially burned home sits behind police tape Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, near the U.S.-Mexico border in Boulevard, Calif. The husband of a woman whose body was found in the house said Tuesday that he knew... (Associated Press) Brett Anderson, the father of missing children 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and 8-year-old Ethan Anderson, speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2013, in San Diego. Anderson, the husband of... (Associated Press) This photo released by the San Diego Sheriff's Department shows, Ethan Anderson, 8, whose mother, Christina Anderson, 44, was one of two people found dead in a house fire Sunday night. Late Friday evening,... (Associated Press) San Diego Sheriff William D. Gore said Hannah's father was "elated" his daughter was found alive. Federal and local law enforcement spent Saturday combing through Idaho's rugged Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness in search of Hannah and her suspected kidnapper, 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio. DiMaggio is suspected of killing Hannah's mother, 44-year-old Christina Anderson, and her 8-year-old brother Ethan Anderson, whose bodies were found Sunday night in DiMaggio's burning house in California near the Mexico border. DiMaggio's car was found Friday morning about 40 miles east of the tiny town of Cascade, parked where the dirt road ends and the Sand Creek trailhead enters the wilderness area. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. Federal and local law enforcement agents say they're focused on getting feet on the ground in the search for 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and her suspected abductor, 40-year-old James Lee DiMaggio in central Idaho's Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft have been flying FBI agents and other law enforcement officers into the roadless wilderness area throughout the day Saturday. "We are going to continue searching for as long as we believe this is the area most likely where this pair would be," Ada County Sheriff's spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said. "We're going to put every resource possible here, every person possible that we can." Detectives with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department finished searching DiMaggio's car Saturday afternoon at the remote trailhead where it was found about 40 miles east of the tiny town of Cascade. They had the vehicle towed to a garage in Cascade for further processing. DiMaggio is suspected of killing Hannah's mother Christina Anderson, 44, and her 8-year-old brother Ethan Anderson, whose bodies were found Sunday night in DiMaggio's burning house in California near the Mexico border. The steep and mountainous terrain makes it impossible to do a traditional grid search _ and the search area itself spans more than 300 miles, Dearden said. Though search dogs have been brought in from out of state and horses have been identified for possible use, the animals aren't currently helping in the search, Ada County Sheriff's spokeswoman Andrea Dearden said Saturday afternoon. Time is a critical concern. Dearden said investigators believe both Hannah and DiMaggio are alive, but they are worried about whether the 16-year-old has the right clothing and footwear for the mountainous conditions and whether she has the stamina to handle days of hiking through steep terrain. Instead, search coordinators are trying to choose the most strategic locations to place the searchers, whether it be along trailheads, at the few airstrips within the wilderness borders, or along drainage paths and river shores. It's Idaho's wildfire season, and though no blazes threaten the search area, smoke from big fires to the south has reduced visibility and ash is falling on the town of Cascade. Though Dearden said the smoke hasn't yet hindered the search, nightfall is a problem. "Simply for safety reasons it isn't practical to have people out there at night," she said. Ray Arnold, a backcountry pilot and the owner of charter flight service Arnold Aviation in Cascade, said he flew local crews into the wilderness area to help with the search on Friday. On Saturday, he was helping law enforcement out at the Cascade Airport, fueling aircraft and offering other support, he said. "There's quite a bit of smoke but you know, if you get down a little lower, it's fine. It's not anything different than any other summer around here," Arnold said. Though there's not a ton of tree canopy cover in the high alpine area where Anderson and DiMaggio are believed to be, it would still likely be difficult to spot the pair from a plane, Arnold said. "If a person stands beside a tree or something and his clothes are similar to surroundings, it's hard to see a person, especially if they're not moving," Arnold said. "The people on the ground are probably using spotting scopes and they have a better chance of finding them in some ways. A person gets pretty small when you're up in the air." Law enforcement officials in San Diego have noted that DiMaggio bought camping gear a few weeks ago. ||||| Hannah Anderson The fugitive who kidnapped a 16-year-old Lakeside girl after killing her mother and younger brother has been shot and killed in a remote area of central Idaho, San Diego County sheriff’s officials said Saturday night. James Lee DiMaggio was killed by an FBI agent, and the girl was found unharmed, Sheriff Bill Gore said at a hastily called news conference in San Diego. The announcement ends a massive search that began after a fire Sunday at DiMaggio’s home in East County’s tiny community of Boulevard. That’s where the remains of Christina Anderson, 44, and her son, Ethan, 8, were found. Teams of federal SWAT officers and trackers were flown into a 300-square-mile wilderness area of Idaho Saturday, expanding the hunt for missing teen Hannah Anderson and DiMaggio. DiMaggio was shot and killed during an arrest attempt at the north end of Morehead Lake, Gore said. He said members of the U.S. Marshals Service flying over the area spotted DiMaggio’s tent early Saturday morning, FBI SWAT officers were brought in then and they were the ones who shot the fugitive about 4:20 p.m., Gore said. He declined to give any other details about the confrontation. Gore said he hopes that Hannah can be reunited Sunday with her father, Brett Anderson, who has been holding out hope all week for her safe return. Hannah will be taken Saturday night “to a hospital where she’s going to be thoroughly evaluated,” Gore said. An FBI official in Idaho said that after the shooting the girl was flown by helicopter out of the area. Andrew Spanswick, a friend of the DiMaggio family, said, “We’re disappointed that we didn’t get him back alive and that we can’t hear his side of the story.” Spanswick said he and DiMaggio’s sister were worried all day that this would be the outcome. He said Saturday was the 15th anniversary of the suicide of DiMaggio’s father. “I thought he was probably going to die either by his own hand or someone else’s,” he said. “I guess in some way it’s what he wanted, but it’s unfortunate that it couldn’t have ended in another way.” About an hour after Gore spoke in San Diego, authorities held a news conference in Cascade, Idaho, but declined to give details about what led to the shooting. “Hannah is safe,” announced Valley County Sheriff Patty Bolen. “That was our first priority from the beginning.” James DiMaggio killed; teen safe Mary Rook, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City bureau, which has jurisdiction over Idaho, would not confirm that one or more agents shot DiMaggio. She said, however, that the agency’s shooting review team from Washington, D.C., has been called in to interview witnesses “and determine exactly what happened.” Victim-witness specialists will be working with Hannah and her family, Rook said. Crime-scene analysts were processing the scene of the rescue. Many local residents cheered and applauded after Rook and Bolen addressed the media. Many expressed relief at the way the incident concluded. ||||| (CNN) -- A massive manhunt that spanned 1,000 miles ended in gunfire in the Idaho wild late Saturday afternoon -- shots that ended the life of the family friend who was suspected of abducting 16-year-old Hannah Anderson and killing her mother and brother. The teenager was rescued near Morehead Lake, Idaho, where an FBI tactical agent killed her alleged kidnapper, James DiMaggio, around 5:20 p.m (7:20 p.m. ET), authorities said. "It's now healing time," Brett Anderson, Hannah's father, said in a message to CNN. Hannah Anderson had last been seen in San Diego County, California, at her cheerleading practice August 3. The bodies of her mother, Christina Anderson, and 8-year-old brother, Ethan, were found the next day about 45 miles east in DiMaggio's Boulevard house; lab tests were needed to identify the boy because his remains were so badly charred. That horror spurred a manhunt, which turned to central Idaho after a telling tip from a horseback rider and the discovery of DiMaggio's blue Nissan Versa in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness, about 15 miles outside Cascade, Idaho. By Saturday morning, there were more than 250 law enforcement agents on site scouring 300 square miles of rough terrain. By late Saturday afternoon, they'd accomplished their first mission: finding DiMaggio and his alleged captive. The pair's campsite was first spotted from the air, then law enforcement personnel moved in on the ground, said San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore. He said that there had been a "confrontation," though authorities speaking a short time later in Idaho declined to say whether there had been a shootout. However the scene unfolded, it ended with an FBI tactical agent fatally shooting the suspected murderer and kidnapper. "Obviously we would have liked for Mr. DiMaggio to surrender and face justice in the court of law," Gore said. "But that's not going to be the case." Saga starts in California, ends in Idaho The suspect's car was found after a man on horseback reported he had a brief conversation with two campers in the Idaho wilderness on Wednesday. The horseback rider was not aware of the manhunt at the time, but he called the Amber Alert tip line after he saw a news account that night and realized the pair matched the description of DiMaggio and Hannah Anderson, according to Ada County, Idaho, sheriff's office spokeswoman Andrea Dearden. Why more Amber alerts will be waking you up The rider's impression was that the pair "seemed odd," though he wasn't alarmed, she said. "They did speak and exchange pleasantries. I don't think there was a lot of information exchanged," Dearden said. "He left the conversation believing they were camping in the area." The rider said the man and girl were on foot, hiking with camping gear, Dearden said. DiMaggio's car was found unoccupied Friday -- hidden by brush and its license plate removed -- spurring authorities to intensify their search in that area even further. This massive effort included law enforcement personnel from a host of federal, state and local agencies, with Dearden saying they'd "use every single resource possible." Still, despite the numbers, they faced a daunting task given the expansive, rugged nature of the area. Ultimately, DiMaggio was spotted and killed not far from where he left his car, according to Dearden. His alleged captive didn't appear to have suffered significant physical injuries, though she was nonetheless helicoptered from the scene to a hospital, the sheriff's spokeswoman said. "Hannah is safe, and that was our first priority from the very beginning," Valley County, Idaho, Sheriff Patti Bolen said. She should be reunited Sunday morning with her father in Idaho, according to Gore. In his text to CNN, Brett Anderson admitted to feeling a range of emotions upon hearing of his daughter's rescue soon after his wife and son's death. "I am nervous excited saddened 4 my wife and son and worried what my daughter has been through," he wrote. Father of missing teen pleads for daughter's release Witness: DiMaggio had crush A friend of Hannah Anderson on Saturday provided a clearer picture of the relationship between DiMaggio and the teen. Marissa Chavez told CNN that she was in a car with Hannah and DiMaggio a few months ago when the 40-year-old told Hannah he had a crush on her. He followed it up by saying if he was her age, he would date Hannah, Chavez said. Hannah was unnerved by the comments, but did not tell her mother because she did not want to ruin the close relationship that her parents had with DiMaggio, Chavez said. After that, however, Hannah did not want to be alone with DiMaggio, Chavez said. In an earlier episode, Chavez recalled a trip that DiMaggio and Hannah took to Hollywood. The trip was supposed to be for one week, but Hannah told Chavez that they came back after two days because DiMaggio was upset that she wasn't paying enough attention to him. "I don't think she would have gone willingly with him at all," she said. CNN's Mariano Castillo, Alicia Eakin, Michael Martinez and AnneClaire Stapleton contributed to this report.

– She's safe: Authorities rescued 16-year-old Hannah Anderson today in remote central Idaho, reports AP. An FBI agent, or agents, shot dead her abductor, James DiMaggio. "She appears well and was rescued and will be transported to a hospital in Idaho," says San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore, as quoted by CNN. He said Hannah's father is obviously elated at the news, and the two should be reunited by tomorrow morning. Gore says their campground was spotted from the air, but he offered few details about the confrontation that ensued, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. Authorities suspect the 40-year-old DiMaggio killed Hannah's mother and younger brother in California earlier this week, then went on the run with Hannah. A horseback rider spotted the two on foot a few days ago in in central Idaho's Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness, and a massive search ensued.

FILE - In this file photo taken on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009, a Russian Yak-130 training jet is seen at MAKS-2009 (the International Aviation and Space Show) in Zhukovsky, Russia. Business daily Kommersant... (Associated Press) FILE - In this file photo taken on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009, a Russian Yak-130 training jet is seen at MAKS-2009 (the International Aviation and Space Show) in Zhukovsky, Russia. Business daily Kommersant... (Associated Press) Russia has signed a contract to sell combat jets to Syria, a newspaper reported Monday, in apparent support for President Bashar Assad and open defiance of international condemnation of his regime's bloody crackdown. The respected business daily Kommersant, citing an unidentified source close to Russia's Rosoboronexport state arms trader, said the $550-million deal envisions the delivery of 36 Yak-130 aircraft. A spokesman for Rosoboronexport refused to comment on the report. If confirmed, the deal would cement Russian opposition to international efforts to put pressure on Assad's regime over its attempts to snuff out the country's uprising. The U.N. says more than 5,400 people have died over 10 months. The report of the sale comes the same day that Human Rights Watch called Russia's backing of the Syrian regime "immoral." The Yak-130 is a twin-engined combat trainer jet that can also be used to attack ground targets. The Russian air force has recently placed an order for 55 such jets. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said last week that Moscow doesn't consider it necessary to offer an explanation or excuses over suspicions that a Russian ship had delivered munitions to Syria despite an EU arms embargo. Russia was acting in full respect of international law and wouldn't be guided by unilateral sanctions imposed by other nations, he said. Lavrov also accused the West of turning a blind eye to attacks by opposition militants and supplies of weapons to the Syrian opposition from abroad and warned that Russia will block any attempt by the West to secure United Nations support for the use of force against Syria. Russia has been a strong ally of Syria since Soviet times when the country was led by the president's father Hafez Assad. It has supplied Syria with aircraft, missiles, tanks and other modern weapons. Igor Korotchenko, head of the Center of Analysis of the Global Arms trade, an independent think-tank, said the jet deal apparently reflected Moscow's belief that Assad would stay at the helm. "With this contract, Russia is expressing confidence that President Assad would manage to retain control of the situation, because such deals aren't signed with a government whose hold on power raises doubts," Korotchenko was quoted by RIA Novosti news agency as saying. "It's another gesture by Moscow underlining its confidence that Damascus will remain its strategic partner and ally in the Middle East." Another Moscow-based military analyst, Ruslan Pukhov, said, however, that Russia might be too optimistic about Assad's prospects. "This contract carries a very high degree of risk," Pukhov told Kommersant. "Assad's regime may fall and that would lead to financial losses for Russia and also hurt its image." Human Rights Watch warned Russia that by supporting Assad it is repeating the mistakes of some Western governments during the Arab Spring, saying they were too slow to recognize the popular desire for democratic change in places like Egypt and Bahrain. "Armed elements shooting at government soldiers is materially different from government representatives shooting deliberately at unarmend civilians," Carroll Bogert, the group's deputy executive director, said at a news conference in Moscow that followed the release of HRW's annual report. She added that the overwhelming number of victims in Syria is on the side of the demonstrators. "The continued support of this regime is immoral and not permissible," Bogert said. "The West has already made serious mistakes with the support of Arab regimes. Russia's repetition of those mistakes will lead to tragic consequences." ____ Sofia Javed in Moscow contributed to this report. ||||| New York senators introduce bill to crack down on Syria Hold Syria accountable for human rights abuses, say Chuck Schumer and Kirstin Gillibrand New York Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer are pushing the Syrian Human Rights Accountability Act, which would bar Bashar Assad's regime from doing business with the United States. Syria would be slapped with sanctions for its bloody crackdown on dissidents under a new bill being introduced by New York’s senators. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand are pushing the Syrian Human Rights Accountability Act, which would bar officials in President Bashar Assad’s regime implicated in human rights abuses from traveling to or doing business with the United States and ban companies from selling weapons or sensitive technology to the Syrian government. “Syria continues to show it has no desire to curb the bloody crackdown that has become synonymous with Assad’s regime,” Schumer said. “We must do everything that we can to make it clear to Assad that his time is up.” Gillibrand called the bill, which will be introduced this week, “an important step to end the bloodshed. “The longer President Assad holds on to power, the more tenuous security becomes for the entire region,” she said. The Obama administration has said it would consider closing the embassy if the situation worsens.

– Russia is so unconcerned with the international outcry against Syria that it has reached a deal to sell Bashar al-Assad's regime three dozen Yak-130 fighter jets, a Syrian business newspaper reported today. The twin-engined jet is capable of attacking ground targets, the AP reports. Experts say the contract, which is reportedly worth $550 million, is a sign of Russia's confidence that Assad will remain in power. The sale comes despite an EU weapons embargo against Syria, which Russia has said it won't cooperate with. The US, meanwhile, may soon crackdown on Assad even further. New York Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand have introduced legislation that would bar anyone in Assad's regime who is suspected of human rights abuses from doing business with the US, as well as prevent US companies from selling weapons or technology to Syria, the New York Daily News reports.

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Astronomers, including experts at NASA, have questioned whether the blast and crater, reported earlier this week outside the Nicaraguan capital, were actually the product of a meteorite. Initial reports, including information issued by the Nicaraguan government, suggested a piece of space rock broke off from a larger asteroid passing between the Earth and its moon -- creating a sizable crater, measuring roughly 40 feet across, near Managua's international airport. But NASA officials say the lack of eyewitness accounts raises doubts about that scenario. Plus, astronomers say, the timeline doesn't work out. "This event was separated by 13 hours from the close Earth approach of 2014 RC, so the explosion and the asteroid are unrelated," NASA asteroid expert Don Yeomans told National Geographic. "There was no obvious optical fireball or debris trail seen prior to the explosion, so it seems unlikely that the explosion in Nicaragua was related to a meteorite impact." Yeomans' doubts are shared by Bill Cooke, head of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office. Cooke says the energy needed to create such a crater would be the equivalent of a single ton of dynamite. "For something to produce a hole in the ground that big, it would have generated a very bright fireball. And nothing was reported ... despite the population," Cooke told Sci-Tech Today. "So I'm very skeptical." Nicaraguan officials are apparently now quite confused themselves, and have asked the U.S. to help sort the whole thing out. "Considering the small amount of experience and the lack of research means, Nicaragua desires to request the good offices of the (US) embassy to get the support of the US Geological Survey," the country's deputy foreign minister, Orlando Gomez, wrote in a letter to the U.S. Ambassador in Managua, Phyllis Powers. It's not yet clear whether the U.S. will provide investigative assistance -- or what the assistance would look like. Whatever created the hole in the woods near Managua's airport, it packed a serious punch. The government says its scientists recorded the impact at 24 seismic stations. ||||| View Images The Nicaraguan army distributed this photo of an impact crater outside Managua on September 7. Scientists are skeptical about the origin of the crater. Photograph by Nicaraguan Army, AP An explosion and a crater reported near the capital of Nicaragua raised suspicions on Monday that a meteorite had split off from an asteroid that passed by Earth this weekend and struck our planet. But NASA scientists have now cast doubt on whether the blast outside Managua was even a meteorite at all. The blast left a hole 40 feet (12 meters) wide and 19 feet (5 meters) deep outside the international airport serving Nicaragua's capital. Some Nicaraguan astronomers quoted in early news reports attributed the blast to a chip off a weekend asteroid flyby. But outside meteorite experts later downplayed links to the small asteroid, dubbed 2014 RC, which passed harmlessly by Earth over the weekend. About the size of a house, 2014 RC passed within 22,000 miles (36,000 kilometers) of our planet on Sunday. "Information is limited, but the miss distance of 2014 RC actually precludes any related meteorite impact" at the Managua crater, says MIT asteroid expert Richard Binzel, by email. Managua Meteorite? Managua residents reported the blast just after midnight. In some news reports, geophysicist Wilfried Strauch of Nicaragua's Institute of Earth Studies attributed the crater to a meteorite impact. However, NASA asteroid expert Don Yeomans, author of Near-Earth Objects: Finding Them Before They Find Us, says that outside experts suspect the crater wasn't caused by an impact. "This event was separated by 13 hours from the close Earth approach of 2014 RC, so the explosion and the asteroid are unrelated," says Yeomans, because the Earth moves about 870,000 miles (1.4 million kilometers) in 13 hours. "There was no obvious optical fireball or debris trail seen prior to the explosion, so it seems unlikely that the explosion in Nicaragua was related to a meteorite impact." Russian Roulette Meteorite impacts have occurred at the same time unconnected asteroid flybys in the past, most notably in the February 15, 2013, Chelyabinsk impact, which damaged buildings across central Russia. (See "Chelyabinsk Meteor: The Animated Movie.") That meteorite impact sprang from an object roughly the size of 2014 RC exploding in the atmosphere above Russia, with about 500 kilotons of energy, bright enough to sunburn some watchers. A larger asteroid had passed harmlessly over the Southern Hemisphere on the same date. Update: In a late Monday report on RC 2014, astronomers at NASA's Near-Earth Object Program based at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, revised size estimates for the asteroid. Radar observations indicate that the asteroid is about 40 feet (12 meters) across and rotates rapidly, several times a minute. That makes it roughly half the size of the 2013 Russian meteorite. The NASA update also called the meteorite report from Managua "unrelated" to RC 2014, citing the 13-hour difference in the asteroid flyby and the crater explosion. "As yet, no eyewitness accounts or imagery have come to light of the fireball flash or debris trail that is typically associated with a meteor of the size required to produce such a crater," noted the statement.

– When an asteroid passed by Earth and then a huge crater showed up in Nicaragua, the government there put two and two together and figured an errant piece of space rock was responsible for the hole. But scientists have since cast doubt on the theory, and now Nicaragua is asking for US help in solving the mystery, reports UPI. One of the main reasons scientists are skeptical is that anything capable of digging a crater 40 feet wide and 19 feet deep would have created a huge fireball on the way down, and nobody seemed to see anything. Given that the hole showed up near the airport and an air force base in the capital of Managua, that's hard to explain. Plus, as a NASA expert tells National Geographic, the time of the asteroid's closest pass to Earth and the creation of the hole is off by about 13 hours. "The explosion and the asteroid are unrelated," asserts Don Yeomans. So what then? It beats Nicaragua. "Considering the small amount of experience and the lack of research means, Nicaragua desires to request the good offices of the (US) embassy to get the support of the US Geological Survey," the country's deputy foreign minister wrote to the American ambassador in Managua. No word yet on whether the US will send a team to investigate.

A four-year-old boy was raped in a French jail by his mother and her partner, a court has been told. Sabrina Bonner and Lionel Barthelemy, 31, allegedly covered the windows of a visiting room in the Toul detention centre, eastern France, to carry out the assault, the trial heard. Berthelmy was serving a sentence for domestic violence. According to the prosecution, the child was blindfolded by his mother, who then made him kneel on a chair and held him by the arms as Barthelemy raped his stepson. Bonner claimed she took part in the rape and filmed herself abusing the boy at other times because she feared Barthelemy. Her co-defendant, who has been diagnosed as a paranoiud schizophrenic, confessed to carrying out the rape but claimed he did it under pressure from Bonner. Evidence presented in court claimed that Bonner handed over video recordings, shot on a mobile phone, to Barthelemy of her sexually abusing the child on numerous occasions. She appeared in the dock of a court in Strasbourg charged with multiple sexual offences. The boy, who has not been named, is in care. Yannick Pheulpin said: "Mrs Bonner made herself an accomplice to the crime by bringing her son to the visiting room twice on the same day: once in the morning when a first rape took place and a second time in the afternoon, knowing perfectly well that it was going to happen again." Also facing legal action could be prison authorities in Toul, after it emerged that it was standard practice for bin bags to be plastered over windows to allow couples to enjoy privacy during prison visits. Pheulpin said the prison should be held to account. Bonner and Barthelemy face 20 years in prison if convicted. Her lawyer Dominique Bergmann said: "She will not try to minimise her responsibility," To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: To contact the editor, e-mail: Share this This article is copyrighted by IBTimes.co.uk, the business news leader ||||| The Palais de Justice in Strasbourg, where the trial is taking place A mother who allegedly helped her boyfriend rape her four-year-old son during a prison visit has gone on trial in France. Sabrina Bonner, 25, and the boy's stepfather, Lionel Barthelemy, 31, are charged with multiple sexual assaults on the child, who is now eight and in care. It has been claimed they carried out the rape in the prison after covering the windows of the meeting room with black bin liners. Barthelemy has already admitted raping the boy, but he says that he only did so once after the act was prompted by Bonner. The boy's mother is also accused of sexually assaulting the boy at other times, filming those attacks and giving the recordings to Barthelemy while he was in jail. Schizophrenic Barthelemy was serving a three-year jail sentence for domestic abuse of his girlfriend at the time. Bonner says the prison incident and other rapes she filmed were carried out after her partner threatened her with violence if she did not comply. The trial, which is due to run for three days in Strasbourg, is threatening to expose a culture in French prisons which meant staff failed to notice an act of such brutality taking place. It is understood that prisoners were often allowed a degree of privacy for visits from partners, even though Bonner's visit was supposed to be supervised because he was in jail for domestic violence and had been diagnosed with schizophrenic tendencies. Yannick Pheulpin, a solicitor representing the boy, says that after the trial is over he may initiate action against the jail, in Toul, near Nancy, eastern France. Bonner has admitted carrying out multiple sexual assaults on her child during 2009 and 2010, recording them on her mobile phone and giving the phone's memory card to her imprisoned partner. She gave herself up to police in May 2011, shortly before Barthelemy was due to be released from prison. Her lawyer, Dominique Bergmann, said: "She will not try to minimise her responsibility." The pair face up to 20 years in prison if convicted. ||||| A French mother who allegedly held down her four-year-old son while he was raped by his step-father in a prison visiting room went on trial in Strasbourg on Monday. In a case which could lead to the prison itself also facing legal action, Sabrina Bonner, 25, and the step-father, her partner Lionel Barthelemy, 31, are charged with multiple sexual assaults on the boy, who is now eight and in the care of social services. ADVERTISEMENT ADVERTISEMENT Barthelemy admits raping the child in the visiting room at the Toul detention centre in eastern France in February 2010, but claims it was an isolated act initiated by Bonner. She claims the prison incident and other rapes which she filmed were carried out under orders and the threat of violence from her partner, who allegedly listened to one assault from his prison cell on his mobile phone. The trial, which is due to run for three days, will shed light on why prison staff failed to stop, or even notice, an act of such brutality taking place during what was supposed to be a supervised visit to a prisoner serving a sentence for domestic violence who had been diagnosed as having schizophrenic tendencies. Prosecutors have indicated they will present evidence that black bin bags were used to cover the glass window of the door to the room in which the visit took place and that, as in other French prisons, this was standard practice to allow prisoners privacy with their partners during visits. Yannick Pheulpin, the advocate representing the little boy, said he intended, at the end of the trial, to initiate legal proceedings aimed at holding the prison to account for the suffering of the child. The prosecution alleges that Bonner blindfolded her son and made him kneel on a chair in front of Barthelemy, then held him by the arms as he was raped. "Mrs Bonner made herself an accomplice to the crime by bringing her son to the visiting room twice on the same day: once in the morning when a first rape took place and a second time in the afternoon, knowing perfectly well that it was going to happen again," Pheulpin said. Bonner has admitted carrying out multiple sexual assaults on her child during 2009 and 2010, filming them on her mobile phone and giving the phone's memory card to her imprisoned partner. She gave herself up to police in May 2011, shortly before Barthelemy was due to be released from prison. "She will not try to minimise her responsibility," her lawyer, Dominique Bergmann, said. Bonner and Barthelemy face maximum prison terms of 20 years if convicted as charged.

– A mother in France is on trial for allegedly helping a man to rape her 4-year-old son. Sky News describes Lionel Barthelemy, 31, as the boy's stepfather but also as the boyfriend (not husband) of Sabrina Bonner, 25. Whatever the relationship, Bonner is accused of going to visit Barthelemy in prison with the boy; the man was serving a three-year sentence for domestic abuse. The two used trash bags to cover up the windows in the meeting room before Barthelemy allegedly raped the boy. The International Business Times says Bonner allegedly blindfolded the boy, made him kneel on a chair, and held his arms down during the attack. Barthelemy confessed to the rape, but said Bonner encouraged it. Bonner is also accused of sexually assaulting the boy, now eight, at other times, recording those attacks, and giving the imprisoned Barthelemy the recordings; in one case, AFP reports, Barthelemy allegedly listened to an assault from his cell on a mobile phone. But Bonner says those incidents, as well as the prison rape, were carried out only because Barthelemy threatened to hurt her if she didn't do what he wanted. At issue in the trial is why the visit was not supervised, as it should have been; a solicitor representing the boy may take action against the jail next. He also says Bonner brought the boy back to the prison after the alleged rape, "knowing perfectly well that it was going to happen again."

A 13-year-old Maryland boy had a freak accident last Saturday when he fell from a tree and a 6-inch screw lodged precariously in his skull. Darius Foreman was building a tree house in Salisbury on the Eastern Shore last Saturday when he fell. Somehow, the screw went through his skull and into the very top part of his brain. “I think a millimeter made a difference in this kid whether he was going to live or die,” said Dr. Alan Cohen, the Chief of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Cohen says he was told the board attached to the screw was about five feet long. Local firefighters were able to saw some of it off. They had to be careful because if the screw was pulled out it could have caused potentially fatal bleeding. “The problem was that [it] was still a big board that was impaled into his brain, and he couldn’t fit in the Medevac helicopter, so they had to wait and get another transport helicopter that was bigger,” Cohen said. Darius was eventually flown to Johns Hopkins. Cohen’s wife Dody Robinson – who is also a neurosurgeon – was able to get the board unattached from the screw in his head. But getting the screw out was going to be very dicey. “So if we were to unscrew it, there could be torrential hemorrhaging,” Cohen said. He says he and his team drilled holes in Darius’s skull to the left and right of the screw. “We carefully drilled the bone away down to the dura, the linings of the brain, so that we could manipulate the screw,” Cohen said. Cohen says they were able to get the screw out, and thankfully the dangerous bleeding they had feared did not happen after it was removed. He says titanium was used to replace the parts of Darius’s skull that had been drilled away. Darius is on antibiotics but was able to be released from Johns Hopkins on Thursday – his 13th birthday. “You wouldn’t know that this happened to him. You wouldn’t know that he was a millimeter from death’s door,” Cohen said. “It’s a story with a happy ending.” ||||| Story highlights A six-inch screw pierced a boy's skull, right between the brain's two hemispheres The boy was "a millimeter away" from bleeding to death, his neurosurgeon said (CNN) A freak accident nearly took the life of a 13-year-old Maryland boy last weekend when a 6-inch screw entered his skull, his family and doctor told CNN. Darius Foreman was building a treehouse Saturday when he fell from a branch, knocking over a five-foot-long wooden board, which came down on top of his head, his mother Joy Ellingsworth recounted. An X-ray from Johns Hopkins Hospital, where the boy was airlifted, shows a portion of the screw lodged right between the two halves of the brain -- threatening to tear the largest channel that drains blood and other fluids from the brain. Injury to this part of the brain could have been "catastrophic," according to his surgeon, Dr. Alan Cohen. "He was a millimeter away from having himself bleed to death," Cohen, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins, told CNN. "I absolutely panicked," Ellingsworth said. "It was very scary, one of the scariest things I've ever been through." Read More ||||| CLOSE After a screw became stuck in a local boy's head, doctors worked for several hours to remove it. Produced by Ralph Musthaler This x-ray shows a 6-inch screw lodged in the skull of a 13-year-old Salisbury boy. (Photo: Johns Hopkins Hospital image) A Salisbury boy survived a freak accident that left a 6-inch screw in his skull — a mishap that required delicate neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The good news is that Darius Foreman was able to go home on Thursday, his 13th birthday. “They were so nice at the hospital,” said his mother, Joy Ellingsworth. “They threw him a party and decorated the room while he was asleep.” Darius, a seventh-grader at Wicomico Middle School, was at his aunt’s house in Parsonsburg building a treehouse in the unseasonably warm weather on Jan. 20 when he fell from a branch. As he landed, a 5-foot-long board with a large construction screw fell on top of his head, piercing his skull and his brain. At first, Darius wasn’t sure what happened. “I thought something was stuck in my hair,” he said Friday. More: Parents help keep baby Charlotte alive while awaiting kidney transplant More: In heroin and opioid epidemic, will new approach turn the tide? Buy Photo Darius Foreman, 13, of Salisbury, poses for a photo holding the screw that was surgically removed from his head on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. (Photo: Staff Photo by Ralph Musthaler) But his two cousins immediately ran to get their mother, Bobbi Burke. She found Darius wandering around the yard with the board stuck to his head, and made him lie down while she called 911, Ellingsworth said. Burke’s next call was to Ellingsworth. “It was instant dread,” she said when she got the news. Paramedics from the Parsonsburg Volunteer Fire Company were able to cut part of the board in order to fit him into an ambulance and take him to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, Maryland. Doctors there X-rayed his brain and decided to send him on to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Ellingsworth said. Because of the board that was still attached to Darius’ head, he could not fit inside a standard helicopter, so the hospital called Maryland State Police, who have a larger one. In the emergency room at Hopkins, Dr. Shenandoah Robinson, a neurosurgeon, was able to remove the rest of the board that was still attached to Darius’ head. Next the boy was sent into surgery for a procedure that took about two hours. “The danger was where it was located,” said Dr. Alan R. Cohen, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Hopkins. Scans of Darius’ brain showed what looked like the screw going right into the superior sagittal sinus, the large pipeline vein that drains the blood from the brain to the heart. “That’s what made this injury so serious — that fact that he could have exsanguinated (suffered major bleeding),” Cohen said. Cohen said because of the screw’s location, it was “like a ticking time bomb.” “We went slowly and carefully, and we managed to get the thing out,” he said. The surgical team also removed a small blood clot that had formed, then placed a titanium plate in his skull. More: Senate confirms Alex Azar for HHS More: Children's author wins NAACP Image Award Darius was kept in the hospital for several days afterward to administer antibiotics following surgery. He will continue to be on intravenous antibiotics for another week at home, Elligsworth said. Otherwise he is in good shape. “He’s a lucky guy,” Cohen said. Buy Photo Darius Foreman, 13, of Salisbury, talks to his mother Joy Ellingsworth at their home on Friday, Jan. 26, 2018. Foreman had a screw surgically removed from his skull after falling from a tree. (Photo: Staff Photo by Ralph Musthaler) The story caught the attention of CNN, which published a story on its website Friday. Ellingsworth said she has also gotten calls from Inside Edition and The New Yorker magazine. The Maryland State Police Aviation Command shared the CNN story on Facebook with the following comment: “Great job from the Parsonsburg Vol. Fire Company, Inc., Salisbury Fire Department, and Peninsula Regional Medical Center in stabilizing this teenager after his ordeal. Trooper 4 assisted by transporting him to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Once again, the teamwork in Maryland's healthcare system makes the difference!” Cohen said everyone from local paramedics, to the PRMC emergency room staff, to the state police medevac crew all worked together to get Darius safely to Baltimore. "They did a great job," he said. "It was a real team effort." Twitter: @LizHolland5 More: Chelsea Manning files to challenge Ben Cardin for Senate More: Editorial: Women's marches, #metoo show strength of solidarity Read or Share this story: http://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2018/01/26/salisbury-boy-survives-screw-lodged-skull/1069062001/

– Johns Hopkins' chief of pediatric neurosurgery tells WJLA that young Darius Foreman "was a millimeter from death's door." The seventh-grader was building a tree house Jan. 20 in Maryland when he fell from a branch and a 5-foot board landed on his head. His cousins' mom came outside to find Darius wandering around with the board still attached to his head. “I thought something was stuck in my hair,” he tells Delmarva Now. In reality, a 6-inch screw in the board had pierced Foreman's skull and entered his brain. “The danger was where it was located,” Johns Hopkins' Dr. Alan Cohen says. The screw appeared to be going into the main vein that drains blood from the brain. Paramedics had to cut off pieces of the board to fit Darius into the ambulance, and a larger police helicopter had to be used to transport him to Johns Hopkins. After the board was fully removed, it took doctors about two hours to remove the screw from Darius' skull and brain. Cohen says they couldn't just unscrew it or "there could be torrential hemorrhaging." Instead, the team drilled holes on either side of the screw to get it out and replaced the missing portions of Darius' skull with a titanium plate. All told, the screw—which Cohen called "a ticking time bomb—was lodged in Darius' skull for about seven hours, his mom, Joy Ellingsworth, tells CNN. But Cohen says it was "a story with a happy ending." Darius was able to leave the hospital Thursday—his 13th birthday. He even got to keep the screw as a present. Ellingsworth says it was "one of the scariest things I've ever been through." But Darius says he learned an important lesson: "Never build a tree fort."

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders Bernard (Bernie) SandersBiden rallies Dem support for progressive Md. governor candidate Ocasio-Cortez: Democratic socialism is 'part of what I am, it's not all of what I am' Divided Democrats are in danger MORE said on Sunday that he takes issue with the idea of superdelegates. "The whole concept of superdelegates is problematic," he said on CBS's "Face The Nation." ADVERTISEMENT The Vermont senator said he thinks it would be a good idea for superdelegates to come over to his side in states where he has won by a significant margin. "I think it might be a good idea for superdelegates to listen to the people in their own state," he said. "I just talked to a person the other day who said, 'You know what? I am going to listen to my state, and if my state votes for you, Bernie, you're going to have my vote.'" Sanders said that's something he hopes a lot of superdelegates take into consideration, adding that it's "common sense" to listen to the voters. The superdelegates have the right to make their own decisions, he said, adding that the primary objective is making sure a Republican does not win the White House. "[If] it appears that I am the stronger candidate against Trump, I think you're doing to see some superdelegates saying, 'You know what, I like Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonOcasio-Cortez responds to Dem senator who said policies 'too far to the left' don't win in Midwest July vote to repeal medical device tax may bolster vulnerable GOP lawmaker Rosenstein conflicts undermine legitimacy of Mueller's investigation MORE, but I want to win this thing. Bernie is our guy.'" ||||| Is this just another case of the Establishment sticking it to the people, or legitimate frustration with a gadfly who won’t wake up and smell the coffee? Bernie Sanders’ colleagues in the Senate want to sound supportive, Politico reports, mindful of the anger of the populism that has allowed the longtime socialist crank to seriously contend for their party’s presidential nomination. They love Bernie. And more precisely, they’d love him even more if he got on the Hillary Clinton bandwagon: After holding their fire on Sanders for the better part of a year, the senators — all backers of Hillary Clinton — are gently calling on Sanders to face the reality that there’s almost no chance he’s going to be the Democratic nominee. They don’t say outright he should quit; doing so would be counterproductive, they say. But nearly a dozen Democratic lawmakers suggested in interviews that Sanders should focus more on stopping Donald Trump and less on why he believes Clinton’s stands on trade, financial regulation and foreign policy would make her a flawed president. “What’s important is not whether or not he gets out, but how he campaigns,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “If the contrast is now about what separates us from Donald Trump, then I think it’s fine. I just hope that we can begin to focus on unifying because obviously a lot of us are perplexed that we could be facing a country led by someone who seems to be a buffoon.” Added Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.): “It’s good [for Sanders] to continue to raise the concerns that people have, but I think it ought to be in the context of, ‘This is the difference between the Democrats and Republicans in this race.’” Or, in other words, keep campaigning … but for Hillary. This request isn’t so much a party establishment putting down its considerable foot as it is a cold dash of reality. Hillary already has two-thirds of the delegates she needs for the nomination, while Sanders would need almost double what he currently has to win on the first ballot. The problem for Sanders is that Democrats have gone through half of the states already, and at least some of the delegate-rich states left on the table will go to Hillary — New York and Pennsylvania for sure, Kentucky and Indiana probably, and California more than likely. Even in states where Sanders competes well, close races will split delegates too narrowly to help, such as the upcoming Wisconsin primary. As Paul Begala pointed out in the aftermath of Super Tuesday II, Bernie wins the tight races and Hillary wins the blowouts. That produces an inevitable delegate-allocation gap that Sanders can’t overcome. Ah, but what about the superdelegates? Absent the superdelegates, Hillary only has a lead of around 300 delegates — a difficult gap to bridge, but not insurmountable. Superdelegates can change their minds and flip to Sanders, right? Sure, but that won’t happen. Superdelegates exist to prevent candidates like Sanders from seizing the nomination from the party establishment. The reason it didn’t work in 2008 was that Barack Obama got too big of a lead on Hillary, and the historical moment and organizational power of Obama convinced the superdelegates to throw in with him in the end. (Recall that the question of the superdelegates ran almost all the way down to the convention in 2008.) The Democratic party establishment is right on the math and on the moment this time around, but don’t expect Sanders to listen. He’ll keep campaigning until the cash runs out or until the DNC cuts him some sort of deal. Perhaps Hillary will offer Sanders a Cabinet post, such as HHS, where he can indulge all of his single-payer healthcare fantasies if Hillary wins the election. The deal will probably come sooner rather than later, but it may take a couple of more major-state blowouts to get the message through to Bernie that it’s over … and it’s been over for a while. ||||| Democratic senators of all stripes are as impressed as they are surprised by Bernie Sanders’ insurgent campaign. But the time has come, they say, for Sanders to start winding things down. Story Continued Below After holding their fire on Sanders for the better part of a year, the senators — all backers of Hillary Clinton — are gently calling on Sanders to face the reality that there’s almost no chance he’s going to be the Democratic nominee. They don’t say outright he should quit; doing so would be counterproductive, they say. But nearly a dozen Democratic lawmakers suggested in interviews that Sanders should focus more on stopping Donald Trump and less on why he believes Clinton’s stands on trade, financial regulation and foreign policy would make her a flawed president. “What’s important is not whether or not he gets out, but how he campaigns,” said Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). “If the contrast is now about what separates us from Donald Trump, then I think it’s fine. I just hope that we can begin to focus on unifying because obviously a lot of us are perplexed that we could be facing a country led by someone who seems to be a buffoon.” Added Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.): “It’s good [for Sanders] to continue to raise the concerns that people have, but I think it ought to be in the context of, ‘This is the difference between the Democrats and Republicans in this race.’” The subtext of these comments is the general view among Democrats that Sanders has no path to win. Clinton has nearly double the number of delegates that Sanders has, and she swept the Vermont independent in three distinct regions of the country last week. “It will be almost impossible for Sen. Sanders to catch up. And he should do the math and draw his own conclusions,” said Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.). “The writing’s on the wall,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.). The message senators are airing publicly mirrors what President Barack Obama told donors in private recently, according to The New York Times: That while Clinton may have her faults as a candidate, the party needs to channel its energy into defeating Trump. Over the past month, Clinton campaign staffers have bristled at the way Sanders is running. A Clinton campaign memo said Sanders has been “increasingly negative” and accused him of breaking his vows not to name Clinton in his ads, blaming his sweeping losses on a negative strategy that “backfired.” While tame compared with the accusations of lying and name-calling that dominate the Republican race, Sanders has gone after Clinton more aggressively of late. In the run-up to the Illinois primary, he highlighted her ties to Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who’s unpopular among African-American voters and distrusted by progressives. And Sanders has repeatedly dismissed Clinton supporters as part of the “establishment,” which Democratic senators interpret as showing disrepect for them. Still, Democratic leaders say they’re confident Sanders will do the right thing in the end. As pointed as some of his barbs at Clinton have been, they argue, the self-described democratic socialist hasn’t gone overboard. “Bernie is a very constructive person. And he wants to move American politics closer in his direction. He’s done that already,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, the expected next Democratic leader. “I am not worried.” The Sanders campaign dismissed any suggestion that it’s time to wrap up his long-shot bid and pivot to defeating Trump and the Republicans. Campaign spokesman Michael Briggs insisted Sanders is still a superior general election candidate because he “consistently draws much more support than she does in general election matchups with the Republican front-runner.” “If Democrats are interested in holding on to the White House, if Democratic senators are interested in regaining a majority in the Senate and picking up seats in the House and statehouses all across the county, Bernie’s the best bet,” Briggs said. Even so, Democrats privately believe Sanders is already calculating how to gradually shift toward a posture of unity by summertime. With Clinton favored to win the nomination and beat Trump in the general election, Sanders also has to think about his relationship with a potential future president and returning to the Senate, where he caucuses with Democrats. “He won’t do it,” said one high-ranking Democratic staffer on Capitol Hill of Sanders continuing to attack Clinton in ways that go beyond their policy differences. At the same time, Democrats need to tread carefully in how they treat Sanders. His legion of followers will be critical to getting Clinton elected, not to mention scores of Democratic Senate and House candidates. It’s unknown how hard Sanders would campaign for Clinton, assuming she does prevail. “I think that Sen. Sanders has built a movement. And that whatever happens, the two big tribes of the Democratic Party will be able to unite at the convention and be so much stronger,” said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii). But the dance is sure to be awkward. Not a single Democratic senator has endorsed Sanders. And beneath their deference, there’s growing irritation among the lawmakers that the longer his campaign continues, the more he will undermine Clinton in the fall. “That’s something he’s going to have to decide,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said of how long Sanders remains in the race. “She’s going to be the nominee.” But, for now at least, Democrats believe measured diplomacy is the best approach for dealing with Sanders and his supporters. “I don’t think any Democrat should call on him to get out,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). “Almost no Democrat I know would say that. And shouldn’t.” Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.

– Politico interviewed about a dozen Democratic lawmakers about the Bernie Sanders campaign and finds that a clear consensus is in the air: "The time has come, they say, for Sanders to start winding things down." The general view is that he can't possibly win and that if he wants to stay in the race, that's OK—as long as he starts directing his fire more toward Donald Trump than at Hillary Clinton. Sen. Claire McCaskill is one of those quoted in the story, and her remarks sum things up: “What’s important is not whether or not he gets out, but how he campaigns," she says. "If the contrast is now about what separates us from Donald Trump, then I think it’s fine." The story echoes the sentiment behind a recent New York Times story that said President Obama has been privately telling donors that it's time to get behind Clinton so she can focus on Trump. Blogger Ed Morrissey at Hot Air sums up the Democratic viewpoint toward Sanders as "keep campaigning ... but for Hillary." And he thinks that party leaders are probably on the mark with the strategy. "Perhaps Hillary will offer Sanders a Cabinet post, such as HHS, where he can indulge all of his single-payer healthcare fantasies if Hillary wins the election," he writes. "But it may take a couple of more major-state blowouts to get the message through to Bernie that it’s over … and it’s been over for a while." Sanders, though, clearly disagrees. On Sunday, he began raising pressure on superdelegates in states he's won by big margins to respect the will of voters and back him at the convention instead of Clinton. The whole issue of unbound superdelegates is "problematic," he says, per the Hill. (The latest campaign finance reports had some surprise winners and losers.)

A Pentagon audit has found that Defense Department personnel misused their government travel credit cards to spend more than $1 million at casinos and adult entertainment venues last year. The misuse of the cards has resulted in disciplinary action in several hundred cases, but there is no loss to taxpayers as the cardholders must pay the cost of unauthorized or personal use transactions themselves. The Defense Department’s Inspector General is slated to release an audit later this month entitled, “Government Travel Charge Card Transactions Made at Casinos or Adult Entertainment Establishments.” The audit looked at whether Defense Department employees used their government travel credit cards for personal use at casinos or adult entertainment establishments. A defense official told ABC News that auditors found that during the period from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014, DoD cardholders improperly used those government credit cards to spend $952,258 at casinos and $96,576 at adult entertainment establishments. The report did not determine how many Pentagon employees had improperly used their cards, which are supposed to be used solely for travel expenses. However, the audit found 4,437 transactions at casinos and 900 additional transactions at adult entertainment establishments during that timeframe. "Clearly, the behavior displayed by these individuals neither comports with our values nor represents the good service of the vast majority of or service members or DOD Civilians,” said the official. Disciplinary action has already been taken for 364 cases and 79 are pending action, the official said. The defense official described the improper spending at casinos and adult establishments as “miniscule” because it amounted to 0.0307% of the total card spending of $3.4 billion dollars on individually billed accounts during the period of the audit. “While any misuse of the card is taken seriously, the amount of this misuse is extremely small given the size and scope of the DoD travel charge card program,” said the official. Some 1.6 million employees have the travel cards. As with any other misuse of the cards for unauthorized personal use, the government does not reimburse or pay for the charges. It is the card holder who ends up paying the cost of the unauthorized or personal use transactions "out of pocket." ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly 1,600 IRS workers were found to have willfully evaded taxes over a 10-year period, including some who were responsible for enforcing the nation's tax laws, a government watchdog said Wednesday. It's a small percentage of the tax agency's employees — about 160 workers a year out of a workforce of 85,000. A new report by the agency's inspector general said most were not fired, even though a 1998 law calls for terminations when IRS workers willfully don't pay their taxes. The penalty must be waived by the IRS commissioner. Among their offenses: improperly claiming dependents, repeated failure to file timely tax returns, and claiming a tax credit for first-time homebuyers when the worker didn't buy a house. Some received promotions, raises and bonuses after they were caught willfully not paying their taxes, the report said. "Given its critical role in federal tax administration, the IRS must ensure that its employees comply with the tax law in order to maintain the public's confidence," said J. Russell George, Treasury inspector general for tax administration. "Willful violation of the law by IRS employees should not be taken lightly." The report looked at workers from 2004 through 2013, before IRS Commissioner John Koskinen started. The IRS said more than 99 percent of its employees pay their taxes on time, the highest compliance rate of any major federal agency. Historically, about 8 percent of the general public owes back taxes. The agency said those who weren't fired faced strong disciplinary actions, including suspensions and reprimands. Last year, the agency started denying performance bonuses to employees who willfully fail to pay their taxes. "The IRS is committed to ensuring that employees meet their tax compliance responsibilities," the IRS said in a statement. "Nonetheless, the IRS agrees that we can improve this process." The agency said it will become more transparent about why the commissioner chooses not to terminate certain employees who willfully don't pay their taxes. Twice a year the IRS uses a screening process to identify employees who might owe back taxes. Tax information is confidential by law so the agency's ability to check compliance makes it unique among federal agencies. Over the 10-year period, the IRS found 18,300 cases in which IRS employees owed back taxes but the delinquency was not willful, the report said. The IRS found 1,580 cases in which employees willfully did not pay their taxes. Among the willful violators, the IRS fired 25 percent and an additional 14 percent retired or resigned, the report said. Sixty-one percent received a lesser penalty. "It is crucial that IRS employees are held to the same standards as the hardworking taxpayers that pay their salaries. That means filing their taxes and paying the taxes they owe to the government," said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee. Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., chairman of the House Ways and Means oversight subcommittee, said, "The IRS owes the American people an explanation for this display of bureaucratic incompetence." ___ Follow Stephen Ohlemacher on Twitter: http://twitter.com/stephenatap ||||| Getty Pentagon credit cards used for gambling, escorts IG report finds military officials and civilians used government cards for ‘adult entertainment.’ A Defense Department audit has found that a number of Pentagon employees used their government credit cards to gamble and pay for “adult entertainment” — findings that are expected to lead department officials to issue stern new warnings. The audit of “Government Travel Charge Transactions” by the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General, which is to be made public in coming weeks, found that both civilian and military employees used the credit cards at casinos and for escort services and other adult activities — in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Story Continued Below A Pentagon official briefed on some of the findings stressed that the federal government did not necessarily pay the charges; holders of the cards pay their own bills and then submit receipts to be reimbursed for expenses related to their government business. The official said that the employees may have used the government cards for gambling and escort services in order to shield the charges from spouses. Because the review was an audit of the credit card system and not an investigation of particular individuals, the official said the likely result will be that the agencies and military branches most affected will be compelled to remind employees that the practice violates policy — and possibly the law. A Pentagon spokeswoman acknowledged the existence of the audit but said she was not authorized to speak about it until its release later this month. The abuses come despite a 2012 law proposed by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) called the Government Charge Card Abuse Prevention Act. The law required federal agencies to beef up oversight of purchases on government-issued credit cards. Grassley said in a statement he hopes that the law is one reason why the audit was completed in the first place. “I’m interested to see the report and find out more about what’s being done, right and wrong, at DOD to prevent abuse,” he said. “What I hope is that my reforms that became law have been implemented well and that agencies and auditors are using the reforms to catch problems.” He added: “The law requires periodic audits by inspectors general, like this one, specifically to keep on top of charge card abuse and hold agencies accountable for implementing the required internal controls. That’s especially true with purchase cards, where taxpayer money is directly involved even more than with travel cards, but the reforms should prevent travel card abuse, too. If everything is implemented as intended, we’ll stop a lot of purchase card and travel card abuse.” Some estimates suggest that such prohibited purchases cost the government hundreds of millions of dollars a year. In 2008, for example, a report by the Government Accountability Office found that “abuse of government issued credit cards has been a growing challenge in recent years.” It cited instances “where cardholders used purchase cards to subscribe to Internet dating services, buy video iPods for personal use and pay for lavish dinners that included top-shelf liquor.” Late last year, federal auditors reported to Congress that the problem persists despite efforts to rein it in. For example, the Department of Labor’s inspector general recently found that Job Corps employees charged nearly $100,000 to the government for haircuts, clothing and personal cellphone service. The Department of Homeland Security found that Coast Guard employees charged more than $12,000 at one California coffee shop alone. Three employees were fired and two resigned last year at the Bureau of Land Management after they charged $800,000 worth of gift cards on their government credit cards.

– An audit of government credit cards issued to Pentagon employees turned up a strange thing: lots of charges for gambling, prostitutes, and strip clubs, reports Politico. Specifically, the audit found more than $1 million in such charges from July 2013 to July 2014, with the bulk of that total, $952,258, going to casinos, reports ABC News. The way the cards work, employees pay the credit card bill and put in for expenses after the fact by submitting receipts, so taxpayers weren't necessarily being billed for the expenses. Instead, the employees probably used their work cards mainly to hide the expenses from spouses, a Pentagon official tells Politico. "Clearly, the behavior displayed by these individuals neither comports with our values nor represents the good service of the vast majority of [our] service members or DOD civilians,” says another defense official to ABC. It's not clear whether anyone's losing his job, but about 400 employees were receiving some kind of disciplinary action. In other federal-worker news, nearly 1,600 IRS employees have been busted for either failing to pay taxes or cheating on their returns over the last decade, reports AP. Most got reprimands or suspensions, but kept their jobs enforcing tax rules on everyone else.

But today Kim Dotcom’s life of luxury came crashing down after police in Auckland raided his house as part of an American-led offensive against the hugely popular file sharing site MegaUpload. The 37-year-old German-born internet tycoon – who changed his name from Kim Schmitz – appeared in Auckland’s North Shore District Court this morning alongside three employees as prosecutors in the States announced that they had taken down MegaUpload. The Hong Kong based website is one of the world’s most popular file sharing sites, allowing users to quickly download and send attachments that are too large to send via email such as video, multiple photographs and music files. Mr Dotcom has always insisted that his creation is a legitimate business which makes its money from advertising and selling premium subscription accounts to its users. But in an indictment that was unsealed yesterday American prosecutors say the majority of content that was being shared was pirated material that had cost its victims an estimated $500m and made $42m for Mr Dotcom last year alone. The timing of the raid is prescient. Earlier this week scores of major websites held a 24-hour protest against new anti-piracy laws making its way through the American legislature that would shift the responsibility of policing online piracy from law enforcement agencies to websites and internet providers. Critics fear the laws will have a destabilising effect of freedom of speech on the web whilst supporters say the legislation is desperately needed to combat online piracy. If the arrests result in guilty convictions, the raid against MegaUpload could become an example of how traditional law enforcement agencies can tackle file sharing sites. After requests from the FBI, simultaneous raids took place on MegaUpload assets around the world, including Mr Dotcom’s mansion and nine further properties in New Zealand. He now faces an extradition battle to the United States which could take more than a year to complete. Police searches unveiled some of the lavish lifestyle enjoyed by a man who has revelled in his outlaw status. In Mr Dotcom’s mansion they found two sawn-off shotguns, valuable artworks and a collection of supercars including a 2010 Maserati Gran Cabrio, a 1998 Lamborghini, a pink Cadillac and 15 Mercedes Benz sporting number platess such as “Hacker”, “Guilty”, “Stoned” and “Mafia”. The music and movie industries have long complained that file sharing sites like MegaUpload lose them millions of dollars. US prosecutors were able to launch an investigation because some of the allegedly pirated material that went through MegaUpload was held on servers in Virginia. Activists claiming to be part of the loosely affiliated Anonymous group hit back at a number of websites including the Department of Justice and the Motion Picture Association, briefly taking them off line. There was no comment from MegaUpload’s lawyers yesterday but in a statement posted before the website went they described the accusations as “grotesquely overblown”. "The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay,” the statement read. “If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch.” Although there are numerous file sharing websites MeagUpload was one of the most popular with 150 million subscribers and 50 million hits a day. Much to the chagrin of their record labels Mr Dotcom received endorsements from a number of music artists who made a promotional video for him including Kanye West and Black Eyed Peas front man Will.i.am. The German entrepreneur was convicted in Germany for insider trading in 2002 and a number of companies he was involved in have gone bust. But the MegaUpload franchise went on to make him a fortune. He moved to New Zealand and initially failed to obtain residency because he failed the “good character” test but was allowed to stay indefinitely after he bought $10m New Zealand government bonds. A huge fan of cars and online gaming he frequently posted videos of himself enjoying the high life including one where he drove a Mercedes across a golf course. He also took part in the Gumball 3000 rally and gave the city of Auckland $1million for their 2011 New Year fireworks calibrations. ||||| Kim Schmitz legally changed his surname to Dotcom at some point over the last decade, a homage to the technology that made him a millionaire and that has now landed him in a New Zealand jail. New Zealand authorities arrested MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom at his own birthday party, Geoffrey Fowler reports on digits. Photo: AP. The 38-year-old Internet entrepreneur was arrested Thursday at his birthday celebration inside a 25,000-square-foot mansion in Auckland. When police entered the property, Mr. Dotcom fled to a safe room, where he was found with a loaded shot gun, officials said. Mr. Dotcom was charged with criminal copyright infringement and conspiracy to commit racketeering. The Federal Bureau of Investigation shut down his Hong Kong-based website, which it claims was used to pirate half a billion dollars worth of entertainment content. The husky Mr. Dotcom is a kingpin in a little-exposed side of the Internet economy, who profited by tapping changes in technology, roiling the entertainment industry. His company, Megaupload Ltd., and similar online storage sites known as cyberlockers, have many legitimate uses, such as allowing people to share large presentation files and home movies. Enlarge Image Close European Pressphoto Agency Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom, right, is shown in custody. Enlarge Image Close Action Press/Zuma Press Kim Dotcom made a name on the Web, literally by changing his name to Dotcom. Enlarge Image Close New Zealand Police Kim Dotcom owned at least 18 luxury cars. But U.S. authorities and entertainment executives say in court documents and interviews that cyberlockers are at the vanguard of online piracy. On Friday, the U.S. Congress abandoned two controversial antipiracy bills. Despite the legal controversy brewing around his website—and a previous conviction for insider trading—Mr. Dotcom didn't lay low or hide anonymously behind his computer. Rather, Mr. Dotcom openly enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. He owned at least 18 luxury cars—including a 1959 pink Cadillac and three cars with vanity license plates that read "HACKER," "MAFIA," and "STONED," according to U.S. officials—flew helicopters, and personally funded the city of Auckland's 2010 New Year's fireworks celebration. He also raced cars in the Gumball 3000 Rally, a Cannonball Run-like global competition on public roads in locations that change every year. In at least one Gumball race, Mr. Dotcom was videotaped driving a black Mercedes sedan in which he zipped past a police officer. Referring to his nickname, Mr. Dotcom smiled into the camera, saying "Doctor Evil is always getting away with it." While operating Megaupload, Mr. Dotcom both fought with Hollywood and embraced its celebrity, last year convincing several rappers, actors and musicians to record a promotional video for his site. Reuters Mr. Dotcom in a 2002 photo Before the site was taken down by authorities on Thursday, Megaupload also listed as its CEO hip-hop super-producer Swizz Beatz, also known as Kasseem Dean and the husband of singer Alicia Keys. A spokeswoman for Swizz Beatz on Friday confirmed her client had been named CEO, but added: "We're trying to clarify" whether the appointment actually went into effect. Mr. Dotcom couldn't be reached for comment on Friday in Auckland, where he appeared at the North Shore District Court for a bail hearing and awaits extradition to the U.S. His local lawyer, Paul Davison, didn't return a call seeking comment. New Zealand Judge David McNaughton said Monday that whether bail would be granted "remained an open question in his mind" and added that he needs more time to review submissions at the hastily arranged hearing in Auckland. Mr. Dotcom will remain in custody until Wednesday when a written decision on bail is expected. Megaupload chief marketing officer Finn Batato, 38 years old; chief technical officer, director and co-founder Mathias Ortmann, 40 years old, both from Germany; and Dutch national Bram van der Kolk, 29 years, old were also remanded in custody until Wednesday. "My decision on Mr. Dotcom will probably determine my decision about them," the judge said. In the U.S., Megaupload's case was taken up on Thursday by Washington, D.C., lawyer Robert S. Bennett, known for representing President Bill Clinton when he was accused of sexual harassment by Paula Jones. "We will vigorously defend against the charges," Mr. Bennett said. Enlarge Image Close Reuters Kim Dotcom in Hong Kong in 1999 Mr. Dotcom has boasted about his past. In an autobiographical piece he penned for the blog TorrentFreak.com in December, he wrote, "Find me a Wikipedia profile of a person that is worse than mine and I will buy you dinner." He shared photos of himself carrying a rifle and standing in front of a luxury car with a license plate that reads "GUILTY." He continued: "I made mistakes when I was young and I paid the price. Steve Jobs was a hacker and Martha Stuart (sic) is doing well after her insider trading case." He said he was married with "three adorable children with two more on the way." German by birth, Mr. Dotcom first came to prominence in Berlin for his computer hacking skills, according to Andreas Bogk, a hacker and member of the Chaos Computer Club. Mr. Bogk said he didn't know Mr. Dotcom personally, but that Mr. Dotcom was on the scene in the 1990s. Police in New Zealand arrested Kim Dotcom, the founder of the website Megaupload.com, on accusations of making hundreds of millions of dollars off internet piracy. (Video: Reuters/Photo: Getty Images) At the time, Mr. Dotcom set up a software-hacker community and a computer system used to upload pirated software from others, Mr. Bogk said. Mr. Dotcom charged people for access to the system and the pirated software, which was mostly games, Mr. Bogk adds. Mr. Dotcom then went on a German television news show and exposed the scheme, which led the telephone monopoly at the time to shut it down, said Mr. Bogk. Munich-based photographer Peter Schinzler, who shot photos of Mr. Dotcom once in the late 1990s, describes him as a "funny guy." Part of the shoot involved a high-speed car chase into the mountains, in which Mr. Dotcom swerved into oncoming traffic and went off road. "We didn't drive into the mountains, we flew," Mr. Schinzler said. In 2001, Mr. Dotcom got in legal trouble when he offered to rescue an ailing online shopping club, Letsbuyit.com NV. He promised to invest $50 million in the company, which boosted the stock—but then he sold his shares after investing little more than $1 million. As a result, he was found guilty of insider trading in 2002 after being extradited from Thailand to Germany, according to a spokeswoman for the court. He was given a suspended prison sentence and fined, according to press reports. Mr. Dotcom later started a new life in Hong Kong, where he was the mastermind behind Megaupload, among other businesses. It's not clear when or how Mr. Dotcom came to befriend hip-hop stars like Mr. Dean, known as Swizz Beatz. But the musician thought he could persuade Mr. Dotcom to transform Megaupload into a legitimate, licensed music service, according to a person familiar with the matter. While Megaupload was based in Hong Kong, Mr. Dotcom lived in New Zealand. There, he was arrested at his sprawling property, worth some $24 million, situated in Auckland's outskirts. The home, with a sign in front that reads "Dotcom Mansion" and a large giraffe and rhinoceros sculpture, also has an extensive security system including three gates, manned security guards and security cameras, said New Zealand Police detective inspector Grant Wormald. —Christopher Lawton, Ethan Smith and Isabella Steger contributed to this article. Write to Geoffrey A. Fowler at geoffrey.fowler@wsj.com and Christopher S. Stewart at christopher.stewart@wsj.com A version of this article appeared January 21, 2012, on page B1 in some U.S. editions of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: Inside the Lavish Life Of Web's Mr. Dotcom. ||||| Who is Kim Dotcom? The overweight, 37-year-old German national behind the notorious download site MegaUpload, boasts a colorful, checkered background, with plenty of run-ins with the law. Dotcom was arrested in New Zealand along with three others on a U.S. indictment for an alleged $175m conspiracy of criminal copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering. READ: Justice Dept. statement on the charges The 6-foot-7-inch multimillionaire, whose real name is Kim Schmitz, boasts a playboy lifestyle, complete with glamorous, bikini-clad models, and lives in a $23 million residence that is described as New Zealand's most expensive home. In a raid at the home north of Auckland, authorities seized a total of 18 luxury vehicles, including a Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and a 1959 pink Cadillac. He also had a 2012 Maserati and numerous Mercedes-Benz vehicles, International Business Times reports. The license tags on his vehicles ranged from "God" to "Mafia" to "Stoned." Dotcom also pops up from time to time on YouTube, with postings of him cavorting on the beach with bikini-clad models or driving at top speed in the eccentric road rally known as Gumball 3000. In one YouTube video, he is shown boasting of paying off cops who had pulled him over in Morocco. But Schmitz, who holds a Finnish passport, is also known as "Germany's Most Notorious Hacker," The Telegraph reports, having received a two-year suspended prison sentence for hacking banks and utility companies, and stealing trade secrets over a four-year period. He was convicted in Germany for embezzlement and for insider trading by purchasing a faltering shopping website, announcing he would invest millions, then cashing in the soaring stock without putting any money into it, The Telegraph says. In 2005, Schmitz founded MegaUpload, based in Hong Kong, which is at the center of the charges of copyright infringement. The FBI indictment says Schmitz, who has residences in Hong Kong and New Zealand, made $42 million in 2010 alone from Megaupload and related sites, Global Post reports. At his first court appearance, Schmitz aka Dotcom maintained his trademark air of casual confidence. As he, and three co-defendants, stood in court, he brushed aside objections from his own lawyer over the media request for photos, saying "we have nothing to hide." The judge granted the media access, and ruled that the four would remain in custody until a second hearing Monday. ||||| WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand police raided several homes and businesses linked to the founder of Megaupload.com, a giant Internet file-sharing site shut down by U.S. authorities, on Friday and seized guns, millions of dollars, and nearly $5 million in luxury cars, officials said. Police arrested founder Kim Dotcom and three Megaupload employees on U.S. accusations that they facilitated millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. Extradition proceedings against them could last a year or more. With 150 million registered users, about 50 million hits daily and endorsements from music superstars, Megaupload.com was among the world's biggest file-sharing sites. According to a U.S. indictment, the site, which was shut down Thursday, earned Dotcom $42 million in 2010 alone. Although the company is based in Hong Kong and Dotcom lives in New Zealand, some of the alleged pirated content was hosted on leased servers in Virginia, and that was enough for U.S. prosecutors to act. New Zealand police served 10 search warrants at several businesses and homes around the city of Auckland. Police spokesman Grant Ogilvie said the seized cars include a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe worth more than $400,000 as well as several Mercedes. Two short-barreled shotguns and a number of valuable artworks were also confiscated, he added. He said police seized more than $8 million, money that was invested in various New Zealand financial institutions and which has now been placed in a trust pending the outcome of the cases. New Zealand's Fairfax Media reported that the four defendants stood together in an Auckland courtroom in the first step of the extradition proceedings. Dotcom's lawyer raised objections to a media request to take photographs and video, but then Dotcom spoke out from the dock, saying he didn't mind photos or video "because we have nothing to hide." The judge granted the media access, and ruled that the four would remain in custody until a second hearing Monday. Dotcom, Megaupload's former CEO and current chief innovation officer, is a resident of Hong Kong and New Zealand and a dual citizen of Finland and Germany who had his name legally changed. The 37-year-old was previously known as Kim Schmitz and Kim Tim Jim Vestor. Two other German citizens and one Dutch citizen also were arrested and three other defendants – another German, a Slovakian and an Estonian – remain at large. Megaupload has retained Washington power attorney Bob Bennett to defend it, according to a person inside the company. Bennett is best known for representing former President Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal. The person within Megaupload spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the company's plans. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, which defends free speech and digital rights online, said in a statement that the arrests set "a terrifying precedent. If the United States can seize a Dutch citizen in New Zealand over a copyright claim, what is next?" The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers. Before Megaupload was taken down, the company posted a statement saying allegations that it facilitated massive breaches of copyright laws were "grotesquely overblown." "The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. If the content industry would like to take advantage of our popularity, we are happy to enter into a dialogue. We have some good ideas. Please get in touch," the statement said. Several sister sites were also shut down, including one dedicated to sharing pornography files. News of the shutdown seemed to bring retaliation from hackers who claimed credit for attacking the Justice Department's website. Federal officials confirmed it was down for hours Thursday evening and that the disruption was being "treated as a malicious act." A loose affiliation of hackers known as "Anonymous" claimed credit for the attack. Also hacked was the site for the Motion Picture Association of America, which has campaigned for a crackdown on piracy. According to the indictment, Megaupload was estimated at one point to be the 13th most frequently visited website on the Internet. Current estimates by companies that monitor Web traffic place it in the top 100. Megaupload is considered a "cyberlocker," in which users can upload and transfer files that are too large to send by email. Such sites can have perfectly legitimate uses. But the Motion Picture Association of America estimated that the vast majority of content being shared on Megaupload was in violation of copyright laws. The website allowed users to download some content for free, but made money by charging subscriptions to people who wanted access to faster download speeds or extra content. The website also sold advertising. Megaupload was unique not only because of its massive size and the volume of downloaded content, but also because it had high-profile support from celebrities, musicians and other content producers who are most often the victims of copyright infringement and piracy. Before the website was taken down, it contained endorsements from Kim Kardashian, Alicia Keys and Kanye West, among others. The company listed Swizz Beatz, a musician who married Keys in 2010, as its CEO. He was not named in the indictment and declined to comment through a representative. The five-count indictment, which alleges copyright infringement as well as conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering, described a site designed specifically to reward users who uploaded pirated content for sharing, and turned a blind eye to requests from copyright holders to remove copyright-protected files. For instance, users received cash bonuses if they uploaded content popular enough to generate massive numbers of downloads, according to the indictment. Such content was almost always copyright protected, the indictment said. The Justice Department said it was illegal for anyone to download pirated content, but their investigation focused on the leaders of the company, not end users who may have downloaded a few movies for personal viewing. A lawyer who represented the company in a lawsuit last year declined to comment Thursday. Efforts to reach an attorney representing Dotcom were unsuccessful. Although Megaupload is based in Hong Kong, the size of its operation in the southern Chinese city was unclear. The administrative contact listed in its domain registration, Bonnie Lam, did not respond immediately for a request for comment sent to a fax number and email address listed. The indictment was returned in the Eastern District of Virginia, which claimed jurisdiction in part because some of the alleged pirated materials were hosted on leased servers in Ashburn, Virginia. Prosecutors there have pursued multiple piracy investigations. The Justice Department also was investigating the "significant increase in activity" that disrupted its website. It said in a statement that it was working to "investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause." The site appeared to be working again late Thursday. A spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America said in an emailed statement that the group's site also had been hacked, but it too appeared to be working later in the evening. "The motion picture and television industry has always been a strong supporter of free speech," the spokesman said. "We strongly condemn any attempts to silence any groups or individuals." ____ Matthew Barakat reported from McLean, Virginia. AP Business Writer Daniel Wagner in Washington contributed to this report.

– The high-profile crackdown this week on MegaUpload.com on allegations of online piracy has brought the larger-than-life exploits of its founder, Kim Dotcom, into the spotlight. We already knew he had a safe room. Some other highlights collected from the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and the Independent: That name: The German-born 38-year-old changed his name from Kim Schmitz in recent years in honor of the field that made him a mansion-dwelling multimillionaire in New Zealand. Vanity: His license plates include GOD, HACKERS, GUILTY, STONED, and MAFIA. They go on some of his 18 luxury cars. (See the video at left of Dotcom taking part in a road race and bragging about bribing police.) Past: He made his name as a hacker in Berlin in the 1990s, and was convicted of insider trading in 2002. He tried and failed with various companies before striking gold with the file-sharing site MegaUpload. Quote: "Find me a Wikipedia profile of a person that is worse than mine and I will buy you dinner," he once wrote. Big bang: He personally funded the fireworks show for Auckland, New Zealand, in 2010. Celebs: He has reached out with some success to Hollywood to try to legitimize his site. MegaUpload listed hip-hop producer Swizz Beats (the husband of Alicia Keys) as CEO, though it's unclear just how official that was. Click for more on the MegaUpload raid.

Image copyright GCDT Image caption The vault's remote location in the Arctic Circle means there is very little need for human intervention More than 20,000 crops from more than 100 nations have arrived at a "Doomsday vault" in the Arctic Circle. The latest delivery coincides with the sixth anniversary of the frozen depository in Svalbard, which now houses more than 800,000 samples. The shipment includes the first offering from Japan, where collections were threatened by the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011. The facility is designed to withstand all natural and human disasters. Deep inside a mountain on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago - located halfway between mainland Norway and the North Pole - the vault, which cost £5m (US $7m) and took 12 months to build, offers permanent protection for the world's food crops, say its operators. The purpose of the depository, owned by the Norwegian government and maintained by the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT) and the Nordic Genetic Resources Center, is to store duplicates of all seed samples from crop collections around the world. Image copyright GCDT The GCDT says permafrost and thick rock ensure that, even in the case of a power cut, the seed samples will remain frozen. "The vault can therefore be considered the ultimate insurance policy for the world's food supply," it adds. "It will secure, for centuries, millions of seeds representing every important crop variety available in the world today." The Japanese barley samples were provided by the Barley Germplasm Center at Okayama University. Image copyright N.Palmer/CIAT Image caption National seed collections around the world have provided the samples being stored in the vault Prof Kazuhiro Sato from the university's Institute of Plant Science and Resources said experts became concerned about the long-term safety of the national collection following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that caused widespread devastation. "If something bad happened to our genebank, these resources could be damaged permanently," he said. "Barley is very important not just for Japan but for the food security of the world - we have varieties that are productive even in dry conditions and in saline soil." Speaking ahead of a meeting at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, GCDT executive director Marie Haga said: "Our annual gatherings at the seed vault are a sort of Winter Olympics of crop diversity, only we are not competing against each other but against the wide array of threats - natural and man-made - ranged against the diversity of food crops, diversity that is so crucial to the future of human civilisation." She added: "We are particularly excited to be welcoming our first seed deposits from Japan, which has been very active globally in the preservation of a wide array of crop species." ||||| A Noah's Ark of 20,000 plant species will unload this week at a remote Arctic port to deposit humanity's latest insurance payment against an agricultural apocalypse or a man-made cock-up. Brazilian beans and Japanese barley are among the botanical varieties that are carried aboard the ship that is shortly expected to dock near the Svalbard global seed vault, that celebrates its sixth anniversary this week. The facility, which is bored into the side of a mountain by the Barents Sea, is primarily designed as a back-up for the many gene banks around the world that keep samples of crop diversity for agricultural businesses. But its operators, the Global Crop Diversity Trust, say the "Doomsday Vault" could also help to reboot the world's farms in the event of a climate catastrophe or a collapse of genetically modified crops. Built to withstand a nuclear strike, a tectonic shift or rising sea levels, the vault has the capacity to store 4.5m different seed varieties for centuries. Currently, it holds 820,619 samples of food crops and their natural relatives, but this is steadily increasing with one or two shipments each year, according to the trust, which maintains the seed vault in partnership with the Norwegian government and the Nordic Genetic Resources Centre. Currently, it holds 820,619 samples of food crops and their natural relatives, but this is steadily increasing with one or two shipments each year. Photograph: Jim Richardson/NGC/Alamy The latest shipment contains deposits from more than 100 countries and institutions, including the International Potato Centre, the Australian Tropical Crops Collection and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre. A first collaboration with the Barley Germplasm Centre of Okayama will see the addition of the plant widely used for Japanese whisky and shochu. The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation is sending 514 samples of "the common bean" which is the primary ingredient in the national dish of feijoada. Eventually it is thought that the vault may serve as a repository for every plant species used by humans. "Each and every single deposit into the vault provides an option for the future," said Marie Haga, the Crop Trust's executive director. "At a time of unprecedented demands on our natural environment, it is critical to conserve plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. This will guarantee farmers and plant breeders continued access to the raw materials they need to improve and adapt crops." ||||| Varieties of Japanese barley – used in everything from miso to beer – will join the existing stock of 800,000 crops, which researchers have been collecting for six years to protect the world’s biodiversity in the event of a disaster. Samples of more than 20,000 crops from 100 nations were added to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island, including a rare red okra from Tennessee, a Brazilian bean, 195 samples of wild potato, and the “Unger’s Hungarian” cherry tomato from the US. Marie Haga, the executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, said the range of new samples was “a sort of winter Olympics of crop diversity”. But she warned they were competing against a “wide array of threats, natural and man-made, ranged against the diversity of food crops, diversity that is so crucial to the future of human civilisation”. The Doomsday Vault, which cost £5m to construct, was designed to protect against such threats, and can withstand nuclear war, asteroid strikes and extreme weather. Behind an entrance carved into the rock on a remote island near the North Pole, a tunnel reaches 125m inside the mountain. There, behind four sets of air-locked doors, are three vaults, which can house up to two billion seeds. Because of its location under the ice, the seeds would be preserved even if all power was cut. An armed guard stands outside the entrance to the 'Doomsday Vault' (Getty) It was a natural disaster which prompted the Barley Germplasm Centre at Japan’s Okayama University to deliver the 575 duplicate samples. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami brought the realisation that the university’s current crop banks may not be safe. “If something bad happened to our gene bank, these resources could be damaged permanently,” Professor Kazuhiro Sato said. “Barley is very important not just for Japan but for the world’s food security. We need to do everything we can to ensure they will be available to future generations.”

– Earth is now slightly better prepared for an agricultural apocalypse: The "Doomsday Vault" is 20,000-species stronger as of this week—its sixth birthday. A new wave of seed varieties were deposited that hail from more than 100 countries and represent a "sort of winter Olympics of crop diversity," per the director of the trust that maintains the facility. Among them: varieties of Japanese barley that will ensure the world won't lose its access to miso should disaster strike, reports the Independent. Samples of that key miso ingredient, along with Brazil's "common bean," a rare Tennessean red okra, and nearly 200 types of wild potato have been added to the 820,619 samples that have been placed in the vault since it opened in 2008. It was constructed to hold up to 4.5 million seed samples, and sees one to two new deliveries each year, notes the Guardian. The Doomsday Vault, more formally known as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, functions as a sort of backup, holding duplicates of seed samples otherwise housed in gene banks around the world. But this location is about as secure as possible: It sits within a mountain on a remote island in the Svalbard archipelago, between Norway and the North Pole, behind four sets of air-locked doors. It can weather nuclear war, an asteroid strike, and climate change. That hardiness likely influenced Japan's decision to send seeds for the first time. The BBC reports that the 2011 earthquake and tsunami convinced the Barley Germplasm Center at Okayama University to pony up 575 samples after realizing its own storehouse wasn't impenetrable.

CARACAS, Venezuela — President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela died Tuesday afternoon after a struggle with cancer, the government announced, leaving behind a bitterly divided nation in the grip of a political crisis that grew more acute as he languished for weeks, silent and out of sight, in hospitals in Havana and Caracas. Close to tears and his voice cracking, Vice President Nicolás Maduro said he and other officials had gone to the military hospital where Mr. Chávez was being treated, sequestered from the public, when “we received the hardest and most tragic information that we could transmit to our people.” In short order, police officers and soldiers were highly visible as people ran through the streets, calling loved ones on cellphones, rushing to get home. Caracas, the capital, which had just received news that the government was throwing out two American military attachés it accused of sowing disorder, quickly became an enormous traffic jam. Stores and shopping malls abruptly closed. As darkness fell, somber crowds congregated in the main square of Caracas and at the military hospital, with men and women crying openly in sadness and fear about what would come next. ||||| Hugo Chávez's death has plunged Venezuela into uncertainty over the future of his socialist revolution. For 14 years he dominated like a Colossus and now that he has fallen, so have the old rules and certitudes. An election, which under the constitution must be held within 30 days of a president's passing, will pit Chávez's ruling party against an opposition coalition. Internal power struggles within each side could prove just as important. The world's biggest oil reserves, a troubled economy and a deeply polarised population of 29 million people are the ambiguous prizes for whoever claims the presidential palace of Miraflores. First, however, will come Chávez's funeral, likely to be a vast, clamorous affair to rival Evita's. To the millions who revered him – a third of the country, according to some polls – a messiah has fallen, and their grief will be visceral. To the millions who detested him as a thug and charlatan, it will be occasion to bid, vocally or discreetly, good riddance. As president, Chávez would liven his near daily marathon broadcasts by singing, rapping, dancing and reciting poetry, an unparalleled showman, and the government will doubtless choreograph a fitting farewell with the help of the civilian militias and state media empire he created. Leaders from across Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe are expected to fly into Caracas along with celebrities such as the actors Sean Penn and Danny Glover and the director Oliver Stone. Foreign governments, not least the US administration, will watch closely to see if the late president's movement, "Chavismo", succeeds in holding power and perpetuating his "21st-century socialist revolution", a model entailing state control of the economy, subsidies to Cuba and rhetorical broadsides against Yankee imperialism. Foreign oil companies, including Chevron and state-owned Russian and Chinese behemoths, will manoeuvre to protect investments. China, in particular, will be anxious for the new president to honour the huge loans it has made to Venezuela, which Chávez used to supplement record oil revenues and government spending. The election, should it be held by the deadline mandated by the constitution, will probably pit the vice-president, Nicolás Maduro, Chávez's anointed heir, against Henrique Capriles, an opposition regional governor who lost to Chávez in last October's election. Opinion polls suggest Maduro, a former bus driver lacking the charisma of his old boss, will struggle against Capriles, a youthful challenger who casts himself as a centrist and has the support of traditional elites. Maduro, however, stands to benefit from an emotional funeral, a tight timetable and the "red machine", a formidable electoral alliance of the ruling PSUV party, state institutions and oil revenues. Internal power struggles will roil both sides. Maduro has the support of key ministers, civilian ideologues and the Cubans who occupy multiple positions in Venezuela's government. However, an ambitious rival, Diosdado Cabello, the head of the national assembly, has allies in the military, the militias and big business, an eclectic coalition considered more pragmatic – and corrupt – than other Chavista factions. There has been speculation he will seek to install himself as provisional president and delay an election. A wild card is Chávez's family. His two adult daughters and his older brother, Adán, a governor of their home state of Barinas, have the power to help unite or fracture Chavismo. The opposition coalition known as MUD may crack now that it can no longer be held together by loathing of Chávez. A tradition of backstabbing and grandstanding may resurface if figures such as Henri Falcón, governor of Lara state, challenge Capriles for the nomination. Should the opposition win the election, observers in Caracas warn of a fraught transition. "The generals, the militias, the civil service, they're all politicised, would they accept a new dispensation? And what about all the Chavista governors and mayors?" asked one diplomat in Caracas. No matter who wins, analysts agree he or she will swiftly face dilemmas. Chávez used lavish spending to heat the economy and buy imports in the runup to his re-election. But subsidies, regulations and threats have warped the public sector and withered the private sector. Economists say the new president, Chavista or not, will have to cut spending and devalue the currency, stoking inflation and potential unrest. Some opposition analysts wonder if it would be better that Maduro wins so Chavismo reaps the whirlwind. ||||| Story highlights Chavez's death leaves many unanswered questions Chavez was the leader of Venezuela for 14 years Former vice president Nicolás Maduro will take over as president until an election Thousands of Venezuelans are expected to line the streets Wednesday morning as Hugo Chavez's remains are taken from the military hospital where he died to the Fuerte Tiuna Military Academy in Caracas. Presidents arrived in the country for the funeral procession, including Uruguay's Jose Mujica, Argentina's Cristina Kirchner and Bolivia's Evo Morales. The country has declared seven days of mourning, closed schools for the rest of the week and deployed armed forces to "guarantee peace." The death of the longtime charismatic but controversial leader Tuesday leaves many unanswered questions that Venezuela and the world must now grapple with. Who is expected to succeed Chavez? In the short term, Vice President Nicolas Maduro will take over as president of Venezuela until an election is held. He is Chavez's hand-picked successor and delivered the news to the country of the longtime leader's death. Maduro, 50, has long been a high-profile face in Chavez's administration. He rose from a career as a bus driver in Caracas to Chavez's inner circle. JUST WATCHED Chavez: From failed coup to presidency Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Chavez: From failed coup to presidency 03:51 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A man adjusts a banner before the start of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's funeral outside the Military Academy on Friday, March 8, in Caracas. Uncertainty swirled around what happens next in Venezuela as the deeply divided South American country mourned its late leader. Chavez, 58, died Tuesday, March 5, after a battle with cancer. Hide Caption 1 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A woman wraps up in Venezuela's flag to stay warm as she and others wait in line before the start of Chavez's funeral on March 8 in the capital. Hide Caption 2 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Chavez's coffin is carried Wednesday, March 6, to the Military Academy for his funeral in Caracas. Hide Caption 3 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Throngs of Chavez supporters accompany the coffin of the deceased Venezuelan president as it arrives at the Military Academy in Caracas on March 6. Hide Caption 4 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Crowds in Quito, Ecuador, gather around a large photograph of Chavez to pay their respects to the deceased president on March 6. Ecuador's left-leaning president, Rafael Correa, was a Chavez ally. Hide Caption 5 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A woman watches as Chavez's casket is driven through the streets of Caracas on March 6. Hide Caption 6 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A man reacts at Plaza Bolivar of Caracas, on March 6. Hide Caption 7 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Members of the military escort Chavez's casket down the streets of Caracas on March 6. Hide Caption 8 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Riot police contain the crowds looking on as Chavez's casket is driven through the streets of Caracas on March 6. Hide Caption 9 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Palestinians hold portraits of Chavez during a rally in front of the Venezuelan Embassy, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, on March 6. Hide Caption 10 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Supporters of Chavez light candles while gathering in front of the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago, Chile, on Tuesday, March 5. Hide Caption 11 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Venezuelans in Caracas react to the news of Chavez's death on March 5. Hide Caption 12 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Venezuelan Defense Minister Diego Molero speaks in Caracas on March 5. He said that the Venezuelan people must fight for Chavez's legacy. Hide Caption 13 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Chavez supporters hold pictures of the late president as they gather on March 5 in front of the Military Hospital in Caracas. Hide Caption 14 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Venezuelans ride motorcycles through Caracas after the announcement of Chavez's death on March 5. Hide Caption 15 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A man mourns the death of Chavez outside the Military Hospital in Caracas on March 5. Hide Caption 16 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Venezuelans shout in the streets of the capital on March 5. Hide Caption 17 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A Venezuelan woman adjusts the television while watching the news of Chavez's death on March 5 inside a Venezuelan restaurant in Panama City, Panama. Hide Caption 18 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – Many people in Caracas wept openly as news of Chavez's death spread on March 5. Hide Caption 19 of 20 Photos: Photos: Venezuela in transition After Chavez: Venezuela in transition – A man walks past a mural in Caracas portraying the South American liberator Simon Bolivar, the Venezuelan flag and Chavez on March 5. Hide Caption 20 of 20 JUST WATCHED Hugo Chavez's 2009 interview with CNN Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Hugo Chavez's 2009 interview with CNN 29:50 What is Maduro's reputation? Chavez minced no words in his support of Maduro. "I ask this of you from my heart," Chavez told a crowd in December about Maduro. "He is one of the young leaders with the greatest ability to continue, if I cannot." But other opinions are mixed. Maduro has been Venezuela's vice president and foreign minister and has been the recent author of some the country's most radical policies, said Javier Corrales, a professor of political science at Amherst College in Massachusetts. "But he also has been behind some of the most pragmatic and conciliatory decisions, including the turnaround in relations with Colombia," Corrales said. When will elections take place? An election will be called within 30 days, Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said Tuesday. What power, if any, does the opposition have? Though Chavez has held a tight grip on his presidency for 14 years, there is an opposition movement in Venezuela. JUST WATCHED Venezuelans remember Hugo Chavez Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Venezuelans remember Hugo Chavez 03:14 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greets actor Sean Penn after a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas on March 5, 2011. Penn thanked Chavez for the support given by the Venezuelan government to his nongovernmental organization, which benefits victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Chavez kisses the hand of British supermodel Naomi Campbell during a meeting in Caracas on October 31, 2007. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Director Oliver Stone and Chavez attend the "South of the Border" premiere during the 66th Venice Film Festival on September 7, 2009, in Venice, Italy. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Chavez speaks to actor Kevin Spacey during a meeting at the Miraflores presidential palace on September 24, 2007. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Actor Danny Glover and Chavez embrace while attending the The CITGO-Venezuela Heating Oil Program inauguration ceremony in Harlem, New York, on September 21, 2006. Chavez addressed the United Nations General Assembly a day earlier. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Actress Susan Sarandon poses for a picture with Chavez and his daughter, Rosa, at the afterparty of the "South of the Border" premiere in New York on September 23, 2009. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – After attending the premiere of his film "Che," actor Benicio del Toro meets with Chavez at the Miraflores palace on March 4, 2009. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Boxing promoter Don King speaks with Chavez and an unidentified woman at the presidential palace in Caracas on February 2, 2004. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Photos: Celebrities and Hugo Chavez Chavez's famous friends – Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona shares a laugh with Chavez at a press conference in Caracas on July 22, 2010. Hide Caption 9 of 9 JUST WATCHED Chavez sings a tune with Larry King Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Chavez sings a tune with Larry King 01:01 A coalition between former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles Radonski and a group called the Democratic Unity Roundtable has made the country's opposition the strongest it has ever been, some analysts say. But, says Carl Meacham of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the opposition may still not be strong enough. "Capriles' 11-point defeat in October's presidential election, coupled with Chavez's allies winning 20 of 23 gubernatorial elections in December, underscores the fact that the opposition still holds little power," Meacham says. Will Chavez's death improve relations with the United States? Chavez, for years had a stormy relationship with the U.S., and would stir up nationalistic sentiment and popularity by picking fights with the "imperialist" United States and its allies. Senior American officials don't expect the relationship to change dramatically -- at least in the short term -- primarily because Chavez's system still exists. The post-Chavez era started out tumultuously Tuesday when Venezuelan officials accused two U.S. Embassy officials of plotting to destabilize the country and said it was expelling them. The United States will stay out of the upcoming election, an Obama administration official said. But the White House wants it to be "free and fair and credible," the official said. The U.S. remains open to restoring diplomatic relations with an ambassador regardless of the winner, the official said. Why does the U.S. want better relations? One reason analysts point to is Iran. The U.S. may seek Venezuela's help in imposing sanctions on Iran for its nuclear program, senior American officials said. Iran and Venezuela have close relations. Last year, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad traveled to Venezuela as part of a tour of Latin America. The two leaders vowed to work together. Over the years, the two nations have signed more than 270 accords, including trade deals and agreements on construction projects, car and tractor factories, energy initiatives and banking programs. The other is oil. Will the death affect Venezuela's oil supply? It may, some analysts say -- and that would be a huge concern for the United States. Venezuela remains the fourth-biggest oil supplier to the U.S. market. If the power vacuum causes exports to drop, U.S. consumers could face higher prices and another hit to the U.S. economy, analysts say. When is Chavez's funeral planned? Venezuela is planning a state funeral Friday that is expected to be attended by regional and world leaders and dignitaries, including Ahmadinejad. Chavez will be buried after the ceremony but officials have not said where. What has been the reaction to the death? Chavez allies, such as leaders of Ecuador, China, Iran and Cuba, expressed sorrow and solidarity. Bolivian President Evo Morales' voice cracked as he spoke to reporters, describing Chavez as someone "who gave all his life for the liberation of the Venezuelan people ... of all the anti-imperialists and anti-capitalists of the world." Longtime critics had a different view, with some saying his death could be seen as an opportunity for change. "At this key juncture, I hope the people of Venezuela can now build for themselves a better, brighter future based on the principles of freedom, democracy," Canada's Prime Minister Stephen Harper said. Opinions varied too among CNN readers who offered their thoughts on iReport. "We can't in the U.S. always looks at somebody and just label them as a dictator," said Omekongo Dibinga , a motivational speaker from Washington DC. "At the end of the day, he's somebody who really wanted to help others to do better. For that he should be respected, even by those who did not agree with his policies." Carlos Quijada said he fled Venezuela 10 years ago as a teen because there was no future there.

– Venezuelans now have a final answer to questions about Hugo Chavez's health, but the leader's death has presented the country with a host of new uncertainties. Vice President Nicolas Maduro, Chavez's chosen successor, is leading the country for now, but an election will be called within 30 days. It's not clear whether Maduro will inherit enough of his predecessor's popularity to keep the Chavismo movement alive and defeat an opposition coalition expected to be led by Henrique Capriles, who lost an election to Chavez in October. Maduro may be able to defeat an opposition no longer united by hatred of Chavez, though he may face a power struggle with powerful rival Diosdado Cabello, who has many allies in the military, reports the Guardian. It describes Chavez's relatives as a "wild card"—his brother and two adult daughters "have the power to help unite or fracture Chavismo." Whoever wins will have to deal with rising unrest, a deeply troubled economy, and a bitterly divided nation, the New York Times notes. The US says it is open to restoring diplomatic relations no matter who wins the upcoming election, though a White House spokesman stresses the vote must be "free and fair and credible," CNN reports. Before the battle to replace Chavez kicks off in earnest, there will be seven days of national mourning punctuated by a Friday morning funeral expected to be one of the biggest Latin America has ever seen.

Newt Gingrich, the latest candidate to surge to the top of the Republican presidential race, said the United States and its allies could "break Iran in a year" as he and his rivals looked to use a debate Tuesday night to boost their foreign policy and national security credentials. Republican presidential candidates from left, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, businessman Herman Cain, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, and Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., applaud on stage before... (Associated Press) Republican presidential candidates from left, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, businessman Herman Cain and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stand on stage before a Republican presidential debate... (Associated Press) Republican presidential candidates from left, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shakes hands with businessman Herman Cain, as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich stands on stage before a Republican... (Associated Press) Gingrich, speaker of the House of Representatives in the 1990s, said that ending gasoline sales to Iran and sabotaging its refineries would lead to the collapse of the Iranian government and end its nuclear ambitions. He said he would bomb Iran only as a last resort and with a goal of bringing about the downfall of the government. This was the second debate in less than two weeks to focus on foreign affairs in a race otherwise dominated by domestic issues. Republicans see the weak U.S. economy as President Barack Obama's biggest vulnerability. It came six weeks before the first nominating contest, the Iowa caucuses. Candidates were looking to use the debate to build or _ for Gingrich and fellow front-runner Mitt Romney _ sustain momentum. The candidates sparred over how far America should go in sacrificing liberty in order to prevent terrorist attacks. Gingrich backed the anti-terrorism law known as the Patriot Act, which was passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and has been criticized by civil libertarians. But Congressman Ron Paul warned that the law is "unpatriotic because it undermines our liberties." Paul went against most of the other candidates with his views not only on the Patriot Act, but also in his calls to cut aid to Israel, withdraw troops from Afghanistan and decriminalize drugs. His libertarian views have won him a solid core of supporters but he has been unable to break into the top tier of the race, Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has led the race for most of the year, but has been unable to expand his support beyond the 25 percent level. Meanwhile, a series of rivals have surged to the top, only to fade. They include Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businessman Herman Cain. Gingrich is near the top of many polls now, but it is not clear if he can stay at the top. Beyond questions about his divorces, extramarital affairs and business dealings, his past views on climate change and other issues could be seen as too moderate for some conservatives. Except for longshot candidate Jon Huntsman, Obama's former ambassador to China, the Republican contenders generally lack significant foreign affairs experience, so the debate offered the potential for gaffes. Cain's candidacy has been damaged already by a rambling answer to an interviewer's question about Libya. That further set back a campaign struggling to recover from a sexual harassment scandal. At Tuesday's debate, Cain said he would support an Israeli military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities only if he were convinced it would work. Debates have been particularly troublesome for Perry, whose hopes for reviving his fading candidacy were damaged after a much-mocked stumble at a recent debate, when he couldn't remember the names of all three federal agencies he wanted to eliminate. With unemployment stubbornly high and the economy sluggish to recover from recession, the candidates have been driving the foreign policy discussion back to pocketbook issues at home. A day earlier, a bipartisan congressional panel charged with recommending measures to reduce the giant U.S. deficit declared an impasse. That could trigger deep cuts in 2013 spreading across military as well as domestic spending. Many of the presidential candidates have called America's $15 trillion government debt a national security threat, especially because China is the single largest creditor. Obama's own defense secretary, Leon Panetta, has said big Pentagon cuts "would lead to a hollow force incapable of sustaining the missions it is assigned." ||||| Some of Newt Gingrich's critics have been taking him on over his past stands on immigration, and Michele Bachmann joined them onstage, pointing out that the former House Speaker supported, as she said, the federal DREAM Act. Gingrich disagreed, but did say that he would support allowing some immigrants to stay and join the military, the one portion of the DREAM Act he said he liked. Text Size - + reset POLITICO 44 "I did vote for the Simpson-Mazzoli Act … He signed it because we were gonna get two things in return: we were gonna secure the border and we were gonna get a guest-worker program with employer enforcement. We got neither," said Gingrich. Bachmann twisted the knife on Gingrich, saying, "We need to move away from magnets." Mitt Romney chimed in about strict enforcement of immigration laws, and Gingrich replied, "The party that says it’s the party of the family is going to adopt a policy that destroys families that have been here a quarter century … finding a way to create legality so they are not separated from their families.” ||||| The debate came at another time of change in the race for the Republican nomination. For the first time, former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.) assumed one of the center positions onstage, an acknowledgment of his sudden rise in the polls. He used his newfound status as the leader in two polls to effectively display his experience in dealing with national security issues. But an answer on immigration, in which he said he does not think that the nation should deport many of the millions of immigrants who have been in the country illegally for years, could put him at odds with some conservatives in his party — the same issue that caused problems for Texas Gov. Rick Perry earlier this fall. After the debate, Gingrich defended himself against possible criticism, saying he was not advocating an amnesty program. The tone of the debate, the 11th among the candidates this year, was largely civil, and the session ranged widely on both domestic and international issues, though there was no discussion of the European debt crisis and little attention paid to China. Despite the differences that emerged, the majority of the candidates offered a generally more hawkish view of the world than that enunciated by the Obama administration. In contrast to some previous debates, Tuesday’s forum is likely to have only a limited impact on the overall race. Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney once again delivered a solid performance. Rep. Ron Paul (Tex.) stood out by disagreeing most significantly with the other candidates. Former Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr. used the opportunity to take on his rivals, especially Romney. The debate was held at DAR Constitution Hall in the District and was sponsored by CNN, the Heritage Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute. CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer served as the moderator, with questions from AEI and Heritage scholars. Eight candidates participated. The others were business executive Herman Cain, Rep. Michele Bachmann (Minn.) and former senator Rick Santorum (Pa.). Romney, Huntsman spar One of the sharpest exchanges came between Romney and Huntsman over Afghanistan. Romney argued that Obama was moving too rapidly to bring out U.S. troops and said he favors maintaining a substantial presence for several more years. Asked his view, Huntsman said, “I totally disagree.” He said money that is being spent on the war in Afghanistan could be better used rebuilding the U.S. economy. ||||| 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. ||||| In his first debate since jumping into the lead in the polls, Newt Gingrich took the lead on a controversial topic Tuesday night when he suggested that his fellow Republicans might reconsider their outright opposition to amnesty for illegal immigrants.“I do not believe that the people of the United States are going to take people who’ve been here for a quarter of a century … [and] separate them from their families and expel them,” Gingrich said during a discussion about illegal immigration and border security. “I do believe we should control the border. I do believe we should have very severe penalties.”Then he took it a step further.“I don’t believe that the party that says it's the party of the family is going to say it’s going to destroy families that have been here for more than a quarter of a century,” he said. “I'm prepared to take the heat in saying: Let's be humane in enforcing the law."It was a bold statement that may get the former House speaker into trouble with conservatives.In a post-debate interview, Gingrich stood by his remarks.“It’s important for us to unify the country by having an honest conversation, not just a series of slogans,” he said. ||||| Doomsday cuts! Drones! Unpronounceable names! Republican presidential candidates take to the airwaves tonight to debate foreign policy and national security. Issues from Pentagon spending to America’s place in the world promise to be front and center. Republican presidential candidates line up before a debate in Washington, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Tonight’s debate, hosted by the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and CNN, comes just one day after the deficit supercommittee threw in the towel. The Pentagon faces steep cuts of about $500 billion to $600 billion over the next decade, and that means GOP rivals have a chance to forward their own ideas about how to shore up national defense in an era of tight budgets. The Republican debate, the second to focus exclusively on foreign policy, takes place against the background of dramatic events overseas, particularly in the Middle East. Protests in Egypt may accelerate a handover to civilian rule; Iran faces fresh questions about its nuclear program; and Syria’s crackdown on protesters has brought calls for sanctions. Elsewhere, the U.S. faces complex foreign policy challenges, from a debt crisis in Europe to an authoritarian shift in Russia. And then there are the wars. U.S. troops are set to depart Iraq by the end of the year, and the U.S. military is taking the first gradual steps toward withdrawal from Afghanistan. That presents a target-rich environment for candidates who want to take shots at the Obama administration, but it also may underscore fissures within the Republican Party, with candidates such as Rep. Ron Paul of Texas calling for an end to U.S. entanglements overseas. The 2012 campaign also comes amid a dramatic shift in America’s strategic priorities. The administration and the national-security establishment have recently turned their focus to the Asia-Pacific region, and candidates may have a chance to discuss China’s military and economic rise. Shadow wars in Pakistan, Yemen and the Horn of Africa continue to test U.S. counterterrorism strategy. Expect some candidates to stake out hawkish positions. Gov. Rick Perry has called for a no-fly zone over Syria; putative front-runner Mitt Romney has pledged to buy more warships; and Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota wants Iraq to reimburse the U.S. for its sacrifice in blood and treasure. Newt Gingrich, now leading in the polls, has a foreign policy team that includes several Reagan administration veterans. And Herman Cain may get creative with the names of world leaders. Join Washington Wire as political reporter Danny Yadron and national security reporters Julian E. Barnes and Nathan Hodge watch the action live, starting at 8 p.m. EST.

– The Republican candidates were back at it tonight, this time in Washington and this time with a focus on national security. (Click to read about Mitt Romney's first-name moment.) Some highlights: Newt Gingrich: Strongly backed the Patriot Act. "All of us will be in danger for the rest of our lives," he said, and the government needs tools to protect Americans. He also argued that the US could "break Iran within a year" in part by sabotaging its refineries, reports AP. An outright attack should be a last resort, he added. Immigration: Big fight coming? Gingrich favored allowing some immigrants to stay, reports the Los Angeles Times. “I don’t believe that the party that says it's the party of the family is going to say it’s going to destroy families that have been here for more than a quarter of a century,” he said. “I'm prepared to take the heat in saying: Let's be humane in enforcing the law." His view caught immediate flak from Romney and Bachmann, notes Politico. Ron Paul: Called the Patriot Act "unpatriotic because it undermines our liberties" and would create a police state. "You might prevent a crime. But the crime then will be against the American people." On Israel, he broke with the pack, notes the New York Times blog: "I think they are quite capable of taking care of themselves." And the drug war is "another war we ought to cancel." Mitt Romney: He said his first trip as president would be to Israel. In addition to calling out Gingrich on immigration, he disagreed with Jon Huntsman on Afghanistan: "This is not a time for America to cut and run." He favored "crippling sanctions" on Iran over an Israeli strike. Jon Huntsman: He called for the bulk of troops to return from Afghanistan, especially given the struggling US economy. He sided more with Paul than Gingrich on the Patriot Act, notes the Washington Post. He also said China would never go along with Iran sanctions. Rick Perry: He said the Obama administration has been an "absolute failure" in gathering intelligence on terrorists, and he asserted that the biggest foreign policy challenge is "how we're going to deal with China," notes the Wall Street Journal blog. He would not send Pakistan "one penny" until it proves it's an ally. Michele Bachmann: Said President Obama has "outsourced" our ability to interrogate terror suspects to the ACLU. She called Perry's plan to cut off aid to Pakistan "highly naive." She also called Pakistan "too nuclear to fail." Herman Cain: He backed privatizing the TSA (as did Perry) and refining but not eliminating the Patriot Act. He opposed a no-fly zone over Syria. (He also gave Wolf Blitzer a new nickname.) Rick Santorum: He backed profiling at airports. We should be trying to "find the bomber, not the bomb."

Carey Gabey, an aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, has been declared brain dead after being hit with a stray bullet Sept. 7, 2015, according to his family. (Photo: Courtesy New York State Executive Chamber) ALBANY, N.Y. — The attorney in New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration who was struck by a stray bullet last week has died after being taken off life support, his family said. A family spokesman said Carey Gabey, 43, was taken off a respirator earlier Wednesday. The family earlier reported Gabay had been declared brain dead. "He was a prince among men," friend and family spokesman Errol Cockfield said via an e-mail to USA TODAY late Wednesday. Gabay had been in critical condition at the Kings County Hospital Center since he was shot in the head early Sept. 7, when police say he was seeking cover from gang-related gunfire that rang out as he walked along a Brooklyn street. In a statement Wednesday, Gabay’s family said he was officially declared brain dead late Tuesday night. “There are difficult decisions we will face in the coming hours and days as our family struggles to process what this means for us. We ask that our privacy be respected during this difficult time,” according to the statement, which was distributed by family spokesman Errol Cockfield. Gabay served in Cuomo’s administration since 2011, first as an assistant counsel in the governor’s office and currently as first deputy general counsel at Empire State Development, the state’s economic-development arm. A Harvard-educated lawyer who grew up in the Bronx projects, Gabay’s chances for survival appeared grim. Hours after the shooting, Cuomo said Gabay was in “very, very critical condition.” Today we are all incredibly saddened by the news from Carey Gabay’s family. — Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) September 16, 2015 Gabay’s family made a plea for information regarding his shooter, who remains on the loose. The New York Police Department has offered $12,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case. “We ask that anyone who may have information related to the criminal case contact law enforcement as they conduct their investigation,” the family said in its statement. “We will continue to burn a flame for Carey with the same tenacious yet tender spirit that has guided him.” Contributing: Melanie Eversley in New York. Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1iPniq0 ||||| The aide to Gov. Cuomo who was hospitalized for more than a week after being shot in the head during festivities leading up to the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn has died, police said. (Published Thursday, Sept. 17, 2015) The aide to Gov. Cuomo who was hospitalized for more than a week after being shot in the head during festivities leading up to the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn has died, police said. Carey Gabay, a first deputy general counsel at the Empire State Development Corporation, succumbed to his injuries Wednesday night at Kings County Hospital, according to the NYPD. Gabay had been hospitalized for more than a week while in a coma, and his family said earlier Wednesday he was brain dead. Gabay was caught in the crossfire between two gangs around 3:40 a.m. Sept. 7 near the parade route in Brooklyn as more than two dozen shots from up to three guns were fired, authorities have said. The NYPD has released surveillance video of two men wanted for questioning in the case and authorities are offering a $12,500 reward for information leading to an arrest. Gabay, a 43-year-old Harvard-educated lawyer and Bronx native, joined Cuomo's administration in 2011. The governor said in a statement Wednesday night he learned of Gabay's death "with profound sadness." “Carey was the epitome of an outstanding public servant. He held a tremendous commitment to his community, and he chose to use his many talents to better the lives of others. New York is undeniably a better place today because of his service," Cuomo said."He was also a friend and role model to the many people who were blessed to have known him, and he will be greatly missed." Gabay had been "fighting bravely surrounded by the loved ones to whom he has brought so much joy with his jovial nature, generosity of spirit and enduring smile," his family said in a statement earlier Wednesday, before he died. "Many have come to know Carey through professional life, but he is also a kind-hearted and selfless soul who has touched the spirit of everyone he's met," the family said. "Our family is grieving that a man in the prime of his life who has impacted so many lives could be struck down by such a callous act," the family's earlier statement said. "Carey embodies the American story. A son of Jamaican immigrants, he rose from Bronx public housing to earn an undergraduate and law degree from Harvard and then went on to a distinguished career as a lawyer in private practice and well-respected public servant." The shooting was one of several outbursts of violence in the neighborhoods surrounding the parade. A 24-year-old man was fatally stabbed near Grand Army Plaza. Bloodshed before or after the West Indian Day celebration has become a sadly familiar part of the parade routine. Last year, a recent parolee opened fire into a crowd of revelers, killing one man and wounding several others. And in 2013, a 1-year-old boy sitting in his stroller was killed by a bullet meant for his father. Asked about the future of the parade, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said last week, "The political leadership, the community leadership, the communities themselves want that celebration. They've made that quite clear. ... So we will work to the best of our ability to deal with the elements in that community that engage in that violence." Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call Crime Stopper at 800-577-TIPS. Top News Photos: Roger Stone, Doomsday Clock and More

– The aide to New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo who was hit by a stray bullet during gang-related gunfire last week died tonight, reports NBC New York. Attorney Carey Gabay, 43, was walking on a street in Brooklyn early on Sept. 7 when he was hit; the shooter remains on the loose. Earlier today, the family announced that Gabay had been declared brain dead, and he was subsequently taken off a respirator, reports USA Today. "Today we are all incredibly saddened by the news from Carey Gabay’s family,” Cuomo said in a statement. “I ask that all New Yorkers please join me in keeping both Carey and his family in their thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Conway: ‘Nobody likes’ separation of migrant families No one is a fan of separating families at the border, but if Democrats are serious about ending these policies, they’ll work together with Republicans to implement “real immigration reform,” Trump counselor Kellyanne Conway told NBC’s “Meet the Press with Chuck Todd” on Sunday morning. “The president is ready to get meaningful immigration reform across the board,” Conway said. “And Chuck, let me just tell you, that nobody likes seeing babies ripped from their mothers' arms, from their mothers’ wombs, frankly. But we have to make sure that DHS’ laws are understood through the sound-bite culture that we live in.” Story Continued Below “This is a perilous journey for many of these children, and if people really cared about them, we would figure out a way to get the funding to expand the centers and to close the loopholes,” she added. “These loopholes are allowing open-border policies. I think what the president is saying is: If the Democrats are serious, they’ll come together again and try to close these loopholes and get real immigration reform.” Conway also rebutted claims that migrant children are being used as a bargaining chip to push for new immigration policy. “I certainly don’t want anybody to use these kids as leverage,” she added. “I saw a headline that breathlessly screamed as much, and I object to that very forcefully.” She argued that the practice is not unlike the separation of families when a parent in the United States commits a crime and is sent to jail. “That happens in this country as well,” she explained. “In other words, if I commit a crime and I am put in jail, my four children are separated from their mother, because we don’t have a policy — Why would you want the children in jail with their parents? You want them in a facility temporarily or you want them to be repatriated back to their home country, with said parent, or you want them to come into this country with a responsible adult who you know, who the authorities are confident means that child no harm.” In May, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the policy of separation as a presumed deterrent against illegal immigration. “If you’re smuggling a child, then we’re going to prosecute you, and that child will be separated from you, probably, as required by law. If you don’t want your child separated, then don’t bring them across the border illegally,“ he said. Conway added that this is not a new problem: “We had [family detention centers] under President [Barack] Obama, but the Democrats are holding up the funding to expand those. The president had a 70-point immigration plan. This was included in it, Chuck — that expanding, really doubling, the detention center capacity, hiring more ICE agents. We don’t have the capacity.” “If the Democrats are serious, and if a lot of Republicans are serious, they’ll come together,” Conway said. “They won’t just talk about it this week. ‘The Dreamers,’ or just ‘the wall’ or just ‘catch and release.’ It’s all of the above.” ||||| Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.) said Sunday he would encourage President Trump Donald John TrumpEx-ethics chief calls on Trump to end 'monstrous' migrant policies Laura Bush blasts Trump migrant policy as 'cruel' and 'immoral' US denies report of coalition airstrike on Syria MORE to “be a dad” to the children being separated from their parents as part of the administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration. “Just be a dad. I’m sure you love your children. Love these children the same way you love your own,” Gutiérrez said on CNN. “Be a dad for one moment,” he added. “Don’t be president. Be a dad.” Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsLaura Bush blasts Trump migrant policy as 'cruel' and 'immoral' Merkley leads Dem lawmakers to border amid migrant policy outcry DHS secretary defends Trump administration's migrant policies MORE announced earlier this year that the Justice Department would enact a "zero tolerance" policy and aggressively prosecute adults attempting to cross the U.S.–Mexico border illegally. At the time, Sessions acknowledged the process could lead to children being separated from their parents upon being apprehended. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the policy, arguing that it acts as a deterrent against illegal immigration. Democrats and Republicans, however, have spoken out against the practice. Amid the pushback against family separation, House Republicans have pushed party leadership to take up immigration legislation that would address border security and the fate of young immigrants in the country illegally. Republican leaders reached an agreement to hold two votes next week on a pair of immigration bills. Trump is scheduled to meet with Republican lawmakers on Tuesday. Gutiérrez said Sunday that Democrats should not endorse either piece of legislation, arguing the bills would not address the issue of family separation. ||||| Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsMichelle Wolf in July Fourth salute: 'God bless abortions and God bless America' An end game on Supreme Court nominations One judge on Trump’s short-list comes recommended by the president’s sister MORE (R-Maine) said Sunday she does not support a Trump administration policy that has resulted in the separation of families who cross the border illegally, calling it “inconsistent” with American values. Collins said she’s still waiting to hear from the Trump administration with more information on the practice. However, she said it’s already known that separating migrant children from their parents “doesn’t act as deterrent” and “is inconsistent with our American values.” “What the administration has decided to do is to separate children from their parents to try to send a message that if you cross the border with children your children are going to be ripped away from you,” she said on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” ADVERTISEMENT “That is traumatizing to children who are innocent victims,” she added. Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsMeet the senator on Trump's Supreme Court shortlist Trump asked Pruitt to resign in message delivered by Kelly: report Tucker Carlson: Dems are 'plotting a coup' using immigration protests MORE announced earlier this year that the Justice Department would enact a "zero tolerance" policy and aggressively prosecute adults attempting to cross the U.S.–Mexico border illegally. At the time, Sessions acknowledged the process could lead to children being separated from their parents upon being apprehended. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the policy, arguing that it acts as a deterrent against illegal immigration. Democrats and Republicans, however, have spoken out against the practice. The ongoing fight over the family separation policy shouldn't detract from the need to enact comprehensive reforms, Collins argued. "That’s not to say we shouldn’t act to try to curb illegal immigration. We should and I support the president’s proposals for border security," Collins said. "But we know from years of experience that we need to fix our immigration laws and that using children is not the answer,” she added. Collins suggested the Senate should vote again on legislation it rejected in February that would have addressed border security and the fate of some immigrants in the country illegally. Collins supported that bill, along with Sens. Jeff Flake Jeffrey (Jeff) Lane FlakeAn end game on Supreme Court nominations Flake: ‘There is concern across Europe’ about what Trump might promise Putin Sunday shows preview: Washington braces for Trump's Supreme Court pick MORE (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin GrahamGraham: Trump's Supreme Court picks 'all winners' Trump says he's close to making final Supreme Court decision Supreme Court talk dominates Sunday shows as Trump nears decision MORE (R-S.C.) and Tim Kaine Timothy (Tim) Michael KaineKaine jokes: Kim Jong Un will send Trump a copy of ‘American Idiot’ The Hill's Morning Report — Sponsored by Better Medicare Alliance — Anticipation builds for Trump’s SCOTUS pick Amy Coney Barrett emerges as favorite on right, target for left MORE (D-Va.). ||||| White House counselor Kellyanne Conway Kellyanne Elizabeth ConwayConway: Trump is 'not afraid' to sit down with Mueller Kellyanne Conway changes Twitter bio amid media coverage of her husband's Trump criticism Conway’s husband: I’d rather move to Australia than vote for Trump MORE said Sunday “nobody likes” the Trump administration’s policy of separating families who cross the border illegally, but indicated President Trump Donald John TrumpTwitter permanently suspends far-right activist from platform Trump to teleconference with military on Thanksgiving Trump says media is blaming him for traffic jams MORE will not act unilaterally to change it. “As a mother, as a Catholic, as somebody who’s got a conscience … I will tell you that nobody likes this policy,” Conway said on NBC’s “Meet the Press." “Congress passed the law that it is a crime to enter this country illegally. So if they don’t like that law, they should change it,” she added. WATCH: "As a mother, as a Catholic” nobody likes family separation policy. #MTP #IfItsSunday@chucktodd: "Why don’t you create a family detention center?@KellyannePolls: "We had those under President Obama but the Democrats are holding up the funding to expand those." pic.twitter.com/d4Y5HHWhGx — Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) June 17, 2018 ADVERTISEMENT Attorney General Jeff Sessions Jefferson (Jeff) Beauregard SessionsFederal investigators probing possible Whitaker Hatch Act violations The Hill's Morning Report — Key decisions loom for Trump after Thanksgiving The Memo: Trump’s immigration hawks grapple with new court blow MORE announced earlier this year that the Justice Department would enact a "zero tolerance" policy and aggressively prosecute adults attempting to cross the U.S.–Mexico border illegally. At the time, Sessions acknowledged the process could lead to children being separated from their parents upon being apprehended. Trump administration officials have repeatedly defended the policy, arguing that it acts as a deterrent against illegal immigration. Democrats and Republicans, however, have spoken out against the practice. Trump administration officials have argued that the policy is in place because Democrats won't agree to negotiate stricter immigration laws. Conway echoed that assertion on Sunday, claiming Democratic lawmakers are holding up funding that would allow the expansion of family detention centers. The family separation policy needs to be part of a larger discussion about immigration laws, Conway said. She called on Congress to simultaneously address Trump’s border wall and the fate of the immigrants left in limbo after the president rescinded the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. “This is an issue, and if the Democrats are serious and a lot of the Republicans are serious they’ll come together, they won’t just talk about the Dreamers or the wall or catch and release, it’s all of the above,” Conway said.

– Kellyanne Conway says "nobody likes" the migrant-family separation policy but insists it's not just a bargaining chip for the Trump administration, the Hill reports. "As a mother, as a Catholic, as somebody who's got a conscience … I will tell you that nobody likes this policy," Conway said Sunday on NBC's Meet the Press. "Congress passed the law that it is a crime to enter this country illegally. So if they don’t like that law, they should change it." But she denied the bargaining-chip angle as President Trump and Congress tussle over immigration laws: "I certainly don’t want anybody to use these kids as leverage," she added, per Politico. "I saw a headline that breathlessly screamed as much and I object to that very forcefully." In other talk around the Sunday dial: More on the children: "Just be a dad," Rep. Luis Gutierrez urged Trump on CNN regarding the separation policy, per the Hill. "I'm sure you love your children. Love these children the same way you love your own." Sen. Susan Collins sounded a similar note, calling the separations "inconsistent" with US values on CBS' Face the Nation, reports the Hill. "That is traumatizing to children who are innocent victims."

After the officer involved was acquitted of second-degree murder charges, officials in Arizona publicly released graphic video showing Daniel Shaver crawling on his hands and knees and begging for his life in the moments before he was shot and killed by police in January 2016. Shaver died in one of at least 963 fatal police shootings in 2016, according to a Washington Post database. And his death was one of an increasing number of such shootings to prompt criminal charges in the years since the 2014 protests in Ferguson, Mo., following the death of Michael Brown. Yet charges remain rare, and convictions even more so. The shooting, by Philip “Mitch” Brailsford, then an officer with the Mesa Police Department, occurred after officers responded to a call about a man allegedly pointing a rifle out of a fifth-floor window at a La Quinta Inn. Inside the room, Shaver, 26, had been doing rum shots with a woman he had met earlier that day and showing off a pellet gun he used in his job in pest control. The graphic video, recorded by Brailsford’s body camera, shows Shaver and the woman exiting the hotel room and immediately complying with commands from multiple officers. The video was shown in court during the trial, but it was released to the public after jurors acquitted Brailsford on Thursday. [The Washington Post’s 2017 fatal police shooting database] After entering the hallway, Shaver immediately puts his hands in the air and lies down on the ground while informing the officer that no one else was in the hotel room. “If you make a mistake, another mistake, there is a very severe possibility that you’re both going to get shot. Do you understand?” Sgt. Charles Langley yells before telling Shaver to “shut up.” “I’m not here to be tactical and diplomatic with you. You listen. You obey,” the officer says. For the next five minutes, officers give Shaver instructions. First, an officer tells Shaver to put both of his hands on top of his head, then he instructs him to cross his left foot over his right foot. “If you move, we’re going to consider that a threat and we are going to deal with it and you may not survive it,” Langley says. The officer then has the woman crawl down the hallway, where she is taken into custody. Shaver remains on the ground in the hallway, his hands on his head. Langley tells Shaver to keep his legs crossed and push himself up into a kneeling position. As Shaver pushes himself up, his legs come uncrossed, prompting the officer to scream at him. “I’m sorry,” Shaver says, placing his hands near his waist, prompting another round of screaming. “You do that again, we’re shooting you, do you understand?” Langley yells. “Please do not shoot me,” Shaver begs, his hands up straight in the air. At the officer’s command, Shaver then crawls down the hallway, sobbing. At one point, he reaches back — possibly to pull up his shorts — and Brailsford opens fire, striking Shaver five times. [Fatal shootings by police are up in the first six months of 2016, Post analysis finds] According to the police report, Brailsford was carrying an AR-15 rifle with the phrase “You’re F—ed” etched into the weapon. The police report also said the “shots were fired so rapidly that in watching the video at regular speed, one cannot count them.” Brailsford testified in court that he believed Shaver was reaching for a gun. “If this situation happened exactly as it did that time, I would have done the same thing,” Brailsford said during the trial. “I believed 100 percent that he was reaching for a gun.” No gun was found on Shaver’s body. Two pellet rifles used in Shaver’s pest-control job were later found in the hotel room. After two days of deliberation, jurors found Brailsford not guilty of second-degree murder as well as of a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter. “The justice system miserably failed Daniel (Shaver) and his family,” said Mark Geragos, an attorney for Shaver’s widow, according to the Arizona Republic. Attorneys for the officer had petitioned to keep the video from being released, and a judge agreed to block its release to the public until after the trial had concluded. Brailsford’s attorney, Mike Piccarreta, told The Post in a previous interview that he thinks the body camera footage clears his client. “It demonstrates that the officer had to make a split-second decision when [Shaver] moved his hands toward the small of his back after being advised that if he did, he’d be shot,” Piccarreta told The Post in 2016. Piccarreta also said he wasn’t sure his client would be interested in trying to get his police job back. Shaver’s widow and parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the city of Mesa. Kimberly Kindy contributed to this report. Correction: An earlier version of this story misidentified the officer who was shouting commands to Shaver. It was Sgt. Charles Langley. Read more: Among thousands dead at the hands of police, few officers are prosecuted Fired/Rehired: Police chiefs are often forced to put officers fired for misconduct back on the streets Number of 2017 fatal shootings by police is nearly identical to last year ||||| Footage has emerged of the moment an Arizona police officer shot dead an unarmed man as he crawled towards officers with his hands up, sobbing "please do not shoot me". Authorities had been responding to a call that someone was pointing a gun out of a hotel window when the incident occurred in January 2016. The 18-minute body-camera video was released shortly after former Officer Philip Mitchell Brailsford was acquitted on a murder charge in Daniel Shaver's death. The release of the full video marks the first time the face-to-face encounter has been available to the public outside a courtroom. It was played at the beginning of Mr Brailsford's trial in late October. The footage, taken from Mr Brailsford's point of view, shows the shooting and the tense moments leading up to it. Officers ordered Mr Shaver, from Granbury, Texas, to lie down face-first in the hallway and not make any sudden movements or risk being shot. At one point, Mr Shaver puts his hands behind his back. “Hands up in the air!” Sgt Charles Langley, who was leading the police team that responded to the call, is heard shouting. “You do that again, we're shooting you.” “Please do not shoot me,” Mr Shaver said, sobbing. World news in pictures 50 show all World news in pictures 1/50 8 September 2018 Participants wave flowers as they march past a balcony from where North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un was watching, during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang. The military parade was held to mark the nations 70th birthday, but refrained from showing off the intercontinental ballistic missiles that have seen it hit with multiple international sanctions AFP/Getty 2/50 8 September 2018 350.Org march for Climate Justice at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Philippines. Rise for Climate protests took places across the world to demand action Leo Sabangan/350.org (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) 3/50 7 September 2018 Displaced Syrians take part in a protest against the regime and its ally Russia at a camp for displaced people in Kafr Lusin near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey in Syria's northern Idlib province AFP/Getty 4/50 6 September 2018 An aerial view of houses damaged by a landslide in Atsuma town, Hokkaido prefecture, after an earthquake hit the northern Japanese island. Rescuers scrabbled through mud for survivors after the powerful earthquake sent hillsides crashing down onto homes, killing at least nine people and leaving dozens of people missing AFP/Getty 5/50 5 September 2018 US Capitol Police arrest a protestor as Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the second day of his US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing to be an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion AFP/Getty 6/50 4 September 2018 Damaged traffic boards and telecommunication relay poles after they were brought down by strong winds caused by typhoon Jebi in Osaka. The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years made landfall on September 4, the country's weather agency said, bringing violent winds and heavy rainfall that prompted evacuation warnings AFP/Getty 7/50 3 September 2018 Myanmar journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is escorted by police after being sentenced by a court to jail in Yangon. Two Reuters journalists were jailed for seven years for breaching Myanmar's official secrets act during their reporting of the Rohingya crisis, a judge said, a case that has drawn outrage as an attack on media freedom AFP/Getty 8/50 2 September 2018 A Somali soldier walks near the wreckage of vehicles at the scene of a blast outside the compound of a district headquarters in the capital Mogadishu. A Somali police officer says a number of people were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a checkpoint outside the headquarters after being stopped by security forces AP 9/50 1 September 2018 A Utair-operated Boeing 737-800 which skidded off the runway and caught fire during landing, at Sochi international airport, in the Russian Black Sea resort. Russia's transportation minister says a supervisor at the airport died during the emergency response after a landing airliner careered off the end of the runway, into a riverbed and caught fire. There were no deaths reported among the 164 passengers and six crew members aboard the Utair Boeing 737, but the Russian health ministry said 18 people were injured. The fire was extinguished within eight minutes AP 10/50 31 August 2018 Mourners attend Aretha Franklin's funeral at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit AFP/Getty 11/50 30 August 2018 Firefighters watch on as flames leap from a giant factory fire in the inner Melbourne suburb of West Footscray - More than 120 firefighters are fighting the fire, with 30 trucks and cherry picker aerial appliances on the scene which is sending large plumes of smoke across the city. AFP/Getty 12/50 29 August 2018 People are evacuated after flooding in Swar township, Myanmar Reuters 13/50 28 August 2018 President Hassan Rouhani speaks at the Iranian Parliament in the capital Tehran. It was the first time Rouhani had been summoned by parliament in his five years in power, with MPs demanding answers on unemployment, rising prices and the collapsing value of the rial, which has lost more than half its value since April AFP/Getty 14/50 27 August 2018 A police officer walks by the front of a Chicago Pizza and GLHF Game Bar at the scene of fatal shooting at The Jacksonville Landing. A gunman opened fire at a video game tournament killing multiple people and then fatally shooting himself in a rampage that wounded several others AP 15/50 26 August 2018 Migrants disembark from the Italian Coast Guard ship 'Diciotti' in the port of Catania, Italy. The vessel arrived with 177 migrants on board, but the Italian Interior Ministry denied them to disembark, calling EU member states to find a solution on how to distribute them. On 22 August, 27 unaccompanied minors were let off from the ship, assisted by Red Cross, UNHCR and Save the Children EPA 16/50 25 August 2018 Rohingya refugees during a protest march after attending a ceremony to remember the first anniversary of a military crackdown that prompted a massive exodus of people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia AFP/Getty 17/50 24 August 2018 US President Donald Trump sits with children during a tour of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio AFP/Getty 18/50 23 August 2018 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia EPA 19/50 22 August 2018 High waves hit Jeju Island, South Korea, as powerful Typhoon Soulik gradually approaches the Korean Peninsula EPA 20/50 21 August 2018 A Palestinian man throws his child in the air following morning prayers marking the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy Reuters 21/50 20 August 2018 South Korean Lee Keum-seom, 92, meets with her North Korean son Ri Sung Chol, 71, during a separated family reunion meeting at the Mount Kumgang resort on the North's southeastern coast. Dozens of elderly and frail South Koreans met their Northern relatives for the first time since the peninsula and their families were divided by war nearly seven decades ago AFP/Getty 22/50 19 August 2018 The flag of the United Nations flying at half-mast to mark the death of former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, at the European headquarters in Geneva. Kofi Annan died on 18 August, aged 80 EPA 23/50 18 August 2018 Newly appointed Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inspects the guard of honor on his arrival in the Prime Minister House during a ceremony in Islamabad. Imran Khan was sworn in at a ceremony in Islamabad, ushering in a new political era as the World Cup cricket hero officially took the reins of power in the nuclear-armed country PID/AFP/Getty 24/50 17 August 2018 Muslim pilgrims walk out after the Friday prayer at the Grand mosque ahead of annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia Reuters 25/50 16 August 2018 A man wades through flooded water in Kochi, Kerala state, India. According to reports, the region is on a high alert with schools and offices been closed due to the rising water levels of Periyar river after the gates of the Idukki reservoir were opened. The area has been hit by heavy rains that caused floods and reportedly killed at least 65 people EPA 26/50 15 August 2018 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets schoolchildren after his speech as part of India's 72nd Independence Day celebrations which marks the 71st anniversary of the end of British colonial rule, at the Red Fort in New Delhi AFP/Getty 27/50 14 August 2018 A large section of the Morandi viaduct upon which the A10 motorway runs collapsed in Genoa, Italy. Both sides of the highway fell. Around 10 vehicles are involved in the collapse, rescue sources said. The viaduct gave way amid torrential rain. It runs over shopping centres, factories, some homes, the Genoa-Milan railway line and the Polcevera river EPA 28/50 13 August 2018 Turkish President Erdogan addresses the 10th annual Ambassadors' Conference in Ankara. Global markets have reacted fearfully to Turkey's financial crash, which Turkish President Erdogan blames on a "political, underhand plot" by Donald Trump's USA. Last week the US doubled steel and aluminium tariffs against Turkey amidst diplomatic tensions over the latter's detaining of an American pastor Turkish Presidential Press Service/AFP/Getty 29/50 12 August 2018 NASA, The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 12, 2018 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Parker Solar Probe is humanity's first-ever mission into a part of the Suns atmosphere called the corona. The probe will directly explore solar processes that are key to understanding and forecasting space weather events that can impact life on Earth. NASA via Getty 30/50 11 August 2018 An activist confronts Virginia State Troopers in riot gear during a rally on the campus of The University of Virginia one-year after the violent white nationalist rally that left one person dead and dozens injured in Charlottesville, Virginia AFP/Getty 31/50 10 August 2018 A man holds his son before Friday prayers at an evacuation centre in Sambik Bangkol village, in northern Lombok on West Nusa Tenggara province AFP/Getty 32/50 9 August 2018 A rescuers stands next to a damaged tent in a flooded camping as storms and heavy rains sweep across France on August 9, 2018 in Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas, southern France. - The bad weather caused large power cuts and a man who was working in a summer camp went missing according to the gendarmerie AFP/Getty 33/50 8 August 2018 A Palestinian girl smiles as she waits to receive aids at a United Nations food distribution centre in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza AFP/Getty 34/50 7 August 2018 An Israeli soldier rides an armoured vehicle during an army drill after the visit of Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israel Reuters 35/50 6 August 2018 Usable items are salvaged from a home destroyed in an earthquake in North Lombok, Indonesia. The powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok, killing a number of people and shaking neighboring Bali, as authorities on Monday said thousands of houses were damaged and the death toll could climb AP 36/50 5 August 2018 Accident investigators and rescue personnel work at the wreckage of a Junkers JU52 aircraft in Flims, after it crashed into Piz Segnas, a 3,000-metre (10,000-foot) peak in eastern Switzerland. Twenty people were confirmed dead after the vintage World War II aircraft crashed into a Swiss mountainside, police reports said. The Junker JU52 HB-HOT aircraft, built in Germany in 1939 and now a collectors item, belongs to JU-Air, a company with links to the Swiss air force, the ATS news agency reported AFP/Getty 37/50 4 August 2018 Members of different security forces stand guard and take evidence after an explosion targeted President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. The Venezuelan Information Minister, Jorge Rodriguez, confirmed that President Nicolas Maduro was the victim of an attack with 'drone-type flying devices that contained an explosive charge', and that he escaped unharmed from the incident, which occurred during a military ceremony in Caracas EPA 38/50 3 August 2018 People in Mbare celebrate after officials announced the re-election of President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) in Harare, Zimbabwe. The election was the first since Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup last year, and featured a close race between Mnangagwa and opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC Alliance). Deadly clashes broke out earlier in the week following the release of parliamentary election results, amid allegations of fraud by Chamisa and MDC supporters Getty 39/50 2 August 2018 A supporter of the ruling ZANU-PF walks past a burnt vehicle at the party's offices a day after the clashes between security forces and opposition protesters in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters 40/50 1 August 2018 A ceremony takes place in a hangar, to mark the return of 55 sets of remains of American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. The ceremony was held five days after a US airplane transported the remains to South Korea from North Korea in a move expected to facilitate ongoing efforts to promote peace on the peninsula EPA 41/50 31 July 2018 Veronika Nikulshina, one of four members of Russia's Pussy Riot protest group who were jailed for 15 days for staging a pitch invasion during the football World Cup final and were detained again after their release on July 30, is escorted by a police officer before a court hearing in Moscow Reuters 42/50 30 July 2018 A relative of a passenger of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reads the safety report that has concluded that the planes controls were deliberately manipulated and that illegal interference by a third party cannot be ruled out. Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2014 Reuters 43/50 29 July 2018 Palestinian activist and campaigner Ahed Tamimi kisses the tombstone of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his mausoleum in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after she was released from prison following an eight-month sentence for slapping two Israeli soldiers AFP/Getty 44/50 28 July 2018 Zimbabwe's incumbent President and candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives for his closing presidential campaign rally in Harare, two days ahead of the elections AFP/Getty 45/50 27 July 2018 A house burns during the Carr fire in Redding, California. One firefighter has died and at least two others have been injured as wind-whipped flames tore through the region Getty 46/50 26 July 2018 Supporters of Pakistan's cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party, celebrate in Karachi, a day after a general election. Imran Khan claimed victory in the country's tense general election marred by allegations of "blatant" rigging by rival parties. A visibly tired Khan cut a conciliatory tone in a wide-ranging address to the nation following the controversial contest AFP/Getty 47/50 25 July 2018 A man who was injured in a suspected suicide bomb attack outside a polling station, receives medical treatment at a hospital in Quetta. At least 25 people were killed and 30 injured in the incident. Polling stations in Pakistan opened for the general election for around 105 million constituents. Voters will have to choose from 11,000 candidates to elect 272 members of the Parliament for the next term. These elections are the second in Pakistan's history in which a government was able to complete its term to make way for another government after being ruled by military dictators for half of the 71 years of its existence since its founding in 1947 EPA 48/50 24 July 2018 A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece. At least 60 people are thought to have been killed Reuters 49/50 23 July 2018 A house is threatened by a huge blaze during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens. More than 300 firefighters, five aircraft and two helicopters were mobilised to tackle the "extremely difficult" situation due to strong gusts of wind, Athens fire chief Achille Tzouvaras said AFP/Getty 50/50 22 July 2018 Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a smoke plume rising across the border in Quneitra in southwestern Syria, as rebels destroy their arms stocks prior to their departure Getty 1/50 8 September 2018 Participants wave flowers as they march past a balcony from where North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un was watching, during a mass rally on Kim Il Sung square in Pyongyang. The military parade was held to mark the nations 70th birthday, but refrained from showing off the intercontinental ballistic missiles that have seen it hit with multiple international sanctions AFP/Getty 2/50 8 September 2018 350.Org march for Climate Justice at the Quezon Memorial Circle in Quezon City, Philippines. Rise for Climate protests took places across the world to demand action Leo Sabangan/350.org (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) 3/50 7 September 2018 Displaced Syrians take part in a protest against the regime and its ally Russia at a camp for displaced people in Kafr Lusin near the Bab al-Hawa border crossing with Turkey in Syria's northern Idlib province AFP/Getty 4/50 6 September 2018 An aerial view of houses damaged by a landslide in Atsuma town, Hokkaido prefecture, after an earthquake hit the northern Japanese island. Rescuers scrabbled through mud for survivors after the powerful earthquake sent hillsides crashing down onto homes, killing at least nine people and leaving dozens of people missing AFP/Getty 5/50 5 September 2018 US Capitol Police arrest a protestor as Judge Brett Kavanaugh testifies during the second day of his US Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing to be an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. President Donald Trump's newest Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh is expected to face punishing questioning from Democrats this week over his endorsement of presidential immunity and his opposition to abortion AFP/Getty 6/50 4 September 2018 Damaged traffic boards and telecommunication relay poles after they were brought down by strong winds caused by typhoon Jebi in Osaka. The strongest typhoon to hit Japan in 25 years made landfall on September 4, the country's weather agency said, bringing violent winds and heavy rainfall that prompted evacuation warnings AFP/Getty 7/50 3 September 2018 Myanmar journalist Kyaw Soe Oo is escorted by police after being sentenced by a court to jail in Yangon. Two Reuters journalists were jailed for seven years for breaching Myanmar's official secrets act during their reporting of the Rohingya crisis, a judge said, a case that has drawn outrage as an attack on media freedom AFP/Getty 8/50 2 September 2018 A Somali soldier walks near the wreckage of vehicles at the scene of a blast outside the compound of a district headquarters in the capital Mogadishu. A Somali police officer says a number of people were wounded after a suicide bomber detonated an explosives-laden vehicle at a checkpoint outside the headquarters after being stopped by security forces AP 9/50 1 September 2018 A Utair-operated Boeing 737-800 which skidded off the runway and caught fire during landing, at Sochi international airport, in the Russian Black Sea resort. Russia's transportation minister says a supervisor at the airport died during the emergency response after a landing airliner careered off the end of the runway, into a riverbed and caught fire. There were no deaths reported among the 164 passengers and six crew members aboard the Utair Boeing 737, but the Russian health ministry said 18 people were injured. The fire was extinguished within eight minutes AP 10/50 31 August 2018 Mourners attend Aretha Franklin's funeral at Greater Grace Temple in Detroit AFP/Getty 11/50 30 August 2018 Firefighters watch on as flames leap from a giant factory fire in the inner Melbourne suburb of West Footscray - More than 120 firefighters are fighting the fire, with 30 trucks and cherry picker aerial appliances on the scene which is sending large plumes of smoke across the city. AFP/Getty 12/50 29 August 2018 People are evacuated after flooding in Swar township, Myanmar Reuters 13/50 28 August 2018 President Hassan Rouhani speaks at the Iranian Parliament in the capital Tehran. It was the first time Rouhani had been summoned by parliament in his five years in power, with MPs demanding answers on unemployment, rising prices and the collapsing value of the rial, which has lost more than half its value since April AFP/Getty 14/50 27 August 2018 A police officer walks by the front of a Chicago Pizza and GLHF Game Bar at the scene of fatal shooting at The Jacksonville Landing. A gunman opened fire at a video game tournament killing multiple people and then fatally shooting himself in a rampage that wounded several others AP 15/50 26 August 2018 Migrants disembark from the Italian Coast Guard ship 'Diciotti' in the port of Catania, Italy. The vessel arrived with 177 migrants on board, but the Italian Interior Ministry denied them to disembark, calling EU member states to find a solution on how to distribute them. On 22 August, 27 unaccompanied minors were let off from the ship, assisted by Red Cross, UNHCR and Save the Children EPA 16/50 25 August 2018 Rohingya refugees during a protest march after attending a ceremony to remember the first anniversary of a military crackdown that prompted a massive exodus of people from Myanmar to Bangladesh, at the Kutupalong refugee camp in Ukhia AFP/Getty 17/50 24 August 2018 US President Donald Trump sits with children during a tour of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio AFP/Getty 18/50 23 August 2018 Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull speaks to the media during a press conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia EPA 19/50 22 August 2018 High waves hit Jeju Island, South Korea, as powerful Typhoon Soulik gradually approaches the Korean Peninsula EPA 20/50 21 August 2018 A Palestinian man throws his child in the air following morning prayers marking the first day of Eid al-Adha celebrations on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem's Old City. Eid al-Adha is the holiest of the two Muslims holidays celebrated each year, it marks the yearly Muslim pilgrimage (Hajj) to visit Mecca, the holiest place in Islam. Muslims slaughter a sacrificial animal and split the meat into three parts, one for the family, one for friends and relatives, and one for the poor and needy Reuters 21/50 20 August 2018 South Korean Lee Keum-seom, 92, meets with her North Korean son Ri Sung Chol, 71, during a separated family reunion meeting at the Mount Kumgang resort on the North's southeastern coast. Dozens of elderly and frail South Koreans met their Northern relatives for the first time since the peninsula and their families were divided by war nearly seven decades ago AFP/Getty 22/50 19 August 2018 The flag of the United Nations flying at half-mast to mark the death of former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan, at the European headquarters in Geneva. Kofi Annan died on 18 August, aged 80 EPA 23/50 18 August 2018 Newly appointed Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan inspects the guard of honor on his arrival in the Prime Minister House during a ceremony in Islamabad. Imran Khan was sworn in at a ceremony in Islamabad, ushering in a new political era as the World Cup cricket hero officially took the reins of power in the nuclear-armed country PID/AFP/Getty 24/50 17 August 2018 Muslim pilgrims walk out after the Friday prayer at the Grand mosque ahead of annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia Reuters 25/50 16 August 2018 A man wades through flooded water in Kochi, Kerala state, India. According to reports, the region is on a high alert with schools and offices been closed due to the rising water levels of Periyar river after the gates of the Idukki reservoir were opened. The area has been hit by heavy rains that caused floods and reportedly killed at least 65 people EPA 26/50 15 August 2018 Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi greets schoolchildren after his speech as part of India's 72nd Independence Day celebrations which marks the 71st anniversary of the end of British colonial rule, at the Red Fort in New Delhi AFP/Getty 27/50 14 August 2018 A large section of the Morandi viaduct upon which the A10 motorway runs collapsed in Genoa, Italy. Both sides of the highway fell. Around 10 vehicles are involved in the collapse, rescue sources said. The viaduct gave way amid torrential rain. It runs over shopping centres, factories, some homes, the Genoa-Milan railway line and the Polcevera river EPA 28/50 13 August 2018 Turkish President Erdogan addresses the 10th annual Ambassadors' Conference in Ankara. Global markets have reacted fearfully to Turkey's financial crash, which Turkish President Erdogan blames on a "political, underhand plot" by Donald Trump's USA. Last week the US doubled steel and aluminium tariffs against Turkey amidst diplomatic tensions over the latter's detaining of an American pastor Turkish Presidential Press Service/AFP/Getty 29/50 12 August 2018 NASA, The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket launches NASA's Parker Solar Probe to touch the Sun from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on August 12, 2018 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. Parker Solar Probe is humanity's first-ever mission into a part of the Suns atmosphere called the corona. The probe will directly explore solar processes that are key to understanding and forecasting space weather events that can impact life on Earth. NASA via Getty 30/50 11 August 2018 An activist confronts Virginia State Troopers in riot gear during a rally on the campus of The University of Virginia one-year after the violent white nationalist rally that left one person dead and dozens injured in Charlottesville, Virginia AFP/Getty 31/50 10 August 2018 A man holds his son before Friday prayers at an evacuation centre in Sambik Bangkol village, in northern Lombok on West Nusa Tenggara province AFP/Getty 32/50 9 August 2018 A rescuers stands next to a damaged tent in a flooded camping as storms and heavy rains sweep across France on August 9, 2018 in Saint-Julien-de-Peyrolas, southern France. - The bad weather caused large power cuts and a man who was working in a summer camp went missing according to the gendarmerie AFP/Getty 33/50 8 August 2018 A Palestinian girl smiles as she waits to receive aids at a United Nations food distribution centre in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza AFP/Getty 34/50 7 August 2018 An Israeli soldier rides an armoured vehicle during an army drill after the visit of Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Israel Reuters 35/50 6 August 2018 Usable items are salvaged from a home destroyed in an earthquake in North Lombok, Indonesia. The powerful earthquake struck the Indonesian tourist island of Lombok, killing a number of people and shaking neighboring Bali, as authorities on Monday said thousands of houses were damaged and the death toll could climb AP 36/50 5 August 2018 Accident investigators and rescue personnel work at the wreckage of a Junkers JU52 aircraft in Flims, after it crashed into Piz Segnas, a 3,000-metre (10,000-foot) peak in eastern Switzerland. Twenty people were confirmed dead after the vintage World War II aircraft crashed into a Swiss mountainside, police reports said. The Junker JU52 HB-HOT aircraft, built in Germany in 1939 and now a collectors item, belongs to JU-Air, a company with links to the Swiss air force, the ATS news agency reported AFP/Getty 37/50 4 August 2018 Members of different security forces stand guard and take evidence after an explosion targeted President Nicolas Maduro, in Caracas, Venezuela. The Venezuelan Information Minister, Jorge Rodriguez, confirmed that President Nicolas Maduro was the victim of an attack with 'drone-type flying devices that contained an explosive charge', and that he escaped unharmed from the incident, which occurred during a military ceremony in Caracas EPA 38/50 3 August 2018 People in Mbare celebrate after officials announced the re-election of President Emmerson Mnangagwa of the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF) in Harare, Zimbabwe. The election was the first since Robert Mugabe was ousted in a military coup last year, and featured a close race between Mnangagwa and opposition candidate Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC Alliance). Deadly clashes broke out earlier in the week following the release of parliamentary election results, amid allegations of fraud by Chamisa and MDC supporters Getty 39/50 2 August 2018 A supporter of the ruling ZANU-PF walks past a burnt vehicle at the party's offices a day after the clashes between security forces and opposition protesters in Harare, Zimbabwe Reuters 40/50 1 August 2018 A ceremony takes place in a hangar, to mark the return of 55 sets of remains of American troops killed during the 1950-53 Korean War, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea. The ceremony was held five days after a US airplane transported the remains to South Korea from North Korea in a move expected to facilitate ongoing efforts to promote peace on the peninsula EPA 41/50 31 July 2018 Veronika Nikulshina, one of four members of Russia's Pussy Riot protest group who were jailed for 15 days for staging a pitch invasion during the football World Cup final and were detained again after their release on July 30, is escorted by a police officer before a court hearing in Moscow Reuters 42/50 30 July 2018 A relative of a passenger of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 reads the safety report that has concluded that the planes controls were deliberately manipulated and that illegal interference by a third party cannot be ruled out. Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board en route to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2014 Reuters 43/50 29 July 2018 Palestinian activist and campaigner Ahed Tamimi kisses the tombstone of former Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat at his mausoleum in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, after she was released from prison following an eight-month sentence for slapping two Israeli soldiers AFP/Getty 44/50 28 July 2018 Zimbabwe's incumbent President and candidate Emmerson Mnangagwa arrives for his closing presidential campaign rally in Harare, two days ahead of the elections AFP/Getty 45/50 27 July 2018 A house burns during the Carr fire in Redding, California. One firefighter has died and at least two others have been injured as wind-whipped flames tore through the region Getty 46/50 26 July 2018 Supporters of Pakistan's cricketer-turned politician Imran Khan, and head of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (Movement for Justice) party, celebrate in Karachi, a day after a general election. Imran Khan claimed victory in the country's tense general election marred by allegations of "blatant" rigging by rival parties. A visibly tired Khan cut a conciliatory tone in a wide-ranging address to the nation following the controversial contest AFP/Getty 47/50 25 July 2018 A man who was injured in a suspected suicide bomb attack outside a polling station, receives medical treatment at a hospital in Quetta. At least 25 people were killed and 30 injured in the incident. Polling stations in Pakistan opened for the general election for around 105 million constituents. Voters will have to choose from 11,000 candidates to elect 272 members of the Parliament for the next term. These elections are the second in Pakistan's history in which a government was able to complete its term to make way for another government after being ruled by military dictators for half of the 71 years of its existence since its founding in 1947 EPA 48/50 24 July 2018 A woman reacts as she tries to find her dog, following a wildfire at the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece. At least 60 people are thought to have been killed Reuters 49/50 23 July 2018 A house is threatened by a huge blaze during a wildfire in Kineta, near Athens. More than 300 firefighters, five aircraft and two helicopters were mobilised to tackle the "extremely difficult" situation due to strong gusts of wind, Athens fire chief Achille Tzouvaras said AFP/Getty 50/50 22 July 2018 Israeli-annexed Golan Heights shows a smoke plume rising across the border in Quneitra in southwestern Syria, as rebels destroy their arms stocks prior to their departure Getty He was ordered to crawl towards officers. As he inched forward, he reached towards the waistband of his shorts, leading Mr Brailsford to open fire. He said he believed Mr Shaver was grabbing a handgun to fatally shoot him. Authorities have said it looked as though Mr Shaver was pulling up his loose-fitting basketball shorts that had fallen down as he crawled. No gun was found on Mr Shaver's body, but two pellet rifles related to his pest-control job were later found in his hotel room. The investigator into the incident noted he did not see anything that would have prevented officers from simply handcuffing Mr Shaver while he was on the floor. During his trial testimony, Mr Brailsford described the stress that he faced in responding to the call and his split-second decision to shoot Mr Shaver. Mr Brailsford told jurors he was terrified for the safety of officers and a woman who was in the hallway. He also said he felt “incredibly sad” for Mr Shaver. While the acquittal clears Mr Brailsford of criminal liability, Mr Shaver's widow, Laney Sweet, and his parents have filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the suburban Phoenix city of Mesa. Mr Brailsford served as a Mesa officer for two years before he was fired for violating department policy. Additional reporting by agencies ||||| Brailsford shot Shaver with an AR-15 with vulgar language etched on it, which was later thrown out as evidence by the judge. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5) Officers went to the hotel on a call that Shaver was pointing a rifle out a window. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5) Ex-Mesa cop Philip "Mitch" Brailsford was charged in the on-duty shooting death of Daniel Shaver at the La Quinta Inn. (Source: 3TV/CBS 5) Ex-Mesa police officer Philip "Mitch" Brailsford was found not guilty of second-degree murder after he shot and killed an unarmed man at a Mesa hotel in January 2016. He was also found not guilty of reckless manslaughter. [RELATED: Mesa police release dramatic body camera video following Brailsford verdict] Brailsford was charged in the on-duty shooting death of Daniel Shaver at the La Quinta Inn. Officers went to the hotel on a call that someone was pointing a rifle out a window. [SPECIAL SECTION: Murder trial of ex-Mesa officer Philip 'Mitch' Brailsford] Brailsford claimed he thought Shaver was reaching for a gun when police were trying to take him into custody and was refusing police commands. Officers later learned Shaver did not have a gun and only found two pellet rifles related to his pest-control job in his room. [RAW VIDEO: Verdict read in murder trial of ex-Mesa police officer] The former cop said he was doing what he was trained to do when he saw a threat. "I was doing what I needed to do to protect my fellow men and the woman we had just taken into custody," Brailsford said while on the stand. [RELATED: Testimony over in murder trial of ex-Mesa police officer] [READ MORE: Wife of man shot, killed by police at Mesa hotel files $35M notice of claim] Brailsford testified that he believed Shaver, who was from Texas, was reaching for a gun in the waistband of his shorts. During Brailsford's testimony, prosecutor Susie Charbel challenged Brailsford's memory of the events of the shooting because he did not remember some of the details of what happened that night. "I'm not perfect, and I had my Axon body camera running at the time," said Brailsford. "So, that was going to be the best type of recording that we could have." Leading up to the shooting, Brailsford and his supervisor told Shaver and a woman to come out of Room 502 but got no response. After the phone rang inside the room, Brailsford said a man and a woman came out of the room. [READ MORE: Former Mesa police officer on trial for murder testifies] He testified that the woman followed commands and was taken into custody unhurt. Shaver was ordered to lie face-down in a hotel hallway. Brailsford said Shaver disobeyed orders to not put his hands behind him on a couple of occasions. "For some reason, he placed his hands behind his back," said Brailsford. "For one, I don't know why he did that." Brailsford fired at Shaver after he said Shaver reached behind him again, this time in what he described was a classic "draw stroke," as if reaching for a gun. [ORIGINAL STORY: Officer-involved shooting at a Mesa La Quinta Inn leaves man dead] Shaver can be heard on Brailsford's body camera video saying, "Please do not shoot me." Before the testimony ended, Brailsford reiterated that he 100 percent believed Shaver was reaching for a gun and that if in the same situation again, he would make the same decision. The detectives investigating the shooting agreed that Shaver's movement was similar to reaching for a pistol but also said it looked like Shaver was pulling up his loose-fitting basketball shorts, which had fallen. The investigator had noted he didn't see anything that would have prevented officers from simply handcuffing Shaver as he was on the floor. The woman who was taken into custody, Monique Portillo, testified as the only civilian eyewitness to the shooting of Shaver. [RELATED: Former officer charged with murder will testify] [MORE: Reports shed light on fatal Mesa police shooting] Portillo said she and a male co-worker met Shaver about an hour before he was shot in the hallway of the hotel. The three of them were all there on business and were staying in separate rooms, but Shaver invited them up to his room for a drink. Once inside, the two men started admiring one of the pellet rifles Shaver had with him. Portillo said she warned the guys as they passed the rifle back and forth and pointed it out the window of the fifth-floor hotel room, checking out the scopes. "I was like, 'Hey, you guys, don't be so close to the window. People may get the wrong idea,'" said Portillo. Shortly after, the Mesa police officers were called to the hotel. [MORE: Jurors in Arizona see video of officer killing unarmed man] Portillo said she did exactly as asked by the officers while at gunpoint. Portillo was still in the hall when Shaver was ordered to do the same thing. “As he was crawling out, I guess his shorts were falling down because of the material of his basketball shorts. And trying to crawl with your hands up this way, I mean out of reaction, you’re going to try to pull up your shorts. And he … he … they shot him,” said Portillo. [RELATED: Parents of unarmed man killed by police sue Mesa, police officers] She also told officers she believed Shaver was shot because he didn't follow protocol. Brailsford served as a Mesa officer for about two years before he was fired for violations of departmental policy, including unsatisfactory performance. Click/tap here to download the free azfamily mobile app. Copyright 2017 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.

– Newly released police body-cam footage shows an Arizona officer fatally shooting an unarmed man as he crawls toward officers while crying "please do not shoot me," the Independent reports. According to KPHO, former Mesa Police Department officer Philip Brailsford was found not guilty Thursday of murder and reckless manslaughter in the January 2016 death of 26-year-old Daniel Shaver at a La Quinta Inn in Mesa. Police were called to the hotel for reports of someone pointing a gun out a window. The weapon later turned out to be a pellet gun Shaver used for his pest-control job and which he was showing off to a woman in his hotel room, the Washington Post reports. When police arrived at the scene, Shaver was ordered to lie down in the hallway, put his hands in the air, and crawl toward officers. As Shaver crawled toward officers, he reached toward his waistband. Brailsford, who testified he believed Shaver was reaching for a gun, shot him five times with an AR-15 with "You're Fucked" etched in the side. Authorities have since said it appears Shaver was trying to pull up his basketball shorts, which were falling as he crawled. And an investigator says there's no apparent reason the officers couldn't have just handcuffed Shaver, who was unarmed, while he was on the ground. A judge sided with Brailsford's lawyers and blocked the release of Brailsford's body-cam footage to the public. It was released this week upon his acquittal. Shaver's family has filed wrongful-death lawsuits against the City of Mesa. Brailsford was fired from the Mesa Police Department after two years on the job for violating department policy.

Making a Murderer is officially returning to Netflix after nearly three years. The streamer announced that part two of the Emmy-winning docuseries will bow globally on Friday, Oct. 19. The 10 all-new episodes will see filmmakers Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos return to the Midwest for what is being billed as exclusive access to Steven Avery, his co-defendant and nephew Brendan Dassey, their families and the legal teams fighting on their behalf. The next batch of episodes will offer a look at the post-conviction process and explore the emotional toll the case has had on all involved. "Steven and Brendan, their families and their legal and investigative teams have once again graciously granted us access, giving us a window into the complex web of American criminal justice,” executive producers, writers and directors Ricciardi and Demos said in a joint statement. “Building on Part 1, which documented the experience of the accused, in Part 2, we have chronicled the experience of the convicted and imprisoned, two men each serving life sentences for crimes they maintain they did not commit. We are thrilled to be able to share this new phase of the journey with viewers.” Part two will introduce viewers to Avery's post-conviction lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, as she looks to prove that he was wrongly convicted. Zellner has reversed more wrongful convictions than any other private attorney in the country. Dassey's post-conviction lawyers, Laura Nirider and Steven Drizin, will also be featured as they fight to prove that his confession was involuntary. Making a Murderer set off a wave of scripted and unscripted true-crime originals on broadcast, cable and streaming services. HBO delivered a watercooler hit in The Jinx, and FX found Emmy gold in Ryan Murphy's American Crime Story, the first two seasons of which explored the stories of O.J. Simpson and Gianni Versace. Ricciardi and Demos spent 10 years chronicling Avery. Making a Murderer became a global phenomenon after it bowed in December 2015. Avery and Dassey's cases have been well covered in the years that followed. The Supreme Court in June declined to weigh in on Dassey's case. ||||| Steven Avery‘s not done fighting for his freedom. Netflix announced on Tuesday that part 2 of its popular true-crime docuseries Making a Murderer will premiere on Oct. 19. Get push notifications with news, features and more. Making a Murderer‘s original 10-episode run chronicled the 2006 murder convictions of Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey in the death of 25-year-old Wisconsin photographer Teresa Halbach. Avery has maintained his innocence, and the show explored whether he’d been wrongfully convicted of a crime for the second time. He was famously freed from an 18-year prison sentence for a rape he didn’t commit. The series shed new light on the case, prompting a legal push to overturn Dassey’s conviction because his confession, as seen on Making a Murderer, was allegedly coerced. The Supreme Court declined to hear his case in June. Halbach’s family, meanwhile, has declined to participate in the series and relatives have previously dismissed it as one-sided. “If people want to think [Avery] is innocent there is nothing I can do about it, but I know that God knows what happened and that is what really matters to me, as long as he never gets an opportunity to hurt anybody else,” her aunt Kay Giordana told PEOPLE in 2016. “Steven and Brendan, their families and their legal and investigative teams have once again graciously granted us access, giving us a window into the complex web of American criminal justice,” series creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos said in a statement announcing the premiere date. “Building on Part 1, which documented the experience of the accused, in Part 2, we have chronicled the experience of the convicted and imprisoned, two men each serving life sentences for crimes they maintain they did not commit,” Ricciardi and Demos said. “We are thrilled to be able to share this new phase of the journey with viewers.” A key figure in the 10 new episodes will be Avery’s high-profile attorney Kathleen Zellner, whom he hired in early 2016. In the teaser for part 2, a voice that sounds like Avery’s says, “When you’re fighting for your innocence and you need to prove that, it takes time.”

– The Supreme Court may have declined to hear Brendan Dassey's appeal this summer, but come October, the people will hear more of his side of the story. Netflix will drop part 2 of its Making a Murderer docuseries on Oct. 19, reports People, returning to Dassey and uncle Steven Avery's convictions in the 2005 murder of Teresa Halbach in Wisconsin. The original episodes debuted in December 2015; the AP notes the 10 new episodes go live on Dassey's 29th birthday. As for what to expect, series creators Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos have this to say: "Building on Part 1, which documented the experience of the accused, in Part 2, we have chronicled the experience of the convicted and imprisoned, two men each serving life sentences for crimes they maintain they did not commit." The Hollywood Reporter adds that the sequel episodes will feature a new face: Avery's post-conviction lawyer, Kathleen Zellner, who is on a quest to prove his innocence and has, per the Reporter, "reversed more wrongful convictions than any other private attorney in the country." Dassey's post-conviction lawyers will feature as well.

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated / Source: NBC News By Alex Johnson In what's believed to be the biggest shutdown in the history of higher education in the United States, Corinthian Colleges said Sunday it's closing its remaining 28 for-profit schools effective immediately, kicking about 16,000 students out of school. Corinthian, based in Santa Ana, California, said in a statement and an email to students that it would lean on government agencies and other institutions to place the students, who were enrolled at Heald College locations in California, Hawaii and Oregon and at Everest and WyoTech locations in California, Arizona and New York. "It was very shocking to be told 'hey, tomorrow, no more school,'" Alexandra Roske, a student at Corinthian's Heald College in Salida, California, told NBC station KCRA of Sacramento on Sunday. "I love school," said Roske, a single mom with about $18,000 in debt for dental assistant courses she won't be able to complete. "I put everything I had into my academic career to set myself up for a bright future, not only for me but for my family." RELATED: Corinthian Colleges Students Face Uncertain Future Jordan Castle, was working toward a medical assistance degree at Everest Institute in Rochester, New York, found out her classwork was over via social media. "I was tagged in a status on Facebook from one of our classmates asking what was going on and what was the deal with these emails," Castle told NBC station WHEC. "I didn't understand what was going on." The announcement comes only a couple of weeks after the U.S. Education Department said it was fining Corinthian $30 million for misrepresented job placement data and altered grades and attendance records. In an investigation that began in January 2014, the Education Department found that Corinthian locations misled students by inflating their job-placement rates. In September, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued the company, alleging that it used the inflated placement rates to recruit students to take out expensive private loans, which made up about 85 percent of its revenue. For example, the government found that Corinthian campuses paid temporary employment agencies to hire their graduates and send them back to the same campuses — counting them as having been successfully placed in careers. And Corinthian locations counted students who were already working before they even enrolled as having been successfully placed. "What these students have experienced is unacceptable." Corinthian sold many of its campuses to a nonprofit education group last year, allowing many students to continue their schoolwork. But it was unable to sell the remaining 28, which it blamed Sunday on "federal and state regulators seeking to impose financial penalties and conditions on buyers" and potential partners. "We believe that we have attempted to do everything within our power to provide a quality education and an opportunity for a better future for our students," Chief Executive Jack Massimino said. The Education Department said it would help the stranded students review their options, including possibly forgiving some of their loans. "What these students have experienced is unacceptable," it said in a statement. "As Corinthian closes its doors for good, the department will continue to keep students at the heart of every decision we make." But students said they were intensely frustrated by the out-of-the-blue news. "I was two months away from getting my degree, and it's just getting harder because they didn't give us a warning," said Mark Corpuz, who was studying for a degree in health information technology at Heald College in Honolulu, Hawaii. "My friends are pretty angry about it, too," Corpuz told NBC station KHNL. "Some of them are in the same situation as me. And also some of them, they quit their jobs just to be full-time students." ||||| Corinthian Colleges will shut down all of its remaining 28 ground campuses, displacing about 16,000 students, less than two weeks after the U.S. Department of Education announced it was fining the for-profit institution $30 million for misrepresentation. Watch report: Corinthian Colleges to shut down all 28 remaining campuses In a statement Sunday, the Santa Ana, California-based company said it was working with other schools to help students continue their education. The closures include Heald College campuses in California, Hawaii and Oregon, as well as Everest and WyoTech schools in California, Arizona and New York. Corinthian was one of the country's largest for-profit educational institutions. It collapsed last summer amid a cash shortage and fraud allegations. The Education Department contends that Corinthian failed to comply with requests to address allegations of falsifying job placement data and altering grades and attendance records. It agreed to sell or close its campuses under pressure from the department. In a statement, the California's attorney general said: "Corinthian engaged in numerous deceptive practices that preyed on thousands of hard-working and vulnerable Californians seeking a brighter future." Kamala Harris' office said it will work closely with state and federal agencies to ensure that students get the relief they deserve. Earlier in April, the department fined subsidiary Heald College, alleging the school had shown a pattern of falsifying post-graduation employment data. In one instance, the company's Honolulu campus declared a student had found work in her chosen field of accounting, even though administrators knew she was working at Taco Bell, the department said. Most of the company's former schools have been sold, and Corinthian attempted to sell Heald as well but was blocked by Harris' refusal to provide prospective buyers with a release from liability. The company said Sunday it had been in "advanced negotiations" with several parties to sell the 150-year-old college and allow outside partners to let Everest and WyoTech students continue their education but was unsuccessful. "Unfortunately, the current regulatory environment would not allow us to complete a transaction with several interested parties that would have allowed for a seamless transition for our students," Corinthian CEO Jack Massimino said in a statement. Students were surprised by the announcement. "It was very shocking to be told 'hey, tomorrow, no more school," said student Alexandra Roske. The company also defended its work, saying its graduation and job placement rates "compared favorably with community colleges" and that many of its students hadn't been able to get their needs met at a traditional higher education institution. "Neither our board of directors, our management, our faculty, nor our students believe these schools deserved to be forced to close," Massimino said. A group of current and former Corinthian students are petitioning the Education Department to waive their federal student debt based on the alleged misconduct. According to the company's filings, the schools generated $1.2 billion government loans its final year. -- KCRA 3's Mike Luery contributed to this report.

– Corinthian Colleges will shut down its remaining 28 campuses, displacing about 16,000 students, less than two weeks after the Department of Education announced it was fining the for-profit institution $30 million for misrepresentation. Corinthian was one of the country's largest for-profit educational institutions, and NBC News reports the shutdown may be "the biggest ... in the history of higher education in the United States." Corinthian collapsed last summer amid a cash shortage and fraud allegations. In a statement yesterday, the company based in Santa Ana, Calif., said it was working with other schools to help students continue their education, though as one student put it to KCRA, "It was very shocking to be told 'hey, tomorrow, no more school." The closures include Heald College campuses in California, Hawaii, and Oregon, as well as Everest and WyoTech schools in California, Arizona, and New York. The Education Department contends that Corinthian failed to comply with requests to address allegations of falsifying job placement data and altering grades and attendance records; Corinthian agreed to sell or close its campuses under pressure from the department. In one instance, Heald College's Honolulu campus declared a student had found work in her chosen field of accounting, even though administrators knew she was working at Taco Bell, the department said. A group of current and former Corinthian students are petitioning the department to waive their federal student debt based on the allegations. The company generated $1.2 billion in government loans its final year.

NEW YORK (AP) — Target shoppers found out this weekend that when stores make deals to carry merchandise from high-end designers for a limited time, it can be, well, really limiting. The discounter partnered with the Lilly Pulitzer brand to carry a collection of 250 pieces for a fraction of the price of the Palm Beach designer's original merchandise. But the offer, which included $38 pink shift dresses and $25 beach towels, was wrought with long lines in stores, quick sellouts online and other problems. It shows the challenges stores face when they offer limited-time collections. These lines typically consist of cheaper versions of designer pieces and are sold for a short period of time. They generate buzz from aspirational buyers who want to don upscale brands as well as avid wearers of the labels themselves. But the high demand can be a double-edged sword: Often, customers encounter picked-over merchandise and website snafus. Target, which pioneered these partnerships in the 1990s and has been followed by rivals like H&M, Gap and Kohl's, started selling the Lilly Pulitzer collection on Sunday online at about 4 a.m. EST and at stores at 8 a.m. EST. Demand was so heavy that Target took the site offline for 20 minutes, which caused angry chatter on social media. Ultimately, the items sold out online within a few hours and at many of the 1,800 stores within a half hour. Target apologized for the online snafu, noting an "inconsistent experience for our guests." And spokesman Joshua Thomas said pieces could still be found at stores. "We felt good about the amount of product, but you just don't know until you give customers a chance to shop," Thomas said. Despite the issues, many experts say Target's Lilly Pulitzer collection was a success. "I think this was a huge success not only because Target sold out but because everyone was talking about them," said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at market researcher NPD Group. Here are three challenges retailers face with limited-time partnerships: HARD TO PREDICT DEMAND Stores and analysts say it's hard to gauge what shoppers will actually buy since those items haven't ever been sold before. There was lot of buzz leading up to Target's launch of its limited-time partnership with Neiman Marcus in 2012. Target increased production in anticipation of a sales blowout, but Target shoppers thought the line was too expensive, while well-heeled Neiman Marcus customers didn't think it was high quality. Several weeks later, prices were slashed more than 50 percent. SOCIAL MEDIA CAN HURT Shoppers are increasingly turning to social media to air their complaints. Target drummed up so much hype around its collection with upscale Italian designer Missoni in 2011 that its web site crashed and was shut down for most of the day of the launch. Shoppers voiced frustrations online and then threatened to boycott Target weeks later on social media because their online orders were being delayed and canceled. "Social media is like a megaphone," said Craig Johnson, a retail consultant. AFTER MARKET SELLERS Some shoppers use these partnerships to profit by selling the stuff on eBay. For instance, there were sold-out Lilly Pulitzer items selling for at least three times Target's original prices on eBay. That frustrates shoppers who want to buy items just for themselves. "I think it's sad that it can't be a fun experience," said Meredith Forbes, 21, who was at Target's East Harlem, New York, store Sunday. Target's Thomas said just 1.5 percent of the total Lilly Pulitzer for Target collection was on eBay. _____ Follow Anne D'Innocenzio at http://www.Twitter.com/adinnocenzio ||||| The preppy clothes made by Lilly Pulitzer are infantilizing and unflattering, says Post fashion critic Robin Givhan, but maybe that's part of their charm. (Tom LeGro/The Washington Post) The debut of the Lilly Pulitzer collection for Target was a spectacular feat of retailing that had very little to do with the quality of the fashion that the mass marketer was selling. Lilly Pulitzer is not fashion. It is clothes. The classic Lilly Pulitzer dress comes in shrill shades of yellow and pink that are vaguely infantilizing. They are clothes that can be shrunk down and worn by 7-year-old girls without changing a single design element — if there were actual design elements to change. But there are not. Lilly Pulitzer is preppy. It is part of a preppy uniform that announces itself from fifty paces. It is not so much a declaration of wealth as it is a perceived statement about class, lineage and attitude. Anyone can work hard and save up enough cash to go out and purchase a Chanel suit or a Gucci handbag. A devoted student of Vogue can cobble together a personal style that speaks to its public identity. But Lilly Pulitzer suggests an advantage of birth. The clothes stir up scrapbook notions of ancient family trees, summer compounds, boarding school uniforms, and large, granite buildings inscribed with some great-great-grandfather’s name. Lilly Pulitzer represents something that money cannot buy. “Lilly Pulitzer is not fashion. It is clothes.” (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Target) The clothes are, upon close inspection, not so terribly attractive. Actually, they are rather unattractive. And that is part of their charm. They are not meant to be stylish — that’s so nouveau. The clothes are clubby. Country clubby. One-percent-ish. Target created a feeding frenzy of shoppers lured by cheap versions of A-line sheaths that are mostly distinguished by their swirling, colorful prints rather than by silhouette, fabric, craftsmanship or creativity. The massive lines, crashing Web sites and lust-filled tweets under #LillyForTarget are less proof of shoppers’ discerning taste than evidence that folks love a whiff of leisure-class exclusivity, a brand name and a bargain — however that might be defined. Target has a long history of these limited-edition collections, which have included such rarefied fashion names as Jason Wu, Altuzarra, Rodarte and Missoni. These collections whipped customers into a near-fugue state of consumption because the merchandise was limited and buyers could get a smidge of the design house’s distinctive sensibility for a significant discount. A Rodarte dress normally costs a customer anywhere from $3,000 on up. But most everything in the Target collection was less than $100. The Missoni collection at Target included housewares bearing the Italian brand’s distinctive and colorful zigzag pattern. A high-end Missoni pillow costs about $300. Target was selling them for about a tenth of that price. Those are jaw-dropping deals. And it was good-looking merchandise, too. In this March 16, 1965 photo, fashion designer Lilly Pulitzer wears her own design and creation of the Lilly shift, in Palm Beach, Fla. Pulitzer, known for her tropical print dresses, died in Florida at 81. (Robert H. Houston/AP) But Lilly Pulitzer isn’t that kind of designer collection. The brand was founded in 1959 by the label’s namesake — a bored, rich housewife who had started an orange juice stand in Palm Beach. One day, she brought along several simple chemise dresses — which had been constructed by her dressmaker from fabric that Pulitzer had purchased at Woolworth. The dresses were a hit, and the easy, but constructed shape, helped define the style of a generation of women in the 1960s. The clothes were perky and chaste and bore an aristocratic name. “There is, however, always a big difference between the uncomplicated Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress, the Halston Ultrasuede shirtwaist or other icons of style, and all the competition. Pulitzer invented nothing; she is hardly a designer,” wrote the late fashion historian Richard Martin in his compendium on American fashion. Pulitzer died in 2013. [Lilly Pulitzer’s fashion line for Target debuted Sunday — and basically sold out Sunday] Today, a simple Lilly Pulitzer dress is about $200. A Target version is about $40. That’s a bargain, for sure, but not that exceptional. One might expect to find nearly as good a deal by waiting for a sale at Neiman Marcus. Time, after all, is not of the essence. Lilly Pulitzer is classic. It is always hanging on a rack somewhere, everywhere, in all of its pineapple-print, feel-good, preppy psychedelia. But who has time to pull out a calculator and get involved in fractions when pink dresses are flying off the racks — virtual and real — and shoppers are overwhelmed by the fear of missing out? It must be a good deal if everyone is going this bonkers, right? Discerning eyes go blurry at the prospect of a bargain. And as much as people pooh-pooh the allure of designer this-and-that, shoppers continue to find validation from the name on the label inside their clothes. Sometimes that label rightfully stands for quality — a confirmation that a purse is hand-made or a dress has been stitched just so. But in the case of Lilly Pulitzer for Target, the label isn’t a promise of enduring quality, unique style or specialized fit. The chest-thumping is about having gotten something that others missed out on, something that was ephemeral. Target distinguished itself once again as a retailing dynamo. But what it was selling this time had nothing to do with fashion.

– Target paired with fashion line Lilly Pulitzer over the weekend to offer a limited collection, and it was a smash success from a retail point of view. Online merchandise sold out within hours, reports AP, while most shoppers at physical stores ended up out of luck. Those in the latter camp shouldn't feel too bad about it, writes fashion critic Robin Givhan at the Washington Post. Lilly Pulitzer is a mass marketer of clothes, not fashion, she writes. And "the clothes are, upon close inspection, not so terribly attractive." In fact, "they are rather unattractive," writes Givhan. "And that is part of their charm. They are not meant to be stylish—that’s so nouveau. The clothes are clubby. Country clubby. One-percent-ish." Remember that the company itself was created by a bored Palm Beach socialite—she died in 2013—and its summer dresses reflect that. "The classic Lilly Pulitzer dress comes in shrill shades of yellow and pink that are vaguely infantilizing. They are clothes that can be shrunk down and worn by 7-year-old girls without changing a single design element—if there were actual design elements to change. But there are not." Those disappointed Target shoppers may be cursing their luck at missing out on bargain prices for what they think is high fashion. But really, they just got swept up in a this-many-people-can't-be-wrong phenomenon. Target again proved it's "a retailing dynamo," writes Givhan. "But what it was selling this time had nothing to do with fashion." Click for her full column.

The wandering wolf OR-7 appears to have a mate. Remote cameras in the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest have captured several images of a black female in the same area as OR-7, who has been on the move since 2011 in search of new territory and a mate to form a new pack. The images were recovered Wednesday by John Stephenson, wolf biologist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, as part of an ongoing wolf monitoring program by state and federal wildlife biologists. "This information is not definitive, but it is likely that this new wolf and OR-7 have paired up," Stephenson said. He said transmissions from OR-7's radio collar also indicate the two have denned. "If that is correct, they would be rearing pups at this time of year," Stephenson said. The two have never been in the same shot but they have passed the camera not long after each other, indicating they are aware of each other. Biologists determined that the black wolf was a female because she's smaller than OR-7 and squats to urinate. U.S. biologists and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife will wait until June or later to confirm whether there are pups. If the two have produced offspring, they would be the first wolves known to breed in the Oregon Cascades since the early 20th century. Evidence of another wolf in the Cascades surfaced in December, when biologists found tracks on the eastern slopes of Mount Hood. But there is no indication that those were the tracks of the black wolf, Stephenson said. The news of an OR-7 mate drew cheers from wildlife advocates. "For people who appreciate native wildlife in Oregon, the news doesn't get any bigger than this," said Rob Klavins of Oregon Wild. The discovery comes as the OR-7 Expedition readies a 1,200-mile trek retracing as much as possible of OR-7's path. The group of people, including a wolf ecologist, wildlife educator and filmmaker, will spend 42 days traveling from the Eagle Cap Wilderness in Oregon to the Crater Lake area and finally to Mount Shasta in California. OR-7 is believed to be the first confirmed wolf in western Oregon since the last one was killed under a livestock protection bounty program in 1947. He is also the first confirmed wolf in California since 1924. He was born in spring 2009 in the shadow of the Eagle Cap Wilderness in northeastern Oregon as part of the Imnaha pack. In February 2011, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists collared him with a Global Positioning System device. OR-7 left the pack in September, 2011, days after the state issued a kill order for his father and sibling for preying on livestock. Most Oregon wolves that have taken off on similar journeys, called dispersals, have stayed in the northeastern sector of the state or ventured into Idaho. Lately, OR-7 has spent most of his time in the southwest Cascades, making occasional forays into California. The wolf's collar has eclipsed its normal life span though it is still sending signals. Biologists had said they would not replace it, but Michelle Dennehy, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the agency would now re-evaluate that. "We definitely want to keep at least one animal collared," Stephenson said. "Now is not the time to do it. It's a sensitive time and OR-7s collar is still going strong." Biologists will monitor OR-7 and the other wolf using remote cameras, collecting DNA from any scat discovered and by surveying the pups when appropriate. At the end of last year, there were 64 known wolves in Oregon. Except for OR-7, most are in the northeast. The animals are protected under the state and federal Endangered Species acts. -- Lynne Terry ||||| 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.

– It may have taken three years, two states, and something of a movie deal, but the wandering gray wolf known as OR7 appears to have found his girl. OR7 first attracted attention in 2011 when he abandoned his pack in northeastern Oregon and trekked to California in search of—what else?—love and land, becoming in the process the first gray wolf seen in the Golden State in 88 years. OR7 has since moved between California and Oregon, and wolf experts tracking him via a collar transmitter (which typically only last three years) began to despair. "We weren't going to (re-collar him)," says John Stephenson, a wolf biologist with the Fish and Wildlife Service. "He's a lone wolf. There's only so much information you can get." But then came a change. OR7 began "denning"—confining his wandering to a small area in southwestern Oregon's Cascade Mountains—and lo and behold, wildlife cameras spotted another wolf in the area. This one is black and appears female, reports the LA Times. "We don't know where this female came from," says Stephenson, but OR7's collar transmissions indicate "this new wolf and OR7 have paired up." Better yet? "If that is correct, they would be rearing pups at this time of year." Experts will wait til at least next month to confirm the presence of pups, notes the Oregonian, but they would be the first wolves in the area since early last century. The gray wolf was hunted nearly to extinction, and wildlife enthusiasts are ecstatic. "In a decade there could be wolves recolonizing habitat in Northern California," says one. "He's certainly been there and checked it out." OR7's story hits the big screen later this month.

World Cup 2018 & 2022: More bidding process corruption claims More allegations of corruption during the bidding process to stage the World Cups in 2018 and 2022 have been made. The House of Commons Culture Media and Sport select committee has published previously unseen material submitted to it by the Sunday Times newspaper. It draws on claims by senior sources that officials connected to England's bid for the 2018 World Cup ran an intelligence-gathering operation against rival nations. Russia and Qatar won the bids. BBC sports editor Dan Roan "Closure for Fifa seems a long, long way off. This tawdry saga shows no sign of abating, and it shames the game - and those that run it." Read more This submission by the Sunday Times outlines how England 2018 executives compiled a database of rumours and intelligence - gathered by private companies and, significantly, British embassies. There is, however, no clear evidence supplied by the paper. Instead, its submission provides detailed accounts of how votes were allegedly bought and sold in the build-up to the December 2010 poll - and how Fifa's opaque rules for bidding nations were exploited. The paper claims Russia's President Vladimir Putin played a major role in his country's winning bid, even, it says, enlisting Fifa's president Sepp Blatter to help lobby for votes. Another claim suggests the Russia bid had lobbied for the support of Michel Platini - the Uefa president and voter - by giving him a painting believed to have been a Picasso. There are also allegations about Qatar, and how its dominance in the natural gas industry helped it secure votes through bilateral trade deals. Russia, the 2018 World Cup hosts, and Qatar, who will hold the 2022 tournament, have always denied any wrongdoing, and a recent, albeit disputed, summary of a Fifa inquiry cleared them. The Football Association said in a statement: "The Fifa Ethics Committee made specific requests and responding to these requests involved searching in excess of 500,000 documents. "The search parameters were established with Mr Garcia's office. The documents searched included intelligence gathered by the bid team. All documents within the search parameters were disclosed. "In addition Andy Anson has confirmed that any intelligence that he believed could be substantiated was shared with Mr Garcia in his interview and that everything else was hearsay, gossip and rumour." Culture Media and Sport select committee chairman John Whittingdale MP has told BBC Sport that, in light of the Sunday Times submission, he would like to hear from FA executives to ascertain if the 'database' exists and, if so, for them to outline its contents. ||||| Story highlights Further allegations published around award of 2018 and 2022 World Cups UK parliamentary committee reveals details of a 'secret dossier' obtained by the Sunday Times Dossier was allegedly commissioned by failed 2018 England bid Claims made over using priceless art as inducement by Russia 2018 bid Expensive works of art offered as inducements are at the center of the latest series of damaging allegations around the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, a published report claimed. A painting, believed to be a Picasso, was allegedly gifted to Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) president and FIFA executive member Michel Platini in return for his support for the eventually successful Russian bid for the 2018 global showpiece. Another FIFA voting member, Michel D'Hooghe, from Belgium, was also the recipient of a landscape painting, given to him in a package wrapped in brown paper by Viacheslav Koloskov, a former Russian executive committee member working for his nation's attempt to host the 2018 tournament, it is alleged in a report in The Sunday Times. JUST WATCHED Was a Picasso offered as a kickback? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Was a Picasso offered as a kickback? 01:00 JUST WATCHED Winter or summer for Qatar 2022? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Winter or summer for Qatar 2022? 02:19 JUST WATCHED FIFA ethics report clears Russia, Qatar Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH FIFA ethics report clears Russia, Qatar 03:27 "Allegations' in the Sunday Times relating to my actions in the 2018 and 2022 bidding processes are total fabrications," said former French international star Platini. "The matter has now been passed to my legal advisers." D'Hooghe told the Sunday Times that he believed the painting given to him, was "absolutely ugly" and he believed it had no value. He said he had not voted for the Russian bid. The newspaper's latest revelations are based on evidence it supplied to a UK parliamentary committee, which itself has been investigating the circumstances around the award of the World Cup host countries, particularly in the light of England's failed bid for the 2018 competition. The House of Commons Culture, Media and Sport Committee (DCMS) has now published details of the investigations by the Sunday Times which claim the England bid commissioned "high-level intelligence gathering and and surveillance on the other countries bidding to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups." It also claims England's bid used private security companies and a former member of the UK government's intelligence service MI6 to gather information on its rivals. The previously unreported material contains a series of claims around the role allegedly played by Russian President Vladimir Putin in making sure his country would host football's premier competition, hard on the heels of winning the rights to stage the Sochi Winter Olympics earlier this year. It claims that Putin was initially skeptical about Russia's bid but had later thrown his full weight behind the process. "He (Putin) took a personal interest in the running of the bid in mid-2010," the committee report reveals. Under the heading, "Intelligence relating to Russia 2018" a series of allegations are revealed about Putin's role in brokering a major bilateral trade deal for gas with Qatar, the winners of the 2022 bid, in exchange for each others votes and the votes of others of their supporters. The allegations also detail the plundering of Russia's national art collection, either from the vaults of the State Hermitage Museum in St.Petersburg or the Kremlin archives, as alleged kickbacks to Platini and D'Hooghe. In a statement given to CNN, officials behind the Russian bid have also strongly denied any wrongdoing. JUST WATCHED Racism and the World Cup Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Racism and the World Cup 01:11 JUST WATCHED Russia urged to tackle racist abuse Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Russia urged to tackle racist abuse 02:36 JUST WATCHED FIFA's Blatter to seek Presidency again Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH FIFA's Blatter to seek Presidency again 02:26 "Russia 2018 categorically rejects all of the allegations made in the Sunday Times today as entirely unfounded speculation," it said. "These allegations are not new, but the evidence has only ever indicated that Russia 2018 behaved professionally and fairly throughout the bidding process. "The Russia 2018 Bid Committee operated in full compliance with the spirit and letter of FIFA's Code of Ethics, and sought to abide by the FIFA bidding guidelines at all times. "This kind of speculation will not affect Russia 2018's focus on doing what we have been doing for nearly four years already: making great progress towards our objective of hosting the best ever FIFA World Cup in 2018." The alleged pivotal role of FIFA president Sepp Blatter in the bidding process is also highlighted in the published reports of the DCMS and the Sunday Times. The claim is made that Blatter and Putin "jointly 'hit the phones' to drum up votes for Russia on the eve of the secret ballot in Zurich on December 2, 2010." Blatter was "absolutely committed" to the Russian bid it was said. Earlier this month, football's world governing body published a report that cleared Russia and Qatar of any wrongdoing in their winning of the hosting rights for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. But within hours of the announcement, Michael Garcia, the U.S. attorney who had led the investigation, went public with his disappointment at the findings, labeling them "incomplete and erroneous" and claiming that his work had been misrepresented. The saga took a further twist when FIFA later announced it had lodged a criminal complaint in the Swiss courts into the "possible misconduct of individual persons in connection with the awarding of the hosting rights of the 2018 and 2022 World Cup." FIFA told CNN Sunday that it was unable to comment on the specific allegations in the DCMS and Sunday Times reports. JUST WATCHED FIFA president Blatter controversial Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH FIFA president Blatter controversial 03:20 JUST WATCHED Former FIFA advisor: "Blatter must go" Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Former FIFA advisor: "Blatter must go" 03:31 JUST WATCHED Blatter's FIFA presidency challenger Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Blatter's FIFA presidency challenger 02:11 "Matters related to the 2018/2022 inquiry are solely handled by the Investigatory Chamber of the independent FIFA Ethics Committee," it said. "Therefore we are not in a position to comment on on-going proceedings nor on names and other information circulated in the media, particularly as we do not know against which individuals and for what reasons investigations are in process nor do we know the details of what is actually in the investigation reports." It added: "The independent Chairman of the Audit and Compliance Committee Domenico Scala is currently evaluating the matter to decide on the next steps including the compiling of relevant information from the investigation which needs to be provided to the FIFA Executive Committee. "In parallel, the entire reports have been provided to the Swiss General Attorney. As such, FIFA has no further comment for the time-being." Meanwhile, the English Football Association also responded Sunday to the reports, claiming that the 2018 bid chairman Andy Anson and his team had fully co-operated with the original FIFA investigation. "The Fifa Ethics Committee made specific requests and responding to these requests involved searching in excess of 500,000 documents," the Guardian newspaper reported. "The search parameters were established with Mr Garcia's office. The documents searched included intelligence gathered by the bid team. All documents within the search parameters were disclosed." It added that Anson had only shared with Garcia information that could be substantiated. "Everything else was hearsay, gossip and rumor," it added. The UK Parliament is set to debate the findings of the DCMS report Monday.

– There's regular corruption, and then there's over-the-top Teapot Dome-style bribery. The latter is what took place ahead of the controversial decision to award the 2018 and 2022 soccer World Cups to Russia and Qatar, according to a report submitted to British lawmakers. The report compiled by the Sunday Times claims "high-level intelligence gathering and surveillances" conducted in part by British embassies revealed wrongdoing, including a vote-swapping conspiracy between Russia and Qatar and the bribing of committee members with fine paintings allegedly taken from the Kremlin archives or a St. Petersburg museum, CNN reports. The report says Vladimir Putin took an active role in supporting the Russian bid, which was moved forward with the help of a huge gas deal with Qatar. Key FIFA voting member Michel Platini was given a Picasso painting in return for supporting the Russian bid, according to the report, while another member admits being given a painting but says it was "absolutely ugly" and he believed it worthless. Russia and Qatar have both denied persistent reports of wrongdoing in relations to the bid, and they were recently cleared by a hotly contested FIFA probe, reports the BBC, which notes that while the latest reports of corruption may be brushed off, the "tawdry saga shows no sign of abating" for world soccer authorities. (As Qatar prepares for the 2022 Cup, Amnesty International warns that migrant workers building its infrastructure are being exploited and thousands could die in the race to complete construction projects.)

While most students at Columbia University will spend the first day of classes carrying backpacks and books, Emma Sulkowicz will start her semester on Tuesday with a far heavier burden. The senior plans on carrying an extra-long, twin-size mattress across the quad and through each New York City building – to every class, every day – until the man she says raped her moves off campus. “I was raped in my own bed,” Sulkowicz told me the other day, as she was gearing up to head back to school in this, the year American colleges are finally, supposedly, ready to do something about sexual assault. “I could have taken my pillow, but I want people to see how it weighs down a person to be ignored by the school administration and harassed by police.” Sulkowicz is one of three women who made complaints to Columbia against the same fellow senior, who was found “not responsible” in all three cases. She also filed a police report, but Sulkowicz was treated abysmally – by the cops, and by a Columbia disciplinary panel so uneducated about the scourge of campus violence that one panelist asked how it was possible to be anally raped without lubrication. Apparently even an Ivy League school still doesn’t understand the old adage of “no means no”. So Sulkowicz joined a federal complaint in April over Columbia’s mishandling of sexual misconduct cases, and she will will hoist that mattress on her shoulders as part savvy activism, part performance art. “The administration can end the piece, by expelling him,” she says, “or he can, by leaving campus.” Her performance may be singular, but the deep frustration voiced by Sulkowicz is being echoed by survivors across the United States. Despite increased efforts to curb campus assault and hold schools accountable – the FBI has changed its once-archaic definition of rape, a new White House task force wants answers, and schools like Harvard and Dartmouth have promised new policies – the nation’s university administrators are still failing young people in their care. In the last year alone, 67 schools have had students file federal complaints accusing their own colleges of violating the Clery Act or Title IX. With the start of school underway, however, the biggest paradigm shift on rape and sexual consent in decades may just now be emerging in California, where “yes means yes” – a model for reform that feminists like me have been pushing for years – could soon become law. Late last week, the first state bill to require colleges to adopt an “affirmative consent” model in their sexual assault policies passed the California senate unanimously. The legislation, which is headed to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for approval by the end of this month (his office declined to comment), effectively requires the presence of a “yes” rather than the absence of a “no” – or else withholds funding from the nation’s largest state school system. Verbal consent is best: easier to avoid the 'he said, she said' college administrators try to make rape cases out to be Sofie Karasek, senior, UC-Berkeley The legislation additionally clarifies that affirmative consent means both parties must be awake, conscious and not incapacitated from alcohol or drugs – and that past sexual encounters or a romantic relationship doesn’t imply consent. The California bill also, importantly, specifies that “lack of protest or resistance does not mean consent, nor does silence mean consent”. It seems like a no-brainer to only have sex with conscious and enthusiastic partners, but detractors say the standard “micromanages” sexuality. The truth is that a “yes means yes” policy “helps to create a shared responsibility, instead of the responsibility falling on women to say ‘no’,” says Tracey Vitchers, chair of the board at Safer (Students Active for Ending Rape). Anti-violence activists are clearly excited about the bill, which – if all goes well – could be adopted by more states with large public university systems. Sofie Karasek, a senior at the University of California at Berkeley and co-founder of End Rape on Campus, also supports the new bill. Like Sulkowicz at Columbia, Karasek filed a federal complaint after she said Berkeley didn’t take sufficient action after she reported a sexual assault. As her first week back on campus was winding down on Friday, Karasek told me she thinks the California model has “created an important conversation about consent in the media and public, and I think with affirmative consent, more students will be talking about it as well.” Indeed, a lot of students – male students, included – already are. Gray Williams, a senior at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, says he likes the “yes means yes” standard. “It’s not that big of a deal, and I appreciate having an unambiguous ‘yes’ or ‘no’ instead of having to read her body language,” he told me. Roo George-Warren, a recent graduate of Vanderbilt University, thinks some young men might be skeptical, but he insists part of the problem is that the “discourse around consent in day-to-day conversation is so unsophisticated.” And this is what makes the legislation so important for colleges: mandating “yes means yes” in sexual assault policy puts the onus on colleges to give comprehensive consent education. If students are to abide by that standard, they need to know what it means. So California could lead the way in redefining how we think about sexual consent. But as promising as this overdue measure may be, state legislatures and university administrators alike need to make sure they’re being as thorough as possible in this moment when real reform, for once, doesn’t seem impossible. The legislation doesn’t clearly specify whether affirmative consent means verbal or nonverbal communication. Do students need to say “yes”? Or is clear body language sufficient? Should Gov Brown sign “yes means yes” into law, I agree with Slate writer Amanda Hess, who believes the standard going forward should itself be more sophisticated and include nonverbal cues – not just because they present a more realistic vision of how we experience sex, but because we need to talk about body language that can mean “no” as well: If we can admit that enthusiastic consent is often communicated in body language or knowing looks, then we must also accept that the lack of consent doesn’t always manifest itself in a shouted ‘no’ or ‘stop,’ either. It shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of the uninterested party to speak up during a sexual encounter. At Berkeley, Karasek said she remained worried that such ambiguity could be used to further hurt survivors and that requiring verbal consent would make it easier to “avoid the ‘he said, she said’ that college administrators try to make rape cases out to be.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest An estimated one in five women is sexually assaulted during college. Emma Sulkowicz says she was raped in her own bed. Photograph: Kristina Budelis for Guardian US Opinion We’ve come a long way in the last four decades on sexual assault, but this necessary shift to “yes means yes” will not be an easy one. (Let’s also not forget that it was just four years ago when male students from Yale University were caught on tape chanting “No means yes, yes means anal.”) The feminist movement of the 70s shined a light on “date rape” – the most common kind of sexual assault that once went ignored is now widely-understood to be a pervasive problem. Twenty-one years ago, marital rape was still legal in some states, but now legislation decries the idea that marriage equals constant consent. Today, politicians and activists alike increasingly recognize that everything we did before is simply not enough: despite these shifts in policy and public perception, rape is still far too common – approximately one out of every five women is sexually assaulted in college. And that’s just what’s reported, according to the White House. That’s just in America. That’s just in college. When I spoke to Sulkowicz about her unofficial senior project – she calls it Mattress Performance: Carry That Weight – the brave 21-year-old said something I think most people who care about the issue of violence against women can relate to. “It’s going to be an endurance piece,” she said. In some ways, battling rape always has been. ||||| Emma Sulkowicz says she was raped in her own dorm bed by a classmate on the first day of her sophomore year of college. Since then, a substantial amount of her time at Columbia University has been spent trying to convince college administrators, police, and even friends that what happened to her really happened, that it was rape, and that her rapist deserves to be punished for what he did. (Update: Read The Cut’s interview with Sulkowicz here.) Related Stories Columbia Student Speaks on Mattress Performance Sulkowicz is one of 23 students who are part of a federal Title IX complaint filed against Columbia in April for mishandling sexual-assault cases. Though she and two other students reported that the same student had assaulted them, all of their claims were swept under the rug, and the male student was not expelled from campus. “Every day, I am afraid to leave my room,” Sulkowicz wrote in Time in May. “Even seeing people who look remotely like my rapist scares me. Last semester I was working in the dark room in the photography department. Though my rapist wasn’t in my class, he asked permission from his teacher to come and work in the dark room during my class time. I started crying and hyperventilating. As long as he’s on campus with me, he can continue to harass me.” Now a senior majoring in visual arts, Sulkowicz has devised a senior thesis rooted in performance art that will allow her to protest the fact that her rapist continues to study on campus. She has committed to carrying around a twin-size dorm mattress everywhere she goes on campus, to classes and appointments, “for as long as I attend the same school as my rapist.” “I was raped in my own dorm bed, and since then that space has become fraught for me,” she says in a video about the piece, called Mattress Performance or Carry That Weight, published by the Columbia Spectator. “And I feel like I’ve carried the weight of what happened there with me everywhere since then.” In an interview with The Cut, Sulkowicz talks about how her performance has been going so far.

– Columbia senior Emma Sulkowicz says school authorities have ignored her allegations that a fellow student raped her in her dorm room on the first day of sophomore year. It's going to be tough to ignore this, however: The visual arts major plans to carry a mattress with her everywhere she goes on campus "for as long as I attend the same school as my rapist," reports New York. Sulkowicz has turned her ordeal into a senior thesis she's calling Mattress Performance: Carry That Weight. “I could have taken my pillow, but I want people to see how it weighs down a person to be ignored by the school administration and harassed by police," she explains to Jessica Valenti of the Guardian. Two other female students have accused the same male student of rape, and Columbia authorities declared him to be "not responsible" in all three cases. Sulkowicz is one of about two dozen students who have lodged a federal complaint against Columbia over its handling of sexual abuse allegations. She wrote of her experience previously in Time and now speaks to the Columbia Spectator about her project. One of its rules: She's not allowed to ask for help carrying the mattress, but she can accept it if others offer. (Earlier this year, a graffiti vigilante began naming alleged rapists at Columbia.)

Republican leaders, racing against the clock to find a tough response to President Barack Obama’s immigration policies, are now left with two messy options: punt or risk getting blamed for shutting down an agency that fights terrorism. A punt is looking more likely by the hour. Story Continued Below On Monday evening, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved the Senate toward a standalone bill narrowly targeting the president’s 2014 executive action and sparing the 2012 action aimed only at certain young immigrants. It’s the GOP leader’s first step in trying to disentangle the immigration fight from a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security. Senior Republicans said privately earlier in the day that the party may have no choice now but to fund the agency on a short-term basis. The length of a so-called continuing resolution isn’t clear, but McConnell plans to discuss the matter with GOP senators in a closed-door lunch on Tuesday. The dual efforts — to potentially move a short-term funding bill and attack the immigration policies separately — are meant to signal to conservatives the GOP will continue to battle the president on immigration without jeopardizing DHS funding. While passing a short-term continuing resolution without restricting Obama on immigration would likely clear the Senate, it faces an uphill climb in the House, where it is unclear if conservatives will view the GOP’s evolving tactics as a run toward political cover. Both McConnell and Boehner have vowed to avoid any shutdowns — raising the stakes for the leaders in only the second month of a Congress now fully under GOP control. “There will be no shutdown,” one top Republican said privately Monday. The Republicans’ first choice — a bill that would keep DHS open while blocking Obama’s executive order shielding roughly 5 million illegal immigrants from deportation — stalled again in the Senate on Monday. For the fourth time this month, Senate Democrats filibustered the measure. The vote was 47-46. But with worries growing over national security preparedness in the event of a shutdown, an increasing number of Republicans said the party may have no option other than to extend the department’s funding for several weeks under a Continuing Resolution. “Clearly I’d prefer a CR over lapsing,” said Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.), who’s up for reelection next year. Though members of both parties don’t want a temporary fix —“I’m not for a short-term CR,” the No. 2 Senate Republican, John Cornyn of Texas, said Monday — Republican leaders are unlikely to have a better alternative unless they can persuade their rank-and-file to defer to the courts. A Texas district judge recently blocked Obama’s November order, but the administration is appealing. “We’re in a really strange constitutional spot: That you can’t ignore a president who has exceeded his authority, but neither can you put the nation at risk,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.). “I don’t think [a shutdown] is going to happen. I think we’ll resolve it. I don’t hear anyone rushing to say: ‘Let’s have a shutdown to prove a point.’” Like many Republicans, Lankford refused to say whether he would vote for a continuing resolution with no immigration provisions. But he did say a delay is more likely than a shutdown because it would allow time for the GOP to continue to fight the immigration order — and he wasn’t alone on Monday. “That’s the most likely way out of it. I don’t think we ought to shut the government down, it doesn’t serve conservative ends,” said Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.). And after playing down the effects of a funding lapse last week, Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) is now calling for an end to the stalemate. A range of fall-back proposals continued to be floated on Monday. One would be to tie a short-term budget bill to the outcome of the Texas immigration case, another would be to file an amicus brief in support of the lawsuit. A number of outspoken conservatives — such as Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz — are trying to stiffen GOP leaders’ spines, arguing that Democrats will shoulder the blame if the department shuts down. And as McConnell began to search for a way out of the jam and his colleagues expressed openness to punting on the immigration fight, Cruz did little to hide his disregard for party leaders’ tactics. “There was a reason in December I so vigorously opposed the CRomnibus strategy: Because leadership had no way out,” Cruz said of a bill to fund the entire government until October, save for a short-term DHS bill that set up this month’s fight. “I now await, eagerly, leadership’s solution,” Cruz said. Neither Sessions nor Cruz would say if they would seek to throw procedural hurdles in front of a stopgap funding bill, which could add days to Senate consideration, with passage in the House anything but assured. Still, the approaching deadline could spur Congress to act, as deadlines typically do with one major exception: the government shutdown over Obamacare in 2013. The parallels were not lost on Democrats, who spent Monday circulating polls that showed Americans would blame Republicans for a shutdown and that they prefer immigration policy be kept separate from funding the homeland security agency. Democrats are also gleefully highlighting remarks from Republicans questioning GOP leaders’ strategy. Both Sens. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and John McCain of Arizona warned on Sunday of major political fallout for their party and urged the GOP to place its bets on the legal challenge to Obama’s executive actions. ”Leave it to the courts. It would be an excellent case for the Supreme Court,” McCain said on Monday, seeking to separate the funding deadline from the immigration fight. “I want to leave it to the courts and see how it all plays out.” But even as Republicans lamented their situation, they also blamed Democrats for refusing to debate a bill. Ever since the Senate minority rejected the House’s proposal from being debated on the floor, Republicans have tried to saddle Senate Democrats’ with responsibility for a potential shutdown. “If Democrats would quit filibustering and allow us to get on this bill, which fully funds the Department of Homeland Security, we’re [open] to letting them have amendments,” said Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.). “Can’t finish the bill if you can’t start it.” But Hoeven, an appropriator who oversees homeland security spending, also threw cold water on a temporary bill. “I don’t support going to a CR. I think it would be better to get to a bill like we got and go through the process and offer amendments,” Hoeven said. “But at the end of day, whatever we pass, has to get through the House, too.” As the congressional standoff barrels to a climax, the Obama administration revved up its messaging machine. Flanked by nearly 30 employees from across the department and the chiefs of FEMA and Customs and Border Patrol, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Monday up to 80 percent of the department would work without pay in the event of a shutdown, while 30,000 employees would be furloughed, including 80 percent of FEMA. Though it seems the only way out of a shutdown he decries, the DHS secretary also lambasted a potential short-term funding bill and likened it to “trying to drive across the country with no more than 5 gallons of gas in your tank and you don’t know when the next gas station will appear.” Jake Sherman contributed to this report. ||||| Washington (CNN) Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced he is changing tactics in an attempt to break a stalemate with Democrats ahead of Friday's deadline when the Department of Homeland Security will run out of money, after taking his fourth failed vote on a House-approved measure. On a measure that needed 60 votes to succeed, it failed with 47 voting in support to 46 against. McConnell said he would bring a separate bill to the floor this week that would block funding for the implementation of President Barack Obama's immigration executive orders -- provisions in the current DHS bill that Democrats object to. By separating the immigration matter from the DHS funding bill, McConnell hopes to satisfy conservatives by allowing them to vote against the immigration orders while allowing a so-called "clean" DHS bill possibly to move on a separate track. While it's too early to know if the new plan will work -- and there are many procedural hurdles that could doom it -- it's the first new idea in weeks to break the congressional logjam over DHS. Republicans also believe it will put on the spot a handful of centrist Democrats who raised concerns with the immigration orders but have so-far refused to vote against them as long as they were attached to the DHS bill. "Some Democrats give the impression they want Congress to address the overreach," McConnell said. "But when they vote, they always seem to have an excuse for supporting actions they once criticized. So I'm going to begin proceedings on targeted legislation that would only address the most recent overreach from November. It isn't tied to DHS' funding. It removes their excuse." Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York, used the failed vote as an opportunity to blame Republicans for failing to fund the agency. "It's becoming clear Sen. McConnell realizes he must separate himself from the far right, but the bottom line is this proposal doesn't bring us any closer to actually funding DHS, and Republicans still have no real plan to achieve that goal," he said. It's not apparent how many Democrats might be persuaded to vote against the immigration orders in a standalone bill and whether it would be enough to give Republicans the 60 votes they need to get over procedural hurdles. It is unlikely supporters could get the 67 votes needed to overcome a veto, which surely would come from the President should the legislation clear Congress. Before Monday's vote, Senate Democrats squabbled with House Republicans about who exactly was to blame for the ongoing standoff. There are only four days before DHS funding ends, which will leave large parts of the agency shuttered or employees will be forced to work without pay. "We passed a bill that fully funds the department," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in an interview on CNN. "We'll probably see something come from the Senate this week and we'll have to make some tough choices. It would be irresponsible for lawmakers and policy-makers to shut down his national security agency at this grave time." Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri urged her colleagues, via Twitter, to pass a funding measure to "show unity against terrorists." "Let's pass funding for Homeland Security today to show unity against terrorists," McCaskill tweeted. "Then R's can bring up immigration for vote immediately after." Let's pass funding for Homeland Security today to show unity against terrorists.Then Rs can bring up immigration for vote immediately after. — Claire McCaskill (@clairecmc) February 23, 2015 But DHS is still prepping for the worst case scenario. In a letter to employees, Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said the department was making preparations "in the unlikely and unfortunate event that Congress does not fund DHS before Friday night a shutdown of this department occurs." "Have faith that his difficult and unnecessary situation will be resolved," Johnson said. ||||| Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, joined by the department employees, during a news conference in Washington, Monday, Feb. 23, 2015. A partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department loomed... (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — Days from a Homeland Security Department shutdown, Senate Republicans sought a way out Monday by splitting President Barack Obama's contested immigration measures from the agency's funding bill. It was not clear whether the gambit by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would succeed ahead of Friday's midnight deadline to fund the department or see it shut down. It was far from certain whether it would win any Democratic support, and House conservatives remain firmly opposed to any funding bill for the Homeland Security Department that does not also overturn Obama's executive actions on immigration. But with Senate Democrats united against a House-passed bill that funds the agency while blocking the president on immigration, McConnell said it was time for another approach. "It's another way to get the Senate unstuck from a Democrat filibuster and move the debate forward," McConnell said on the Senate floor after a vote to advance the House-passed bill failed 47-46, short of the 60 votes needed. Three previous attempts earlier in the month had yielded similar results. "This is our colleagues' chance to do exactly what they led their constituents to believe they'd do: defend the rule of law, without more excuses," McConnell said in a jab at the handful of Senate Democrats who have voiced opposition to Obama's executive actions offering work permits and deportation deferrals for millions in the country illegally. A spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, welcomed McConnell's move, though without predicting its chances of success in the House. "This vote will highlight the irresponsible hypocrisy of any Senate Democrat who claims to oppose President Obama's executive overreach on immigration, but refuses to vote to stop it," said Boehner spokesman Michael Steel. McConnell left unclear whether a vote overturning Obama's immigration moves would be followed by a stand-alone vote to fund the Homeland Security Department — an omission not lost on Senate Democrats. "With four days left to go before Homeland Security runs out, he's bringing a bill to the floor that doesn't fund Homeland Security," said Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. McConnell's move came after Obama warned the nation's governors that states would feel the economic pain of a Homeland Security shutdown, with tens of thousands of workers in line to be furloughed if the agency shuts down at midnight Friday, and many more forced to work without pay. "It will have a direct impact on your economy, and it will have a direct impact on America's national security," Obama told governors as they visited the White House as part of their annual conference. Within hours of Republicans securing the Senate majority last November, McConnell vowed there would be no government shutdowns, but the immigration fight threatened to shut down the Homeland Security Department and undermine GOP promises that they would show the nation they could govern. McConnell's move seemed aimed at dividing Senate Democrats who have been united against the $39.7 billion House-passed legislation that funds the Homeland Security Department through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year, while also rolling back Obama's executive actions granting work permits to millions of immigrants in this country illegally. Aides said McConnell's bill would target only the executive actions Obama announced in November, not an earlier directive from 2012 that provided protections to hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought illegally to the country as youths. That could make it more difficult for the handful of moderate Democrats who opposed Obama's executive actions when he announced them in November to vote against the legislation. The move came as growing numbers of Senate Republicans called for Congress to jettison the immigration fight and pass a "clean" Homeland Security spending bill without immigration language. In wake of a federal court's ruling last week stating that Obama had exceeded his authority and putting his immigration policies on hold, several Senate Republicans said the courts were the best place to fight that battle. "Leave it to the courts. I think we have an excellent case before the Supreme Court," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said Monday night. The Obama administration on Monday asked U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen in Brownsville, Texas, to put his ruling on hold and filed a notice of appeal of his ruling to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. House conservatives, by contrast, said the court developments only strengthened their resolve to use the Homeland Security budget to fight Obama on immigration. "A federal judge has confirmed that what we've done is the right thing," conservative Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said Monday. "I hope that the U.S. Senate can see the light and do the right thing." A short-term extension of current funding levels remained possible, but lawmakers have only a few days to come up with even that partial solution before the agency's funding expires. A Homeland Security shutdown would result in some 30,000 administrative and other workers getting furloughed. Some 200,000 others would fall into essential categories and stay on the job at agencies like the Border Patrol, Secret Service and Transportation Security Administration, though mostly without drawing a paycheck until the situation is resolved. ___= Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Charles Babington contributed to this report.

– Funding for Homeland Security teetered closer to the proverbial cliff today as Senate Democrats again stalled a bill to fund the US agency—but a compromise may be in the works. Senators voted nearly down the middle, 47 for and 46 against, on a measure that needed 60 votes to take up the House bill, CNN reports. Democrats opposed it for the fourth time in four weeks because, they say, it contains poison pills to stop President Obama's immigration orders. "I don't understand what my Republican friends are trying to do," says Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. "Their plan is destined to fail." Now Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is edging toward a new solution: dividing the DHS and immigration efforts into two separate bills, Politico reports. A rep for John Boehner applauded the move, but House conservatives seem opposed and Democrats may not go for it either, the AP reports. The apparent plan is to vote on Obama's immigration order (which would protect about 5 million illegals from deportation) before voting on DHS funding separately. But the funding deadline is Friday, and Obama has warned that states will feel the economic pain if DHS shuts down and tens of thousands of workers are furloughed. Meanwhile, Republicans are divided over the effect of a Texas judge blocking Obama's immigration order: Some say it supports their fight in Congress, while others say the courts should handle it. "Leave it to the courts," says Sen. John McCain. "I think we have an excellent case before the Supreme Court."