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(Sep 27, 2010 9:53 AM CDT) If you're a Republican 2012 hopeful, odds are you're getting paid by Fox News. The network has Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and Mike Huckabee on its payroll (the only noticeably absent bigwig is Mitt Romney), and that raises two tough questions, Politico muses: How do you cover would-be presidents who are also employees? And how, if you're another network, do you cover would-be presidents who are contractually barred from appearing on another network? It is all new territory, said C-SPAN Political Editor Steve Scully. Palin will not do any other interviews. We've never had to deal with this before. Fox told Politico that hopefuls will have to cancel their deals as soon as they declare their candidacies. But in the meantime they've got an unparalleled platform to talk to their party, and they might delay their announcements to keep it. The longer they can remain 'undecided' about running, the longer they can stay at the network and get paid, said an aide to one potential GOP candidate.

(Apr 29, 2019 2:41 PM CDT) Woodstock 50 is proving to be as chaotic as the original festival held in 1969. A financial investor in the festival announced Monday it was pulling its funding from the anniversary event, set to take place Aug. 16-18 in Watkins Glen, New York. Despite our tremendous investment of time, effort, and commitment, we don't believe the production of the festival can be executed as an event worthy of the Woodstock Brand name while also ensuring the health and safety of the artists, partners, and attendees, Dentsu Aegis Network's Amplifi Live said in a statement. Representatives for Woodstock 50 or Michael Lang, who co-founded the festival, didn't immediately reply to emails Monday seeking comment, reports the AP.

(Sep 22, 2020 4:14 PM CDT) Stocks rebounded on Wall Street Tuesday, recovering some of their losses after tumbling on a raft of worries about the pandemic and governments' response to it. The S&P 500 gained 1.1%, halting its first four-day losing streak since the market was selling off in February. Trading was erratic, though, and indexes swung from small gains to losses through the morning, the AP reports. Gains in technology and communications stocks, and by companies that rely on consumer spending, helped lift the market. Homebuilders surged following a report showing US home sales jumped in August to their highest level since 2006.The S&P 500 rose 34.51 points to 3,315.57. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 140.48 points, or 0.5%, to 27,288.18. The Nasdaq composite climbed 184.84 points, or 1.7%, to 10,963.64.

(Jul 18, 2019 5:31 PM CDT) Comic-Con fans got a treat Thursday when one of the world's biggest movie stars showed up and teased a long-awaited film, People reports. I'm feeling that loving feeling, I'm definitely feeling that loving feeling from you all, Tom Cruise told an audience after surprising them in San Diego. He said fans have requested a Top Gun sequel for 34 years and you guys have been very, very patient with me. At that, he unveiled the trailer for Top Gun: Maverick. You are the first people in the world to see it, he said. And everything you see in this film is for real. Cast member Jon Hamm told Collider in May that the movie is being shot in, I think, 6K. So it's incredibly hi-def. The aerial footage is mind-blowing. ... There's not a lot of CG. Those guys are really up in planes and getting thrown around in multiple Gs. And another actor in the movie, Miles Teller, told the Wrap in June that it was hard keeping up with 57-year-old Cruise. I'm certainly trying, but it is difficult. Just the volume of it, he said, adding that there's been nothing on this film that didn't take a lot of training to accomplish. Top Gun: Maverick is slated to drop June 26, 2020.

(May 12, 2011 5:53 PM CDT) Encouraging new research on the treatment of cystic fibrosis comes courtesy of an 11th-grader. Toronto 16-year-old Marshall Zhang figured out via computer simulations that two drugs have the potential to make a powerful combination in treating the disease, reports LiveScience. He then tried out his theory on living cells: They actually worked together in creating an effect that was greater than the sum of its parts, says Zhang, who won top honors in a Canadian student research contest. The drug combo hasn't been tested on human subjects yet, but Zhang thinks the work will be helpful even if those tests aren't as successful. I have identified certain chemical structures that are key in the corrective effects of these molecules, as well as identified two molecular targets on the protein for future therapeutics.

(Nov 18, 2009 4:09 PM) Legislation headed to the Senate floor would extend health care coverage to 31 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $849 billion over a decade, says a senior Democratic aide. The long-awaited figures come from the Congressional Budget Office, clearing the way for Harry Reid to move forward. The bill would cut the federal deficit by $127 billion over that decade, says the CBO estimate. Debate is expected to begin on the measure this week. The bill would set up new insurance marketplaces--called exchanges--primarily for those who now have a hard time getting or keeping coverage. Subsidies would be available to help defray the cost of coverage for people with lower incomes. Reid has said it would also include a public option, with states permitted to drop out of the system.

(Oct 11, 2019 8:38 AM CDT) Some called him a surgeon to the stars ; most knew him as the doctor at the center of the controversy over Andy Warhol's death. Now, Bjorn Thorbjarnarson is once more in headlines, this time for his own passing at the age of 98. The New York surgeon's daughter confirmed his Oct. 4 death at a care facility in Warren, NJ, to the New York Times, which notes the roster of famous people who found themselves under Thorbjarnarson's care, including Warhol, Johnny Carson, and Reza Pahlavi, the late Shah of Iran. Thorbjarnarson grew up and trained in Iceland, where his own father was a doctor who visited patients on horseback. He moved to New York after World War II and started working in 1948 at what's now New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. He spent most of his career as a biliary tract surgeon, operating on the gallbladder, liver, and bile ducts. It was Warhol's case at the hospital that thrust Thorbjarnarson into the headlines: Warhol died at the age of 58 a day after what was supposed to be a routine surgery on his gallbladder in February 1987, and Warhol's estate brought a wrongful death lawsuit against the hospital and medical staff. The complaint alleged Warhol hadn't received adequate post-op care and had been flooded with IV fluids, leading to internal drowning, per his lawyers. However, an autopsy found Warhol died of cardiac arrhythmia, and the hospital said Warhol's poor health pre-surgery led to his death. The hospital settled with Warhol's estate. Thorbjarnarson retired in 1989.

(Jun 4, 2009 6:41 AM CDT) The 2008 presidential campaign was one of the longest in history, but be prepared: As the Washington Post reports, the 2012 race may be even longer. With the Republican Party at its weakest point in decades, possible challengers to Barack Obama are already scrambling for position. The latest: Mississippi governor Haley Barbour has scheduled appearances this month in key states Iowa and New Hampshire. Yesterday, Tim Pawlenty, who narrowly missed the No. 2 spot on the McCain ticket, announced he won't seek another term as Minnesota governor--sending blog and cable speculation into overdrive. Other candidates may still emerge, from South Dakota Sen. John Thune to South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford. Why so early? As one strategist said, The last thing anybody wants to do is look back in late 2010 and say, 'I wish I could run.'

(Jun 4, 2019 7:17 AM CDT) China stepped up security around Tiananmen Square in central Beijing on Tuesday, as its embassy in Washington criticized the top US diplomat for his statement on its bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protests at the square 30 years ago. Extra checkpoints and street closures greeted tourists who showed up before 5am to watch the daily flag-raising ceremony at the square. The tight security served as a reminder of the government's attempts to quash any memories of the crackdown on the night of June 3-4, 1989, that is believed to have killed hundreds and possibly thousands of people, the AP reports. For many Chinese, the 30th anniversary of the crackdown will pass like any other day. Any commemoration of the event is not allowed in mainland China, and the government has blocked access to information about it on the Internet.

(Jun 24, 2010 5:02 AM CDT) Five young Americans accused of traveling to Pakistan to join the Taliban have been jailed for 10 years. A Pakistani anti-terrorism court found the five, aged between 19 and 25, guilty of conspiring to commit terrorist attacks and of funding terrorist organizations, the BBC reports. The men were reported missing by their families after they vanished from their Virginia homes last yea Two of them are Pakistani-Americans, two are of Ethiopian descent, and one is of Egyptian descent. One of the men left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and saying Muslims must be defended, the AP reports. The men told the court they were there to perform charity work and that they had been tortured by the FBI and Pakistani security forces. Their lawyer plans to appeal to higher courts in Pakistan, which often overturn terrorism convictions.

(Dec 3, 2010 7:50 AM) The nation's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8% in November, a seven-month high, as hiring slowed. The jobless rate has now topped 9% for 19 straight months, the longest stretch on record. Employers added only 39,000 jobs last month, a sharp decline from the 172,000 created in October. The weakness was widespread: Retailers, factories, construction companies, financial firms, and the government all cut jobs. Private companies, the backbone of the economy, created 50,000 jobs, down significantly from the 160,000 the month prior, and the smallest gain since January.

(Mar 11, 2010 9:12 AM) In the olden days, cops handed out traffic tickets to keep us safe; in our brave, new, cash-strapped world, states and municipalities are pushing police to hand out as many as possible--for the money they bring in. Just look at Virginia, where last weekend police wrote 6,996 tickets in a federally funded effort to line the state's coffers called Operation Air, Land, and Speed. And the fines aren't paltry: Get caught going, say, 60 in a 45 mph zone in the Old Dominion State and you could pay a whopping $2,500. The law establishing such massive fines for minor violations is not coy: The purpose, it reads, is to generate revenue. Cops aren't thrilled about their new role. They're trying to use police officers to balance the budget on the backs of drivers and it's too bad, a Michigan lawman tells the Business Insider. We might as well just go door to door and tell people, 'Slide us $100.' Even if cops rebel, governments can still bring in the dough the automatic way. Revenue from red-light cameras in LA went from $200,000 to $400,000 a month between 2007 and 2009.

(Mar 18, 2010 10:42 AM CDT) Kendra Wilkinson may be among the most famous Playboy Playmates--not to mention married to a football star--but her younger years weren't so bright. Previews for her upcoming E! True Hollywood Story show Wilkinson talking about using cocaine at 13 and cutting herself by 15, the New York Daily News reports. I had so much pain that I just wanted to die, she says, adding that she checked into a psychiatric facility for two weeks after swallowing a half-dozen or so medications. Wilkinson found herself in the news for another reason yesterday after she apparently slammed fellow celebrity mom Kate Gosselin for appearing on Dancing With the Stars. If I were asked to go on, I don't think I'd do it, she said on Today. I would definitely say no to it, because I am that mom that wants to be there every step. I don't want to spend three months away from my baby. I just couldn't do that. She later tweeted she didn't mean to bash Kate.

(Jan 5, 2020 6:11 AM) The war of words between President Trump and Iran is intensifying after the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani, with Trump taking to Twitter on Saturday to threaten to take out 52 Iranian targets should Tehran deign to respond. Let this serve as a WARNING that if Iran strikes any Americans, or American assets, we have.........targeted 52 Iranian sites (representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago), some at a very high level & important to Iran & the Iranian culture, and those targets, and Iran itself, WILL BE HIT VERY FAST AND VERY HARD. The USA wants no more threats! Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif responded, notes NBC News, accusing the administration of grave breaches of international law and threatening a war crime in targeting a cultural site. That is, a big(ly) 'no no', he tweeted. The Hill reports that the administration formally notified Congress on Saturday of the strike that killed Soleimani, but that the entire document was classified, which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said raises more questions than it answers. Meanwhile, CNN reports that a US government website was hacked and left to show an image of Trump's bloodied face with an Islamic Revolutionary Guard fist to it. The website of the Federal Depository Library Program was defaced with pro-Iranian, anti-US messaging, said a Homeland Security rep. There is no confirmation that this was the action of Iranian state-sponsored actors. The website was taken off line and is no longer accessible.

(Apr 21, 2009 4:21 PM CDT) Yahoo says its slump worsened in the first quarter as the recession made it more difficult to sell the ads that generate most of its profits. The company says it will cut 600 to 700 jobs, or about 5 percent of its work force. Yahoo says it earned $118 million, or 8 cents per share, during the first three months of the year. That represents a 78 percent drop from net income of $537 million, or 37 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Yahoo is not immune to the ongoing economic downturn, Yahoo chief Carol Bartz said in a statement.

(Sep 18, 2020 5:35 PM CDT) Democrats have a slight edge at the moment in their effort to take control of the Senate from Republicans, but many outcomes--including a tie--remain possible. That's the upshot from FiveThirtyEight, which kicked off its Senate forecast Friday. The most likely result from the November elections is a Senate pretty closely divided, possibly 50-50, the forecast shows. An even split would make control of the Senate dependent on who's elected vice president and owns the tie-breaking vote: Kamala Harris or Mike Pence. FiveThirtyEight's model is based on the one it used for the 2018 congressional elections, which it says was on the money, and plugs in such factors as polls, fundraising, incumbency and forecasts from other experts. At least a dozen races around the country are competitive. Although the Democrats are in good shape, none of those races is a sure thing for them. Still, there's a chance Democrats emerge from the November elections holding at least 54 Senate seats. There are challenges for them. Doug Jones trails in polls in Alabama. If he loses, Democrats would need to flip at least four seats now held by Republicans, and some of those victories would have to be in states Republicans usually win. Arizona is the surest bet for Democrats, per FiveThirtyEight. Sen. Martha McSally, who was appointed to her seat, is well behind Democrat Mark Kelly in polls there. In states such as North Carolina, Maine and Montana, there's data and logic enough to support thinking either party could win.

(Sep 18, 2012 1:00 AM CDT) Some 132 prisoners have escaped from a northern Mexico prison close to the US border, setting off a massive manhunt. The director and two workers at the Piedras Negras institution have been detained in an investigation into the prison break just across the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. Nearly 90 of the prisoners were serving time or facing trial on federal charges, such as drug trafficking. Mexican army convoys are patrolling the area, and officials are offering rewards of up to $15,000 for information leading to the arrest of each prisoner, AP reports.

(Sep 1, 2009 11:39 AM CDT) The 18-kid Duggar family of Arkansas is about to make way for No. 19, People reports--just five months after their oldest son and his wife have their first kiddo. This never gets old. We are so grateful for each child. We are looking forward to our first grand baby and our 19th child, says dad Jim Bob, 44. But it did come as a surprise, says mom Michelle, 42. I was in Weight Watchers with Jim Bob and I wasn't losing any weight, she says. I couldn't figure it out. I was doing what I should. I'm not cheating on my diet, I should be losing weight.' Then, I put two and two together and wondered if I could possibly be pregnant. When she realized she was, I told Jim Bob and he couldn't keep it in, he was so excited. The kids were outside playing on a water slide and he gathered them together and had to share the news. There was all this screaming and yelling.

(Apr 22, 2008 4:00 PM CDT) Al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader says Iran is denying the terrorist group credit for 9/11 by spreading the rumor that Israel masterminded the 2001 attacks on the US. A new audiotape from Ayman al-Zawahiri highlights the growing tension between al-Qaeda and Tehran, the BBC reports, evidence of a sectarian struggle for power in the region. The purpose of this lie is clear--[to suggest] that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no-one else did in history, said Zawahiri. He also knocked Shia-dominated Iran for collaborating with the US, and accused Tehran of spreading lies to cover up its involvement with America in invading the homes of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq.

(Feb 4, 2009 6:47 AM) A strong yen and softening consumer demand is prompting Panasonic to cut 15,000 jobs, close 27 plants, and restructure as it struggles to withstand burgeoning losses, reports the Wall Street Journal. The electronics company last quarter posted a $707.2 million net loss, and experts expect the downward trend to steepen. Panasonic joins a slate of Japanese electronics companies stung by the strong yen.

(Nov 17, 2014 1:43 AM) A St. Louis woman's brutal mistreatment of her three children went far beyond the legal definition of child abuse to become systematic torture, prosecutors say. Lakechia Schonta Stanley, 34, has been sentenced to 78 years in prison for the abuse, which included whippings with electrical cords, beatings with blunt objects, and even waterboarding, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Stanley was arrested three years ago when one daughter, then 10, told a librarian she had pain in her arm. She revealed that she had been beaten with a baseball bat for not cleaning the kitchen quickly enough and her 8-year-old sister had been beaten for taking too long in the shower. Stanley's husband, 30-year-old Andrew Rui Stanley, was sentenced to 160 years in prison last year after pleading guilty to 42 felony counts relating to the abuse. Prosecutors say all three children in the home had severe physical--and emotional--scarring. Stanley was supposed to be their mother, the one person they could trust, a prosecutor wrote in a sentencing memorandum. Instead she became a symbol of betrayal and fear, using every tool at her disposal to beat and torture her own innocent children.

(Jun 6, 2011 11:38 AM CDT) Some 13 kids were injured when three bounce houses blew away in the wind on Saturday, taking flight with the children still in them. It was the craziest thing you ever saw, said a parent at the Oceanside, New York, kids' soccer tournament that was hit by powerful gusts. I tried to catch it, and it just flattened me. Others outside the bouncy houses were hit as the inflatables flew by. We heard people screaming, another witness tells ABC News. And all these people were running away. No one was seriously hurt, but the celebratory day just got destroyed, said another parent. (And it's not the first time this has happened...)

(Apr 20, 2008 10:31 PM CDT) Pope Benedict XVI concluded his 6-day US visit today, boarding the papal jet at JFK aqirport to return to the Vatican. The time has come for me to bid farewell to your country, Benedict said. May God bless America. Dick Cheney attended the departure ceremony, which capped Benedict's day of visiting Ground Zero and celebrating Mass at Yankee Stadium. It has been a memorable week and Pope Benedict XVI has stepped into the history of our country in a very special way, Cheney said. Until we meet again, we ask your holiness to remember in your prayers the United States of America.

(Nov 18, 2020 4:57 PM) A Vancouver lawyer must be licking his wounds after taking his scorned-love case to court and losing big time, the CBC reports. Dongdong Huang claimed Peipei Li duped him into thinking they were in love and marriage-bound so he would lavish her with over $1 million in gifts and cash--but a judge said Huang was just infatuated. His behavior with Li was sometimes obsessive and borderline (at least) stalking, BC Supreme Court Justice Elaine Adair wrote Monday in a judgment. In my opinion, Dr. Huang's assertions that Ms. Li represented she was in love with him and available for a long-term spousal relationship with him are a product of Dr. Huang's imagination and his infatuation with Ms. Li. Huang, who's also a published poet, wrote a poem about her titled Long-awaited Puppy Love. Adair based her ruling partly on WeChat messages in which Li gave Huang the cold shoulder ( I have clearly expressed my thoughts that I will not be with you, Li wrote) and photos Huang took of her wearing a big diamond engagement ring--which he apparently ignored. Adair acknowledged that Li shouldn't have let Huang wire her family in China $580,000, but said it wasn't tantamount to fraud. As for Li, the South China Morning Post reports that she dove into a whirlwind Vegas marriage with Chinese tech tycoon Luhua Rao in 2016 only to find he had a wife and family back in China. That marriage flamed out in a divorce and a lawsuit over millions of dollars in cash and assets. For the record, Li is 35, while Huang is 62, and Rao appears to be in his 50s, per the CBC.

(Jun 3, 2015 1:24 AM CDT) In what a Utah county sheriff tells Fox 13 is the single worst tragedy I have seen on this lake, a Utah man, his two daughters, and their teenage friend died when a boating trip on Bear Lake went horribly wrong on Monday. Details of the hours after Dr. Lance Capener's boat capsized in the lake, which sits along the Utah-Idaho border, are still unclear. But it appears that the 46-year-old may have been trying to keep the girls alive until his last breath, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. There had been seven aboard the boat, and Capener's wife and two teenage family friends survived the accident. All had life jackets on, but the Rich County sheriff's office says they all experienced some degree of hypothermia; the Ogden physician was dead by the time rescuers pulled the group from the 53-degree water, the AP reports. His daughters, 13-year-old Kelsey and 7-year old Kilee, were flown to the hospital, but they died hours later, as did their friend, 13-year old Siera Hadley. He would not come back without his children, Capener's mother tells the Tribune. I feel that's why he died, trying to save the others. She notes her son was a marathoner and strong swimmer, but adds that's a very bad lake; it can come up with squalls. The sheriff tells KSL that the ski boat capsized during a storm that created waves up to 10 feet high; the group was in the cold water for at least three hours while rescuers searched the 112-square-mile lake. The waves were white capping. ... It took a lot of effort to find that boat, he says. When they did locate it 6 miles from the Bear Lake State Park Marina in Utah, I actually performed CPR on two of these victims. You look at the kids and you see your own kids or your own grandkids in their faces and it becomes very difficult for the responders.

(Feb 18, 2018 6:05 AM) An Iranian commercial plane crashed on Sunday in a foggy, mountainous region of southern Iran, killing all 65 people on board, state media reported. An Aseman Airlines ATR-72, a twin-engine turboprop used for short-distance regional flying, went down near its destination of the Iranian city of Yasuj, some 485 miles south of Tehran, reports the AP. Aseman Airlines spokesman Mohammad Taghi Tabatabai told state TV that all on Flight No. EP3704 were killed. After searching the area, we learned that unfortunately ... our dear passengers had lost their lives, Tabatabai said. The number of dead was initially reported as 66, but one passenger apparently failed to board the doomed flight. Tabatabai said the plane crashed into Mount Dena, which is about 14,435 feet tall. Due to foggy conditions, rescue helicopters couldn't reach the crash site in the Zagros Mountains.

(Jul 17, 2012 12:58 AM CDT) The rock world is mourning Jon Lord, the former keyboard player with British heavy rock pioneers Deep Purple. Lord, who has died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 71, co-founded the group in 1968 and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, including Smoke On the Water. Lord's Hammond B-3 organ was a key part of the band's style, which laid much of the groundwork for the metal bands that followed, notes the New York Times. Lord joined Whitesnake after Deep Purple split in 1976. The band reformed in 1984 and Lord stayed through many line-up changes before leaving in 2002. Lord learned classical piano at a young age and won a scholarship to drama school, but chose rock and roll instead. He kept an interest in classical music and composed several large-scale pieces in Deep Purple's early days. Yes keyboard player Rick Wakeman is among the many rockers paying tribute to Lord, saying he was a friend and a big fan. We were going to write and record an album before he become ill, Wakeman says. His contribution to music and to classic rock was immeasurable and I will miss him terribly.

(Apr 9, 2012 1:16 PM CDT) The more popular the Hunger Games trilogy becomes, the more reasons some parents and educators have found to question whether it belongs on library shelves. For the second year in a row, Suzanne Collins' work was among the most challenged books, as reported yesterday by the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom. The association defines a challenge as a formal, written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that a book or other material be restricted or removed because of its content or appropriateness. Collins' million-selling novels ranked No. 3 on the association's list, rising from No. 5 last year. In last year's list, when just the title book of the trilogy was in the top 10, complaints included sexually explicit and unsuited to age group and violence. For the new study, which also included Catching Fire and Mockingjay, the objections were more varied, and harsher, including, Anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence. Barbara Jones, director of the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom, thinks anticipation for the Hunger Games film led to closer criticism of the books. The most challenged works were Lauren Myracle's tween novels ttyl, ttfn, l8r, and g8r, followed by Kim Dong Hwa's The Color of Earth series.

(Mar 9, 2011 12:01 AM) Eighteen men and teens have been arrested in the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl in Texas. The victim told police that as many as 20 males attacked her, and the assaults were videotaped on cell phones by some of her attackers, Cleveland police say. Investigators first learned of the attacks when a classmate of the victim told school officials about cellphone videos. The sixth-grader was lured to the crime spot by a teenager who asked if she wanted to go riding around last Thanksgiving, reports the Houston Chronicle. She was forced to strip and attacked, then taken to an abandoned trailer where she was again assaulted, police said. Seven of those charged in the attack are high school students, including members of the basketball team. Those arrested range in age from middle school to 27. These guys knew she was in middle school, said the girl's mother. She still loves stuffed teddy bears. A lawyer for three defendants indicated the girl willingly had sex, saying: This is not a case of a child who was enslaved or taken advantage of. Police have removed the girl to a safe house foster home and have suggested that she and her family relocate because of mounting tensions over the case in the town of 9,000. For Jezebel's takedown of media coverage of the case, click here.

(Jun 3, 2019 3:41 AM CDT) A Minnesota teenager who killed a former police officer and his university professor wife after being distracted by her phone has been sentenced to 60 days in jail--and 25 speaking engagements on the dangers of distracted driving. Callison Mae Olson, now 18, was 17 at the time of last June's deadly crash in Elk River. Police say she was driving a pickup on a rural road when she picked her phone after it buzzed and swerved into oncoming traffic, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. She hit the Harley-Davidson being driven by Steve Nanney head-on, killing the 51-year-old former Blaine police officer and his wife, Susie Nanney, an associate professor at the University of Minnesota who was also 51. Olson pleaded guilty to one count each of criminal vehicular homicide and reckless driving. Police say that after consulting the Nanney family, they decided to drop two additional counts, WCCO reports. Olson, who was ordered to pay $7,000 in restitution, will be allowed to serve her jail time in stretches of 20 days a year over the next three years. She was also sentenced to three years of probation, and will not be allowed to drive during that time. Steve Nanney served 10 years with the Blaine department, the last three of them as a school resource officer, and dedicated many hours to volunteering with Special Olympics Minnesota. Susie Nanney's work at the University of Minnesota Medical School focused on improving children's health and nutrition.

(Jun 25, 2015 10:47 AM CDT) If you've enjoyed even one Beck's beer since May 2011, you could be eligible for a refund. Though the Beck's label clearly says the beer originated in Bremen, Germany, the small print notes it's actually made in the USA. The resulting confusion spawned a class-action lawsuit that argued maker Anheuser-Busch was duping US customers into paying a premium for what they thought was an import beer. The company has since settled, and anyone with a receipt could get 10 cents back per bottle, for a maximum of $50, reports the Wall Street Journal. No receipt? You could still get $12--even if you knew the beer was made here at home. Anheuser-Busch will make its made in the USA statement more visible, according to the agreement, which was given preliminary approval this week in Miami. If final approval is granted in October, customers will be able to access an online form to snag a refund. Anheuser-Busch--which must pay $3.5 million in attorneys' fees to four law firms, plus $5,000 to each of three plaintiffs, reports the St. Louis Post Dispatch--followed several other beer makers when it moved production of Beck's from Germany to St. Louis in 2012. MillerCoors, for instance, moved production of its Foster's beer from Australia to Fort Worth in 2010. Court documents show Anheuser-Busch's move reduced costs and delivered a fresher beer. But whereas Foster's began importing its yeast from Australia and hired an Australian brewmaster, Beck's gave up some of its German ingredients in favor of domestic ones, including water and hops, according to the suit. We've looked at other cases, and don't think they have the same merit we brought here, a lawyer says. We hope the change we have brought through this settlement leads to better practices throughout the market. (MillerCoors' Blue Moon faces a similar suit.)

(Oct 3, 2017 7:29 PM CDT) Some companies are better than others--much better--when it comes to cracking open the glass ceiling for women. Using data from research group LedBetter, 24/7 Wall St. has come up with the best and worst companies on this front among 237 global corporations. Factors include the number of women in executive leadership as well on the board, with the worst performers having goose eggs on both. Here are the five best: The worst: No need to number these, because seven companies tie for the worst with zero women on the board or in executive leadership positions. They are: investment firm Icahn Enterprises, the Nissan Motor Co., Nintendo, Kia Motors, oil and pipeline firms Energy Transfer Equities and Plains GP Holding, and Samsung Electronics. Click for the full lists.

(May 12, 2014 9:35 AM CDT) A boat crowded with migrants sank today in the Mediterranean just beyond Libya's territorial waters, leaving at least 14 dead, said the Italian Navy, which helped rescue more than 200 survivors. The Navy said at the moment 14 bodies have been recovered. There was no estimate of the number of possible missing because it wasn't immediately determined how many people had been aboard (contrary to initial reports, which cited 400 passengers). The sinking occurred some 100 miles south of the tiny Sicilian island of Lampedusa and about 40 miles north of the Libyan coast, Italian authorities said. Nationalities of the survivors and dead were not immediately reported. CNN notes that Italy's military has rescued about 2,000 migrants just in the last five days, and a boat that sank off Tripoli yesterday left at least 40 dead. Many of the boats set out from Libya's loosely patrolled coast with migrants who are fleeing wars or hardship in Syria, Eritrea, and elsewhere.

(Jan 20, 2019 1:15 PM) The CIA mastermind behind the so-called Canadian caper --which got six US diplomats out of Iran during the 1979-80 hostage crisis--died Saturday the age of 78, the Washington Post reports; he had Parkinson's disease. A 25-year CIA veteran, Tony Mendez was also an impressionistic painter admired for his imaginative disguises and forgeries. I've always considered myself to be an artist first, he said once, and for 25 years I was a pretty good spy. He was the agency's chief of disguise when militant Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on Nov. 4, 1979. After six US diplomats escaped to the homes of two Canadians, Mendez concocted an outlandish, complex scheme in which he disguised himself as an Irish filmmaker who visited Iran and smuggled the diplomats out as his film crew. Described in a 2007 Wired article and dramatized in the Oscar-winning Argo, Mendez's work earned him the revered Intelligence Star from President Carter but stayed secret until the CIA publicly honored him in 1997. His origins were modest: Born into a family with little money in 1940 in Eureka, Nevada, Mendez later dropped out of university for lack of funds, worked as an illustrator drawing missile parts for Martin Marietta, and became a CIA agent when he answered a blind ad for Artists to Work Overseas. The author of several memoirs, he was married twice (his first wife died of cancer); survivors include his second wife and three children. He was a brilliant man, a gifted artist, and a true American hero, his literary manager, Christy Fletcher, tells CNN. I will miss him enormously.

(Apr 8, 2010 10:20 AM CDT) At least 200 people, buried under the latest landslide to hit a slum in Rio de Janeiro's metropolitan area, are feared dead, authorities said today. If confirmed, the deaths would raise the toll sharply from the 153 people already known to have died this week in slides triggered by record rainfall in Brazil. In our experience, it's an instant death, says a civil defense official. Some 60 houses were buried in the Morro Bumba slum in Niteroi, which neighbors Rio. The official says the shantytown was built on a mountain of trash that accumulated for decades, making the ground there unstable and vulnerable to giving way. A fire department spokesman said 28 were rescued after the mudslide hit late yesterday, and six bodies have been found so far.

(Oct 20, 2013 6:04 AM CDT) A San Francisco Bay Area commuter train returning from routine maintenance struck and killed two workers who were inspecting the tracks yesterday afternoon--an accident that comes amid a strike that has shut the Bay Area Rapid Transit system down for the past few days. The four-car train was being run in automatic mode under computer control at the time of the accident, BART's Assistant General Manager Paul Oversier said. There were several people aboard the train, Oversier said, but he would not say who was operating the train. In an earlier statement, BART said only that the person was an experienced operator. One system employee and one contractor were killed in the accident shortly before 2pm. The train had been at a yard where workers had been cleaning off graffiti, BART officials said. Officials from the unions representing BART's train operators and some of the system's other workers have warned of the danger that could come with allowing managers to operate trains as BART had planned to do in case of a strike. One of the unions on strike, Amalgamated Transit Union 1555, announced that its 900 workers would not be picketing today out of respect for the victims and their families. BART officials wouldn't address questions on the union's warnings about train safety during a walkout. The labor issues are not in the forefront of our mind, Oversier said. We've just lost two people in the BART family. The NTSB announced late yesterday that it will take over the investigation.

(Nov 27, 2012 10:44 AM) So, where does Hurricane Sandy fall on the scale of recent disasters? Somewhere above Katrina, at least according to Andrew Cuomo. Hurricane Katrina, in many ways, was not as impactful as Hurricane Sandy, believe it or not, the New York governor said. Because of the density of New York, the number of people affected, the number of properties affected was much larger in Hurricane Sandy than Hurricane Katrina. Still, Katrina had a human toll that thankfully we have not paid in this region. Katrina was to blame for 1,866 deaths; Sandy was responsible for about 100, the New York Post notes. Sandy, however, damaged some 305,000 homes and 265,300 businesses, while Katrina hit 214,700 homes and 18,700 businesses. Cuomo put the storm's damage, plus the cost of preparations for future storms, at $42 billion. The comparison between storms puts the entire conversation ... in focus, says Cuomo--but is the comparison valid? It's dicey at best, according to many on Twitter, as well as Connor Simpson at the Atlantic Wire. Note to Cuomo: You look like you're trying to put a greater price on your infrastructure than those people's lives.

(Mar 5, 2009 9:02 PM) Senate Republicans, demanding the right to change a huge spending bill, forced Democrats tonight to put off a final vote on the measure until next week. The surprise development will force Congress to pass a stopgap funding bill to avoid a partial shutdown of the government. Republicans have blasted the $410 billion measure as too costly. But the reason for GOP unity was that Democrats had not allowed them enough opportunities to offer amendments. Majority Leader Harry Reid canceled the vote, saying he was one vote short of the 60 needed to close debate and free the bill for President Obama's signature. Democrats and their allies control 58 seats, though at least a handful of Democrats oppose the measure over its cost or changes in US policy toward Cuba. That meant Democrats needed five or six Republican votes to advance the bill.

(Jul 3, 2014 8:57 AM CDT) Louis Zamperini had a resume that truly impressed: Olympian, World War II POW/hero, and the subject of best-selling book Unbroken and the upcoming Angelina Jolie film based on it. Zamperini has died at 97 following a bout of pneumonia, having overcome insurmountable odds at every turn in his life, reads a statement released by his family today, per the Hollywood Reporter. Born in New York in 1917, Zamperini made the US Olympic track team in 1936, placing 8th in the 5,000 meters in Berlin. His 56-second final lap, however, was so impressive it earned him a one-on-one meeting with Adolf Hitler, the Chicago Tribune reports. In 1941, he'd fight Hitler's ideals as a B-24 Liberator bomber with the US Army Air Forces. When his plane crashed into the Pacific in 1943, he and two others survived on a raft in shark-infested waters for 47 days without food or water before being captured by the Japanese and held as prisoners of war for two years--a story told in Laura Hillenbrand's bestseller Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption. Jolie--who directed the film based on the book, which opens Christmas Day--says the death of her close friend is a loss impossible to describe.

(May 3, 2016 1:23 PM CDT) There was champagne, there was celebrating, there was ... probably a lot of noise as some very expensive steel and rubber smashed into a tree. A man in Essex, England, appeared terribly excited to take delivery of his new $313,000 McLaren 650S sports car (a supercar that Jalopnik notes can hit 100mph in under six seconds) last week, and neighbors spotted him downing some bubbly to commemorate the occasion, the Telegraph reports. But a mere 10 minutes later (10 minutes!), the car was reduced to a mangled lump of carbon-fibre and metal, as the paper puts it. Police don't know yet whether the champagne-chugging man who welcomed the car was behind the wheel or if someone else smashed up his luxury purchase. (Rowan Atkinson, aka Mr. Bean, once had a close call in a McLaren.

(Apr 13, 2008 5:24 AM CDT) The death of a US soldier in a roadside blast in Baghdad yesterday brought the death toll for US troops to 19 in a single week--the highest so far this year. Almost all of the deaths have been in the Iraqi capital, where US and Iraqi forces are battling the Mahdi Army. Troops are also fighting Sunni insurgents in northern Iraq, AP reports. Moqtada al-Sadr, the Mahdi Army head believed to currently be in Iran, repeated his demand that all US troops leave the country and urged his Shiite militias not to target their fellow Iraqis unless they were helping the occupation. Mahdi Army officials, however, now say they have received orders to avoid confrontation with US and Iraq forces unless they push deep inside the Sadr City enclave.

(Aug 18, 2017 10:21 AM CDT) A controversial week in DC has led to bragging rights for MSNBC. On Wednesday, the network finished with the highest ratings in the cable-network universe, which Variety reports is a first for the network. MSNBC averaged 1.52 million viewers for the total sales day (meaning the 6am-2pm period), squeaking by Fox News and its 1.5 million. Nickelodeon, meanwhile, edged out CNN for the bronze, with 1.17 million vs. 1.13 million. Of consolation to CNN: It finished No. 1 for the day in the key demo of people ages 25 to 54. Cable news, of course, has been providing blanket coverage of the violence in Charlottesville and the backlash to President Trump's response, and helping MSNBC is its reputation as the resistance network for the Trump era, per TVNewser. Rachel Maddow led the way, with her 9pm show drawing 3.25 million viewers for the top ranking in that time slot. Lawrence O'Donnell's show at 10pm brought in 2.54 million, and both landed among the top 10 shows (non-cable included) for the day.

(Sep 21, 2019 11:35 AM CDT) Authorities said a shooting at a bar in South Carolina left two people dead and eight injured early Saturday, the AP reports. The Lancaster County Sheriff's Office said in a statement that the agency was investigating a shooting at a bar at about 2:45am. Two adult males were shot and killed. Four injured victims were airlifted to medical facilities for treatment. The other four people were treated at local facilities for injuries considered noncritical. An eleventh victim was treated and released for minor injuries incurred after falling down while trying to flee. The victims' identities were not released. The statement said authorities were not sure whether more than one person fired a weapon.

(Aug 20, 2008 6:50 PM CDT) The death toll from today's crash of a jetliner in Madrid reached 153--with only 19 survivors--as investigators sought to figure out what happened. The Spanair plane had aborted one takeoff because of an unspecified technical glitch, and passengers were warned they might have to disembark and change aircraft, the Telegraph reports. But it tried again an hour later, only to burst into flames after takeoff. It's the closest thing to hell I've seen, said one rescuer. A passenger on another plane said the MD-82 lifted off briefly, then landed hard on its left side and disintegrated into flames in a hayfield, the New York Times notes. A sister plane of the one that crashed had to make an emergency landing last week because of engine problems, the Telegraph notes.

(Apr 23, 2008 4:50 AM CDT) An 84-year-old engineer has been arrested in New Jersey on charges he passed military secrets to Israel in the '80s, Reuters reports. Ben-Ami Kadish, who holds both US and Israeli citizenship, is accused of giving classified information--including details on fighter jets, missiles, and nuclear weapons--to an Israeli consul when he worked at an Army weapons center in New Jersey. Kadish is believed to have had the same spy handler as American Jonathan Pollard, who is serving life for spying for Israel in the '80s. At the time of the Pollard case, officials noted that espionage was not the kind of behavior we would expect from allies, and that would remain the case today, said a State Department spokesman. Kadish is facing four espionage and conspiracy charges, one of which carries a possible death sentence.

(Nov 14, 2018 4:49 PM) The FBI is examining additional surveillance video taken from an expanded area around the Wisconsin home where a couple was shot and killed and their daughter was apparently abducted, the sheriff leading the investigation said Wednesday. Jayme Closs, 13, disappeared early on Oct. 15, when sheriff's deputies responding to a 911 call found the door to her family's home in northwestern Wisconsin's Barron County kicked in and her parents, James and Denise Closs, shot dead inside, per the AP. Investigators believe Jayme was abducted. About 80 surveillance videos were collected initially from businesses and other locations, according to Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald. The FBI last week expanded the perimeter of surveillance video collection beyond the county, he said.

(Apr 14, 2010 1:05 AM CDT) At least 400 people were killed, some 10,000 injured and scores buried in collapsed buildings when a series of earthquakes up to 6.9 magnitude hit the western Tibetan plateau this morning. Chinese authorities are scrambling to get rescue workers to the sparsely populated area, which is mainly inhabited by Tibetan herdsmen. The local infrastructure was badly damaged by six quakes that hit within a space of three hours, reports the BBC. One official estimated that 85% of the buildings in the epicenter in Jiegu in Qinghai province had collapsed. In a flash, the houses went down, a local newscaster said. The difficulty we face is that we don't have any excavators, a local military official told state media. Many of the people have been buried and our soldiers are trying to pull them out with human labor. It is very difficult to save people with our bare hands.

(Nov 23, 2013 8:58 AM) Radar rounds up a list of stars who have faced intervention attempts from family members and friends. In some cases, they went to rehab and got cleaned up--but other cases had a tragic ending. Check out a sampling of 10 of them in the gallery or the full list here.

(Apr 7, 2015 12:23 PM CDT) Singer-songwriter Don McLean's original manuscript and notes to American Pie have been sold at auction for $1.2 million. McLean offered the wistful anthem that asks, Do you recall what was revealed the day the music died? at Christie's today; the 16 pages included the original working manuscript and typed drafts of the song. The name of the buyer was not released. The eight-minute-long American Pie was released in 1971 and was a No. 1 US hit for four weeks in 1972. The day the music died refers to the Feb. 3, 1959, deaths of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and JP Big Bopper Richardson in a plane crash. McLean, a longtime Maine resident, says writing the song was a mystical trip into his past.

(Mar 30, 2020 2:48 AM CDT) A Phoenix police commander was killed and two other officers were injured Sunday night in a shooting on the city's north side during a domestic violence call, police say. The department says Cmdr. Greg Carnicle was killed in the incident in the 23800 block of North 40th Drive, near Pinnacle Peak Road, the AP reports. Sgt. Mercedes Fortune said at a news conference that the incident began about 7pm when officers arrived for calls reporting a dispute between roommates, KNXV-TV reports. Fortune said that upon the officers' arrival, the suspect was not cooperating with officers and shot them, the Arizona Republic reports. Fortune said at 10pm that the scene was still active and the suspect was still inside. The Republic reports that police vehicles began leaving the scene around midnight, but police did not confirm what had happened.

(Jan 13, 2016 4:55 AM) They're free again: Iranian state television is reporting that all 10 US sailors detained by Iran after entering its territorial waters have been released. Iran's Revolutionary Guard said the sailors were released Wednesday after it was determined that their entry was not intentional. The nine men and one woman were being held at an Iranian base on Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf after being detained nearby on Tuesday. The sailors were part of Riverine Squadron 1 based in San Diego and were deployed to the US Navy's 5th Fleet in Bahrain. CNN reports that they are now on board the USS Anzio after being escorted to a rendezvous point by Iranian ships. Investigation shows that entry of American sailors into Iran's territorial waters was due to mechanical problems in their navigation system, Gen. Ali Fadavi, Navy chief of Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard, was quoted as saying on Iran's state TV. Earlier, Fadavi said the American boats had shown unprofessional acts for 40 minutes before being picked up by Iranian forces after entering the country's territorial waters. US officials had said on Tuesday that Tehran assured them the crew and vessels would be returned safely and promptly. The Riverine boats are not considered high-tech and don't contain any sensitive equipment, so there were no concerns about the Iranians gaining access to the crafts.

(Jul 15, 2019 3:48 AM CDT) Four children aged 10 to 14 packed fishing rods in a parent's SUV, left a farewell note, then drove more than 600 miles down the Australian east coast before they were stopped by police the next day, an officer says. When the children were stopped by police near Grafton in New South Wales state at 10:40pm Sunday, they locked the doors and refused to get out, Acting Police Inspector Darren Williams said. A police officer used a baton to break a window of the Nissan Patrol, which had been reported stolen, Williams says. Police were not sure which child or children drove or why they left Rockhampton in Queensland state on Saturday. The children are a 14-year-old boy, two 13-year-old boys, and a 10-year-old girl, the AP reports.

(Jul 26, 2011 7:51 AM CDT) Thanks to the recession, the wealth gap between whites and minorities is at its widest level in 25 years. Census data show that the median wealth of white US households was $113,149 in 2009: That's 20 times that of black households ($5,677) and 18 times that of Hispanic households ($6,325), the AP reports. One big reason: Predominantly younger minorities likely lost value in their main asset, their home, when the housing market crashed. Older white people, on the other hand, are more likely to have holdings in the stock market, which started rebounding in mid-2009. The wealth gap was at its narrowest in 1995, at 7 to 1 for both blacks and Hispanics. During the housing boom, Hispanics in particular saw their wealth jump as the construction industry thrived; many bought homes in states that later saw their real estate bubbles burst. Since 2005, the median wealth of Hispanics declined 66%. For black people, it dropped 53%. White people, on the other hand, only saw a 16% dip--from $134,992 to $113,149. During the same time period, Asian household wealth plummeted from $168,103--at the time, the top spot---to $78,066.

(Jul 20, 2012 6:12 PM CDT) The brutal 1987 murder of a young woman in New York City may finally be cracked. DNA found under the fingernails of Lissette Torres has been matched to Edwin Alcaide, 53, an ex-con with a violent history who was an acquaintance of Lissette's then-boyfriend, reports DNAinfo.com. Lissette was a 19-year-old employee at a law firm in Brooklyn when her killer stabbed her to death on New Year's Day. Eighteen months ago, the NYPD's Cold Case Squad reopened the case. The fingernail DNA led them to Alcaide, who was detained yesterday. Alcaide is a career felon with arrests for drugs, robbery, assault, and rape, dating back to the 1970's. Police had questioned him shortly after Lisette's murder, and let him go despite seeing scratches on his face. I can now die in peace, knowing that my daughter now lies in peace, Lissette's mother, 74, told the New York Daily News.

(Jul 24, 2009 1:46 PM CDT) Microsoft will offer a choice of web browsers to European users of the new Windows 7 operating system to avoid an antitrust fine, Bloomberg reports. When you're looking at ongoing fines in a downturn, it makes more sense to settle, one analyst says. The EU says the software giant will ship Windows 7 with a ballot screen allowing users to choose a preferred browser at setup.

(May 14, 2014 1:04 AM CDT) Anti-China mobs torched up to 15 foreign-owned factories and trashed many more in southern Vietnam last night amid rising anger over China's recent installment of an oil rig in disputed Southeast Asian waters. The unrest at industrial parks established to attract foreign investors, which followed protests involving up to 20,000 workers, was the most serious outbreak of public disorder in the tightly controlled country in years, and comes as the government tries to manage public anger against China while itself protesting Chinese actions in a part of the South China Sea it claims as its own. An official says the protests were initially peaceful but were hijacked by extremists who incited people to break into the factories. He said at least 15 factories were set alight and hundreds more vandalized or looted, while some security guards and unidentified foreign experts were assaulted. China's foreign ministry has issued a statement urging Chinese travelers to carefully consider travel plans and go with caution and Chinese residents and organizations in Vietnam to raise their risk awareness and strengthen security.

(Jan 4, 2019 12:29 PM) Another longtime Republican senator will call it quits in 2020. Pat Roberts of Kansas said Friday that he won't run for re-election when his term is up, reports Politico. The 82-year-old's decision comes about two weeks after Tennessee's Lamar Alexander announced the same, and the Washington Post notes that both were known for their bipartisanship. Roberts, for example, recently achieved the rare feat of getting an $867 billion agriculture bill passed with the support of all Senate Democrats. He serves as chair of the chamber's agriculture committee, and he is the only lawmaker to have done so in both the Senate and the House, reports the Kansas City Star. One interesting bit of speculation: Among those seen as possible GOP replacements is Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The Post notes that Pompeo is a former Kansas congressman as well as a strong ally of President Trump, factors that would serve him well in the red state and possibly avoid a nasty primary. Pompeo has not made any public statements about wanting a Senate seat, but the newspaper says Senate leaders are interested in the possibility. Also in the mix are Rep. Roger Marshall and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. As for Roberts, he will retire with a 24-0 record in lifetime elections. I'm damned proud of that undefeated record, said Roberts, now in his fourth term as a senator. The GOP will likely be favored to hold onto his seat in 2020, though Democrats have new hope: Democrat Laura Kelly won the governor's race in November.

(Mar 21, 2019 5:45 PM CDT) Police now say 59 gravestones at a Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti, about twice as many as initially thought, the AP reports. Fall River police said Thursday in a Facebook post that they came up with the higher number after a row-by-row inspection of Hebrew Cemetery. Of those 59, two had been knocked over. The stones were defaced with swastikas and phrases including Expel the Jew and Hitler was right in what appeared to be black marker. Police were alerted on Sunday by a cemetery maintenance worker. Police are treating it as a hate crime. No arrests have been made. The Herald News reports that rewards totaling $12,500 are being offered for information that leads to an arrest. (Nearly 100 graves were desecrated in a similar incident.

(May 16, 2018 3:18 PM CDT) Stocks are closing higher on Wall Street as technology and health care companies post solid gains, the AP reports. Retailers also did well Wednesday, led by a 10.8% surge in Macy's after the company reported a surprisingly strong quarter. Target added 2.9%. Small-company stocks fared even better than the rest of the market. Safe-play stocks like utilities and real estate companies lagged. Abaxis soared 16.2% after the veterinary diagnostic products company agreed to be acquired by Zoetis. The S&P 500 index rose 11 points, or 0.4%, to 2,722. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 62 points, or 0.3%, to 24,768. The Nasdaq composite increased 46 points, or 0.6%, to 7,398.

(Apr 7, 2011 9:53 AM CDT) Weary Japan has been struck by an earthquake once again: The USGS is reporting a 7.1-magnitude earthquake hit near the east coast of Honshu at 11:32pm local time--that's about 90 miles from Fukushima and about 200 miles from Tokyo, where buildings reportedly shook for a full minute. (It's been downgraded from the original 7.4.) A tsunami warning went up for 90 minutes before being lifted, reports the AP. Officials at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuke plant say no new problems were immediately observed, and that workers are safe, though it is unclear whether they have been evacuated. Hundreds of aftershocks have shaken the northeast region since March 11, but few have been stronger than 7.0.

(Jul 13, 2018 7:06 AM CDT) A funeral with snow cones, bouncy houses, fireworks, and a fiery burial ceremony straight out of Thor will be held Saturday in Van Meter, Iowa, and it's all the brainchild of the child who will be honored there. The Des Moines Register reports on the recent passing of 5-year-old Garrett Matthias, who died July 6 after a nearly yearlong battle with a rare, aggressive cancer. Over the past few months, Garrett and his parents had some frank discussions about death, and at one point Garrett noted, Why are funerals so sad? I'm going to have bouncy houses at mine. An idea was born, and together the family started planning Garrett's send-off when his cancer was declared terminal in June. That included writing Garrett's obituary, which he helped his parents with by answering queries you might see on an about you questionnaire. The now-viral obituary details his favorite superheroes--including, of course, Thor--things he loves (playing with his sister, thrash metal) and hates ( dirty stupid cancer ), and what he would have wanted to be as an adult: a pro boxer. It also lays out what he intended to do once he died. I am going to be a gorilla and throw poo at Daddy! he notes, adding he wanted to be made into a tree so I can live in it when I'm a gorilla. His parents say they're going to do just that, once [they] figure out how the hell to get his ashes made into a tree. Garrett's final signoff on the obituary: See ya later, suckas! The Great Garrett Underpants. Those are his words verbatim, dad Ryan Matthias tells WHO. When I read it, I'm just like 'wow.' Sounds like Garrett just yapping at me. A GoFundMe for the Matthias family has so far raised more than $33,000; Garrett's full obituary is here.

(Oct 18, 2020 12:30 PM CDT) To the moon, Alice! And call me when you get there. Yes, NASA is giving Nokia $14.1 million to install a cellular network on that big rock in the sky, Mashable reports. The idea is to deploy a 4G/LTE network--and later move to 5G--to support lunar surface communications at greater distances, increased speeds, and provide more reliability than current standards, NASA says in a statement. Bell Labs, the research arm for Nokia, says on Twitter that the company wants the network to allow for streaming video as well as lunar rovers and navigation. According to UPI, NASA says the system would also be used by spacecraft. There's no timeline yet, but the move is meant to support NASA's plan to install a lunar base by 2028. It's also part of the agency's Tipping Point selections, designed to further R&D for space exploration with $370 in contracts. We want to build the [lunar] infrastructure ... that is going to enable an international partnership for the biggest, broadest, most diverse inclusive coalition of researchers and explorers in the history of humankind, says NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine.

(Jul 27, 2020 4:03 PM CDT) The pandemic has affected the commemoration of another painful loss of life. The families of 9/11 victims meet each year at the September 11 Memorial & Museum on the anniversary of their deaths. Someone from each family reads the name of their loved one and a tribute, a ceremony that now includes nearly grown young people honoring a parent they don't remember or didn't even know. But this September, the families will instead listen to a recording of the names being read, NBC reports, from the In Memoriam exhibition at the museum. The museum emailed the families with the change, saying other parts of the event are going ahead so far. Our hope is to gather on the Memorial plaza, adhering to state and federal guidelines as they relate to social distancing and public gatherings, the email said. Six moments of silence still will be observed, per the New York Post, marking the exact times each of the two World Trade Center towers was struck and collapsed, the attack on the Pentagon, and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. The memorial, which is outdoors, was closed in March because of the coronavirus outbreak but was reopened on July 4. The museum is still closed. If it reopens in time, families alone will be allowed inside on Sept. 11. Around the world, people are responding to the COVID-19 crisis with compassion, generosity, and a sense of community, the email said, much like they did in the aftermath of 9/11. (Families explained why they attend the ceremony every year.)

(Jan 10, 2010 6:54 AM) Americans would see only a modest rise in health costs under the Senate's plan to extend coverage to 34 million people, government economic experts say in a new report. The study found that health spending, which accounts for about one-sixth of the economy, would increase by less than 1% than it otherwise would over the coming decade--even with so many more people receiving coverage. Over time, cost-cutting measures could reduce annual increases in health spending, offering substantial savings in the long run. At the same time, however, yesterday's report cited the tax on Cadillac health plans, as well as reductions in annual increases to Medicare providers, as having potential to hold down costs. But the authors were skeptical that Congress could stand the political fallout, noting that the Medicare cuts may be unrealistic.

(Apr 17, 2012 9:15 AM CDT) Barack Obama raised $750 million for his 2008 run, and John McCain's sum nudged the combined total over the $1 billion mark. How quaint. Come November, the nation's first $2 billion election could be in the books. A memo from the Romney campaign obtained by the New York Times lays out its goal of bringing in $500 million from big donors and $300 million from small donors. It also estimates that pro-Romney super PACS will spend $200 million. Republicans say the Obama campaign will hit the $1 billion mark, too, though Democrats say that's just a scare ploy to motivate big GOP donors. One thing that should help the Romney campaign's billion-dollar goal: Uber-rich donors such as Sheldon Adelson and Foster Friess are finally getting behind the establishment candidate, notes Politico.

(Apr 18, 2016 8:33 AM CDT) Apple has released figures on its Apple Renew recycling program, and it's clearly paying dividends. Out of nearly 90 million pounds of electronic equipment it recovered last year, 61 million pounds were recycled, Apple reports. Specifically, it reclaimed 23 million pounds of steel; 13 million pounds of plastic; 12 million pounds of glass; 4.5 million pounds of aluminum; 3 million pounds of copper; 6,600 pounds of silver; and 2,200 pounds of gold. That amounts to $1.7 million worth of silver, $6.5 million of copper--and a whopping $43 million in gold, reports Quartz. Activist group Fairphone, which watches electronics supply chains, notes that a typical smartphone contains 30 milligrams of gold, mainly in circuit boards and other internal components, reports Business Insider. It's not a lot, but spread across millions of phones and other electronics, it adds up. CNNMoney reports that while it's pricey, gold is a popular choice in consumer electronics for being corrosion resistant yet excellent at conducting electricity. (Silver is a superior conductor but corrodes easily.) In March, Apple unveiled an experimental bot called Liam, which can disassemble an iPhone in 11 seconds and sort its parts for recycling. Prototypes are already at work, and the line is designed to take apart 1.2 million phones a year. It's an experiment in recycling technology, and we hope this kind of thinking will inspire others, Apple notes. (This woman unknowingly dropped off a $200K Apple I to be recycled.)

(Nov 26, 2008 5:23 PM) Churches led the charge against Proposition 8 and gay marriage because of their insecurities over the breakdown of heterosexual families and the consequent rise of independent women, says gay author and devout Catholic Richard Rodriguez. Gays are scapegoats because they--like feminists--threaten an alternative to the traditional male-structured society. Churches want to reassert some sort of male authority over the order of things, says Rodriguez. But their actions smack of hypocrisy. The real challenge to the family right now is male irresponsibility and misbehavior toward women, he says. If the Hispanic Catholic and evangelical churches really wanted to protect the family, they should address the issue of wife-beating in Hispanic families and the misbehaviors of the father against the mother. But no, they go after gay marriage.

(Oct 13, 2017 10:02 AM CDT) A 17-year-old girl who became separated from friends after a night out experienced the unthinkable in East London, say police: three sexual assaults within a 60-minute period. The BBC reports the teen was seen on surveillance footage in the area just before midnight on Sept. 29. She was being carried by a man who is believed to have assaulted her on Cambridge Heath Road; items of her clothing were found in the area. Just after midnight, more footage shows her being followed down another street by a man wheeling a bicycle who police say was her second attacker. In the third alleged attack, thought to have occurred minutes later around 12:45, as many as three men may have been involved.

(Nov 3, 2010 11:21 AM CDT) Democrats didn't just get stomped because of the economy, and they didn't just have a communication problem. The public heard us, writes retiring Sen. Evan Bayh in the New York Times, but disagreed with our approach. Democrats overestimated their mandate. Exit polls in 2008 showed 22% as liberals, 32% as conservative, and 44% as moderates. An electorate that is 76% moderate to conservative was not crying out for a move to the left. To rebuild, Democrats need to move to the center. Every policy must be viewed through a single prism: does it help the economy grow? To counteract the revived tax and spend stereotype, Democrats should enact entitlement reform, freeze federal wages, and at least temporarily ban earmarks. Given the beating Republican moderates took this year, the GOP will probably oppose even such sensible proposals. But as they genuflect before the Tea Party, President Obama can seize the center.

(Aug 31, 2011 10:00 AM CDT) At least 88 people have been tortured and killed in Syrian detention centers over the past five months, including 10 children, according to a new report from Amnesty International. Victims were burned, beaten, and electrocuted, among other abuses, the report alleges. These deaths behind bars are reaching massive proportions, Neil Sammonds, the group's researcher in Syria, tells the BBC. Many of these abuses have been documented on video, the group adds. Most occurred near the protest hotbeds in Homs and Daraa, but deaths were reported in other places as well. Amnesty has the names of 3,000 people in detention, but there are said to be 12,000 to 15,000 detained overall. We know that torture has been widespread over many years, Sammonds says. It has gotten much worse. The group says this level of torture hasn't been seen in Syria since the 1980s.

(Nov 15, 2012 5:42 AM) Over the past four years, 13 death reports filed with the FDA have mentioned 5-Hour Energy as a possible factor, reports the New York Times in a review of FDA records. The caffeine shot has appeared in 90 FDA filings during the period, more than 30 of which were tied to serious conditions ranging from heart attacks to a spontaneous abortion. The energy shot's producer, Living Essentials, filed the 13 FDA reports citing deaths, in accordance with federal rules. But the firm says it's unaware of any deaths proven to be caused by the consumption of 5-Hour Energy. The news follows a report last month on five deaths possibly linked to Monster Energy drink. According to Consumer Reports, 5-Hour Energy contains about 215 mg of caffeine, compared to between 100 and 150 mg in a cup of coffee. It also contains large amounts of vitamin B varieties and taurine. The 13 reports citing fatalities compare to 17 fatality reports in 2010 for all dietary and weight loss supplements--some 50,000 products in total. Still, it's likely that many supplement makers don't report such incidents as required, an FDA rep tells the Times.

(Mar 1, 2014 11:53 AM) Reports of a horrific knife attack at a train station in southwest China say 28 people are dead and 113 injured. The official Xinhua News Agency says a group of men carried out the attack at the Kunming Railway Station in Yunnan province, report the BBC and AP. It remains unclear who was behind the incident and why it occurred, but officials are calling it an organized, premeditated, violent terrorist attack. Five suspects were reportedly shot and killed, CNN notes, and others are said to have been arrested. Officials tell Xinhua there were 10 attackers. I saw a person come straight at me with a long knife and I ran away with everyone, a witness tells the agency. Victims, meanwhile, just fell on the ground.

(Oct 21, 2010 9:10 AM CDT) Got an extra $2 million burning a hole in your pocket? Then the new Victoria's Secret Bombshell Fantasy Bra is for you. Victoria's Secret Angel Adriana Lima modeled the Damiani-designed bra at a luncheon yesterday, and insisted that the push-up bra is comfortable and keeps everything ... right in place. Why the high price tag? Three thousand white diamonds, plus some sapphires and topaz stones thrown in for good measure. Not to mention the fact that it took more than a thousand hours of labor to create, NBC reports. (Looking for something a little less pricey? Check out the lingerie giant's new line of Halloween costumes.)

(May 19, 2017 8:22 AM CDT) The Venti Pike Place coffee cost her about $2.50. It ended up costing Starbucks about 40,000 times that. In the latest hot-coffee lawsuit, a Florida woman was awarded $100,492 Thursday after a 2014 incident at a Starbucks drive-thru in Jacksonville left her physically scarred, reports the New York Post. According to defense lawyers, Joanne Mogavero, a 43-year-old mother of three, had received a cup of coffee from a barista and was attempting to hand it to a passenger when the lid popped off and the 190-degree drink spilled in her lap, leaving her with permanent scarring from first and second-degree burns. Mogavero accused Starbucks of failing to adequately fasten the lid, while her lawyers argued Starbucks should warn customers that lids may pop off, reports the Wall Street Journal. After a Starbucks rep testified that the company receives 80 complaints about lids per month, a Duval County jury found Starbucks 80% at fault for the spill and awarded Mogavero $15,492 for medical bills, plus $85,000 for pain and suffering. My client didn't want sympathy from the jury--she wanted justice--and the jury gave it to her, her lawyer says. Starbucks' stance: As we said in trial, we stand behind our store partners (employees) in this case and maintain that they did nothing wrong. The coffee giant is considering an appeal. (This woman was paid $522,000 after tripping and spilling her coffee.)

(Jul 31, 2015 4:45 PM CDT) Country singer Lynn Anderson, best known for (I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden, has died in Nashville at age 67 of cardiac arrest. Before that early '70s smash, Anderson rose to national prominence as a regular on the Lawrence Welk Show in the late 1960s, reports the Tennessean. Anderson's other hits included Rocky Top, ''You're My Man, ''How Can I Unlove You, ''What a Man, My Man Is, and Top of the World, which the Carpenters made into a hit of their own. Though her popularity faded over the years, Anderson continued to record: She released a gospel album in June called Bridges that pleased the critics, and the Tennessean says she seemed poised for comeback after a string of DUI arrests. She did so much for the females in country music, says Reba McEntire. Always continuing to pave the road for those to follow. The AP recounts an interview with Anderson in which she recalls when Rose Garden rose on the country and pop music charts. It was popular because it touched on emotions, she said. It was out just as we came out of the Vietnam years and a lot of people were trying to recover. She added: This song stated that you can make something out of nothing. You take it and go ahead. It fit me well and I'll be proud to be connected to it until I die.

(Jul 25, 2016 12:33 PM CDT) After five police officers were murdered in Dallas July 7, applications to join the city's police force are up 344%, CNN reports. Four days after the shootings, the city's police chief urged Black Lives Matter protesters to join the force if they wanted to see changes. We're hiring. Get off that protest line and put an application in, he said. From June 8 to June 20, there were 136 applications submitted to the department; from July 8 to July 20, there were 467. As CNN notes, the department has been beset by morale problems for years, partially due to its low starting pay of less than $45,000 per year. In other parts of Texas, starting pay ranges from $52,176 to $63,757.

(Sep 27, 2014 5:30 PM CDT) When you crunch the numbers, Congress looks pretty lazy. The Washington Post finds that both chambers have been in session only about 40% of the time since 1978--the first year for which online records are available--and they've both worked full weeks simultaneously a measly 14% of the time. Taken individually, the Senate has spent 42% of the past 37 years in session, while the House has been in session 39% of the time. That period covers 1,917 weeks, 601 of which the Senate worked Monday through Friday. As for the House? Just 362 weeks. This year so far, both chambers have been in session all week together ... four times. They tend to avoid working on Fridays, Philip Bump notes. Meanwhile, the longest period both chambers remained in session was 13 days, while the longest time neither chamber worked was several months, Bump writes. But he does point out that just because Congresspeople aren't meeting on the floor doesn't necessarily mean they're not working. See the graphs and check individual dates here.

(Oct 16, 2013 11:38 AM CDT) Sean Edwards, a promising British racer and son of ex-Formula One driver Guy Edwards, died yesterday in a crash during training. He was 26. Edwards, the Porsche Supercup Championship leader, was in the passenger seat as an instructor for a private training session at Queensland Raceway at Willowbank, outside Brisbane, Porsche Motorsport said. A 20-year-old local driver was behind the wheel when the car crashed into a tire wall, hit a barrier, and caught fire. The driver was taken to a hospital and is reported to be in critical condition with severe burns and broken bones. Edwards was recently involved in director Ron Howard's movie Rush about the 1976 Formula One season. Guy Edwards was one of the drivers who helped pull Niki Lauda from his burning car during the 1976 German Grand Prix. Hartmut Kristen, Head of Motorsport at Porsche, described the younger Edwards as one of the most popular and successful drivers in the Porsche series. Edwards won the Nurburgring and Dubai 24 Hours this year. The British Motor Sports Association said: Sean was a hugely promising young racer who came through the junior formulas in Britain before making a career in international sports car racing.

(Feb 14, 2012 1:34 PM) A male couple in Thailand spent more than two days kissing to break the Guinness World Record for longest kiss. The competition began Sunday in Pattaya, and ended, fittingly enough, today on Valentine's Day. Couples had to stay in a space measuring one square meter, could only take water and food through a straw, and had to be accompanied by a referee on bathroom breaks, the Telegraph reports. The winners, who kissed for 50 hours, took home a diamond ring worth more than $3,200 for their troubles, plus a hotel gift voucher worth twice that. This isn't the first time a male couple has broken a kissing record...

(Mar 13, 2009 10:43 AM CDT) Amnesty International has called for Iraq not to execute 128 prisoners sentenced to death, saying their trials may not have conformed with international rules, Reuters reports. Amnesty says Iraq should release the names of and charges against the prisoners, noting that capital punishment is an ineffective threat when suicide bombing is rampant. The sentences comply with the law and meet international standards, a rep for the judiciary said. Iraq's creaking judicial system is simply unable to guarantee fair trials in ordinary criminal cases, and even less so in capital cases, said an Amnesty director. We fear that numerous people have gone to their death after unfair trials. The judiciary spokesman said 125 prisoners are set for execution, and their case details are available.

(Apr 24, 2017 3:16 PM CDT) US stocks joined a worldwide rally after results from the first round of France's presidential election raised expectations that the European Union and euro currency will hold together, the AP reports. Banks and industrial companies led the way higher in US markets Monday. Bank of America jumped 4.1%. Hasbro rose 5.9% after reporting strong results. French stocks leapt 4.1% after centrist Emmanuel Macron emerged on top in the first round of the country's presidential election, stoking hopes he would beat the far-right Marine Le Pen in a runoff in two weeks. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25 points, or 1.1%, to 2,374. The Dow Jones industrials gained 216 points, or 1.1%, to 20,763. The Nasdaq composite climbed 73 points, or 1.2%, to 5,983, another record.

(Mar 13, 2008 7:18 PM CDT) A cup of coffee brewed with 16 ounces of water at 203 degrees for 44 seconds? Coming right up. The brouhaha over the $11,000 Clover 1s--the ultra-high-tech machine that brews one cup at a time--makes sense, Paul Adams writes in Slate. After two hours test-driving the built-to-order machine, which regulates temperature, water, and brew time with staggering precision, he considers himself a Clover addict. Precision doesn't immediately mean better coffee, just more attention to it. It's the joy of tinkering, really delving into the possibilities of a coffee bean, writes Adams, who discovered that 206 degrees produced his ideal brew. While the idea of an individual picking up a Clover is silly, their public use could make way for a third wave of coffee--possibly on par with wine and complete with $10-$15 cups.

(Dec 18, 2020 2:48 AM) More than 300 schoolboys abducted last week by armed men in northwest Nigeria have been released, a government official said Thursday. In an announcement on Nigerian state TV, Katsina State Gov. Aminu Bello Masari said the 344 boarding school students were turned over to security officials and are being brought to the state capital, where they will get physical examinations before being reunited with their families, the AP reports. I think we can say ... we have recovered most of the boys, if not all of them, Masari said. He did not disclose if the government paid any ransom. President Muhammadu Buhari welcomed their release, calling it a big relief to their families, the entire country and to the international community, according to a statement from his office.

(Jan 17, 2012 1:36 PM) Mitt Romney has been evasive about releasing his tax returns, and today he hinted at why, saying in a press conference that his effective tax rate is probably closer to the 15% rate than anything. That means that most of Romney's earnings--which largely still stem from his time at Bain Capital--are being taxed at the 15% capital gains rate, instead of at the 35% rate they'd be taxed at as normal earnings, the Wall Street Journal reports. Democrats have been trying to eliminate the carried interest loophole that allows such income to be taxed at the lower rate, but have been thwarted by fierce lobbying campaigns. Romney did say that he doesn't favor eliminating the capital gains tax entirely--as Newt Gingrich does--because that would provide for people of very high income a possibility of no tax at all. Click to find out when Romney says he will finally release his tax returns (probably).

(May 5, 2010 7:29 AM CDT) Greece was paralyzed by a 24-hour general strike that grounded all air traffic today, and 3 people died in a fire set by protesters trying to storm the parliament, MSNBC reports. Street battles were breaking out in the capital just as Angela Merkel was busy asking the German parliament to lend Greece 22 billion euros in a key part of a 110-billion euro bailout package for the bankrupt country. Demonstrators were protesting austerity measures that the Greek government has accepted as part of the bailout plan. Many Greeks, angry about belt-tightening measures like public-sector salary cuts and higher alcohol and cigarette taxes, say they're being punished for the mistakes of others, the New York Times reports. Meanwhile, pushing for approval of the aid package for Greece, Merkel told German lawmakers it was the only way to prevent a chain reaction that would contaminate the markets across Europe.

(Feb 16, 2009 7:41 PM) Lindsay Lohan stirred the rumor mill today by visiting hunky Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford in New York at 6am, OK! reports. Meanwhile Lilo's girlfriend, Sam Ronson, is recovering from an ear infection in Los Angeles. Lohan denies any trouble in paradise, but didn't bother to hide her crush on Chace last fall. One source says she's been texting him constantly.

(Jan 27, 2017 3:13 PM) Declines in energy and real estate companies led US stock indexes mostly lower after a listless day on Wall Street, the AP reports. Murphy oil slumped 3.6% Friday. Investors were sizing up earnings from American Airlines, Microsoft, and other big companies. Starbucks slumped 4% after reporting weak sales growth and cutting its forecast. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,294. The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 7 points, less than 0.1%, to 20,093. The Nasdaq composite edged up 5 points, or 0.1%, to 5,660. Bond yields fell after the government reported that the US economy grew at an annual rate of just 1.9% in the last three months of 2016. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.49%.

(May 1, 2008 3:40 PM CDT) Amid rising food prices and overtaxed international reserves, President Bush proposed a new $770 million aid package today, Reuters reports. The money is part of a supplemental $70 billion measure that also includes Iraq war funding and would require a vote in Congress. Bush pushed through a $200 million emergency measure two weeks ago without congressional oversight, AP reports. I think more needs to be done, he said today. I'm asking Congress to provide an additional $770 million to support food aid and development programs.

(Jul 12, 2012 4:50 PM CDT) Sorry, Kindle Fire owners. When the Google Nexus 7 arrives next week, your tablet will officially be second-rate. The Nexus 7 obliterates every reason for buying the current Kindle, and sets a high bar for whatever Amazon comes up with to replace it, Rich Jaroslovsky of Bloomberg writes. Go down the list of standard tablet features, and the Nexus 7 wins every one. The Nexus boasts Bluetooth, GPS, and a camera, all things the Kindle lacks. It's also got a higher-resolution screen and faster processor, all for the same price. It doesn't have Amazon's deep online store, but it does have the latest edition of Android--complete with the nifty Google Now. And thanks to manufacturer Asus, the Nexus 7 is as attractive and smooth as the Kindle Fire is chunky and clunky. Google is ultimately battling Apple in the tablet war, but this makes the Kindle Fire collateral damage.

(Dec 6, 2010 8:46 AM) A pair of suicide bombers disguised as policemen killed 50 people today in an attack targeting a tribal meeting called to discuss the formation of an anti-Taliban militia in northwest Pakistan, officials said. The attack occurred on the grounds of the main government compound in Mohmand, part of Pakistan's militant-infested tribal region. It was the latest strike against local tribesmen who have been encouraged by the government to take up arms against the Taliban. The explosions also wounded more than 100 people, many of them critically. One of the reasons the attacks were so deadly was because the bombers had filled their suicide jackets with bullets, said a top official who was at the compound in Ghalanai town when it was attacked. These bullets killed everyone who was hit, he said. One bomber was caught at the gate of the compound, but he was able to detonate his explosives. The dead and wounded included tribal elders, police, political officials, TV journalists, and other civilians.

(Oct 27, 2016 7:21 AM CDT) Twitter, seemingly unable to find a buyer and losing money, is cutting about 9% of its 3,860 employees worldwide, reports the AP. Twitter Inc., which has struggled amid competition from the likes of Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram, said Thursday that it expects to book about $10 million to $20 million in workforce restructuring charges as it lays off about 350 workers. We have a clear plan, and we're making the necessary changes to ensure Twitter is positioned for long-term growth, CEO Jack Dorsey said in a statement. Since the end of 2014, Twitter has lured 15 million monthly users to expand its audience to 313 million people. In that same period, Facebook brought in 319 million users, expanding its reach 1.7 billion people. Twitter is placing a big bet on live video, and recently landed a high-profile deal to show National Football League games over 10 Thursdays. It wants to be the go-to place to share opinions in real time. But management appears unfocused and complacent, while the narrative has shifted to buyout rumors, writes one analyst, who believes that Twitter remains too complicated for most users despite numerous attempts to change that. On Thursday, Twitter said that average monthly active users climbed 3% to 317 million during its third quarter, while average daily active usage increased 7%. Twitter Inc. posted a loss of $102.9 million, or 15 cents per share. Adjusted profit of 13 cents per share on revenue of $616 million. Analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research expected earnings of 9 cents per share on revenue of $605.7 million. Advertising revenue rose 6% to $545 million, with mobile advertising making up 90% of total ad revenue.

(Sep 22, 2014 12:35 PM CDT) There are people who have plastic surgery to correct birth defects, those who go under the knife to look more like their favorite celebrities, and then there's a Florida woman who goes by the name Jasmine Tridevil. The 21-year-old massage therapist--who's now being compared to the three-breasted woman in both Total Recall films--says she has added a third breast after a long search to find a surgeon who would actually perform the procedure, 9 News reports. (Skeptics, however, are pretty sure it's a hoax.) Tridevil's stated motivation: She's hoping to land a reality show on MTV, as well as keep men at bay because she [doesn't] want to date anymore and figures they'll think the third breast is weird and gross. The new breast was created with her own abdomen skin and a silicone implant placed between her two existing breasts, she says, adding that the areola was tattooed on. She tells Real Radio 104.1 via the Huffington Post UK that she contacted 50 doctors before one agreed to her request, saying no one wanted to [break] the code of ethics and that the doctor who finally gave in made me sign a nondisclosure agreement as he was scared he'd get in trouble. Tridevil says her family doesn't approve, telling 9 News, My mum ran out the door. She won't talk to me. She won't let my sister talk to me. My dad ... he really isn't happy. He is kind of ashamed of me, but he accepted it. That's not stopping her from going after her dream, posting pics on her Facebook page and trying to draw MTV's gaze her way with tweets hashtagged #3Boobs #MTV. (Click to read about seven people who got cosmetic surgery to look like celebs.)

(Oct 1, 2012 6:42 PM CDT) Attorneys for whistle-blowers have donated millions of dollars to President Obama--which is hardly surprising, considering that his fight against corporate fraud has put millions in their pockets, the New York Times reports. With the Dodd-Frank Act empowering whistle-blowers, Obama's administration has paid them $1.6 billion so far, and lawyers have taken up to 40% of that. Increasingly, this is not just about exposing wrongdoing, says an analyst. It is about trying to generate as much money and fees for the firms handling the cases. In fact, top laws firms have helped SEC officials forge whistle-blower rules and later hired them on as lawyers. At the same time, the federal government has collected $13.2 billion from companies whose fraud was exposed by whistle-blowers--and the lawyers who have raised more than $3 million for Obama insist they're doing it out of admiration. But they don't deny the financial incentive: The way you get more hunting dogs showing up is you feed them, says the head of a legal industry group. And the Justice Department is cooking with Crisco right now.

(Jan 20, 2012 4:55 AM) France suspended its training programs in Afghanistan today after an Afghan National Army soldier shot and killed four French troops and wounded 16 others. The soldier, who opened fire at a base in eastern Afghanistan, has been arrested, the BBC reports. French President Nicolas Sarkozy says France may now withdraw from Afghanistan early. The French army isn't in Afghanistan to be shot at by Afghan soldiers, he said. In southern Afghanistan, six coalition troops, believed to be Americans, were killed in a helicopter crash. The Taliban claimed responsibility but coalition commanders say there was no enemy activity in the area at the time, the AP reports. The crash is the deadliest in Afghanistan since August last year, when a Chinook helicopter was shot down, killing 30 US troops and seven Afghan soldiers.

(Jan 13, 2018 7:13 AM) A New York City police official apologized Friday to a rape victim he helped discredit almost 24 years ago. Deputy Commissioner John Miller said in a statement sent to the woman's lawyer that he was wrong to tell reporters that police doubted the woman's account of being raped in Brooklyn's Prospect Park. Police said this week that they had finally solved the crime by matching DNA found on the victim to serial rapist Edward Webb, who is in prison for other attacks. Miller, then the chief police spokesman, told reporters in 1994 that detectives believed there were inconsistencies in the woman's story. Per the AP, Miller said in his apology that inappropriately sharing this information, which was the speculation of investigators, and ultimately proved to be incorrect, was a serious misjudgment on my part.

(Jul 13, 2012 3:00 AM CDT) Hopes that a booming Chinese economy might give the moribund West a boost have taken a hit with the release of figures showing the country's growth is at its slowest since the financial crisis. The Chinese economy has slowed for the sixth quarter in a row, with last quarter's 7.6% GDP growth rate representing a three-year low. While 7.6% would sound pretty sweet to most Western countries, the figure is just one of many signs that the Chinese economy is struggling--export growth in the first half of 2012 is down steeply from a year earlier and the People's Bank of China has cut interest rates for the second month in a row in its first reductions since 2008. China is also embroiled in a fierce crackdown on real estate speculation, further reducing demand. Most analysts expect the Chinese economy to rebound later this year, although the situation may be worse than official figures show: Electricity consumption has slowed much faster than growth in official GDP, leading some to suspect that the figures are being skewed ahead of the once-in-a-decade leadership transition this fall, Bloomberg notes. Still, China's economy survived a period of much slower growth in 2009, where there were massive layoffs, without social unrest or serious problems, an analyst at CLSA tells the Guardian.

(May 2, 2009 4:46 AM CDT) Citigroup may have to scrape together as much as $10 billion in fresh capital to pass the Fed's stress tests for big banks, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The release of the tests--which assess how a bank could weather various dire scenarios--has been pushed back from Monday to Thursday as Citi and others haggle with the Fed over its early findings. Sources say Citi could end up passing the test with $500 million to spare if the Fed gives it credit for an impending partial sell-off. The administration has said it won't allow any of the 19 tested banks to collapse, but those who fail to raise enough money from private investors may have to give up more equity to the government in return for aid.

(Jan 27, 2016 12:50 PM) Scandinavian countries apparently know how to steer clear of corruption. Anti-corruption body Transparency International is out with its annual list of the least corrupt countries in the world, based on expert opinions, and Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all find a spot in the top 10. Denmark tops the list with a score of 91 out of 100, where 100 means a squeaky-clean reputation, per CNBC. The US improved its score slightly to 76 to sit at 16th, reports the Week, while Brazil saw the biggest decline, falling seven spots to 76th with a score of 38. The top 10 look pretty good in comparison.

(Jan 17, 2018 5:30 PM) From hundreds of thousands of fans to 100,000 victims. The Santa Barbara Independent reports a pop-punk bassist is facing fraud charges and more than 30 years in prison over an alleged real estate scam. Prosecutors say Michael Davenport of The Ataris defrauded approximately 100,000 people in all 50 states and Washington DC out of $27 million through a company he founded called American Standard, according to NPR. The alleged scam worked like this: American Standard would advertise homes for sale for below-market value, usually on Craigslist; interested customers were made to pay $199 for a listing of houses ; victims would later find out the homes on the list were either not for sale or didn't exist. American Standard told customers they could purchase the houses by simply taking over the homeowners' mortgage payments and hired employees who spent most of their time fielding phone calls from angry customers and homeowners, according to an indictment. Prosecutors say American Standard created impossible hoops to jump through if any customer demanded a refund. Davenport was arrested in December at the Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport in Arkansas with $104,000 in cash. He and American Standard salesperson Cynthia Rawlinson appeared in court Wednesday. They've been charged with wire fraud, mail fraud, and more. Davenport played with The Ataris from 1995 to 2004 and appeared with the band during a reunion tour in 2013, Rolling Stone reports. The band's 1999 album was named one of the 50 best pop-punk albums of all time by the magazine.

(Oct 11, 2018 9:35 AM CDT) Tacked to Maria and Phil Manning's fridge is a budget detailing how the $1,600 they pull in a month is allocated. The hope--unfulfilled time and time again--is to save $450 of that, so they can move out of their trailer in Everett, Pa., and head to Bedford, where Maria would be able to re-enroll in a high school that has child care for her 2-year-old. It's the portrait of a family that Terrence McCoy argues is surprisingly prevalent : Phil is 25, but Maria is just 16, and the two are married. Between 2000 and 2010, an estimated 248,000 children were married, most of whom were girls, some as young as 12, wedding men, McCoy writes for the Washington Post. Maria got pregnant at 14 by a man who at one point abducted her; she now has a 2-year-old. McCoy traces how she subsequently met Phil at a friend's trailer in February 2017; they quickly fell for each other and began sleeping together, though Maria was just 15. The two kept the relationship under wraps at first. When they decided to just be open about it, people gave Phil the nickname Chester Cheeto, a play off the comic strip Chester the Molester. But they married in West Virginia, with Maria's mother, Michelle, signing off on the paperwork that enabled them to do so. Michelle herself had been married at 14, unhappily. She was resistant to Maria's request, but she ultimately relented. McCoy digs into what Phil wants--a son of his own--and Maria's desire to return to school, which seems continually thwarted: One month, the extra money goes to buy a phone for Phil via Facebook; it's a dud. Then she takes her future into her own hands. Read the full story here.