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A decision by the International Football Association Board may very well lead to good technological sense at last prevailing in international soccer. (Credit: NMA NewsDirect/YouTube Screenshot: Chris Matyszczyk/CNET) There's a retrograde little sports event happening in England this week called Wimbledon. The organizers still force players to wear predominantly white clothing. Yes, even on the practice courts. And yet, way back in 1980, Wimbledon began employing Cyclops technology to make service line calls. Meanwhile, soccer (or football, as most of the world knows it) contented itself with sad little men carrying flags, often somehow blind to balls crossing the goal line. But that perhaps will soon be no more. For the BBC reports that the International Football Association Board has finally decided that it should experiment with goal-line technology, starting in December at the slightly insignificant FIFA Club World Cup (not to be confused with the World Cup). You might wonder what had suddenly changed these crusty old men's minds. Embarrassment, that's what. Soccer's administrators have so often been caught with their technological pants around their pale, gout-threatened ankles that even they have begun to notice. Two recent examples come to mind. In the last World Cup, a shot from England's Frank Lampard against Germany was seen to be far over the goal line even by the most diehard of Teutons in Bavaria and yet not by the three officials (evidence embedded below). In the recently concluded Euro 2012, England was on the receiving end of myopic fortune when a shot from Ukraine's Marko Devic was over the line and yet an extra assistant official -- placed on the goal line for that very purpose -- still denied a clear goal. With copious amounts of yoke and albumen still smearing their cheeks, the International Football Association Board has approved not one, but two systems for testing. One approved system is Hawk-Eye, which has been in use for some time now in sports such as cricket and tennis -- though not always without controversy. The other system is GoalRef, which has already been tried out in a Danish Superliga game. Each system has its own technological approach. Hawk-Eye relies on six cameras, coupled with software that triangulates the precise position of the ball. GoalRef, on the other hand, simply shoves a microchip inside the ball. No, it doesn't make it rattle. Rather, thanks to low magnetic waves around the goal, it monitors for any change in the magnetic field on or behind the goal line. In each case, the process takes about a second and a signal is sent to one of the officials. Those who truly adore football (it's a habit calling it that, please forgive) will be delighted to hear that the English Premier League -- known for its fast pace, English passion, and largely non-English players -- is reportedly keen to quickly sign up for one or both of these technologies. Moreover, if the Club World Cup experiment goes well, there is talk of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil enjoying goal-line technology. I understand that soccer is still a couple of years away from locating swift technology that can conclusively prove whether a player has actually been kicked, punched, gouged, pushed, or scythed, rather than simulating the results thereof. ||||| Story highlights Goal-line technology approved for use in football on Thursday Global governing body FIFA and IFAB unanimously agree on decision FIFA intends for goal-line technology to be used at December's Club World Cup Two systems, Hawk-Eye and GoalRef, approved by soccer's lawmakers Football's lawmakers have taken the historic step of unanimously approving goal-line technology systems for use in the sport. World soccer's global governing body FIFA and the International Football Association Board (IFAB) made the announcement following a meeting in Zurich on Thursday. FIFA intend for goal-line technology to be used at December's Club World Cup in Japan, and if successful it will also be implemented at the 2013 African Cup of Nations and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Two systems, designed by technology companies GoalRef and Hawk-Eye, have been approved after going through two phases of FIFA testing. FIFA president Sepp Blatter had previously opposed the move but said the turning point had been an incident at the 2010 World Cup involving a second round clash between England and Germany. JUST WATCHED Goal-line technology approved by FIFA Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Goal-line technology approved by FIFA 02:27 JUST WATCHED Euro 2012: Goodbye, Adiós and Ciao Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Euro 2012: Goodbye, Adiós and Ciao 03:58 JUST WATCHED Platini: Bayern, Chelsea worthy of final Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Platini: Bayern, Chelsea worthy of final 04:58 Blatter was present when midfielder Frank Lampard's shot bounced well over the goal-line but was not awarded by the officials in a match England went on to lose 4-1. "It is a real approach of modern times in football," he told reporters. "It is so important because the objective in football is to score goals. It's a help for the referee. "I'm happy, I'm pleased we are able to go forward. When it comes to high level competition and you have the technology and you don't use it something is wrong. "I have changed my attitude towards technology because of Lampard's kick in South Africa. That was the moment for me to say 'You are the president of FIFA and you cannot afford that in the next World Cup something similar will happen.'" The English Premier League welcomed the news, expressing its intention to bring in goal-line technology in the near future. "The Premier League has been a long-term advocate of goal line technology," read a statement on the organization's website. "We will engage in discussions with both Hawk-Eye and GoalRef in the near future with a view to introducing goal-line technology as soon as is practically possible." The IFAB is comprised of FIFA and the four UK-based football associations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. It is a body which decides on any proposed changes to the rules of soccer. The announcement follows Blatter's recent calls for goal-line technology to be introduced in reaction to an incident that occurred during Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine. Co-hosts Ukraine saw a goal not given during a must-win group-stage match with England, when John Terry cleared Artim Milevskiy's shot after it looked to have crossed the line. Following the game on June 19, Blatter used his official Twitter account to declare: "After last night's match #GLT is no longer an alternative but a necessity." But his stance on the issue is at odds with Michel Platini, the president of European football's governing body UEFA. The UEFA chief told CNN in May: "I'm against the technology. If you say OK to goal-line technology, then it is offside technology, then penalty area technology, and we stop the football. "I want human people -- it's easy. I understand the fans because they want justice but with an additional referee we have the same justice." In addition to Milevskiy's "goal" at Euro 2012, England have been involved in one other high-profile goal-line controversies. In the 1966 World Cup final, England were awarded a goal against West Germany when Geoff Hurst's shot in extra-time rebounded off the underside of the crossbar. England went on to win the match 4-2 at Wembley. At the same meeting, FIFA also confirmed it would permit the wearing of headscarves during a trial period. As there was no medical risk to wearing headscarves when playing a game of football, it has decided to relent on a ban introduced in 2007. Soccer's governing body had prevented teams wearing the traditional headscarves -- which protect the modesty of Islamic girls and women -- for safety reasons and to prevent political or religious statements. ||||| Soccer gave its stamp of approval Thursday to goal-line technology and headscarves for female Muslim players. Jerome Valcke, FIFA General Secretary, answers questions at a press conference about goal-line technology in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday July 5, 2012. Goal-line technology has been given the go-ahead... (Associated Press) FILE - In this June 19, 2012 filer, England's John Terry clears the ball away from his goal during the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between England and Ukraine in Donetsk, Ukraine. UEFA... (Associated Press) Alex Horne, The Football Association, answers questions at a press conference about goal-line technology in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday July 5, 2012. Goal-line technology has been given the go-ahead... (Associated Press) Jerome Valcke, FIFA General Secretary, answers questions at a press conference about goal-line technology in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday July 5, 2012. Goal-line technology has been given the go-ahead... (Associated Press) FILE - In this June 19, 2012 filer, England's John Terry clears the ball away from his goal during the Euro 2012 soccer championship Group D match between England and Ukraine in Donetsk, Ukraine. UEFA... (Associated Press) Also adopted was a proposal for a five-referee system to officiate matches _ placing an additional assistant beside each goal. The three decisions will be "long-lasting and resonate throughout the world," said Patrick Nelson, chief executive of the Northern Ireland association. FIFA said it will introduce the goal-line mechanism at the seven-team Club World Cup in Japan in December, with plans to use it in Brazil at the 2013 Confederations Cup and 2014 World Cup. "We want to make sure that the systems at the World Cup work at 150 percent, not 90 percent," said Jerome Valcke said, secretary general for the governing body. FIFA will use both Hawk-Eye and GoalRef systems in Japan, after they won "unanimous" support from the International Football Association Board panel, Valcke said. The English Premier League is expected to adopt one of the systems _ which are likely will cost up to $250,000 per stadium _ during next season. The ruling on headscarves reversed a ban on the Islamic hijab that's been enforced in FIFA competitions since 2007. Soccer rules prohibit equipment that is dangerous or makes religious statements. The IFAB gave its OK after FIFA's medical committee decided two scarf designs do not threaten the safety of female players. The designs use quick-release velcro fasteners and magnets. FIFA Vice President Prince Ali of Jordan led a yearlong campaign to overturn the ban and allow Muslim women to play the game. Two Islamic countries make the headscarf mandatory for women in public _ Iran and Saudi Arabia. Last year, Iran forfeited qualifying matches for the Olympics because of the headscarf ban. FIFA President Sepp Blatter was a member of the IFAB panel that accepted test results showing the technology systems quickly and accurately judge when balls cross the goal line. The IFAB panel is made up of officials from FIFA and the four British soccer associations. Hawk-Eye is a British camera-based system already used in tennis and cricket. GoalRef is a Danish-German project using magnetic sensors to track a special ball. Thursday's decision was expected and completed Blatter's reversal on the matter. FIFA previously blocked using technology to help referees make decisions. Blatter's conversion came two years ago when he saw England denied a clear goal by midfielder Frank Lampard against Germany at the 2010 World Cup. Two days later, Blatter said FIFA must reopen the debate, though insisted it must involve only goal-line decisions. Video replay remains off limits for judgment calls, such as penalties or offside. Blatter achieved his goal against the wishes of UEFA President Michel Platini, who opposes giving match officials any hi-tech aids. Still, Platini's rival project which seeks to keep all technology out of decision-making also received support Thursday. The five-referee proposal, made by European soccer's ruling body, won IFAB approval after three years of trials in more than 1,000 matches. That decision came just two weeks after Platini's pet project suffered its biggest public failure, helping eliminate co-host Ukraine at the European Championship. A Hungarian refereeing team did not spot that a shot by Ukraine forward Marko Devic crossed the line before England defender John Terry hooked the ball clear. England won 1-0 and advanced to the quarterfinals. Neither goal-line technology nor the five-referee system is binding on leagues or competition organizers. Both are options to choose _ and pay for _ once IFAB approved the principle. Major League Soccer has said it wants to adopt goal-line systems. IFAB, a 126-year-old body, acts as guardian of soccer's rules. Six votes are needed to approve a change, with FIFA holding a four-vote bloc and the four British associations having one vote each.

– A big move in the world of soccer: The sport's governing body said today it will test two goal-line technologies at a tournament in December, reports CNN. One system uses multiple cameras and the other relies on a microchip inside the ball. Assuming all goes well, one should be in place for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Helping prompt the move was a notorious blown call in the 2010 World Cup, when a shot by England's Frank Lampard crossed the line but did not get awarded. "I have changed my attitude toward technology because of Lampard's kick in South Africa," says FIFA chief Sepp Blatter. "That was the moment for me to say, 'You are the president of FIFA and you cannot afford that in the next World Cup something similar will happen.'" What's more, the English Premier League is on board and plans to use one of the systems, too. (For the take of one happy and knowledgeable "football" fan, see Chris Matyszczyk's post at CNET.) Another new rule: FIFA will allow female Muslim players to wear headscarves, notes AP.

I guess I need to address this because it is now relevant. If you haven't heard already, two 12-year-old Wisconsin girls attempted to murder one of their classmates because they were inspired by the Slenderman mythology. I won't go much into details, so here is the article of the story. According to the story, the girls read about Slenderman here on this wiki, and of course the usual response lead to hostility and blaming towards the wiki by some "very concerned parents". Some calling for the censorship and shutdown of the wiki. Will these people succeed on their quest? Most likely not. These are the same people who think violent video games help create mass murderers, because it is convenient to blame and point fingers. Besides the backlash, this incident shows what happens when the line of fiction and reality ceases to exist. When a person truly believes that Internet short stories are cold hard facts. When a person attempts to replicate works of fiction to the point others are harmed. And for this, I'm going to make myself loud and clear: ALL WORKS PRESENTED ON THIS WIKI AND OTHER SITES (INCLUDING SLENDERMAN, JEFF THE KILLER, BEN, SONIC.EXE, ETC) ARE FICTIONAL STORIES AND CHARACTERS Of course, only a small minority of people (mostly newcomers) on the wiki (and the Internet) truly believe what they read here. And for most people, they will not attempt to replicate atrocities presented in some of the literature on the wiki. Something like this was bound to happen, considering the size of the Creepypasta community. All it takes is one person to do something insane and radical in the name of someone or something. This is an isolated incident, and does not represent or attribute the Creepypasta community as a whole. This wiki does not endorse or advocate for the killing, worship, and otherwise replication of rituals of fictional works. There is a line of between fiction and reality, and it is up to you to realize where the line is. We are a literature site, not a crazy satanic cult. For most of you reading this, you're probably thinking this is a no-brainier that stories here are mere fiction and know that they are just mere fiction. This blog addresses to newcomers and "die-hard believers", who will otherwise, likely to believe in these stories. Hopefully, the gruesome crime that happened in Wisconsin will not repeat itself again, and our hearts go out to the families affected by this crime. ||||| This past May, the country woke up to the news that two 12-year-old girls allegedly stabbed their friend to conjure up a mythological creature named Slender Man — a plan inspired by a story they read on a site called Creepypasta. Yes, that sentence is real. The 12-year-old suspects were charged as adults with first-degree attempted homicide, and could face up to 60 years in jail. We understand you might have some questions about this confusing and seemingly unbelievable case. So here's a brief explainer: What is Slender Man? What is a Slender man? Slender Man is a fictional urban legend or horror story that was first created on an internet forum in 2009. Slender Man (also spelled Slenderman or Slendy) actually started off as a photo manipulation, by a Something Awful forum user named Victor Surge. The creature known as Slender Man has no face, no hair, is very, very thin and wears a dark suit (above). From there, users began incorporating him into scary stories and urban legends, like Bloody Mary or other scary monsters you were probably told about as kids. Instead of being passed around by word of mouth, the stories of Slender Man are passed around in horror story forums like Creepypasta, and Reddit's No Sleep. From there Slender Man made his way to YouTube videos like this one: Like the variations on Bloody Mary and other urban legends, there is no strict Slender Man myth. This story portrays him kidnapping someone and whisking them away, sometimes he's jokingly portrayed like a Boogeyman-like creature, and this story paints a true, near-escape from a man that might be Slender Man. Creepy-what? Creepypasta. The name creepypasta doesn't seem very creepy or menacing. Its name comes from the days of email (like SPAM) when bite-sized horror stories were passed around from person to person. Nowadays, that's evolved into sites like Creepypasta.wikia and Reddit's No Sleep forum where people post some of the scariest stories they can think of. And some of those stories involve fictional creatures like Slender Man. Think of it as the way people share ghost stories in the age of the internet. But those stories aren't real. Yes. These stories are fiction. But that doesn't stop people on the forum from claiming they are real. For example in Reddit's No Sleep forum, there is a rule every story should be taken as real in order to keep the spirit of the forum intact. But there's really no difference between stories you find on those forums and those found-footage horror blockbusters. Faux authenticity isn't a pass for murder nor does it create murder. So these girls decided to kill someone to meet a fictional monster? Well, according to news reports, the girls said that they were sacrificing their friend so that they could be taken by Slender Man and whisked to a mansion where they could live with him. In a sense, they made up their own myth. The AP reports: The other girl told police they decided to kill her so they could become proxies of Slender Man, who would accept them and let them live with him in his mansion in the Nicolet National Forest. The other girl said she sees Slender Man in her dreams. She said he watches her and can read her mind and teleport. The girls allegedly tried to kill their friend during a game of hide-and-seek, and left her bleeding in the woods. The report adds that one of the girls said she had been planning this since December. What's happening to the people that told/are telling these Slender Man stories? Perhaps the most-telling or prescient perspective is from Slender Man's creator, a man named Eric Knudsen (a.k.a. Victor Surge). Earlier this year, Knudsen voiced that he felt like he lost ownership of his creation. "I feel like I'm Slenderman's manager, and he's out there doing his thing, and I need to just kind of watch him and take care of him," Knudsen had said in January. Knudsen has not spoken about the attempted murder yet. "In the 80s people would blame Freddy Krueger for their murders after the Nightmare on Elm Street series got popular. To see Slender reach that level though is both frighting and amazing." A thing to remember is that there are thousands of readers who read sites like Creepypasta.wikia every day and don't commit atrocities like these girls did. You could make the same analogy to television shows, video games, and movies. And you could also make the argument that these girls could have easily been inspired by movies like Saw or Hostel. The question of agency here is on those young girls. Creepypasta.wikia, the site where these girls allegedly found this Slender Man myth, has issued a warning about how the site is fiction and that they can't control the action of these girls: This is an isolated incident, and does not represent or attribute the Creepypasta community as a whole. This wiki does not endorse or advocate for the killing, worship, and otherwise replication of rituals of fictional works. There is a line of between fiction and reality, and it is up to you to realize where the line is. We are a literature site, not a crazy satanic cult. The strange pocket of the internet where these stories come from is now bracing for a meltdown and some harsh scrutiny from people reading Slender Man reports. Reddit has a forum specifically dedicated to the Slender Man. Some readers there have already expressed concern about the attention headed their way, while others tried to distance Slender Man from the girls' actions. "If they were insane enough to think they could become 'proxies' I'm almost certain they would do something similar to this eventually, with or without slenderman," a user explained. And one Reddit user equated the attempted murder and attention with the mainstream success of their creation." This isn't unheard of, in the 80s people would blame Freddy Krueger for their murders after the Nightmare on Elm Street series got popular. To see Slender reach that level though is both frighting and amazing," the user wrote. That conjures up some scenarios like copycat crimes, or some mainstream movies based on this crime. And there's something chilling about his or her observation — that this attempted murder is a form of mainstream success for Slender. What's happens next? On December 18, a Wisconsin deemed the two girls fit to stand trial. A joint preliminary hearing for both girlls is scheduled for February, WISN-tv reports. ||||| Slender Man makes an “appearance” at the University of Virginia — one of countless doctored shots that have made the Internet rounds since 2009. ( Bob Mical/Flickr He lurks in the background of gritty black-and-white photos — a gaunt, too-tall figure with skeletal limbs. Some say he lives in the woods and eats children, a kind of demon descended from eastern European myth. Some say he stalks human prey indiscriminately, wherever he can find it: in basements, outside half-open windows, along lonely streets late at night when only occasional headlights cut across the road. Some say he has no face. Others, that his face looks different to everyone who sees it. But whatever they say, everyone generally agrees on one point: that Slender Man, perhaps the Internet’s best and scariest legend, is indeed a legend — an invented character who can be traced back, quite linearly, to an obscure forum where in 2009 users Photoshopped old pictures and improvised a back story for their creations. Tragically — and chillingly — two 12-year-old girls in Waukesha, Wis., seem to have missed all of that. On Saturday, according to local news reports, the girls lured a friend into the woods and stabbed her 19 times in some kind of tribute to Slender Man. The girl they stabbed is hospitalized in stable condition. The perpetrators will be tried as adults. “Many people do not believe Slender Man is real,” one of the girls said, according to the criminal complaint. “[We] wanted to prove the skeptics wrong.” But as dozens of forum posts, newspaper articles and a handful of academic papers show, there’s nothing to prove. Slender Man is a fascinating case study in the creation and codification of Internet myth. And at the end of the day, that’s all it is: a myth. The invention of a “mythological” monster In the myth, Slender Man has many origins: Germany’s Black Forest. Ancient Egypt. Cave paintings in Brazil purportedly depict his movements. In real life, the story begins in the forums of Something Awful, a humor site for people who enjoy joking about things like Dungeons & Dragons, porn and 3-D printers. But the forums can take trickier turns — they’re well-known for tricky Photoshopping and general prankery. On June 8, 2009, a new forum thread invited users to “create paranormal images through Photoshop,” which many users did. But the creation of one user, Victor Surge, struck a particular chord: He posted two photos of children haunted by a tall, shadowy figure with tentacles for arms, along with blocks of ominous text: we didn’t want to go, we didn’t want to kill them, but its persistent silence and outstretched arms horrified and comforted us at the same time . . . 1983, photographer unknown, presumed dead. For weeks, Surge continued posting doctored photos, newspaper clippings and child’s drawings of Slender Man, gradually pulling other users into the myth. They contributed their own Photoshops and stories, drawing parallels to older legends and nudging the story along. By mid-June, the thread was solely devoted to developing the mythos of Slender Man, which now — at least according to one authoritative PDF — runs 194 pages long. Because Slender Man was developed collaboratively, by a community of anonymous contributors, that mythos is spotty and varied — much like a more organic urban legend would be. In some stories Slender Man has multiple arms, like tentacles, and in some he has no extra appendages, at all. Sometimes he seems to kill his victims themselves, in vague, mysterious ways that the faux news stories and police reports never seem to specify, before disemboweling them and bagging their organs. Other times, Slender Man somehow compels his victims to kill each other — a particularly grim plot line, given the recent attack in Wisconsin. In one of the faux news stories, a horse farmer named Ted Henderson shoots his wife in the chest at the Slender Man’s behest, only explaining the crime to his psychiatrist at a mental institution three years later. TED: Ran… ran inside… got gun… Tracy crying… Judi screaming… r…ran to them… He had them… was holding them… DAUTON: Who had them? TED: Skinny fella… suite… Looking at me… Judi screaming… shoot me… SHOOOT ME SHOOT MEEEE! “Tracy,” the couple’s six-year-old daughter, is never found. How a horror story becomes a legend That vagueness — the infinite mutability, the fuzzy details, the ability to adapt Slender Man to just about any time and place — is a large part of what pushed the story off the Something Awful forums and into the Internet mainstream. Slender Man gradually spread onto other niche forums, like 4chan’s paranormal board. From there, it would inspire a popular horror Web series called Marble Hornets, several indie video games and an untold trove of submemes and fan art, as well as earn prominent pages on Wikipedia and Creepypasta, a site dedicated to Internet horror stories. Creepypasta is, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, the place where the Wisconsin girls first read the story of Slender Man. By 2011, the legend had become so deeply embedded in the Web — and so divorced from its blatantly fictional origins — that even its original creator, Victor Surge, couldn’t believe how much it had spread. “I didn’t expect it to move beyond the SA forums,” he said in an interview with the Web site Know Your Meme, later adding: An urban legend requires an audience ignorant of the origin of the legend. It needs unverifiable third and forth [sic] hand (or more) accounts to perpetuate the myth. On the Internet, anyone is privy to its origins as evidenced by the very public Somethingawful thread. But what is funny is that despite this, it still spread. Internet memes are finicky things and by making something at the right place and time it can swell into an ‘Internet Urban Legend’. That same year, the Minneapolis Star-Tribune reported an entire feature on “the Internet-concocted creature… scaring today’s teens silly.” Only two years had passed since Surge invented Slender Man, and its origins, the Tribune ruled, were already “difficult to pinpoint.” The Internet is ‘full of wicked things’ That obscurity is, of course, responsible in part for Slender Man’s scariness: It appears to eliminate the fourth wall entirely, making Slender Man less a ghost story and more a plausible entity. The further the myth gets from its origins, the easier it is to sift out truth from fiction. “The Blair Witch Project” used some of the same techniques. And yet the character’s appeal goes far deeper than that, says Shira Chess, an assistant professor of mass media arts at the University of Georgia and a scholar of the Slender Man myth. In fact, Chess is unsurprised that people, including teenagers, frequently buy into the Slender Man myth — in short, we’re hardwired to believe. “We tell ourselves stories because we (humans) are storytelling animals,” she wrote in an e-mail. “And, to that end, horror stories take on a specific significance and importance because they function metaphorically — the horror stories that are the best are often metaphors for other issues that affect our lives on both cultural and personal levels.” Slender Man, Chess says, is a metaphor for “helplessness, power differentials, and anonymous forces.” He’s an infinitely morphable stand-in for things we can neither understand nor control, universal fears that can drive people to great lengths — even, it would appear, very scary, cold-blooded lengths. For whatever reason, Slender Man does seem to have resonated particularly among teenagers; perhaps that’s the demographic most susceptible to scary stories, or perhaps they’re the people frequenting sites like Creepypasta most often. (Creepypasta, for its part, released a statement early this morning expressing its condolences over the Wisconsin incident — and reminding critics that the site exists to share scary fiction stories, not to encourage any actual, real-life scares.) But the girls in Wisconsin, at least according to statements they made to police, truly believed Slender Man was real: He teleported and read their minds, they claimed. He watched them and threatened to kill their families. “They hoped [their friend] would die,” Ellen Gabler wrote in the Journal-Sentinel, “and they would see Slender and know he existed.” But Slender doesn’t exist — at least not outside of the YouTube videos, wiki pages and horror forums that have grown up around him. Said Russell Jack, the police chief in Waukesha, “the Internet can be full of dark and wicked things.”

– Two 12-year-old girls who allegedly stabbed their friend in the woods of Waukesha, Wis., offered a chilling explanation for their actions: They'd been driven by "Slender Man," a mythical figure who's made the rounds on the Internet since 2009. But there are no deep, mysterious roots to this legend: The Washington Post delves into "the complete, terrifying history ... of the Internet meme," finding that a little digging reveals exactly who made it up and when. It all started with a forum on humor site Something Awful asking users to "create paranormal images through Photoshop." That resulted in Slender Man, the creation of one Victor Surge, aka Eric Knudsen, who offered disturbing stories of a guy with tentacles. Knudsen is now seeking a copyright on the story, CNN reports. As Vox describes Slender Man, he's got "no face, no hair, is very, very thin and wears a dark suit." Other users began making up stories of their own as the legend migrated to other websites, including YouTube, Wikipedia, and "creepypasta" sites for scary online fiction, where the girls apparently read about it. Creepypasta Wiki has distanced itself from the attack, whose victim is reportedly in stable condition: "This wiki does not endorse or advocate for the killing, worship, and otherwise replication of rituals of fictional works. There is a line ... between fiction and reality, and it is up to you to realize where the line is. We are a literature site, not a crazy satanic cult."

Relatives of a man who was killed in a plane crash last weekend on the lakefront are calling him a hero for what he did moments before his death. Crews returned to Lake Pontchartrain Tuesday to retrieve the wreckage of a small aircraft that crashed into the waters north of the New Orleans Lakefront Airport. The crash was reported just before 9 p.m. Saturday when New Orleans police said a Cessna aircraft went down in the lake with people still on board. One of the passengers, Brianna Davis, was the surviving passenger. She was picked up by a private yacht and taken to a hospital. Several authorities began a search for the two men who were also on board. The bodies were removed from the aircraft when it was cut open Tuesday. Family members identified the other passenger as Reginald Hillard Jr., who they said is a hero for pushing his girlfriend, Davis, out of the plane before it crashed. "He's the hero. He was a hero living. You know, he died that way," said Yolanda White, Hillard's cousin. "This was his first plane flight ever. First time he flew on a plane. And it was a surprise from his girlfriend Brianna." The couple posed for pictures on the plane before the unfortunate crash. Davis told Hillard's family that he pushed her out of the plane and that's what saved her. Hillard was a Baton Rouge rapper, a tattoo artist and a father of three. He was afraid to fly, but didn't want to pass up the experience to see New Orleans from the sky, his family told WDSU reporter Jennifer Crockett. "She surprised him and he took the challenge," White said. Davis is the sole survivor of the crash. Officials said the pilot, who was not identified, was experienced but didn't call for help. His body was found buckled into his seat. The airport director, Ben Morris, said that the plane hit a rainstorm around the time of the crash. Police said crashes have happened in the same spot before. "They gave us the signal that there were two bodies in there, so we knew it was his and the pilot's," White said. Hillard's family said their faith is helping them find peace. "He loved his life and he lived it to the fullest. And this is God's will," said Anthony Coleman, Hillard's cousin. "There isn't (anything) we can do about it, but accept it." Federal officials are investigating the crash to determine the cause. Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up! ||||| NEW ORLEANS – The New Orleans Fire Department says two bodies have been found in the wreckage of a small plane that crashed into Lake Pontchartrain just north of the New Orleans Lakefront Airport Saturday night. Spokesman Gregory Davis said the Cessna was pulled from the water Tuesday morning by a crane and the aircraft was placed on a barge. He said the bodies of the pilot and one passenger were in the plane's cabin.The passenger was identified as Reginald Hillard Jr., 25, by family members. The pilot has yet to be identified. "They said that he was in the plane. I still didn't believe it," said Reginald Hillard Sr., of Baton Rouge, who was at the lakefront. Hillard Sr. was told of the official identification minutes after the plane was pulled from the water three days after the crash. Relatives said Reginald was afraid of flying, but put aside his fears when his girlfriend, Brianna Davis, surprised him with an aerial tour of the city. A family member said Reginald was able to unbuckle Davis from her seat and push her out of the aircraft after it hit the water. Davis was able to get out of the sinking plane and was rescued by a nearby boater. "The couple had hired the aircraft to take them on a night time flight around the city of New Orleans," said Lakefront Airport Director Ben Morris. "They did that, they were coming back in, and again, it appears they hit a little rain shower, a very significant rain shower, a rainstorm. They were making their approach to the airport, and at that point, they disappeared off the radar." "It's a very sad thing because she did tell us that she and her boyfriend were holding hands when she slipped out of the aircraft," Morris said. Family members were at the site as the plane was pulled from the water and lifted onto the barge. Divers located the plane just 1,000 feet short of the Lakefront Airport runway Sunday. A crane mounted on a barge was brought in Monday evening to lift the plane out of the water. ||||| The wreckage from a plane crash in Lake Pontchartrain over the weekend was recovered Tuesday morning. Equipment was moved into place to retrieve the wreckage of the small plane that crashed into the lake just north of the New Orleans Lakefront Airport. Show Transcript Hide Transcript HOUR. BACKUP. GINA: RIGHT NOW CREWS ARE FROM LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN. IT WENT DOWN AS IT WAS APPROACHING THE RUNWAY AT THE LAKEFRONT AIRPORT OVER THE WEEKEND. CHARLES: TWO OF THE THREE PEOPLE ON BOARD THE PLANE ARE STILL MISSING THIS MORNING. IS LIVE THIS MORNING FROM THE LAKEFRONT. REPORTER LET ME SHOW YOU BEHIND ME. THEY ARE GOING TO ASSIST AND THE RECOVERY EFFORT THIS MORNING. DIVERS ARE GOING INTO THE WATER TO ATTACH FUSELAGE. INVESTIGATORS WITH THE FEDERAL AVIATION COMMISSION WILL EXAMINE THE PLANE. . ONLY ONE WOMAN SURVIVED. THE AIRPORT DIRECTOR TELLS US PASSENGERS WERE A COUPLE FROM BATON ROUGE. AS EXPERIENCED AND WELL RESPECTED. >> WHEN THE PLANE HIT THE WATER, REPORTER: THEY DID TELL ME THAT THE WOMAN WHO SURVIVE IS DOING WELL THIS MORNING. The crash site was about 1,000 yards west of the airport's north-south runway. VIEW: Photos from scene Fire Department officials said divers were sent down to the plane Tuesday to attach cables and cranes will lift the wreckage out of the water. A woman survived Saturday night's crash, but two men were killed. Crews cut apart the plane to remove the bodies. Family members tell WDSU that the passenger in the plane is Reginald Hillard Jr. Hillard's girlfriend, Brianna Davis, was the surviving passenger. She was released from the hospital on Saturday night. The name of the pilot, who is from Thibodaux, has not been released. WDSU reporter Jennifer Crockett said when crews opened up the aircraft, the pilot was found buckled into his seat. Hillard had been pushed to the back. The airport director, Ben Morris, said Monday that the plane hit a rainstorm around the time of the crash. Morris said the couple chartered the plane for an aerial tour of the city. Additional details have not been released by investigators. Keep up with local news, weather and current events with the WDSU app here. Sign up for our email newsletters to get breaking news right in your inbox. Click here to sign up!

– On Tuesday, a New Orleans family received the confirmation they were dreading: One of two bodies pulled from a plane that went down in Lake Pontchartrain was that of Reginald Hillard Jr., 25. "They said that he was in the plane. I still didn't believe it," his father tells WWLTV. The family is telling a second story, though: one of heroism. They say Hillard saved the life of his girlfriend—the only one of the three aboard to survive the Saturday night flight—by pushing her from the plane. The details are a bit fluid: A family member tells WWLTV Hillard unbuckled Brianna Davis' seatbelt and pushed her out after the Cessna entered the water; relatives tell WDSU he pushed her from the plane before it crashed. Either way, Davis did enter the lake and was retrieved by a passing yacht and taken to the hospital. The flight, an aerial evening tour of the city, was a birthday surprise Davis arranged for Hillard. WDSU reports the father of three was scared to fly and had never been on a plane, but "he took the challenge," says his cousin. "He's the hero." WDSU reports the plane went down about half a mile from the New Orleans Lakefront Airport, whose director, Ben Morris, says, "It's a very sad thing because she did tell us that she and her boyfriend were holding hands when she slipped out of the aircraft." Morris says the plane hit a rainstorm; the pilot, whose body was found still in his seat, did not request any help. (A plane's parachute helped save the life of a former Walmart CEO in 2015.)

Story highlights Security Council members "deplored this launch," president of the council says The North Korean rocket broke up 81 seconds into flight, a U.S. official says Short-lived flight never escaped the atmosphere, officials say U.S. official confirms North Korea food aid program is suspended because of launch The U.N. Security Council on Friday discussed North Korea's botched rocket launch amid concerns that the secretive and often unpredictable regime may follow it with a nuclear test or military move. "Members of the Security Council deplored this launch," said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice, speaking on behalf of the council in her capacity as council president. "Members of the Security Council agreed to continue consultations on an appropriate response, in accordance with its responsibilities given the urgency of the matter." The rocket broke apart Friday 81 seconds after its launch at 7:38 a.m., then fell into the ocean, a U.S. official said. The launch drew condemnation from United States and countries in the region, as well as an unusual admission of failure from Pyongyang. After previous failed launches, the normally secretive regime has insisted that they were successful. "Scientists, technicians and experts are now looking into the cause of the failure," North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said in a report, which was read on state-run television. North Korea said the rocket was designed to carry an observation satellite into orbit. But the United States, South Korea and Japan said that was a cover for a long-range ballistic missile test. JUST WATCHED North Korean reaction to failed launch Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH North Korean reaction to failed launch 02:52 JUST WATCHED How NK leaders reacted to launch failure Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH How NK leaders reacted to launch failure 02:00 JUST WATCHED South Korea trying to recover rocket Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH South Korea trying to recover rocket 01:45 JUST WATCHED N. Korean rocket launch a 'humiliation' Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH N. Korean rocket launch a 'humiliation' 02:24 "They have to understand they only deepened their isolation by going down this road," Ben Rhodes, U.S. deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, said Friday. More provocative action could lead to tighter sanctions, Rhodes said. In the meantime, as a result of the launch, the United States has suspended an agreement reached in February to provide food aid to North Korea, Rhodes said. "Their efforts to launch a missile clearly demonstrate that they could not be trusted to keep their commitment. Therefore, we are not going forward with an agreement to provide them with any assistance," he said. "We have not provided them with any assistance, and it is impossible to see how we could move forward with the February agreement, given the action that they have taken." North Korea had drawn world attention to the launch, which coincided with celebrations surrounding the 100th anniversary of the birth of its late founding leader, Kim Il Sung. The regime had invited international journalists and space experts to view the launch pad and the satellite, and called the effort "an inspiring deed and an event of historic significance." The two previous failed rocket launches that Pyongyang said were intended to put satellites into orbit were followed a few weeks or months later by nuclear tests. "Often when they've had failures of this kind, they reach into their bag and find other things to do," said Christopher Hill, a former lead U.S. negotiator at talks over the North Korean nuclear program who teaches at the University of Denver. "I would be concerned about the potential of an actual nuclear test coming up." South Korea, which criticized the launch as a "grave provocation," said it was searching the waters near where the rocket fell for debris -- a chance to gain insights into the North's technology. The White House press secretary, in a statement, said that North Korea's failed launch "threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments." Noriyuki Shikata, a spokesman for Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, said the international ramifications could be significant. "This is something that we think is a regrettable development," he said. "Our government strongly criticizes their action," said South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Sung-hwan. "They have ignored the starvation of their people and spent money on missiles. It is very unfortunate." Vitaly Churkin, Russia's U.N. ambassador, said before the launch that Security Council members didn't have a "clear agreement" about what steps to take if the launch were to go ahead. "But one thing I can tell you: We have unanimity of understanding that if it were to happen, that would be a clear violation of two Security Council resolutions." After the rocket's failure, China, Pyongyang's closest ally, urged the parties involved to "remain calm and exercise restraint, and not do anything that would harm the peace and stability of the peninsula," according to a statement posted on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command officials also tracked the rocket. "Initial indications are that the first stage of the missile fell into the sea 165 km west of Seoul, South Korea," they said in a news release. "The remaining stages were assessed to have failed and no debris fell on land. At no time were the missile or the resultant debris a threat." Friday's launch came amid North Korean preparations to mark the centennial of the birth of Kim Il Sung, who ruled the communist state for more than four decades. His birthday on April 15, known as the "Day of the Sun," is a key public holiday. On Wednesday, North Korea's ruling Workers' Party held a conference that helped firm up the position of Kim's grandson, Kim Jong Un, the secretive state's new leader. Korean television showed Kim standing near two towering statues -- one of his grandfather and the other of his late father, Kim Jong Il -- as party functionaries and members of the military applauded. Kim Jong Il was given the title of "eternal general secretary" of the Workers' Party, while Kim Jong Un was named the party's first secretary. The last time Pyongyang carried out what it described as a satellite launch, in April 2009, the U.N. Security Council condemned the action and demanded that it not be repeated. That rocket traveled 2,300 miles before its third stage fell into the Pacific Ocean. And in 2006, a rocket failed after about 40 seconds in flight. ||||| Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan arrives at the Republic of Korea fleet base in Busan for a routine port visit as part of a regularly scheduled deployment. SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea tried but failed to fire an intermediate-range missile, U.S. and South Korean officials said Sunday. It was the first attempted missile launch since the North conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test Sept. 9, prompting a wave of international condemnation and efforts to impose new sanctions against the isolated country. The missile test also occurred hours before the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier docked in the southeastern port city of Busan on Sunday for what the Navy called a routine visit after a week of maritime war games with the South Korean navy. North Korea watchers have predicted in recent weeks that Pyongyang was preparing for another provocation, with satellite images showing activity at its main nuclear testing facility as well as its Sohae satellite-launching station. The Pentagon said U.S. Strategic Command systems detected the failed launch of a presumed Musudan missile near the northwestern city of Kusong on Saturday. Pentagon spokesman Gary Ross strongly condemned the missile test and stressed the U.S. commitment to defending allies South Korea and Japan is “ironclad.” “This provocation only serves to increase the international community’s resolve to counter the DPRK’s prohibited activities,” he said, using the acronym for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “We call on North Korea to refrain from actions that further raise tensions in the region,” he added. South Korea’s military said the missile failed immediately after launch, according to the Yonhap news agency. The Joint Chiefs of Staff condemned what it called an “illegal provocation” that violated U.N. Security Council resolutions prohibiting the North from using ballistic missile technology. North Korea has carried out an unprecedented number of missile tests this year, and experts say it is showing clear technical progress in its nuclear weapons program despite numerous failures. Only one of the Musudan missiles, which have a range that puts them in reach of U.S. bases in Japan and Guam, is believed to have flown far enough to be considered a success. But experts say the North’s scientists learn from each failure. Pyongyang has conducted five underground nuclear tests since 2006 , including two this year — one in January and the other on Sept. 9 — causing tensions to rise on the divided peninsula. The U.S. and South Korea regularly conduct joint military exercises, which they insist are defensive in nature. North Korea, however, considers them a rehearsal for an invasion. It denounced the participation of the USS Ronald Reagan — the Navy’s only forward-deployed carrier — in naval exercises this week. The Navy flew a group of reporters out to the ship 150 to 175 miles southwest of Osan Air Base on Friday to show off the carrier’s striking power. Nine fighter jets took off and 15 made landings during a 30-minute demonstration of FA-18 Super Hornets, E-2C Hawkeyes and the EA-18G Growler. U.S. officials said the Ronald Reagan’s arrival in Busan was a routine port call that would allow the 5,500 crew members to engage with their South Korean counterparts. But Navy commanders stressed they were ready to defend the peninsula. “We remain dedicated to the security of this nation … and this region,” Rear Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of Naval Forces Korea, said in remarks after the ship docked. He said the carrier strike group was there “to send a clear signal of the strength of our alliance and our resolve to protect (South Korea) from unprovoked acts of aggression.” gamel.kim@stripes.com Twitter: @kimgamel ||||| PYONGYANG/SEOUL North Korea said its much hyped long-range rocket launch failed on Friday, in a very rare and embarrassing public admission of failure by the hermit state and a blow for its new young leader who faces international outrage over the attempt. The isolated North, using the launch to celebrate the 100th birthday of the dead founding president Kim Il-sung and to mark the rise to power of his grandson Kim Jong-un, is now widely expected to press ahead with its third nuclear test to show its military strength. "The possibility of an additional long-range rocket launch or a nuclear test, as well as a military provocation to strengthen internal solidarity is very high," a senior South Korean defense ministry official told a parliamentary hearing. The two Koreas are divided by the world's most militarized border and remain technically at war after an armistice ended the Korean War in 1953. The United States and Japan said the rocket, which they claimed was a disguised missile test and the North said was to put a satellite into orbit, crashed into the sea after travelling a much shorter distance than a previous North Korean launch. Its failure raises questions over the impoverished North's reclusive leadership which has one of the world's largest standing armies but cannot feed its people without outside aid, largely from its only powerful backer, China. "(There is) no question that the failed launch turns speculation toward the ramifications for the leadership in Pyongyang: a fireworks display gone bad on the biggest day of the year," said Scott Snyder of the Council on Foreign Relations. In a highly unusual move, the North, which still claims success with a 2009 satellite that others say failed, admitted in a state television broadcast seen by its 23 million people that the latest satellite had not made it into orbit. The failure is the first major and very public challenge for the third of the Kim dynasty to rule North Korea just months into the leadership of a man believed to be in his late 20s. "It could be indication of subtle change in the North Korean leadership in how they handle these things, something that may be different from the past," said Baek Seung-joo of the Korea Institute of Defense Analyses a thinktank affiliated with South Korean Defence Ministry. "I mean it would have been unthinkable for them to admit this kind of failure in the past, something that could be seen as an international humiliation. The decision to have come out with the admission had to come from Kim Jong-un." Embarrassingly, the rocket flew for just a few minutes covering a little over 100km to explode over a sea separating the Korean peninsula and China, far less than the last rocket in 2009 that travelled 3,800km, alarming Japan which it over-flew. The launch is in breach of United Nations Security Council sanctions and drew condemnation from the United States, Russia, South Korea and Japan. But North Korea looks to have avoided the threat of fresh U.N. sanctions - which neighbor Japan is pushing for - after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that at talks with his Chinese and Indian counterparts they had agreed new sanctions would do nothing to help resolve the situation. Regional powers are worried that the North is using launches to perfect technology to enable it to build a missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the United States. North Korea has repeatedly defended its right to launch rockets for what it says are peaceful purposes and may have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the failed launch. China, the North's main backer, again appealed for "calm", although its failure to dissuade Pyongyang from undertaking the launch despite propping up the ailing and impoverished state, showed the limitations of its diplomacy, analysts said. "North Korea's provocative action threatens regional security, violates international law and contravenes its own recent commitments," White House spokesman Jay Carney said. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, NORAD, said the first stage fell into the sea west of South Korea, and the remainder was deemed to have failed. "No debris fell on land," NORAD said. "At no time were the missile or the resultant debris a threat." CHINA HOLDS KEY DESPITE DIPLOMATIC FAILURE The launch came just weeks after a "Leap Year" deal that saw Washington agree to provide food aid. Among the promises Pyongyang made in return was not to launch any long range rocket or undertake nuclear tests. There is likely to be pressure from leading countries to impose more sanctions on the North. But it poses difficulties for China which will likely resist further sanctions even though its own diplomacy failed to stop the rocket launch. "After giving so much aid to North Korea, it still did not listen to China, and this hurt China-North Korea relations and erodes domestic support in its continued support of North Korea," said Shen Dingli, a professor and regional security expert at Shanghai's Fudan University. "This also undermines confidence in the U.S.-China relationship, and whether China had done enough to persuade the North. So, China is also a loser, but not as big a loser as if North Korea succeeded in its launch," he said. If the United States, Japan and South Korea do ratchet up pressure on North Korea that could lead to a show of defiance from the North such as a nuclear test, or an attack like the one in 2010 that saw it shell a South Korean island, killing civilians. "Rather than any conventional provocation, I think North Korea will watch what U.S. and South Korea are doing and prepare for a nuclear test," said Chung Young-chul, a professor at Sogang University's Graduate School of Public Policy. PRICE OF FAILURE FOR "SUPREME COMMANDER" Now led by Kim Jong-un, North Korea had planned to make 2012 the year in which it became a "strong and prosperous nation" and the launch was part of a program to burnish its credentials. It even, unusually, invited foreign media in to cover the birthday celebrations and showed them the launch site. Kim was named First Secretary of the Workers Party of Korea earlier this week and on Friday as head of the National Defence Commission, as he accumulates titles and posts similar to those held by his father, Kim Jong-il who died in December. State newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Friday dubbed him "the sun whom all the party members, service personnel and people of the DPRK (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) acclaimed out of their heartfelt desire." Although North Korea is one of the most tightly controlled states on earth, with no free media and a tight grip on its population, such a high profile failure could trigger a backlash among the country's elite. "This is the first crisis for the new leader that has just taken over," said Lee Jong-won, a professor at Waseda University in Tokyo. "It is inevitable that they will look to find who is responsible for the failure, and I wonder what the treatment will be for those in the military and the hard-line officers who have pressed for the launch." (Additional reporting by Yoko Kubota and Nobuhiro Kubo in TOKYO,; Jack Kim in SEOUL, Jeff Mason and Paul Eckert in WASHINGTON, Michael Martina in BEIJING; Writing by David Chance, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jonathan Thatcher)

– If at first you don't succeed, bomb, bomb again. In the wake of its failed rocket launch, North Korea is doubling down on its "military-first" policy, promoting 20-something Kim Jong Un to first secretary of the powerful National Defense Commission—that officially makes him the country's leader, reports the AP. In a special session yesterday, North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly also promoted several younger leaders in the National Defense Commission and dedicated 15.8% of the national budget to the military—about the same as the last two years. As for what went wrong with the missile: Despite using similar designs as Iran, which successfully put a satellite into orbit in 2009, North Korea continues to struggle with its missiles, suggesting quality control problems, says the New York Times. “Their overall design seems to make sense,” said one scientist. “But mundane sorts of things might get in the way, such as welding.” In the meantime, the South Korean navy sent about 10 ships into the Yellow Sea to look for debris from the North's rocket, reports the AP. Korea expert Aidan Foster-Carter notes in the Telegraph that North Korea's last two missile tests were soon followed by nuclear tests. "This could well be third time unlucky."

This wasn’t the kind of bottle service NBA star Tony Parker had in mind. The San Antonio Spurs guard (pictured) — injured in the Chris Brown-Drake melee at a SoHo nightclub — filed a $20 million lawsuit against its owners yesterday, saying they should have known better than to let the Rihanna love rivals in at the same time. In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, Parker holds W.i.P.’s owners responsible for the “corneal laceration of the left eye and other injuries” he suffered in the bottle-throwing brawl at the now-shuttered Vandam Street club. His lawyer, David Jaroslawicz, said the extent of Parker’s wounds aren’t yet known, but noted eye injuries “certainly don’t improve your outside shot.” The suit does not name Brown or Drake, who have both dated Rihanna, as defendants, but blames the club for creating the combustible combination. “She’s been known, like Helen of Troy, to cause trouble,” Jaroslawicz said. Sources said Drake, 25, sent Brown, 23, into a rage when his table sent over a note that read, “I am f–king the love of your life.” Brown had just bought the hip-hop star a pricey bottle of champagne, sources said. Drake’s camp maintains the fight was instigated by a member of Brown’s crew. Jaroslawicz said it’s the club’s fault. By selling both camps bottle service, “you’re throwing gasoline on the flames,” he said. The suit says Parker, 30, ex-hubby of actress Eva Longoria, wasn’t sitting with either camp. But he has said he was “with my friend Chris Brown” when the problems started. “They started throwing bottles everywhere,” he said. Parker, slated to play with the French team at the Summer Olympics, said he’ll be sidelined for a week as he heals with the aid of a “therapeutic” contact lens. “I’ll be missing the start of the French team because I can’t do anything for a week except keep the lens in and then take drops,” he said. A representative for the club declined to comment. ||||| Chris Brown Injured In BAR FIGHT with Drake's Entourage Chris Brown Injured In Bar Fight With Drake's Entourage [Updated with Photos] Breaking News Drake's rep just issued a statement about the incident, insisting Drizzy wasn't involved in the brawl at all ... the beef was between CB and another rapper named Meek Mill.A witness who was inside the club tells TMZ ... Chris Brown did NOT send any bottles over to Drake's table, despite several reports to the contrary.We're told both Brown and Drake had been hanging out in the VIP section ... when Drake began pointing and yelling at Brown.Brown began yelling back ... and that's when members of both entourages rushed in and began shoving each other.With tensions running high, someone threw a bottle -- which set the whole thing off ... and the shoving turned to punches.We're told club security rushed in to break up the fight ... and called police for backup. Brown and Drake left the scene by the time cops showed up ... but several members of their entourages remained at the club. Multiple members of both crews required medical assistance.We're told the club suffered some serious damage in the fight -- including busted up tables, broken mirrors, shattered lighting and glass scratches all over the floors.sustained a nasty gash on his chin -- apparently a wound from a bottle attack -- after his entourage allegedly clashed with's crew in a NYC nightclub brawl.TMZ has confirmed with the NYPD that the two singers' crews got into a fight at WIP nightclub -- 5 people were injured in the melee.NYPD arrived on the scene after receiving a call between 4 and 5am. Chris and Drake were not present when cops arrived. A picture of Chris Brown's Transformers-themed SUV taken after the fight has surfaced -- with what appears to be blood splattered on the back. ||||| By Amber Goodhand – Radar News Editor Chris Brown was spotted leaving Rihanna‘s New York hotel and the two were later seen hanging out at the same nightclub together, just one night after they were caught making out at a different nightclub and RadarOnline.com has photos and video. PHOTOS: Rihanna & Chris Brown Leave The Same Hotel On The Same Night The two singers were photographed by numerous partygoers at 1OAK in the wee hours of Wednesday morning getting awfully close. “Chris arrived around 2 a.m. with friends and was drinking Champagne,” a source told the New York Post. PHOTOS: Rihanna In August Issue Of Harper’s BAZAAR “Then, around 3 a.m., Rihanna came in with some girlfriends, and then went directly to his table.” And it’s no coincidence that because Rihanna and Chris have been virtually inseparable over the last few days, he has broken up with his long-time girlfriend, Karreuche Tran — as RadarOnline.com was first to report! “Karreuche finally had enough and dumped Chris for good. Karreuche and Chris had been on thin ice for a while, but after he was spotted getting with Nicole Scherzinger in a Los Angeles nightclub recently, and then when reports surfaced that he had hooked up with Rihanna — so she finally dumped him,” a source close to the situation told Radar. PHOTOS: Rihanna And Rob Kardashian Hit The Town Chris confirmed the breakup on Wednesday saying, “I have decided to be single to focus on my career. I love Karrueche very much but I don’t want to see her hurt over my friendship with Rihanna. “I’d rather be single allowing us to both be happy in our lives.” RELATED STORIES: Rihanna Ready To Go To Court To Help Ex-Boyfriend Chris Brown! Chris Brown Tests Positive For Marijuana: Could Face Probation Violation! Dental Disturbia! Rihanna Shows Off Her New Gold ‘Grillz’ Did Chris Brown Get Rihanna’s Battered Face Tattooed On His Neck?

– Chris Brown and Drake reportedly started fighting over Rihanna last night, and it ended up with their respective entourages in a nightclub brawl. Five people were injured in the New York City fight, TMZ reports. Brown tweeted a picture of his chin—apparently slashed after someone threw a bottle at him—along with the message, "How u party wit rich n**** that hate? Lol... Throwing bottles like girls? #shameonya!." Both have since been removed, but TMZ has the photo, and the Huffington Post has more charming tweets from Brown including, "N*ggas throwing bottles! Y'all n*ggaz weak!" In related news, Brown and Rihanna continued their practice of showing up at the same places Monday night, when both were at another New York City club. Rihanna had another guy with her, but Brown "looked over at her from his table across the way," a source tells People. The New York Post goes further, claiming Rihanna basically followed Brown around the city and adding that the two appeared to be texting each other at the club. The Daily News adds that Rihanna is "pissed" Brown insists on continuing to date Karrueche Tran, according to sources. And in yet another sign that Rihanna is falling apart, Perez Hilton reports that her friends—including Jay-Z—are encouraging her to go to rehab after "out of control" partying.

Prince William and Prince Harry tell how they are still haunted by regret over a “desperately rushed” last phone call with their mother, who died 20 years ago this year, in a new documentary, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy, to be broadcast on Monday evening. William and Harry, who were 15 and 12 when Princess Diana died, say in the new interview to mark 20 years since their mother's death that they were on holiday at the Queen’s house in Balmoral, Scotland, when they were called to the phone. “At the time Harry and I were running around minding our own business, you know, playing with our cousins and having a very good time,” William says. Prince Harry adds: “As a kid I never enjoyed speaking to my parents on the phone. And we spent far too much time speaking on the phone rather than speaking to each other, because of just the way the situation was. “And the phone rang and off he [William] went to go and speak to her for five minutes.” William then says: “And I think Harry and I were just in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know, see you later and we’re going to go off. If I’d known now obviously what was going to happen I wouldn’t have been so blasé about it and everything else. But that phone call sticks in my mind quite, quite heavily.” Harry says: “It was her speaking from Paris. I can’t really necessarily remember what I said, but all I do remember is regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was. “And if I’d known that that was the last time I was going to speak to my mother the things I would have said to her. “Looking back on it now, it’s incredibly hard. I have to deal with that for the rest of my life, not knowing that that was the last time I was going to speak to my mum, and how differently that conversation would have panned out if I’d had even the slightest inkling that her life was going to be taken that night.” The Princes were taking part in the documentary, due to be broadcast on ITV in the UK and on HBO in the U.S. on Monday, which is full of warm and wonderful insights about Diana as a mother. Recalling Diana’s sense of humor, Harry comments: “Our mother was a total kid through and through. “All I can hear is her laugh in my head.” Get The Beast In Your Inbox! Daily Digest Start and finish your day with the top stories from The Daily Beast. Cheat Sheet A speedy, smart summary of all the news you need to know (and nothing you don't). By clicking “Subscribe,” you agree to have read the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy Subscribe Thank You! You are now subscribed to the Daily Digest and Cheat Sheet. We will not share your email with anyone for any reason. He adds: “One of her mottos to me was, 'You can be as naughty as you want, just don’t get caught.' “She was one of the naughtiest parents. She would come and watch us play football and smuggle sweets into our socks.” William says he keeps the memory of his mother alive for his children by “constantly talking about granny Diana.” “She’d be a lovely grandmother, she’d absolutely love it, she’d love the children to bits,” he said. There were inevitably somber and shocking moments in the film as well. Prince William reveals the depth of his antipathy towards the paparazzi in the program, recalling that photographers once spat at his mother to try to elicit a reaction. He says: “If you are the Princess of Wales and you’re a mother, I don’t believe being chased by 30 guys on motorbikes who block your path, who spit at you to get a reaction from you and make a woman cry in public to get a photograph, I don’t believe that is appropriate. “I sadly remember most of the time she ever cried about anything was to do with press intrusion. Harry and I, we had to live through that.” ||||| In BBC film, Prince Harry seems to confirm Charles broke the news, and William says he was thankful for ‘the privacy to mourn’ Princes William and Harry have revealed how the Queen and Prince Charles sought to shield them for as long as possible from the hysteria that swept Britain 20 years ago after the death of their mother, Diana. In a BBC documentary due to be broadcast on Sunday, they recall how they were kept away from public view on the Queen’s Balmoral estate, knowing nothing of the extraordinary response throughout the country. “At the time, you know, my grandmother wanted to protect her two grandsons, and my father as well. Our grandmother deliberately removed the newspapers, and things like that, so there was nothing in the house at all. So we didn’t know what was going on,” William tells the makers of Diana, 7 Days. The second in line to the throne says he was thankful for “the privacy to mourn, to collect our thoughts, and to just have that space away from everybody”. The period of seclusion in Scotland, while members of the public placed an avalanche of flowers outside Diana’s Kensington Palace home and beneath the bare flagpole at Buckingham Palace, led at the time to a wave of public criticism of the royal family. The documentary, by the award-winning film-maker Henry Singer, charts the tumultuous week between Diana’s death in a Paris car crash and her Westminster Abbey funeral through interviews with politicians, family and friends. William and Harry speak of the effect of their mother’s death on their father, and appear to confirm that he broke the news to them. “One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is tell your children that your other parent has died. How you deal with that, I don’t know,” says Harry. “But he was there for us. He was the one out of two left. And he tried to do his best and to make sure that we were protected and looked after. But he was going through the same grieving process as well.” In a series of high-profile interviews in the run-up to the 20th anniversary on 31 August, the brothers have spoken candidly about their grief, but until now have not spoken of their father’s role. They also reveal their struggle to balance public expectation with private grief. When the Queen, bowing to public pressure, returned early to London from Balmoral, the shocked and bewildered young princes, then 15 and 12, found themselves performing a walkabout in a weeping crowd, being grabbed by strangers with tear-soaked hands thrusting flowers at them. Deciding when the time was right to put on their “prince hat” and “game face” and be seen to mourn in public had been “a very hard decision for my grandmother to make”, says William. “She felt very torn between being the grandmother to William and Harry, and her Queen role. And I think she – everyone – was surprised and taken aback by the scale of what happened and the nature of how quickly it all happened.” Deciding whether Diana’s sons should walk behind her coffin was also difficult. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” says William. It was a collective family decision. “It was one of the hardest things I have ever done,” he adds, saying he put his head down and “hid behind my fringe”. “It was a very long and lonely walk.” Harry says: “I think it was a group decision. But before I knew it I found myself with a suit on, with a black tie and white shirt, and I was part of it. Generally, I don’t have an opinion on whether that was right or wrong. I’m glad I was part of it. Looking back on it now, I’m very glad I was part of it.” His comments contrast with an interview he gave to Newsweek in June in which he said “no child should have to do that under any circumstance”. In the documentary the brothers recall the silence of much of the walk, but also the wails of people in the crowd. William admits he could not then understand why strangers who did not know his mother “wanted to cry as loud as they did”. Now, looking back, he understands better the influence his mother had had. Both parents had taught them about duty and responsibility, says William, “but I have to say when it becomes that personal as walking behind your mother’s funeral cortege, it goes to another level of duty”. He felt his mother was “walking beside us to get us through”. As headlines complained about the Queen’s supposed lack of public emotion over Diana’s death, Tony Blair, then prime minister, and his communications chief, Alastair Campbell, sensed tensions rising. The Queen announced the union flag would fly at half-mast over Buckingham Palace for the funeral, and she and the Duke of Edinburgh met the grieving public at the palace. “You felt the tension lifting, you felt it straight away,” says Campbell of the walkabout. Blair believed the palace needed to make an extraordinary gesture to appease a public increasingly hostile towards the royals. There was the risk “that the country’s sense of loss turned to a sense of anger and grievance, and then turned against the monarchy”. The Queen, he says, “was obviously very sad about Diana, she was concerned about the monarchy itself”. He adds: “They needed to see her vulnerable as a person, and not simply vulnerable as a monarch.” Her unprecedented live broadcast in which she paid tribute to Diana, speaking as a queen “and a grandmother”, was crucial. She had needed to “bring the nation behind her”. “These were modern times. We were approaching the 21st century, and for the people of the country, including particularly the younger generations coming up, the old deference towards the monarchy wasn’t enough, and in some cases wasn’t there. So this respect had to be renewed in a new way,” Blair says. “I think by the end of that week we had come to almost a new settlement, if you like, between monarchy and people.” The Queen had shown that the royal family had the capacity to “adapt and adjust”. • Diana, 7 Days will air on BBC1 from 7.30pm on Sunday 27 August. ||||| Story highlights Prince William says he was in a hurry to get off the phone to go play "I do remember ... regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was," Harry says (CNN) Prince William and Prince Harry have spoken of their regret at the brevity of their final phone call with their mother, Princess Diana, just hours before her 1997 death in a car crash in Paris. In a new documentary set to release on Monday by ITV in Great Britain and HBO in the United States, Prince Harry recalls how quickly he got off the phone with his mother. The two brothers were at Balmoral Castle in Scotland when Diana called from Paris. "I can't necessarily remember what I said, but all I do remember is regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was," Harry told ITV. Diana, Princess of Wales, on holiday with Prince Harry. "If I'd known that that was the last time I was going to speak to my mother, the things I would have said to her," he said. "Looking back at it now -- it's incredibly hard. I have to deal with that for the rest of my life: not knowing that it was the last time I'd speak to my mum, how differently that conversation would have panned out if I'd had even the slightest inkling that her life was going to be taken that night." Read More

– Hours before her death in a Paris car crash, Princess Diana called her young sons to say hello, interrupting Princes William and Harry from horsing around with their cousins—a call they quickly ended with no inkling her life was about to be cut short. "Harry and I were just in a desperate rush to say goodbye, you know, see you later and we’re going to go off," says William in a new documentary that marks the 20th anniversary of Diana's death. "If I’d known now obviously what was going to happen I wouldn’t have been so blasé about it and everything else. But that phone call sticks in my mind quite, quite heavily." Adds Harry: "I can't necessarily remember what I said, but all I do remember is regretting for the rest of my life how short the phone call was." Other highlights from "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy," per CNN and the Daily Beast: Harry: "Our mother was a total kid through and through. All I can hear is her laugh in my head. One of her mottos to me was, 'You can be as naughty as you want, just don’t get caught.' She was one of the naughtiest parents. She would come and watch us play football and smuggle sweets into our socks." William: "There's not many days that go by that I don't think of her. Her 20th anniversary year feels like a good time to ... remember, you know, all the good things about her and hopefully provide maybe a different side to her that others haven't seen before." William on that time mom surprised him with a bunch of supermodels at the house: "Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington and Naomi Campbell (were) waiting at the top of the stairs. I was probably 12 or 13-year-old boy who had posters of them on his wall. And I went bright red and didn't quite know what to say and sort of fumbled, and I think I pretty much fell down the stairs on the way up." The documentary is set to air on ITV on Monday.

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas food distributor has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds (45,360 kilograms) of precooked sausage products that might contain metal. The recall was announced Wednesday by Armour Eckrich Meats in Junction City. The Food Safety and Inspection Service says the recall includes more than 8,000 cases of 16.6-ounce (460-gram) packages of "Eckrich Smok-y Cheddar Breakfast sausage, Naturally Hardwood Smoked." The labels have the case or UPC code and a "27815 17984" with a use-by date of Aug. 17. The products also have the number "EST. 3JC" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were distributed in Kansas, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The fully-cooked pork, turkey and beef breakfast sausage were produced and packaged from April 26 to April 28. No injuries from consuming the meat have been reported. ||||| WASHINGTON, May 24, 2017– Armour Eckrich Meats, LLC, a Junction City, Kan. establishment, is recalling approximately 90,978 pounds of ready-to-eat sausage products that may be contaminated with extraneous materials, specifically pieces of metal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced today. The food service fully-cooked pork, turkey and beef breakfast sausage items were produced and packaged from April 26 through April 28, 2017. The following products are subject to recall: [View Labels (PDF Only)] 8,769 cases of 16.6 oz. vacuumed packages containing “ECKRICH SMOK-Y CHEDDAR BREAKFAST SAUSAGE, NATURALLY HARDWOOD SMOKED” on the label, case code/ UPC number “27815 17984,” and a Use By date of “08/17/17.” The products subject to recall bear establishment number “EST. 3JC” inside the USDA mark of inspection. These items were shipped to distribution centers in Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. The problem was discovered on May 15, 2017 when Armour Eckrich Meats, Inc. was notified by another FSIS-regulated establishment that pieces of metal were embedded in a fully cooked sausage product produced by Armour Eckrich Meats, Inc. There have been no confirmed reports of adverse reactions due to consumption of these products. Anyone concerned about an injury or illness should contact a healthcare provider. Consumers who have purchased these products are urged not to consume them. These products should be thrown away or returned to the place of purchase. FSIS routinely conducts recall effectiveness checks to verify recalling firms notify their customers of the recall and that steps are taken to make certain that the product is no longer available to consumers. Consumers with questions about the recall can call 1 (877) 933-4625. Media with questions about the recall can contact Kassi Belz, vice president of public relations for the Dalton Agency, at (904) 398-5222. Consumers with food safety questions can "Ask Karen," the FSIS virtual representative available 24 hours a day at AskKaren.gov or via smartphone at m.askkaren.gov. The toll-free USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline 1-888-MPHotline (1-888-674-6854) is available in English and Spanish and can be reached from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. (Eastern Time) Monday through Friday. Recorded food safety messages are available 24 hours a day. The online Electronic Consumer Complaint Monitoring System can be accessed 24 hours a day at: http://www.fsis.usda.gov/reportproblem. ||||| Kentucky-based CTI Foods LLC is recalling 29,000 pounds of Jimmy Dean frozen sausage links over fears of contamination with extraneous material, especially pieces of metal, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Monday. >> Read more trending news The problems were discovered on Dec. 10 after five consumer complaints about metal pieces found in Jimmy Dean frozen, ready-to-eat sausages. The recall affects 23.4 ounce pouches of “Jimmy Dean Heat n’ Serve Original Sausage Links Made with Pork & Turkey,” according to the USDA. The sausage links were produced on Aug. 4, 2018. The USDA said no one has suffered any injuries, but the agency is urging any consumers who may have bought the potentially contaminated links to either return them to the store where they bought them or throw them out. >> Related: Nearly 100,000 pounds of ground beef recalled over E. coli fears just before Thanksgiving Anyone with questions can contact the Jimmy Dean customer service line at 855-382-3101.

– On the heels of a recall on hot dogs that contained metal shards, a Kansas food distributor has recalled nearly 100,000 pounds of precooked sausage products for the same reason, reports the AP. The recall was announced Wednesday by Armour-Eckrich Meats in Junction City. The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the recall includes more than 8,000 cases of 16.6-ounce packages of "Eckrich Smok-Y Cheddar Breakfast Sausage, Naturally Hardwood Smoked." The labels have the case and UPC code "27815 17984," with a use-by date of Aug. 17. The products also have the number "EST. 3JC" inside the USDA mark of inspection. The products were distributed in Kansas, Arkansas, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The fully cooked pork, turkey, and beef breakfast sausages were produced and packaged from April 26 to April 28. No injuries have been reported.

After quitting her national Democratic Party leadership role amid furor over thousands of leaked emails, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz now faces the political battle of her lifetime back home in South Florida. Wasserman Schultz resigned as Democratic National Committee chairwoman Sunday, strengthening the hand of her primary opponent, Tim Canova — who saw a huge fundraising boost and national media attention following her decision. While the Weston congresswoman spent Monday morning getting heckled by protesters in Philadelphia at her first public appearance since her resignation, Canova was in the district giving interviews to local TV stations, Univision and The Daily Beast — and meeting with constituents. “I have not left the district in eight months,” Canova told the Miami Herald on Sunday. “That’s not going to change between now and Aug. 30. I don’t think there’s going to be a great need for me to go up to Philly and chase the spotlight. We’re making friends on the ground every day.” $20 for 365 Days of Unlimited Digital Access Last chance to take advantage of our best offer of the year! Act now! On Friday, the website Wikileaks published more than 19,000 DNC emails, some of them showing the party favored Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders. It also showed that DNC staffers who were not working on Wasserman Schultz’s campaign were closely monitoring media coverage and campaign appearances of Canova, a first-time candidate and Nova Southeastern University professor. Canova’s campaign is “seriously considering” filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, campaign manager Richard Bell said. The emails show that the DNC tracked Canova’s news play and speaking engagements, including what is referred to as an “Alaska Counter Event” in the emails. Canova, as well as Sanders’ wife, Jane, were scheduled to speak via Skype to Alaska Democrats on the same evening that Wasserman Schultz was going to speak to an Alaska Democratic event. “This is all the FB post has so we need the state party to do some digging,” DNC communications director Luis Miranda wrote in one email. We’re making friends on the ground every day. Tim Canova, Democratic candidate for Congress Even before Wasserman Schultz’s tenure as chairwoman came to its disastrous end, Canova drew national attention for his prolific fundraising, clever campaign tactics and endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders. Canova launched his campaign in January and has cultivated a broad following by echoing many of Sanders’ themes, such as a call for campaign finance reform. He bashed Wasserman Schultz for taking money from big banks, siding with the payday lending industry and opposing a 2014 Florida constitutional amendment legalizing medical marijuana. The amendment ultimately failed. The dire Wasserman Schultz headlines has helped even more money pour in: nearly $100,000 since she resigned, Canova’s campaign said. But the same question about Canova persists after Wasserman Schultz’s DNC resignation as it did before it: Can he parlay national attention into district votes on Election Day? No public polls have been released gauging opinion in the Miami-Dade/Broward district. Canova’s campaign said it hasn’t conducted internal polls. Wasserman Schultz’s campaign has ignored questions about polling. Voting by mail begins this month in the Aug. 30 primary. Longtime Democrats who have supported Wasserman Schultz said primary voters will make up their mind based on the “Debbie” they have seen and heard in their own backyard — not the one on the national stage. “When you go into the heart of her congressional district and really all over South Florida people know Debbie and she is loved,” said Christian Ulvert, a Democratic campaign consultant who isn’t working for Wasserman Schultz but supports her. “I don’t see a world where Debbie’s longtime constituents don’t stand with her again. It is very hard to erase her two decades of elected services. When you go into Broward, everybody is talking about Debbie, Debbie, Debbie.” The last time she faced a primary was a six-way race in 1992 for the state House. She first won a seat in Congress in 2004. Since then, she’s easily swatted away Republican challengers with little effort. In past elections, Democrats in the district have had no option but to vote for her. When you go into the heart of her congressional district and really all over South Florida people know Debbie and she is loved. Democratic campaign consultant Christian Ulvert Facing a primary this year, she’s stepped up her local appearances. She recently held a news conference to bash Canova, and a free barbecue at the Old Davie Schoolhouse. So far, she has ignored Canova’s request for a debate. “She’s been dodging debates for the past three months now,” Canova told Fox News on Monday, “and she can’t say, she is too busy, I think.” Wasserman Schultz raised about $3.1 million through June while Canova raised about $2.3 million. His campaign said Monday he has now raised more than $2.5 million. Vice President Joe Biden will host a fundraiser for the congresswoman at the Cruz Building in Coconut Grove on Aug. 5, said Fort Lauderdale lawyer Mike Moskowitz. A previous Biden fundraiser had been canceled because of the Orlando shooting. There had been rumors for months long before the WikiLeaks that Wasserman Schultz would step aside as chairwoman this year before election day. Those rumors subsided somewhat after President Obama said he had her back while visiting Florida. “This might have been a possibility before, but after the leaks it baked it into cake,” said Mitch Ceasar, a Florida superdelegate who serves on the executive board of the Democratic National Committee and chaired the Broward Democrats for about 20 years. Democratic activists from Wasserman Schultz’s district passionately defended her in Philadelphia on Monday, telling every reporter who would listen that she has been a dependable workhorse. They cited her long roots working in the district, including on behalf of the gay community Activist Elaine Geller of Hollywood recalled that Wasserman Schultz helped her family sign up for Obamacare when Geller’s daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. “She’s just warm and loving,” Geller said, conceding that those personality traits might not be as obvious on the national stage. “I don’t think that maybe you can really translate that, how warm someone is.” Canova, she added, also lives in Hollywood. “I have never seen Tim. As a community activist, I’ve never met the man,” she said. “It’s one thing to stand up and give a speech. It’s another to really know the community — and he doesn’t.” ||||| HOLLYWOOD, Fla. - For the first time in more than 20 years, U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., has a primary opponent who has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt. Local 10 News spoke with Tim Canova to talk about leaked emails and why he can't get Wasserman Schultz to debate him. Canova has been dragged into the national spotlight over the controversial Democratic National Committee emails that were leaked, which some argue show favoritism toward Hillary Clinton. Canova said even his name has popped up dozens of times. "She was using DNC resources to monitor what my campaign was doing (and) how it was doing," he said. Canova, who is running for public office for the first time, is talking to his attorneys because he thinks there could be federal election law violations. The law professor is the congresswoman’s first primary opponent in more than two decades. "It's a spectacle," Canova said. "It's sad that this is what's become of Wasserman Schultz's career." Canova questions her success as DNC chair and thinks her national role has affected District 23. Other than Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., Canova claims Wasserman Schultz has the highest absentee rate in 2015. "She won't debate me. She won't acknowledge me. She doesn't want me to speak anywhere," he said. Local 10 News contacted Wasserman Schultz's camp to get answers on Canova's consistent attempt to set up a debate, but has yet to receive a response. "She believes in political power," Canova said. "She believes in her own career advancement, but democracy means we should have open debates." Wasserman Schultz recently told Local 10 News that Canova has done absolutely nothing for the district. In downtown Hollywood, where Canova's headquarters are located, some folks said they still support her despite what's happening in Philadelphia. "In all honesty, she was working as a Democratic chairperson and she was looking out for the best for the Democrats," Bill McGrath said. Like Sanders, Canova said his money contributions from voters have been small -- typically less than $17. So far, he has raised more than $2.5 million. Copyright 2016 by WPLG Local10.com - All rights reserved. ||||| Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz survived a challenge from Tim Canova in her Democratic primary. | Getty Wasserman Schultz survives spirited primary Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz won her Democratic primary Tuesday in South Florida, outlasting a challenger who raised more than $3.3 million, much of it from Bernie Sanders supporters seeking to defeat the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman. Wasserman Schultz, a six-term congresswoman, took 57 percent of the vote to law professor Tim Canova's 43 percent — an unusually low margin for a member of Congress, but one that came after a bitter and extraordinary national fight between Wasserman Schultz and supporters of Sanders' insurgent progressive presidential bid. Story Continued Below Canova became the most famous primary challenger in the country after Sanders sent out fundraising emails on his behalf earlier this year, thrusting him into the spotlight and fueling his primary bid. Even before that, Canova capitalized on national antipathy toward Wasserman Schultz, whom many progressives believed was unfairly tilting the Democratic presidential primary toward Clinton. But Canova was unable to overcome Wasserman Schultz's standing back home, where she has been a fixture of Democratic politics for nearly a quarter-century, in a district Hillary Clinton won overwhelmingly in the presidential primary. “There’s no one tougher than Debbie Wasserman Schultz,” said Allison Tant, the Florida Democratic Party chairwoman. “No matter what is thrown her way, Debbie gets back up and keeps fighting. She’s been a lifelong champion of our party’s progressive values and I congratulate her on tonight’s victory.” “Losing sucks. But we came a long way in a short period of time,” tweeted Mike Nellis, who served as Canova’s digital fundraising manager. Sanders, who endorsed Canova in late May and said he would probably campaign with him, ultimately did not show up in person for the race. When asked about Sanders’ absence on the trail, Canova “bristled” and said, “No comment,” The Miami Herald reported. Canova, who cited trade and campaign finance reform as his major issues, cast himself as a Sanders- and Elizabeth Warren-style progressive. Like Sanders on the national stage, he also took on the state’s Democratic Party, getting into a spat over access to voter data. The state party eventually backed down, but Canova used the episode to rile up supporters and raise more money. “We sent out emails to our donors [about the issue] and we posted about it online and social media,” Canova told POLITICO in May. “In one day, we raised $18,000. It was a good day for us. … But then they did back down. They were feeling the heat.” Wasserman Schultz had her own reinforcements, including endorsements from President Barack Obama, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and Civil Rights icon Georgia Rep. John Lewis. Biden headlined a fundraiser for Wasserman Schultz in Miami in early June. The super PAC Patriot Majority PAC also spent $640,000 to back her. In July, top Sanders media and political strategists joined Canova’s campaign team, but they departed days later. Sanders, who recently launched a new political organization to promote progressives, has endorsed a handful of other congressional candidates this year with mixed results. Zephyr Teachout won her New York primary and Pramila Jayapal finished first in her top-two Washington race, while Nevada's Lucy Flores and New York's Eric Kingson fell in open-seat races. The Campaign Pro Race Dashboard tracks the candidates and consulting firms engaged in the top House, Senate, and gubernatorial races of 2016.

– Debbie Wasserman Schultz may have been at the center of the Democratic Party's so-called civil war, but she now faces what the Miami Herald labels "the political battle of her lifetime." On Aug. 30, the Democratic National Committee chairwoman, who will leave her post after the party convention, will go up against a strong primary opponent in South Florida, who's benefited from her recent struggles. Tim Canova has Bernie Sanders' strong endorsement, and he's not only raised a reported $100,000 since Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation, but he's also used the Democratic National Convention to taunt her. "I have not left the district in eight months," he said Sunday. "That's not going to change between now and Aug. 30. I don't think there's going to be a great need for me to go up to Philly and chase the spotlight. We're making friends on the ground every day." The primary isn't the only hurdle Wasserman Schultz may need to clear. Canova's camp is considering filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission based on leaked emails that suggest the DNC was tracking Canova's campaign. In one email, DNC communications director Luis Miranda wrote "we need the state party to do some digging" in reference to a speech Canova was to give to Democrats in Alaska. "She was using DNC resources to monitor what my campaign was doing [and] how it was doing," Canova tells ABC 10. "It's sad that this is what's become of Wasserman Schultz's career." No polls have focused on the Miami-Dade/Broward district, but one supporter says Wasserman Schultz is "loved" there. "I don't see a world where Debbie's longtime constituents don't stand with her again." (We know how Sanders would vote.)

GOP bills to further limit abortions make gains at Capitol PHOENIX – The state House on Monday approved and forwarded to the Senate two bills that would further limit abortion in Arizona. HB 2416, sponsored by Rep. Kimberly Yee, R-Phoenix, would require doctors to perform an ultrasound at least one hour before an abortion and point out the fetus’ extremities and offer the woman an opportunity to listen to the heartbeat and take a photo home. It would also change the definition of abortion to include abortion by pill and would bar doctors from using telemedicine to administer abortion by pill remotely. HB 2384, sponsored by Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Glendale, would ban public funding or tax credits from being used to provide, pay for, promote, provide coverage of or provide referrals for abortions. It also would ban state universities and community colleges from using state funding or tuition money to train students to perform abortions. Both bills passed with a 40-18 vote mostly along party lines, with all Republicans and Democrats Catherine Miranda of Phoenix and Anna Tovar of Tolleson voting in support. Tovar and Miranda didn’t explain their votes. Rep. Matt Heinz, D-Tucson, a hospital doctor, spoke out against both measures, at one point even suggesting that the Legislature place an outright ban on abortion and let the courts decide rather than waste time considering abortion bills instead of the state’s suffering budget. Lesko said she introduced her bill to close a loophole that is allowing taxpayer dollars to fund abortions through the Working Poor Tax Credit despite a state ban on using public money for the procedure. That tax credit is an individual income tax credit that Arizonans can contribute to groups that provide assistance to the working poor. Democrats argued that voluntary tax donations in Arizona aren’t considered by the courts to be taxpayer money. “If organizations want to continue to qualify for donations through the Working Poor Tax Credit, then they can’t refer, promote or provide abortions,” Lesko said. “They have the choice.” Rep. Karen Fann, R-Prescott, said Arizonans “do not want the abortion industry receiving any tax benefits for their life-ending work.” Heinz said the bill would cause the University of Arizona College of Medicine to lose accreditation for its obstetrics and gynecology program because the measure would no longer allow schools to use state funding or student tuition dollars to teach abortion procedures. “Two hundred residents who are currently actively training will actually have to leave,” Heinz said. “Their training will be forfeited and it will be like the program never existed.” Lesko said she met with the bill’s stakeholders after they expressed concern and it was amended in the Health and Human Services Committee, but Heinz said he was still hearing from concerned Arizonans during the Monday afternoon meeting. Lesko said that health centers would still be able to distribute literature about all options for a pregnant woman without being considered as promoting abortion. Officials from Planned Parenthood Arizona have said that its abortion services are self-funded, so it would be family planning and other medical services for the working poor that would be affected by the donation limits rather than abortions. Democrats introduced amendments on both bills but none passed. Yee said her bill aims to protect women’s health and safety. “It’s about making sure they have the information at hand to make an informed decision,” she said, and seeing an ultrasound or hearing a heartbeat “allows them to consider the real impact of abortion.” The bill would also change the definition of abortion to include abortion by pill, placing facilities offering that option under the same accreditation requirements as facilities that perform surgical abortions, and ban the use of telemedicine to perform abortion by pill. Democrat Katie Hobbs of Phoenix said offering ultrasounds before abortions is already standard practice. “The one-hour time frame is arbitrary, not necessary and attempts to micromanage patient care,” she said. Several Democrats also opposed the bill’s provision to change the definition of abortion to include abortion by pill, saying it would restrict access for women seeking that type of procedure. Hobbs said limiting access would make Arizona “return to the days of illegal, back-alley abortions where there are no standards of care and no concern for the safety of the women obtaining these procedures.” Planned Parenthood Arizona officials have said Yee’s bill would force it to limit services in some areas and that its abortions services are self funded, so family planning and medical services are what would be affected by the limits on tax credits. Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said abortion by pill shouldn’t be regarded as an easy or safe option. “This is not like taking an aspirin; this is a potentially dangerous procedure,” he said. “The women who receive this procedure have the same rights that the women who deserve full surgical procedures should have.” ||||| Under a new Arizona abortion law that takes effect Thursday, more babies with fatal fetal defects are expected to be carried to term, even though they will die within minutes, hours or days. But more will also be done to help their families get through the trauma of losing a child. House Bill 2036 forbids doctors from aborting most fetuses with a gestational age of 20 weeks or older, even in situations where the doctor discovers the fetus has a fatal defect. The law also defines gestational age as beginning on the first day of the woman's last period, meaning abortions are actually banned starting at 18 weeks of pregnancy -- typically about the same time a doctor would perform ultrasounds where most abnormalities are detected. Eight other states also ban abortions after 20 weeks, but Arizona is the only one with a law that actually pushes the ban back to 18 weeks into the pregnancy. According to state records, women in Arizona terminate about 100 pregnancies a year after 20 weeks, but it's unclear how many of those are because of a problem with the pregnancy. The new law requires doctors to offer information about perinatal hospice services to women considering abortion at any stage of their pregnancy because of a fatal fetal abnormality. It also requires the state to maintain a website list of organizations that provide services. The two organizations that offer such help, MISS Foundation and Embrace, provide counseling and comfort, help develop birth plans, attend births, organize meals, create mementos, make funeral arrangements and prepare families for every outcome. The Legislature provided no funding for such services, and volunteers for the two groups, while thrilled the state and doctors will spread the word about the service, worry they'll be overwhelmed when the law takes effect. In other states with similar abortion restrictions, most of the programs for families continuing with a difficult pregnancy are hospital- or hospice-based. They also often don't provide services as broad as the Arizona organizations do, such as services that extend to the entire family and continue after delivery. The Arizona organizations scrape by with private donations and volunteer help. Unlike similar pediatric programs for sick children or hospice services, before-birth programs are a relatively new idea and not billable to insurance companies. Participating families aren't asked to pay for help. "This law may have intended to do good, but it can really adversely affect non-profit organizations that desperately want to help people but maybe can't help the number of people who now come to us," MISS Foundation founder and CEO Joanne Cacciatore said. "We are already stretched very, very thin. I don't know where this money would come from." Cacciatore said one or two families a month facing a pregnancy with a fatal prognosis contact MISS Foundation. "They're finding us on their own," she said. "I don't know what will happen when the Legislature opens this up." Berdette Carrasco, Dana Southworth, Christina Portillo and Dani Baxter run Embrace while juggling full-time jobs and caring for their own families. They do what they do because they have expertise in obstetrics and therapy, and are compelled to help others. Carrasco and Southworth have gone through the loss of one of their own children because of a fetal anomaly. "The natural order is that grandparents die," Southworth said. "It's not children dying before parents. It shatters our order." Carrasco said she doesn't know how many new families the new law may bring to them, but they are trying to prepare for everyone who may need their help. "There will be people now having to continue a pregnancy without an option (in Arizona)," she said. "We want to support these families." Getting help Julia Gonzales still had an option when she learned earlier this year that there was something very wrong with her baby. Her daughter Carmen is due any day now, but she likely won't live long enough to take her first breath. Eighteen weeks into the pregnancy, doctors diagnosed Carmen with anencephaly, a neural-tube defect in which babies develop without most of their brain or skull. As a devout Catholic, Gonzales, 30, refused to consider abortion. "I didn't even have the idea in my mind to stop the pregnancy," she said. "And then two weeks after they told us, we saw her. She was a girl. But we never expected it would be this bad. Sometimes I wonder why I didn't stop the pregnancy." Gonzales is an example of what an unknown number of Arizona women will be required to face under HB 2036. But she's also getting the kind of help that will be more accessible under the new law. Gonzales struggles to speak through her tears when she thinks about what will happen when Carmen is born. But she is determined to spend every moment she can with her daughter. She's getting through each day largely with the help of the women who run Embrace. Resource for families Embrace has about 20 clients. The Gonzales family and one other are awaiting the births of their children. Some of the other families are grieving the death of their child while others are learning how to care for and celebrate children with various health challenges. "Bereavement is a piece of what we do, but not everything," Carrasco said. "A lot of babies with congenital anomalies will survive. We are meeting needs of the family that are not just medical, but are also emotional." She said their goal is to give families a single resource to help coordinate every need they may have. When Embrace workers first meet with a family, they provide them with accurate medical information about their child's diagnosis and connect them with other families who faced similar diagnoses. "Obstetricians tend to not have enough time to educate," Portillo said. "Sometimes we are the first person to really explain something." They prepare the family physically and emotionally for what to expect when their child is born. Carrasco said she doesn't expect that to change much when more families seek help because they have no choice in continuing with the pregnancy. "We have dealt with a couple of families that, because of late diagnosis or a lack of prenatal care, they didn't have a choice," she said. "I don't feel that there was a difference between the people choosing and those who did not by the time they get to this place in their pregnancy." She said the fear, sadness and stress are the same. "These families are hurting," Carrasco said. "As the delivery happens, regardless of the outcome, the level of stress is significant. There is a dramatic difference in a family not having anyone to help and them having an organization that knows what they're going through." The Embrace workers go to doctor appointments with the families and help translate medical jargon that can become overwhelming. They meet in advance with the delivery staff to ensure everyone understands what the family wants the delivery to be like, and are there to help during labor and delivery. "We do everything we can to give this child the best quality of life, even if it's just one second of life," Carrasco said. Moving away from guilt Gonzales, her husband, Joaquin, and 4-year-old twins Christian and John Carlos have met with the Embrace women half a dozen times. Gonzales' doctor told her about them when she was diagnosed, but she never called. Her doctor called Embrace and asked them to help. "If that doctor hadn't called Berdette (Carrasco), I wouldn't have been able to make it this far," Gonzales said. Before they got involved, Gonzales and her husband struggled to talk to each other about the baby, and her extended family refused to acknowledge the situation. Now the adults are starting to talk to the twins about how sick their baby sister Carmen is and how she will die. "At the beginning, I was fighting with God every day," Gonzales said. "When I started talking with Berdette and Dana, they showed me God had a purpose. Thanks to them, it's been easier going through this." Southworth pushes them to move away from guilt, from asking why and instead focusing on their love for Carmen. "Love her where she's at. What are places you would want to take her? Go there now before she's born and make memories," she tells them. Gonzales is trying, but she's not there yet. "How do you enjoy it when you know your daughter's going to die?" she sobbed. "I know I have to enjoy every move she makes inside me, but I can't. I'm trying to find a reason God gave us this baby." Prepared no matter what Not every family Embrace works with has a sad ending. Mike and Kelly Ely learned 18 weeks into their pregnancy that their son Preston had DiGeorge syndrome. The chromosomal disorder has a wide range of outcomes, most of which aren't known until the baby is born. Preston could have been born blind and deaf, with learning disabilities, deformed features or heart defects. He also could have died at birth. "Embrace was a huge support system," Kelly Ely said. "They made us feel so much more comfortable going forward with the pregnancy." She said Embrace workers explained what they could expect and helped the couple cope emotionally. The Embrace workers also helped the couple communicate with each other and assured them it was OK to be excited about the pregnancy. Preston was born with heart defects and had surgery at a week old. He has club feet, which can be corrected. Now 5 months old, he's a beautiful, bright-eyed, happy baby. "He's a little miracle," Kelly Ely said. Support through it all Together the Gonzales family and Embrace staff have written out a birth plan giving instructions to the hospital staff. Gonzales is terrified of what Carmen will look like, and at the same time feels guilty that fear makes her a bad mother. "I'm so scared about seeing her," she said. "When I remember her, I don't want to remember her looking like that. I'm so worried I won't be a good mom for her." When she's born -- no matter how long she lives -- Julia and Joaquin will bathe Carmen, dress her in a gown and have a priest baptize her. A professional photographer will capture the only family photos they'll ever take with her. They'll take as long as they need to say goodbye. "This is their last chance to parent their child," Southworth said. The women of Embrace have prepared the Gonzales family as best they can. But nothing can prepare parents to watch their child die at birth. And nothing can dissuade them from holding out hope for the impossible. "We're expecting a miracle," Gonzales said. "When you hear her heart, it's hard to believe she's not strong." So in the end, when there is no miracle, the women of Embrace will offer the most important thing they have -- they'll be there. "We can't fix this, but we can let them know how much we care," Southworth said. ||||| PHOENIX (AP) — The most stringent restrictions in the nation on the use of abortion drugs were allowed to take effect Tuesday by a federal judge's ruling in the latest in a series of court fights over Arizona abortion laws. U.S. District Judge David C. Bury on Monday refused to stop the new rules just hours before they were to take effect. Opponents of the rules said they would continue to challenge the restrictions in court. Bury made his ruling in response to a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood Arizona and the private abortion clinic Tucson Women's Center, who say the rules severely infringe on a woman's ability to have an abortion. He was asked to grant an injunction that would have blocked the rules from taking effect. The rules were released in January by the Arizona Department of Health Services. They ban women from taking the most common abortion-inducing drug — RU-486 — after the seventh week of pregnancy. Existing rules allow women to take the abortion pill through nine weeks of pregnancy. Planned Parenthood estimates that 800 women would have had to get surgical abortions in 2012 if the rules were in effect then. An attorney for the organization also told the judge last week that the new rules could force its Flagstaff abortion clinic to suspend operations. In his ruling, the judge acknowledged that the new rules will make it more difficult for some women in Arizona, especially those in the northern part of the state, to get abortions as they have to travel farther and make more trips to clinics. But he said they aren't obstacles big enough to show that the rules should be blocked. "The court finds that the injunction is not in the public interest," Bury said. Attorney Mike Tyron, arguing the case for the state, described the rules as a simple shift in abortion regulations that amount to a minor inconvenience for women — and are not the heavy-handed change that opponents make them out to be. The Arizona Legislature in the past few years has approved a number of aggressive anti-abortion measures. A House of Representatives-approved bill that is being considered by the Senate would allow for surprise, warrantless inspections of abortion clinics. Proponents of the bill say it protects women from clinics that are not up to health standards. Opponents say it puts women at risk and violates their privacy. The Arizona rules limit RU-486 to use under the Food and Drug Administration drug label approved in 2000, which uses a much higher dosage. That dosage is no longer routinely followed because doctors have found much lower dosages are just as effective when combined with a second drug. The rules require that the drug be administered only at the FDA-approved dosage no later than seven weeks into a pregnancy instead of nine weeks, and that both doses be taken at the clinic. The usual dose is lower and now usually taken at home, decreasing the cost and chance of complications. Ohio and Texas have similar laws requiring the use of only FDA-approved protocols for drug-abortions that have been upheld by federal courts, although those states have exemptions for women whose life is endangered, who have severe health problems or for whom surgical abortion would not be appropriate. Arizona's law doesn't allow for exemptions, making them the most stringent in the country. State courts in Oklahoma and North Dakota have blocked similar rules. The Center for Arizona Policy, a powerful anti-abortion group that pushed the 2012 law, has pushed a series of anti-abortion bills. Two of those, a ban on Medicaid money for any of Planned Parenthood non-abortion services and a ban on abortion after 20 weeks, have been blocked by federal courts. "When Planned Parenthood loses, women win," said Cathi Herrod, president of the Center for Arizona Policy. "It's common-sense regulations protecting the health and safety of women considering an abortion." The Center for Reproductive Rights, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of Planned Parenthood, says it will not drop its fight despite the ruling. "This law serves no purpose other than to prevent Arizona women from using a safe alternative to surgical abortion and force their doctors to follow an outdated, riskier and less effective method. This is what happens when politicians, not doctors, practice medicine," attorney David Brown said.

– The Arizona State Senate is considering two bills that would further limit abortions, including one that could force the University of Arizona to shut down its obstetrics and gynecology program. HB 2384 includes a ban on using state funding or tuition money for abortion training at state universities and community colleges. One Democratic state representative, who is also a hospital doctor, explained that if the University of Arizona is no longer allowed to teach abortion procedures, the OB-GYN program would lose its accreditation. “Two hundred residents who are currently actively training will actually have to leave,” he tells Cronkite News Service. “Their training will be forfeited and it will be like the program never existed.” (Jezebel explains that abortion training is required by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.) The state House also approved a bill that would require doctors to perform an ultrasound before an abortion, pointing out the fetus and offering the woman a chance to listen to its heartbeat. Both bills head to the state Senate.

RadioShack has been in the retail business for almost 100 years. The end isn’t nearly as promising as the beginning. Over the Memorial Day weekend, RadioShack—which filed for bankruptcy twice in two years—closed over 1,000 stores, leaving just 70 corporate locations and 500 dealer stores in operation across the U.S. Throughout the weekend, the consumer electronics retailer announced a liquidation sale that played out on social media. Social media represents a new plot twist for America’s dying retailers: How do you toast a brand’s final days when the world is watching? RadioShack opted for unadulterated bleakness. The company’s social media handle on Twitter shared photos that depicted the sale of store fixtures, $25 grab bags stuffed with items pieced at $5 apiece, and deeply discounted printers. Here are some tweets that highlighted the carnage. Stop by your local #radioshack and make an offer on our retail fixtures! Talk to a store manager for pricing details https://t.co/WEnRMIYF77 pic.twitter.com/H2W5IgEznK — RadioShack (@RadioShack) May 30, 2017 Everything must go! Last minute deals on all of our supplies and equipment are available at select locations! https://t.co/WEnRMIYF77 pic.twitter.com/NQhNTuoF9y — RadioShack (@RadioShack) May 28, 2017 RadioShack, which generated nearly $6.3 billion in revenue at the company’s peak in 1996, saw sales sputter to under $3.5 billion less than two decades later as it failed to respond to the migration of consumer spending to online channels like Amazon.com (amzn). Electronics were one of the earliest consumer product categories to sell strongly online, resulting in price transparency that made it hard for physical retailers to compete. Best Buy (bby) has done a better job innovating to stay competitive, partly because it has focused on services to help it differentiate from the crowd. But RadioShack, which operated over 7,300 stores at the company’s peak, will now only have 570 stores in total after the Memorial Day weekend closures. The press release it issued ahead of the weekend was equally bleak: “We all remember coming into RadioShack whether it was for the battery-of-the-month, new walkie-talkies, or to check out the newest RC toy cars. Many of these nostalgic items will be up for auction over the next 30 days.” RadioShack isn’t the only well-known name that’s been stung by the shift in consumer spending on online rivals. Payless, Wet Seal and The Limited are among the names that have sought court protection in 2017. Hundreds of stores are shuttering this year. Not all of those retailers are employing the same social media strategy that RadioShack is using as it announced a fire sale. Take the example of apparel retailer American Apparel. Here is a recent tweet from that company. Happy Memorial Day from Downtown Los Angeles #AmericanApparel pic.twitter.com/xBexsMp7Rf — American Apparel (@americanapparel) May 29, 2017 What American Apparel doesn’t really signal in the company’s social media tweets: It closed the company’s U.S. store fleet earlier this year, as well as the company’s L.A. headquarters. Gildan Activewear (gil) paid $88 million for the brand and some manufacturing equipment, but not the physical stores. But on Twitter (twtr), American Apparel is keen to tout fashion, not store fixtures. The chain has published tweets that highlighted deep discounts—touting an 80% sale in late March and a promotion for $3 kids gear a few weeks earlier. But all the tweets were accompanied by rosy images of slender models looking stylish. Bankruptcy is a humble process for any retailer, but American Apparel proves it doesn’t always have to look as depressing as RadioShack’s demise. ||||| CLOSE Radio Shack is using Twitter to highlight its final days as a brand. Time A man walks past a RadioShack storefront in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York (Photo: Drew Angerer, Getty Images) Electronics retailer RadioShack has closed more than 1,000 stores since Memorial Day weekend and has become a virtual goner, saying it will only have 70 company-owned stores remaining by Thursday. The chain held a giant liquidation sale over the weekend "before we close the stores for good," it said in a statement. Also remaining are about 500 dealer-owned stores. Related: The meltdown of what was once one of America's best-known chains represents a strange turn of events considering it was only in March that parent General Wireless Operations filed for bankruptcy protection and proposed closing only about 200 RadioShack stores. But at the time, General Wireless left the door open to closing more — though few observers expected the numbers to top 1,000 soon. Now, the remaining company-owned stores will include only seven states, with the greatest concentration in New York, Pennsylvania and RadioShack's native Texas. In its heyday, Fort Worth-based RadioShack had 7,300 stores and could claim that it had a store within three miles of 95% of all American households. It was a regular stop for consumers for all nature of electronics — from stereos to walkie talkies. It also became a regular stop for incidental items like cables or antennae to hook up a TV set, batteries for toys or transistor radios or early laptop computers like the TRS-80. But like so many other retailers, it has become a victim of the Internet. Now, when people need electronic gear, more than ever they turn to online retailers. RadioShack began in Boston in 1921. As for the RadioShack authorized dealers, many appear similar to the company owned stores, having stocked RadioShack-branded merchandise. Others differ by carrying items that wouldn't be found in the company-owned stores. Here are the 70 company-owned stores that will be left: COLORADO COLO SPRINGS-SOUTHGATE COLORADO SPRINGS CO BOULDER-MARSHALL PLAZA, BOULDER CO AURORA-PEORIA ST AURORA CO GOLDEN-GOLDEN RD, GOLDEN CO DENVER-16TH STREET MALL, DENVER CO MARYLAND FREDERICK FSK MALL, FREDERICK MD BETHESDA-MONTGOMERY MALL, BETHESDA MD NEW JERSEY TOMS RIVER-TOMS RIVER SC, TOMS RIVER NJ W ORANGE-ESSEX GREEN, WEST ORANGE NJ KEARNY-PASSAIC AVE., KEARNY NJ MASSACHUSETTS CAMBRIDGE-MASS AVE CAMBRIDGE MA QUINCY-QUINCY AVE., QUINCY MA GLOUCESTER-CAPE ANN, GLOUCESTER MA GREAT BARRINGTON-PLAZA GRT BARRINGTON MA FALMOUTH-MAIN ST., FALMOUTH MA WILMINGTON-PLAZA WILMINGTON MA SWAMPSCOTT-MALL, SWAMPSCOTT MA NEW YORK WATERTOWN-NICHOLS, WATERTOWN NY FRANKLIN SQ-FRANKLIN AVE FRANKLIN SQUARE NY WEBSTER-PLAZA, WEBSTER NY FOREST HILLS-CONTINENTAL FOREST HILLS NY LOCKPORT-TRANSIT RD LOCKPORT NY KINGSTON-KINGSTON PLAZA KINGSTON NY NEW YORK WASH CRT, NEW YORK NY HUDSON-FAIRVIEW, HUDSON NY YONKERS-CENTRAL PARK YONKERS NY NECA-UNION RD W SENECA NY BRIDGEHAMPTON-COMMONS BRIDGEHAMPTON NY QUEENSBURY-ROUTE, QUEENSBURY NY RENSSELAER-COUNTY PLAZA, RENSSELAER NY BAY SHORE-SUNRISE HWY, BAY SHORE NY NEW YORK-23RD ST, NEW YORK NY BUFFALO-DELAWARE, BUFFALO NY NORTHPORT-FORT SALONGA, NORTHPORT NY SUNNYSIDE-QUEENS SUNNYSIDE NY CARMEL-PUTNAM, CARMEL NY SCHENECTADY-BALLTOWN RD SCHENECTADY NY BROOKLYN-MANHATTAN, BROOKLYN NY NEW PALTZ-NEW PALTZ PLZ NEW PALTZ NY PENNSYLVANIA NEW HOPE LOGAN SQ NEW HOPE PA WASHINGTON STRABANE SQ WASHINGTON PA ASTORIA-BROADWAY SC ASTORIA NY LANGHORNE-OXFORD LANGHORNE PA LATROBE-LATROBE SHOP CTR LATROBE PA DU BOIS-COMMONS DR DU BOIS PA RED LION-CAPE HORN RD, RED LION PA WEST CHESTER-PAOLI PIKE WEST CHESTER PA KING OF PRUSSIA-PLAZA KING OF PRUSSIA PA CLARKS SUMMIT-ABINGTON1 CLARKS SUMMIT PA BALA CYNWYD-E CITY AVE, BALA CYNWYD PA DOYLESTOWN-MAIN ST., DOYLESTOWN PA ELIZABETHTOWN-KMART, ELIZABETHTOWN PA ARDMORE-LANCASTER, ARDMORE PA ALLENTOWN-TILGHMAN, ALLENTOWN PA PHILA-CHESTNUT, PHILADELPHIA PA YORK-LOUCKS, YORK PA PAOLI-LANCASTER AVE, PAOLI PA TEXAS KERRVILLE-MAIN ST KERRVILLE TX WEATHERFORD-S MAIN WEATHERFORD TX PASADENA-SPENCER, PASADENA TX THE WOODLANDS-SAWDUST, THE WOODLANDS TX HOUSTON-THE PARK, HOUSTON TX NEW BRAUNFELS-S WALNUT NEW BRAUNFELS TX CONROE-TOWN CENTER N, CONROE TX KATY-MKT AT VILLAGE CTR, KATY TX SAN ANTONIO-CNTRYSD PLAZA SAN ANTONIO TX WACO-W WACO DR WACO TX MAGNOLIA-WESTWOOD VILLAGE, MAGNOLIA TX SPRING-STUEBNER SPRING TX TOMBALL-FM 2920 RD TOMBALL TX Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2rrta0c ||||| Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos. REUTERS/Kim White Amazon is considering buying some RadioShack stores, according to Bloomberg. It would mean the e-commerce giant would finally have a presence in the physical retail market, having previously stopped at simply pondering a flagship store in Manhattan. So far Amazon has only built pop-up shops and Kindle vending machines. Amazon has discussed acquiring some RadioShack outlets, Bloomberg reports, as the US electronics franchise prepares for bankruptcy. Yesterday, the New York Stock Exchange declared action to delist the common stock of RadioShack. Trading in shares of RadioShack was to cease with immediate effect. Amazon is reportedly looking into using the branches as showcases for its hardware. They might also be used for pick-up and drop-off points for online customers. This would be Amazon's biggest ever venture into traditional retail. RadioShack has more than 4,000 stores, though it's unclear whether Amazon wants to buy all of them. Also, Amazon could face bidding competition from Sprint and the investment group behind Brookstone, which are also potential candidates. Or, in fact, the three companies could even share the spoils. Amazon's brick-and-mortar store plan in New York City, which had holiday shopping in mind, was probably the main indicator of the company's advances into customer-facing selling. It was to act as a hub: somewhere for consumers to buy, exchange, order, return, and tellingly put a face to the brand they use so often. It never happened.

– As we all headed back to work after the Memorial Day weekend, little did we know that our options for purchasing germanium diodes, walkie-talkies, and electrolytic capacitors were starting to cruelly be yanked away. RadioShack has shuttered more than 1,000 of its storefronts since the holiday weekend and says it will have only 72 company-owned locations by Thursday, though USA Today was given a list that showed just 70, mostly in New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. There will still be 500 or so dealer-owned stores that carry RadioShack-branded products. It's an anticlimactic fadeaway for a chain that used to be one of the most well-known and ubiquitous electronics retailers in the country—it once boasted more than 7,000 stores—and it was done in by online shopping, filing for bankruptcy twice within a two-year span, per USA Today. Fortune laments the online "carnage" that played out on Twitter as RadioShack offered a massive liquidation sale over the weekend, in which it opted for "unadulterated bleakness" as it tried to answer a question spurred by today's social media: "How do you toast a brand's final days when the world is watching?" Tweets included photos of empty store display equipment now up for purchase, as well as products with hugely slashed prices and "grab-bag" events. "This could be your last chance to shop at #radioshack. See if a location near you is closing forever!" read one of the store's posts. A press release offered a similarly poignant announcement: "Many … nostalgic items will be up for auction over the next 30 days." (So much for Nick Cannon helping transform the retailer into the "must visit electronics destination.")

There are cliffhangers, and then there’s what happens with the third and next-to-last Hunger Games installment, Mockingjay — Part 1. We don’t even get to the cliff. Just as the revolution against the Capitol is about to get good, here come the closing credits with a brand-new dirge from the movie’s soundtrack curator, Lorde. Yes, the reward for watching Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) tour one bombed-out district after the next, for seeing her weep and mewl for piles of the dead and for her poor pretend paramour Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), is having to wait to see what it builds to. So much skill and craftsmanship and good writing and acting and costuming and production design go into this movie that it feels churlish to respond with resentment. But it’s possible — perhaps even necessary — to enjoy the movie and despise how abruptly it ends. The previous installment concluded with Katniss’s discovery that a handful of other characters were actually revolutionaries from District 13 and that the Capitol had captured Peeta. That was a cliffhanger. Suzanne Collins wrote three books. Lionsgate is making four movies. The fourth will feature the oppressed storming the property of the oppressor, President Snow (Donald Sutherland). Or one can only presume that will be the case. Who’s to stop the studio from subdividing Mockingjay until it becomes a kind of Zeno’s paradox, a math problem that never gets you to the Capitol? Things could be worse, I suppose. These movies could be divided by the chapter. By the page! They could be … The Hobbit. Luckily, they’re not. The Hunger Games has turned out to be the best of these so-called long-term franchises. The first movie was an incoherent dud, but the second, Catching Fire, really did catch fire. This third movie is cooler, but equally tense. You feel as if something’s at stake in this world. Collins’s postapocalyptic dystopia, called Panem, represents different American regions — Katniss and her family and friends are from a kind of coal-mining Appalachia — that were carved up and are now run by Snow’s totalitarian regime. In the backstory, these 13 districts united and failed to overthrow the central government, which, in punitive retaliation, instituted the Hunger Games, a televised reality-competition show in which two adolescents from each district fight to be the last person standing. In the first two movies, Katniss merged on-the-ground cunning and media savvy to keep herself and her fellow District 12 entrant, Peeta, alive. The broadcast masterminds tried to use the two competitors’ affection for each other against them while also riveting the Panemanians at home. In this third movie, the aboveground districts — what remains of them — have risen up, gone on strike, and are ready to attack. Revolution is a malleable concept, especially in fiction. Novelists and filmmakers can be as abstract or as pointed as they like. The Hunger Games films’ iconography evokes slavery and Nazism, but also a fractious era of dictatorship, grotesque income inequality, and an ambiguous, seemingly unwinnable war. Almost any people with a boot on their neck and rifles strapped to their backs are represented among the citizens of Panem. President Snow tries to appeal to a socialist ideal: “To refuse to work is to put the entire system in peril.” No one’s having it. But the people require a leader. District 13’s, President Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), has been too cerebral to galvanize anyone. She accepts this and leans on Katniss to forget Peeta and assume the symbol of Panem’s struggle — the mockingjay. These films appropriate the imagery and terminology of uprising and oppression, but they go for a treatment that’s not merely allegorical. In Mockingjay, Katniss and her crew try but fail to stop the Capitol from destroying a packed hospital in a war-torn District 8. Feel free to confuse this movie’s District 13 with that other District 13, the brutalist one from that set of French action films (2004’s District B13 and a 2009 sequel, both Luc Besson productions), in which public-housing residents strike back against a government that wanted to bomb it to oblivion. In Mockingjay, 13 is a literal underground movement so deep below the earth’s surface that shots of the vertical tunnels look as if they run laterally. The opposition’s propaganda videos (propos, they’re called) infiltrate the Capitol TV broadcasts, which here consist mostly of the campy emcee Caesar Flickerman (Stanley Tucci) turning a brainwashed Peeta into a lovelorn, antirevolutionary peacenik. Wardrobe in these movies is a thing. Lenny Kravitz spends the first two movies as the show’s clothier. Every time Peeta shows up in these junket interviews, his short hair is blonder, and he’s wearing a little more makeup and a more outrageous outfit. One getup has origami jutting into his chin. “Look at what they’ve done to him!” Katniss cries. I know, girl. It’s Panem at the Disco! Soon the lumbersexuals in District 7 are leaping up and into the treetops and commencing assault on the Capitol troops. Yes, the relationship between freedom fighting and fashion seems dumb or glib. But these movies make it work, in the Tim Gunn sense. Effie Trinket, Katniss’s flamboyant, bewigged Capitol-born Hunger Games escort, is played by Elizabeth Banks with a bitchy, snobbish 1940s piquancy. Caught up in the District 13 uprising and cut off from her Capitol spoils, she sulks in her drab shift dress and head scarf. The character’s appearance evokes the ravages of both the concentration camp and the cancer ward as vividly as anything else in the movie. The presumed-to-be-villainous gamesmith, Plutarch Heavensbee (Philip Seymour Hoffman, to whom the movie’s dedicated), appeals to Trinket to help get Katniss aboard the leadership train. “Everything old can be made new,” Effie says with a mix of pain and belief. “Like democracy.” It’s a touchingly wishful thought from someone dressed like one of the Beale women from Grey Gardens. ♦♦♦ Most of these science-fiction adventures involve someone “chosen,” a golden child — a boy, it’s always a boy — who was born to lead the masses to freedom. Some of the thrill of The Hunger Games movies is that you’re watching a woman become a leader, by dint of survival. Over and over, Katniss volunteers herself, and the people, in turn, fall for her. Lawrence didn’t give off much in the first film. She got stronger as the second went along. Here she actually gets to build a full performance that incorporates steeliness and anguish and humor. As Katniss is forced to bear witness to one atrocity after the next, Lawrence’s face is kept raw, registering new horror for each image. A film crew follows her to each new obliterated district and captures her outrage and grief with the intent to propagandize it, to rouse the people to action. (Natalie Dormer plays the propos director, which gives Mockingjay its own Laura Poitras.) I can’t think of another set of Hollywood movies as predicated on the emotional state of their protagonist. Tears, rage, and compassion here are proof of strength. (There’s a thick irony in having a world-class emoter like Moore play a commander who’s too stoic to follow.) Freaking out here is a virtue that people are encouraged to trust. It’s ridiculous to have to wait a year to reap the violent result of all that emotion. By virtue of its being the first of two parts, Mockingjay can’t take off, and in order to lend the film the hope of duration, it risks redundancy. If Katniss and the propos crew visit two demolished districts, they visit 30. How can you like something that feels snatched away from you? This is a movie whose climax requires Finnick Odair (Sam Claflin) to stall for time by talking into a camera for what feels like hours. Mockingjay has more exposition than a TED Talk, more rubble than a decade of The Flintstones, and absolutely no nonmonetary reason to be Part 1 of anything. It isn’t storytelling. It’s a filibuster. ||||| Another so-called YA (Young Adult) motion picture property has reached its cinematic conclusion. Billed as “the next big thing” 3 1/2 years ago with the release of the first Hunger Games movie, the series has lived up to its hype. The movie adaptation of the final book of Suzanne Collins’ best-selling trilogy, Mockingjay, has been bifurcated and, although there’s little doubt this was a financially savvy move, the creative results are dubious. Mockingjay Part 1, released a year ago, was a disjointed, incomplete affair and, although Mockingjay Part 2 is more polished, the pace is uneven and there’s a sense that the series has hung around too long. In keeping with the tone of the source material, Mockingjay Part 2 is bleak. There’s nothing wrong with this - plenty of the best sci-fi movies have been dark. The problem is that, in addition to removing the light and hope, Mockingjay has robbed the series of its uniqueness. Suddenly, it feels like every other dystopian motion picture - and there are a lot of them out there. It’s impossible to distinguish large stretches of Mockingjay Part 2, with characters running around in subterranean tunnels being chased by zombie-like creatures, from similar segments of The Maze Runner movies or the Divergent series. They all blend together and that’s not a good thing for any of them. The earlier Hunger Games movies stood apart. No longer. And Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence), reduced to an automaton as a result of PTSD, has become generic. Mockingjay Part 2 unsurprisingly begins where Part 1 ended. Katniss is recovering after nearly being choked to death by her former lover, the traumatized and brain-washed Peeta (Josh Hutcherson). Distressed about what has happened to Peeta, Katniss volunteers to be part of an assault on the Capitol. Her goal is to confront and assassinate President Snow (Donald Sutherland). The President of the Resistance, Alma Coin (Julianne Moore), is in favor of using Katniss for maximum political value, even if that means turning her into a martyr. Joined by allies like Gale (Liam Hemsworth), Finnick (Sam Claflin), and Boggs (Mahershala Ali), Katniss makes a push for the Capitol but soon learns that her primary role may be as a decoy and media star. Despite some engaging battle scenes, Mockingjay Part 2 at times becomes repetitive. The attack on the Capitol is overlong, featuring a protracted sequence in tunnels and underground corridors. All this leads to an anticlimactic ending that, although it makes a strong political point about the moral ambiguity of war, is not cinematically satisfying. The “twist” at the end is neither surprising nor unexpected. Even those who haven’t read the book will see it coming. Another disappointment is the characterization of President Snow. The sneering, Machiavellian dictator who sought Katniss’s death throughout the first three films has been reduced to a feeble shadow of his former self. In Mockingjay Part 2, he’s almost to be pitied. His schemes are ineffective and his inevitable downfall is dramatically inert. Snow, who was unquestionably a villain “we loved to hate” in The Hunger Games and Catching Fire has devolved into a pathetic bad guy - someone it’s difficult to summon much feeling about one way or the other. If one of the expected pleasures of seeing Mockingjay Part 2 was to relish Snow’s inevitable downfall, the way in which the narrative unfolds cheats viewers of that. When one considers the amount of talent packed into the cast of Mockingjay Part 2, it should come as no surprise that the acting level is high. Oscar winners and nominees abound. Jennifer Lawrence is not as compelling or charismatic as she was in the first two Hunger Games installments, but that’s a result of how the character is written - Katniss has been transformed into a shell-shocked, revenge-driven Terminator. Josh Hutcherson does his best Manchurian Candidate impression but the chemistry he shared with Lawrence is missing. The Katniss-Peeta-Gale love triangle collapses into irrelevance. Many returnees from the previous installments (like Woody Harrelson, Phillip Seymour Hoffman in his final role, Stanley Tucci, and Julianne Moore) are accorded little screen time and no opportunity for development. Director Francis Lawrence, who did a good job with the action scenes in Catching Fire (he helmed all of the Hunger Games films except the first one), is unable to replicate his success here. There are a few suspenseful sequences - a notable one involving an oil-trap and one that evidences an Aliens influence - but many of the movie’s so-called “high octane” sequences are visually impressive but emotionally shallow. Several key deaths have little or no impact. At least it can be said that Mockingjay Part 2 ends the saga. All the individual storylines are wrapped up and there’s a nice little epilogue. There’s no doubting that this movie has high aspirations - it wants to depict war not as a rah-rah, video game experience but as something violent, desperate, and destructive. But the compromises it makes to attract a wide audience neuter the message. Mockingjay Part 2 never goes “all in” and, as a result, it fails to satisfy as either a traditional sci-fi adventure blockbuster or an exploration of the dark side of war. The Hunger Games movies began with much promise but after the pinnacle of Catching Fire, it has been a slog to the finish line. We’re finally there and I feel more exhausted than fulfilled. Hunger Games, The: Mockingjay Part 2 (United States, 2015) ||||| Originally published November 20, 2014 at 12:06 AM | Page modified November 20, 2014 at 11:31 AM ‘The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1,’ with Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Donald Sutherland. Directed by Francis Lawrence, from a screenplay by Peter Craig and Danny Strong, based on the novel by Suzanne Collins. 123 minutes. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some disturbing images and thematic material. Several theaters. Setting the table the day before Thanksgiving is helpful, and lets you organize the meal in your head and sort out all the elements in preparation for action — but it’s still, by late Wednesday night, an empty table. That’s what “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1” suffers from; it’s a table-setter of a movie in which not much happens. The filmmakers’ decision to make two films from the final book in Suzanne Collins’ teen-dystopia trilogy may have made sense from a business point of view, but dramatically it’s a problem. You leave this well-acted, impeccably designed movie as you entered it: still waiting. Director Francis Lawrence (who also helmed “Catching Fire,” the second movie in the franchise) starts things abruptly; if you haven’t seen the previous two films (or read the books, which the movies follow closely), your head may well spin. The vicious Games, in which heroine Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) fought for her life, have been obliterated; now, a rescued Katniss must band with the rebels of District 13 to stand against President Snow (Donald Sutherland, not much in this movie). And she must sort out her complicated feelings toward Gale (Liam Hemsworth), now a fellow soldier in the rebellion, and Peeta (Josh Hutcherson), now a toy in the hands of Snow. Grim gray jumpsuits are worn (most amusingly by Elizabeth Banks’ Effie Trinket, imported into this movie for a whisper of much-needed wit), brows are furrowed, strategy is planned and speeches are made. Every performance, from Lawrence on down (there’s even some fine work by a very chill cat), is thoughtful and skilled — and yet, there’s a sense that everyone’s meticulously hitting the same note over and over: guarded ferocity from Lawrence, flat-voiced stoicism from Julianne Moore as rebel leader President Coin, earnest heroism from Hemsworth, quiet derangement from Hutcherson, sardonic honesty from Woody Harrelson’s Haymitch. Sadly, the most emotional moment in the film is a few words in the end credits: “In loving memory of Philip Seymour Hoffman.” The late actor, filmed long ago as rebellion leader Plutarch Heavensbee, gives sly line readings that now seem poignant; you wish this role weren’t his last. Other than a startlingly lovely blanket of white roses late in the film (they cover everything, like the poppies in “The Wizard of Oz”), “Mockingjay — Part 1” doesn’t give us much to look at: District 13 is bombed-out and crumbling, and the biggest spectacles are surely saved for the final film. It’s a placeholder of a movie, and a perfectly competent one, but it’s a reminder that we have to wait awhile for the real meal. Moira Macdonald: 206-464-2725 or mmacdonald@seattletimes.com Four weeks for 99 cents of unlimited digital access to The Seattle Times. Try it now!

– Katniss navigates a booby-trapped Capitol in the hope of assassinating evil President Snow in Mockingjay Part 2, the final installment of the Hunger Games series, based on Suzanne Collins' novels. Is it a fitting farewell? Here's what critics are saying: "The film is not just a good, exciting, emotionally involving story, but an allegory that fits inside our present cultural bubble. In an era of terror and waterboarding, this is a science fiction film about people under siege in their own War on Terror," writes Colin Covert at the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "The plot is minimalist but … the final showdown delivers a hearseload of thrills" so that when the credits finally roll, it's "a regretful farewell." "The focus is overwhelmingly on Katniss … and it's to Jennifer Lawrence's immense credit," writes Tom Long at the Detroit News. "She can run about in super-hero mode then suddenly drop down five notches or strip herself bare emotionally. She has been the best possible Katniss," he raves. But Lawrence isn't all there is to enjoy. The film is "explosive, mostly true to the text, complex, and chock full of action." It "should more than satisfy the franchise's many fans." Sara Stewart is on an entirely different page. "It hurts to see the Girl on Fire go out on such a lukewarm note," she writes at the New York Post. Mockingjay Part 2 "manages to give us everything we've been waiting for and still underwhelm." Stewart is particularly perturbed that the final book was split into two films, as well as a major plot point that "is downplayed here to an extent that, I felt, betrayed or at least misread Collins' story." But at least "there's still the pleasure of watching Jennifer Lawrence." "I feel more exhausted than fulfilled," writes James Berardinelli at Reel Views. Mockingjay Part 2 is "more polished" than Part 1, but "the pace is uneven and there's a sense that the series has hung around too long." It "feels like every other dystopian motion picture" and though "an anticlimactic ending … makes a strong political point about the moral ambiguity of war," it's "not cinematically satisfying." Though "all the individual story lines are wrapped up and there's a nice little epilogue."

Lucetta Scaraffia, editor in chief of "Donne, Chiesa, Mondo" (Women, Church, World), poses for portraits in her house in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The March edition of "Women, Church, World" _ the... (Associated Press) Lucetta Scaraffia, editor in chief of "Donne, Chiesa, Mondo" (Women, Church, World), poses for portraits in her house in Rome, Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2018. The March edition of "Women, Church, World" _ the monthly magazine of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano _ is denouncing how nuns are treated... (Associated Press) VATICAN CITY (AP) — A Vatican magazine has denounced how nuns are often treated like indentured servants by cardinals and bishops, for whom they cook and clean for next to no pay. The March edition of "Women Church World," the monthly women's magazine of the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, hit newsstands Thursday. Its expose on the underpaid labor and unappreciated intellect of religious sisters confirmed that the magazine is increasingly becoming the imprint of the Catholic Church's #MeToo movement. "Some of them serve in the homes of bishops or cardinals, others work in the kitchens of church institutions or teach. Some of them, serving the men of the church, get up in the morning to make breakfast, and go to sleep after dinner is served, the house cleaned and the laundry washed and ironed," reads one of the lead articles. A nun identified only as Sister Marie describes how sisters serve clergy but "are rarely invited to sit at the tables they serve." While such servitude is common knowledge, it is remarkable that an official Vatican publication would dare put such words to paper and publicly denounce how the church systematically exploits its own nuns. But that pluck has begun to define "Women Church World," which launched six years ago as a monthly insert in L'Osservatore Romano and is now a stand-alone magazine distributed for free online and alongside the printed newspaper in Italian, Spanish, French and English. "Until now, no one has had the courage to denounce these things," the magazine's editor, Lucetta Scaraffia, told The Associated Press. "We try to give a voice to those who don't have the courage to say these words" publicly. "Inside the church, women are exploited," she said in a recent interview. While Pope Francis has told Scaraffia he appreciates and reads the magazine, it is by no means beloved within the deeply patriarchal Vatican system. Recent issues have raised eyebrows, including the March 2016 edition on "Women who preach," which appeared to advocate allowing lay women to deliver homilies at Mass. One of the authors had to publish a subsequent clarification saying he didn't mean to suggest a change to existing doctrine or practice. Other recent issues have explored the symbolic power of women's bodies and "rape as torture." Scaraffia, a Catholic feminist and professor of history at Rome's La Sapienza university, sees the magazine as a necessary tool to push the envelope on issues that matter to half the members of the Catholic Church. The fact that a women's supplement to L'Osservatore Romano is even necessary is indicative of what she's up against. L'Osservatore is the official newspaper of the Vatican, publishing official papal decrees and speeches and maintaining an editorial line that reflects the priorities of the Holy See. The March issue of its women's magazine is dedicated to "Women and Work," and explores many issues that are in some ways correlated to the #MeToo movement, including the gender pay gap, the lack of women in leadership positions, and the "Ni Una Menos" movement to combat feminicide and violence against women, often by spurned lovers. During his recent trip to Peru, Francis denounced feminicide and gender-based crimes that have turned his home continent, Latin America, into the most violent place on Earth for women. He also has frequently called for dignified work — and dignified pay — for all. And in a recent prologue to a book on women's issues, Francis acknowledged that he was concerned that in many cases, women's work in the church "sometimes is more servitude than true service." The March edition of "Women Church World" drives that home, with a lead article "The (nearly) free work of sisters," by French journalist Marie-Lucile Kubacki, the Rome correspondent for the La Vie magazine of the Le Monde group. Kubacki noted that sisters often work for prelates or church institutions without contracts. When one falls sick, she is simply sent back to her congregation which sends another in her place. Other sisters, meanwhile, show remarkable intellectual gifts and earn advanced degrees, but aren't allowed to put them to use because the collective nature of religious communities often discourages personal advancement, another nun, Sister Paule, told the magazine. "Behind all this is the unfortunate idea that women are worth less than men, and above all that priests are everything in the church while sisters are nothing," Sister Paul said. Sister Marie noted that many nuns from Africa, Asia or Latin America who come to study in Rome hail from poor families, whose extended care is often paid for by their congregations. As a result, they feel they can't complain about their work conditions, she said. "This all creates in them a strong interior rebellion," Sister Marie reported. "These sisters feel indebted, tied down, and so they keep quiet." Scaraffia said she wanted to give these sisters a voice, even though she counts herself among the church's exploited. Neither Scaraffia nor the eight-member editorial staff of Women Church World is paid. The magazine, funded by a grant from the Italian postal service Poste Italiane, pays contributors for their articles, but it is published each month thanks to the free labor of its editorial staff. ||||| VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - A Vatican magazine denounced widespread exploitation of nuns for cheap or free labor in the Roman Catholic Church on Thursday, saying the male hierarchy should stop treating them like lowly servants. Pope Francis greets a group of nuns during the general audience in Paul VI hall at the Vatican December 20, 2017. REUTERS/Max Rossi The article in the monthly “Women, Church, World”, remarkable for an official Vatican publication, described the drudgery of nuns who do work such as cooking, cleaning and waiting on tables for cardinals, bishops and priests. The article, based on the comments of several unnamed nuns, described how some work in the residences of “men of the Church, waking at dawn to prepare breakfast and going to sleep once dinner is served, the house is in order and the laundry cleaned and ironed”. It said their remuneration was “random and often modest”. In many cases, the nuns, who take vows of poverty, receive no pay because they are members of female religious orders and are sent to the residences of male Church officials as part of their assignments. In the past, most of the nuns working as domestic help in male-run residences or institutions such as seminaries were local nationals. But in recent years, many have come from Africa, Asia and other parts of the developing world. The author of the article wrote that what most saddened one of the nuns she talked to was that “they are rarely invited to sit at the table they serve” and made to eat in the kitchen by themselves. One nun said she knew of fellow sisters who had PhDs in subjects such as theology and had been, with no explanation, ordered to do domestic work or other chores that had “no relationship to their intellectual formation”. The experiences of such nuns, the article said, could be transformed “into a richness for the whole Church, if the male hierarchy sees it as an occasion for a true reflection on power (in the Church)”. The magazine, a monthly supplement to the Vatican daily newspaper Osservatore Romano, is written by women journalists and academics. Only a handful of women hold senior positions in the Vatican hierarchy, including Barbara Jatta, who last year became the first woman to head the Vatican Museums. Several nuns have senior roles in Vatican departments that look after religious issues. Unlike his predecessors, Pope Francis lives in a Vatican guest house which is run like a hotel and takes his meals in the main dining room which is staffed by paid waiters. By contrast, the late Pope John Paul, who reigned from 1978 to 2005, had a team of five Polish nuns who ran his household in the papal apartments in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace. The household of former Pope Benedict, who resigned in 2013 was looked after by about eight female members of a lay Catholic organization known as Memores Domini. The entire March edition of the magazine is dedicated to the theme of women and work. ||||| Though convents also depend on the money generated by the sisters living there, many nuns, unlike priests, are not paid, or are poorly paid, when they attend conferences or when they preach, she said. But the article, “The (Nearly) Free Work of Sisters,” noted that it was not just a question of money. A bigger problem, the article pointed out, is that many sisters say that while male vocations are valued, the work of women is not. “Behind all this is still the unfortunate idea that women are worth less than men, and above all that the priest is everything while sisters are nothing in the church,” Sister Paule said in the article. The article confirmed that while women have been clamoring to have a greater role in the decision making of the male-centric Catholic Church, the road is still steep. Still, some efforts are underway to address the problem. The annual Voices of Faith conference, which aims to showcase the “underutilized potential of women to exercise leadership at all levels of the Catholic Church” will take place on March 8. And a “Manifesto of Women for the Church,” also published in the March issue of Women Church World, calls for giving women “roles that are coherent with our competences and capacities.” The document has circulated on social media and is being shared by women who are active in church institutions and parishes throughout Italy. Pope Francis, who is said to read the magazine, has raised the matter of women’s roles in the church before, but his concerns have yet to be translated into concrete changes.

– In a move that both the AP and Reuters call "remarkable," an official Vatican magazine run by women is directly criticizing the Catholic Church for its treatment of nuns in its March issue. "Until now, no one has had the courage to denounce these things," says Lucetta Scaraffia, editor of Women's Church World. "We try to give a voice to those who don't have the courage to say these words publicly." In an article written by French journalist Marie-Lucile Kubacki called "The (Nearly) Free Work of Sisters," nuns going by pseudonyms say their lives of service more often resemble indentured servitude, the New York Times reports. They describe days of cooking and cleaning—waking before, and going to bed after, the cardinals, bishops, and priests they serve—for pay that is "random and often modest," when they're paid at all. The nuns say that beyond the money, the problem is their work isn't valued. One nun says they "are seen as volunteers to have available at one's calling," and that leads to abuse. Another says they cook for and wait on the clergy but "are rarely invited to sit at the tables they serve," and that's what hurts her the most. One nun talks about sisters with PhDs in theology and other subjects who are nonetheless assigned to domestic work. One sister says the problem is that the church still operates on the idea "that the priest is everything while sisters are nothing." The AP states that Women's Church World "is increasingly becoming the imprint of the Catholic Church's #MeToo movement." The March issue, centered on "Women and Work," also looks at the gender pay gap, lack of women in leadership roles, and more.

The college that Jane Sanders once ran, Burlington College, is closing on May 27. | Getty Education Real estate deal brokered by Bernie Sanders' wife sinks Vermont college Sen. Bernie Sanders’ wife made a big-ticket purchase during her tenure as head of a small, private college in Vermont — and, in the end, the institution got burned. Burlington College, which Jane Sanders ran from 2004 to 2011, will close its doors on May 27 due to financial and accrediting problems, it was announced Monday. The college has about 70 students. Story Continued Below Jane Sanders’ tenure as president of the tiny school in Burlington, Vt., saw it make a bold real estate purchase to replace its cramped quarters: Sanders spearheaded a deal to buy 33 acres along Lake Champlain, in hopes that the scenic property would help the college attract new students and donors. To pay for the prime lakefront land, the college used $10 million in bonds and loans, according to reports by the Burlington Free Press. But the large expenditure didn’t pan out, Sanders resigned the following year, and her successors could not save the college from financial ruin. When asked at a press conference Monday afternoon whether the land deal was a mistake, college President Carol Moore said: “We can’t Monday-morning quarterback.” Neither Sanders nor the college has said why she left, but she reportedly got a $200,000 severance package. And last year, the college sold most of the lakefront property in a desperate bid to stave off its mounting money woes. It kept 6 acres and the main building where classes are held. The college’s board of trustees voted Friday to close after it was notified that a $1 million line of credit would not be renewed, Moore said. College officials had succeeded in lowering debt on the campus property from more than $11 million to slightly greater than $2.2 million, but the additional line of credit was essential to continue operating said Coralee Holm, the college’s dean of operations and advancement. “We have explored multiple, multiple options — just about anything we could think of,” Moore said. “This is a great loss to the higher ed community, so we did explore many other options. But in the final analysis, none of them came through.” Burlington College, which was established in 1972 and prided itself on creating progressive programs that emphasized individual learning, had accrediting problems to go along with its financial woes, with the latter influencing the former to a significant degree. The college was put on probation two years ago by its accreditor, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. And Burlington College board Chairman Yves Bradley recently said the accreditor notified trustees that it was going to revoke the school’s accreditation in January, according to a report . The college was also on the Education Department’s list of colleges that are subject to extra scrutiny — known as “heightened cash monitoring” — as recently as March 1, for issues relating to “financial responsibility." Bernie Sanders has campaigned heavily on college campuses in his quest for the Democratic nomination for president, and he's been fueled by his ability to gain the support of young voters. The independent from the Green Mountain State has pushed a sweeping proposal that would reshape higher education by making tuition at public colleges and universities free and lowering rates for new and existing student loans. The Sanders campaign did not respond to a call from POLITICO seeking comment. Michael Stratford contributed to this report. ||||| Burlington College, a tiny Vermont liberal arts school once led by Jane Sanders, the wife of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, said it is shutting down because of financial problems associated with a property acquisition she oversaw. In a formal statement announcing its closure, the school cited the “crushing weight” of debt it took on in a 2010 purchase of more than 30 acres from the local Catholic archdiocese. Mrs. Sanders was the college’s president at the time of the $10 million deal. ... ||||| EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this story quoted James C. Foley Jr., an attorney for an official with a Vermont bonding agency, as saying that his client was initially called to appear before a grand jury but that prosecutors later agreed that documents alone would be sufficient. Foley clarified late Monday, however, that the grand jury subpoena required only that documents be turned over. The story has been updated. Jane Sanders, wife of Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.), stands by her husband after a rally in 2015 during his presidential campaign. (Melina Mara/The Washington Post) A federal investigation of a land deal led by Jane Sanders, the wife and political adviser of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), has accelerated in recent months — with prosecutors hauling off more than a dozen boxes of records from the Vermont college she once ran and calling a state official to provide evidence for a grand jury, according to interviews and documents. Half a dozen people said in interviews in recent days that they had been contacted by the FBI or federal prosecutors, and former college trustees told The Washington Post that attorneys for Jane Sanders had interviewed them to learn what potential witnesses might tell the government. The investigation centers on the 2010 land purchase that relocated Burlington College to a new campus on more than 32 acres along Lake Champlain. While lining up a $6.7 million loan and additional financing, Jane Sanders told college trustees and lenders that the college had commitments for millions of dollars in donations that could be used to repay the loan, according to former trustees and state officials. Trustees said they later discovered that many of the donors had not agreed to the amounts or the timing of the donations listed on documents Jane Sanders provided to a state bonding agency and a bank. That led to her resignation in 2011 amid complaints from some trustees that she had provided inaccurate information, former college officials said. The land deal, the officials said, became a financial albatross for the 160-student school, contributing to its closure last year. [Read documents related to the Sanders investigation.] The questions from government investigators, as described by those who were interviewed or received subpoenas for documents, suggest that the inquiry is focused on Jane Sanders and alleged bank fraud, and not on her husband. But the inquiry could nonetheless create a political liability for the senator, who was a candidate for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination and is the progressive movement’s most popular leader. Jeff Weaver, a spokesman for the couple, denied wrongdoing late last week. Weaver told The Post that Jane Sanders hired a D.C. law firm this spring because she and her husband fear that President Trump’s Justice Department could use the investigation as a way to derail a potential 2020 challenger. “While the Obama administration was in office, I don’t think anyone thought that these baseless allegations warranted hiring a lawyer,” Weaver said. “But with Trump and [Attorney General] Jeff Sessions at the helm, that’s a very different situation.” The investigation began in early 2016 after Brady Toensing, a lawyer who was the state chairman for Trump’s presidential campaign, wrote to the U.S. attorney and federal bank regulators, alleging potential bank fraud. FBI agents conducted interviews last year, but the probe was not publicly confirmed until this April, when the local news outlet VTDigger.org reported that a federal prosecutor had asked that records from the college be preserved. Last week, an attorney for the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency, which helped the college get financing, gave The Post a copy of an April subpoena ordering its executive director to turn over documents related to the loan. The subpoena is the first public confirmation that prosecutors have collected evidence to present to a grand jury. Paul J. Van de Graaf, chief of the criminal division in the U.S. attorney’s office in Vermont, cited an ongoing investigation in declining to comment on the case or on the claim that it is politically motivated. The Justice Department also declined to comment. The crisis Burlington College grew out of gatherings in its founder’s living room in the 1970s, drawing Vietnam War veterans and nontraditional students. Former administrators lauded the school’s small size and the opportunity for students to design their academic plans. Jane Sanders became the college’s president in 2004, with the promise of boosting its profile and its fundraising. By 2010, Sanders was pushing the school to move from its storefront campus to waterfront property that belonged to the local Roman Catholic diocese. The move would cost the college $10 million. A rendering of the proposed Burlington College campus. (City of Burlington) Sanders told trustees that the college could afford it, former trustees said. She projected a surge in enrollment in the coming year and presented financial documents showing $2.6 million in “confirmed” donations, two former trustees said. The donors were identified only by their initials — presumably to protect their anonymity, former trustees said. The board decided to pursue the land purchase in May 2010. “The board made the decision based on the information Jane provided,” said Adam Dantzscher, chairman of the board at the time. The college soon received a $6.7 million loan with the help of the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency, which issues tax-exempt bonds for schools and hospitals. In addition to providing the donation spreadsheets to the agency, Sanders signed a document saying that the college “expects to receive pledged amounts” of about $2.27 million, records show. “My gut was, this is biting off more than you can chew,” said Charly Dickerson, one of two board members who voted no after hearing a presentation from Sanders. “Their balance sheet was not all that strong.” Two members of a Vermont bonding agency voted against the Burlington College plan. People’s United Bank bought the bond, meaning the bank became the lender. The college promised to pay the remaining $3.65 million to cover the entire $10 million purchase from the diocese over 10 years. The donations were critical. An independent consultant warned in a report to the state bonding agency that the college’s ability to repay its loans from People’s United and the diocese “depends on its ability to raise sufficient capital through its capital campaign.” An undated report from the college touted a “firm commitment” of $1 million and a verbal commitment of $1 million more. But only months after the college closed on the property purchase, trustees sensed problems. “Things did not add up,” Dantzscher said. “The donations were not coming in.” Trustee David V. Dunn said the college collected only about $125,000 through the summer of 2011. The trustees asked other college administrators to get in touch with donors, he said. “What they were finding was different than what was represented,” he said. “Multiple donors were saying they had never committed to those amounts.” A Burlington College report describes a “firm commitment” of $1 million, money that never materialized. One of the listed donations, for example, was a $1 million gift from Corinne Bove Maietta, a member of a well-known Burlington family. In fact, trustees learned, the $1 million had been intended as a bequest upon her death. Maietta’s accountant, Richard Moss, confirmed the bequest and said his client went on to donate $50,000 to $100,000, a gift that was to be subtracted from the bequest. Moss said FBI agents contacted him in February or March for help in locating Maietta. Maietta did not return a message from The Post. By October 2011, the trustees asked Sanders to resign, in part because of the fundraising flap. Sanders touted major accomplishments in her October 2011 report to college trustees, such as providing financial aid to students, expanding academic offerings and improving accreditation. “We have come a long way over the past seven years, and we should be proud of what we have achieved,” she wrote. The aftermath Four months after Toensing wrote the letter last year urging the U.S. attorney’s office to investigate, the college closed under financial distress, and the bank foreclosed on the property. It is unclear whether the bank lost money. People’s United spokeswoman Cynthia Belak declined to discuss the deal, saying that “as a matter of policy, we do not comment on matters related to our clients.” The diocese said in a statement that it was “satisfied” with a settlement it reached with the college on repayment of the $3.65 million loan: In addition to the more than $540,000 in principal payments made on the loan, the college agreed to give the diocese $1.05 million in cash and a “$1 million investment” in a company it did not identify. Dantzscher, the former college trustee who was among the donors on the list, said he considers himself a victim of financial mismanagement at the college. “I would say everybody is a victim,” he said. “The community, the students, the employees, the board of directors. Everybody gets hurt.” Dantzscher said he was contacted by law enforcement officials, but he declined to reveal details of the conversation. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, three other people familiar with the college’s financing said they were contacted by federal authorities. Weaver, Sanders’s spokesman, said Jane Sanders was not at fault. “Are there now going to be detractors who now want to blame Jane Sanders for all the failures that happened after she left?” he said. “Frankly, I’d be surprised if there weren’t.” Weaver suggested that Bernie Sanders has been targeted by the GOP because he’s a popular politician who could challenge Trump for the presidency in three years. Weaver said the allegation is “right out of the Benghazi playbook.” “But it is particularly nasty even for them — going after a political opponent’s spouse,” he said. Weaver said that neither Jane Sanders nor Bernie Sanders had been contacted by law enforcement officials. Still, Jane Sanders hired a Burlington attorney and a D.C. law firm this spring, amid signs that federal prosecutors were escalating their inquiry. VTDigger.org and Politico Magazine last month reported that Jane Sanders had retained counsel. The Vermont Agency of Education took possession of the college’s business records after the school’s closure to ensure that graduates could still access their academic records. Federal prosecutors visited the state offices in April and carried out 20 to 30 boxes of the school’s business files, said Molly Bachman, general counsel for the education agency. Also in April, the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency received a subpoena for records related to the land deal and all fundraising efforts, pledges and donations, according to a copy of the subpoena The Post obtained through a public records request. It is titled “grand jury investigation” and directs the bonding agency to contact a special agent with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., a banking regulator. The FDIC sometimes helps federal prosecutors in investigations that involve banking. A subpoena issued to the Vermont Educational and Health Buildings Financing Agency. In response to the subpoena, Executive Director Robert Giroux turned over 900 pages of documents, agency lawyer James C. Foley Jr. said. In recent weeks, lawyers for Sanders have called at least three former trustees trying to learn more about the investigation, those people said. Two said they were contacted by lawyers with a Burlington firm. “I didn’t provide any answers,” Dantzscher said. Dunn, who resigned from the board in 2011, did cooperate. He said he was contacted by phone twice — most recently in the last days of June — by Jennifer Windom, a partner at the D.C. firm Robbins Russell, which represented I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, who was chief of staff to Vice President Richard B. Cheney and was prosecuted in connection with the Valerie Plame leak scandal. “She said her firm was representing Jane, and she was trying to get background on the issue so she can help Jane,” he said. Dunn said that although Sanders’s fundraising figures were inaccurate, he thinks she had good intentions. “For me, personally, I don’t believe she had malicious intent. I don’t think it rose to that level,” he said. “Jane had an agenda that she wanted what was best for the college, and she stretched it beyond its capabilities.”

– Monday was a very sad day for Burlington College in Vermont: The tiny liberal arts institution announced that it's closing this month under the "crushing weight of debt" of a land deal from Jane Sanders' time in charge, reports the Burlington Free Press. Bernie Sanders' wife, who ran the private college from 2004 to 2011, tried to boost enrollment in 2010 by buying 32 acres of land along Lake Champlain for a new campus. The land, including a 77,000-square-foot main building, was being sold by a Roman Catholic diocese that needed cash after being sued by abuse victims. But the college, which has around 70 students, was unable to attract enough new students to justify the $10 million purchase and ended up in deep financial trouble even after selling all but 8 acres of the land, Politico reports. "I believe the vision was enrollment would grow, which it did, but not at the level that would have allowed us to manage the financial debt we had incurred," Dean of Operations Coralee Holm told reporters on Monday. "So here we are." Neither Holm nor college President Carol Moore criticized Sanders, who reportedly received a $200,000 severance package, for her role in the college's financial problems. The Wall Street Journal notes that Burlington College, like many small colleges, had serious financial woes long before Sanders took charge. "I thought it was going to happen for some time," says the school's former chair of the film and media department. "It's a very, very, very small college without an endowment."

An analysis of 225 terrorism cases inside the United States since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks has concluded that the bulk collection of phone records by the National Security Agency “has had no discernible impact on preventing acts of terrorism.” In the majority of cases, traditional law enforcement and investigative methods provided the tip or evidence to initiate the case, according to the study by the New America Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit group. The study, to be released Monday, corroborates the findings of a White House-appointed review group, which said last month that the NSA counterterrorism program “was not essential to preventing attacks” and that much of the evidence it did turn up “could readily have been obtained in a timely manner using conventional [court] orders.” Under the program, the NSA amasses the metadata — records of phone numbers dialed and call lengths and times — of virtually every American. Analysts may search the data only with reasonable suspicion that a number is linked to a terrorist group. The content of calls is not collected. The new study comes as President Obama is deliberating over the future of the NSA’s bulk collection program. Since it was disclosed in June, the program has prompted intense debate over its legality, utility and privacy impact. Senior administration officials have defended the program as one tool that complements others in building a more complete picture of a terrorist plot or network. And they say it has been valuable in knocking down rumors of a plot and in determining that potential threats against the United States are nonexistent. Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. calls that the “peace of mind” metric. In an opinion piece published after the release of the review group’s report, Michael Morell, a former acting CIA director and a member of the panel, said the program “needs to be successful only once to be invaluable.” The researchers at the New America Foundation found that the program provided evidence to initiate only one case, involving a San Diego cabdriver, Basaaly ­Moalin, who was convicted of sending money to a terrorist group in Somalia. Three co-conspirators were also convicted. The cases involved no threat of attack against the United States. “The overall problem for U.S. counterterrorism officials is not that they need vaster amounts of information from the bulk surveillance programs, but that they don’t sufficiently understand or widely share the information they already possess that was derived from conventional law enforcement and intelligence techniques,” said the report, whose principal author is Peter Bergen, director of the foundation’s National Security Program and an expert on terrorism. In at least 48 instances, traditional surveillance warrants obtained from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court were used to obtain evidence through intercepts of phone calls and e-mails, said the researchers, whose results are in an online database. More than half of the cases were initiated as a result of traditional investigative tools. The most common was a community or family tip to the authorities. Other methods included the use of informants, a suspicious-activity report filed by a business or community member to the FBI, or information turned up in investigations of non-terrorism cases. But Richard Clarke, a member of the White House review panel and a former White House counterterrorism adviser, said he thinks the NSA can use traditional methods — such as obtaining a court order — to obtain data as part of counterterrorism investigations. “Although we might be safer if the government had ready access to a massive storehouse of information about every detail of our lives, the impact of such a program on the quality of life and on individual freedom would simply be too great,” the group’s report said. Said Clarke: “Even if NSA had solved every one of the [terrorist] cases based on” the phone collection, “we would still have proposed the changes.” Supporters of the NSA program said it’s important for the agency to maintain the database of phone records so that analysts can query it quickly. One phone company executive concurred that the private sector can’t “mine” records the same way as the NSA because their databases aren’t as comprehensive. “So if they call us at 3 o’clock in the morning and said, ‘We got a big issue and we need something in an hour,’ we couldn’t do that,” said the executive, who was not authorized to speak on the record and spoke on the condition of anonymity. “But if they say, ‘Give it to us in the next two weeks,’ yes, we could probably do that.” According to the New America Foundation, after the NSA shared Moalin’s number with the FBI, the bureau waited two months to begin an investigation and wiretap his phone. ||||| However, our review of the government’s claims about the role that NSA “bulk” surveillance of phone and email communications records has had in keeping the United States safe from terrorism shows that these claims are overblown and even misleading. An in-depth analysis of 225 individuals recruited by al-Qaeda or a like-minded group or inspired by al-Qaeda’s ideology, and charged in the United States with an act of terrorism since 9/11, demonstrates that traditional investigative methods, such as the use of informants, tips from local communities, and targeted intelligence operations, provided the initial impetus for investigations in the majority of cases, while the contribution of NSA’s bulk surveillance programs to these cases was minimal. Indeed, the controversial bulk collection of American telephone metadata, which includes the telephone numbers that originate and receive calls, as well as the time and date of those calls but not their content, under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, appears to have played an identifiable role in initiating, at most, 1.8 percent of these cases. NSA programs involving the surveillance of non-U.S. persons outside of the United States under Section 702 of the FISA Amendments Act played a role in 4.4 percent of the terrorism cases we examined, and NSA surveillance under an unidentified authority played a role in 1.3 percent of the cases we examined. Regular FISA warrants not issued in connection with Section 215 or Section 702, which are the traditional means for investigating foreign persons, were used in at least 48 (21 percent) of the cases we looked at, although it’s unclear whether these warrants played an initiating role or were used at a later point in the investigation. (Click on the link to go to a database of all 225 individuals, complete with additional details about them and the government’s investigations of these cases: http://natsec.newamerica.net/nsa/analysis ). Surveillance of American phone metadata has had no discernible impact on preventing acts of terrorism and only the most marginal of impacts on preventing terrorist-related activity, such as fundraising for a terrorist group. Furthermore, our examination of the role of the database of U.S. citizens’ telephone metadata in the single plot the government uses to justify the importance of the program – that of Basaaly Moalin, a San Diego cabdriver who in 2007 and 2008 provided $8,500 to al-Shabaab, al-Qaeda’s affiliate in Somalia – calls into question the necessity of the Section 215 bulk collection program. According to the government, the database of American phone metadata allows intelligence authorities to quickly circumvent the traditional burden of proof associated with criminal warrants, thus allowing them to “connect the dots” faster and prevent future 9/11-scale attacks. Yet in the Moalin case, after using the NSA’s phone database to link a number in Somalia to Moalin, the FBI waited two months to begin an investigation and wiretap his phone. Although it’s unclear why there was a delay between the NSA tip and the FBI wiretapping, court documents show there was a two-month period in which the FBI was not monitoring Moalin’s calls, despite official statements that the bureau had Moalin’s phone number and had identified him. , This undercuts the government’s theory that the database of Americans’ telephone metadata is necessary to expedite the investigative process, since it clearly didn’t expedite the process in the single case the government uses to extol its virtues. Additionally, a careful review of three of the key terrorism cases the government has cited to defend NSA bulk surveillance programs reveals that government officials have exaggerated the role of the NSA in the cases against David Coleman Headley and Najibullah Zazi, and the significance of the threat posed by a notional plot to bomb the New York Stock Exchange. In 28 percent of the cases we reviewed, court records and public reporting do not identify which specific methods initiated the investigation. These cases, involving 62 individuals, may have been initiated by an undercover informant, an undercover officer, a family member tip, other traditional law enforcement methods, CIA- or FBI-generated intelligence, NSA surveillance of some kind, or any number of other methods. In 23 of these 62 cases (37 percent), an informant was used. However, we were unable to determine whether the informant initiated the investigation or was used after the investigation was initiated as a result of the use of some other investigative means. Some of these cases may also be too recent to have developed a public record large enough to identify which investigative tools were used. We have also identified three additional plots that the government has not publicly claimed as NSA successes, but in which court records and public reporting suggest the NSA had a role. However, it is not clear whether any of those three cases involved bulk surveillance programs. to read the full report. Finally, the overall problem for U.S. counterterrorism officials is not that they need vaster amounts of information from the bulk surveillance programs, but that they don’t sufficiently understand or widely share the information they already possess that was derived from conventional law enforcement and intelligence techniques. This was true for two of the 9/11 hijackers who were known to be in the United States before the attacks on New York and Washington, as well as with the case of Chicago resident David Coleman Headley, who helped plan the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, and it is the unfortunate pattern we have also seen in several other significant terrorism cases. Click here to read the full report. On June 5, 2013, the Guardian broke the first story in what would become a flood of revelations regarding the extent and nature of the NSA’s surveillance programs. Facing an uproar over the threat such programs posed to privacy, the Obama administration scrambled to defend them as legal and essential to U.S. national security and counterterrorism. Two weeks after the first leaks by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden were published, President Obama defended the NSA surveillance programs during a visit to Berlin, saying: “We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted because of this information not just in the United States, but, in some cases, threats here in Germany. So lives have been saved.” Gen. Keith Alexander, the director of the NSA, testified before Congress that: “the information gathered from these programs provided the U.S. government with critical leads to help prevent over 50 potential terrorist events in more than 20 countries around the world.” Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.), chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said on the House floor in July that “54 times [the NSA programs] stopped and thwarted terrorist attacks both here and in Europe – saving real lives.” ||||| In a strongly worded report to be issued Thursday, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) said that the statute upon which the program was based, Section 215 of the USA Patriot Act, “does not provide an adequate basis to support this program.” The board’s conclusion goes further than President Obama, who said in a speech Friday that he thought the NSA’s database of records should be moved out of government hands but did not call for an outright halt to the program. The board had shared its conclusions with Obama in the days leading up to his speech. “We have not identified a single instance involving a threat to the United States in which the telephone records program made a concrete difference in the outcome of a counterterrorism investigation,” said the report, a copy of which was obtained by The Washington Post. “Moreover, we are aware of no instance in which the program directly contributed to the discovery of a previously unknown terrorist plot or the disruption of a terrorist attack.” But the board found that it is impossible that all the records collected — billions daily — could be relevant to a single investigation “without redefining that word in a manner that is circular, unlimited in scope.” Moreover, instead of compelling phone companies to turn over records already in their possession, the program requires them to furnish newly generated call data on a daily basis. “This is an approach lacking foundation in the statute,” the report said. “At its core, the approach boils down to the proposition that essentially all telephone records are relevant to essentially all international terrorism investigations,” the report said. This approach, it said, “at minimum, is in deep tension with the statutory requirement that items obtained through a Section 215 order be sought for ‘an investigation,’ not for the purpose of enhancing the government’s counterterrorism capabilities generally.” The board rejected the contention made by officials from Obama on down that the program was necessary to address a gap arising from a failure to detect an al Qaeda terrorist in the United States, Khalid al-Mihdhar, prior to the 2001 attacks. Mihdhar was in phone contact with a safehouse in Yemen, and though the NSA had intercepted the calls, it did not realize at the time that Mihdhar was calling from San Diego. “The failure to identify Mihdhar’s presence in the United States stemmed primarily from a lack of information sharing among federal agencies, not of a lack of surveillance capabilities,” the report said, noting that in early 2000 the CIA knew Mihdhar had a visa enabling him to enter the United States but did not advise the FBI or watchlist him. “...This was a failure to connect the dots, not a failure to connect enough dots.” Second, the report said, the government need not have collected the entire nation’s calling records to identify the San Diego number from which Mihdhar made his calls. It asserted that the government could have used existing legal authorities to request from U.S. phone companies the records of any calls made to or from the Yemen number. “Doing so could have identified the San Diego number on the other end of the calls,” though, it noted, the speed of the carriers’ responses likely would vary. We noted a week ago that it seemed odd that President Obama was announcing his (mostly cosmetic) reforms for the intelligence community a week or so before the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB) had a chance to weigh in. As we noted, the PCLOB is the government organization that should be looking into this issue. The PCLOBbriefed the President a week or so earlier, and that may explain why he sought to get his speech out before their report came out: the report, to be released later today, clearly states that the NSA's bulk metadata collection program is illegal and should end.It seems clear that President Obama clearly wanted to get his speech out of the way before this report came out. The PCLOB has found the same basic thing that the President's own task force (and Judge Leon) found: that the bulk data collection on pretty much everyone's phone call data had been almost entirely useless (while violating everyone's privacy). According to the Washington Post:The full report, which sounds like it will be well worth reading, clearly appears to recognize that the NSA and the FISA Court reinterpreted the law in secret, in a manner that directly conflicts with the plain reading of the law -- exactly what Senators Ron Wyden and Mark Udall have been screaming about for years:Importantly, unlike the task force, the PCLOB calls bullshit on the oft-repeated claim that a program like the Section 215 program would have prevented 9/11. This has been debunked multiple times, but here is a government organization doing the debunking:The report also apparently calls bullshit on the claim made by some, including Senator Dianne Feinstein , that the program was necessary in stopping the plot to bomb the NYC subway.I'm sure we'll have more on this report, but it's yet another condemnation of the program which the President is trying to keep going, while pretending he's ending it.

– The NSA's controversial trove of phone metadata "has had no discernible impact on preventing acts of terrorism," a new analysis of 225 terrorism cases from the nonprofit New America Foundation has concluded. Most of the cases it looked at were cracked using old-fashioned investigative tools, like tip-offs from family or community members, or the use of informants, the Washington Post reports. Bulk surveillance had "only the most marginal of impacts," helping to initiate at most 1.8% of cases. The government argues that the NSA database allows it to respond rapidly. But in the main case it cites to defend the program—in which a man was convicted of sending money to Somali terrorists—the FBI waited two months to act on the NSA's tip. The report largely backs up President Obama's advisory panel. Obama will announce proposed reforms for the program Friday. But while he could stop the program on his own, he's expected to instead suggest a public-private hybrid program to replace it—which will require always elusive Congressional approval, Politico reports.

"We will not participate in anything that's not first-tier," Rand Paul said, indicating that he will not participate in the undercard debate. | AP Photo Paul out of main debate, won’t join undercard Fiorina is also bumped off the main stage; Kasich remains. Rand Paul and Carly Fiorina have been booted to the undercard in Thursday night’s Republican primary debate as the number of main-stage candidates was cut to seven by stricter polling criteria. Paul, who is struggling to gain traction in the presidential race, immediately cried foul, and vowed to not participate in the event. Story Continued Below Fox Business Network, which will televise the sixth GOP presidential debate this week, announced the debate fields on Monday evening, after weeks of speculation that Paul would for the first time not make the cut for the primetime event. The seven candidates who will appear on the main stage in North Charleston, S.C., are Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Jeb Bush, and John Kasich. Kasich qualified as a result of his strength in New Hampshire. Paul and Fiorina are set to join Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum in the undercard — if Paul decides to participate. The Kentucky senator told CNN Monday evening, just before the official announcement, that Fox Business had made "a mistake," and he wouldn't attend. "We will not participate in anything that's not first-tier," Paul said. His campaign confirmed to POLITICO that he will sit out Thursday's debate. His campaign elaborated in a statement that multiple polls showed him well within the network's criteria for qualifying, and contended that the margins of error in polls make them a poor tool for determining who makes the main stage. "To exclude candidates on faulty analysis is to disenfranchise the voter," the statement said. "Creating 'tiers' based on electoral results of real votes might make sense but creating 'tiers' on bad science is irresponsible." Regardless of whether he takes part in the undercard debate, the downgrade could be a crippling blow for Paul — who has insisted that he would remain in the race through the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, even though he also faces a reelection campaign this year for his Senate seat. In an interview with POLITICO last week, Paul called for organizers to abolish the earlier undercard debate. "I’m not sure what the purpose is anymore, if there ever was one," Paul said. The Paul camp has fought hard to keep its candidate on the main stage, where he has appeared for the prior five debates. Earlier Monday, the campaign released a memo stating that “multiple national polls” have the Kentucky senator “in 5th or 6th place” — even though he’s in seventh place in the average nationally and in both early states. “By any reasonable criteria Senator Paul has a top-tier campaign and has qualified for the stage,” the memo said. But it was clear that Paul didn’t meet the criteria Fox Business had outlined prior to Monday’s qualification deadline. The network said it would average the five most recent polls nationally, and in both Iowa and New Hampshire. The top six candidates nationally would qualify – and if any other candidate appeared in the top five in either early state, they would be added. Paul was in seventh place nationally and in both early states, according to POLITICO’s calculations. Fox Business outlined specifically which polls were used in a subsequent statement to reporters, saying the outlet used "the most recent national and state polls from non-partisan, nationally-recognized organizations using standard methodological techniques." It’s the second time Paul has flirted with being demoted to the undercard. Paul was shoe-horned into the last debate by CNN, which tweaked its criteria “in the spirit of being as inclusive as possible” to include Paul on the main stage, even though his poll numbers didn’t meet the network’s criteria. And for the second debate back in September, CNN added criteria to benefit Fiorina after it became clear that Fiorina’s surge in the polls after her performance in the first undercard debate wouldn’t be sufficient to land her on the main stage for the second gathering. That was because CNN’s averages included a large number of polls conducted prior to the first debate. Fiorina had not been as vocal as Paul, however, about her own predicted downgrade for the upcoming debate. When Paul was on the verge of getting bumped down from the main stage last month, he said that he would make some kind of "announcement" if he was relegated to the lower debate. Paul aides, however, stressed that that did not mean he was dropping out. Still, Paul's repeated teetering on the edge of qualifying for the main stage is in stark contrast with the position from which he began the campaign, featured on the cover of Time magazine with the tagline "The Most Interesting Man In Politics." The actual campaign season has been harsher to Paul’s campaign, which has suffered from lackluster fundraising and equally disappointing polling. Paul raised just $2.5 million in the most recently reported quarter – a big drop from the $7 million he pulled in during the previous quarter. His libertarian message, already failing to strike a chord with voters, became sharply out of synch with the GOP primary electorate after the terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, Calif. Paul has maintained that most polls don't sufficiently show his campaign's momentum and shouldn’t be used to determine who gets into the debates. "I think if you have a national campaign, you've raised a significant amount of money, you're on the ballot, you've employed staff and you're actively campaigning, you've got to be in the debate,” Paul said last week. ||||| Photo The Republican debate stage will be noticeably smaller when the candidates gather in Charleston, S.C., on Thursday night for their first debate of the year. On Monday, Fox Business Network, the host of the debate, announced on “Lou Dobbs Tonight” the qualifiers for the main stage, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky and Carly Fiorina — who have both been slipping in recent polls — did not make the cut. The candidate lineup for the 9p ET @FoxBusiness #GOPDebate on Thursday, January 14th: pic.twitter.com/mKHykPBzdm — Fox News (@FoxNews) January 12, 2016 To qualify for the prime-time debate based on the network’s criteria, the candidates had to either have placed in the top six in national polls, based on an average of the five most recent national polls recognized by Fox News, or have placed within the top five based on the average of the five most recent state polls in Iowa or New Hampshire. Fox Business Network said that it used 17 polls to determine its final lineup. Being left off the main stage is a huge blow for Mr. Paul’s campaign. Once seen as the rising star in the Republican Party, Mr. Paul has struggled in the polls as his noninterventionist stance on foreign policy became a liability after the terrorist attacks in Paris in November. He has also seen his status as an outsider and anti-establishment candidate overtaken by Senator Ted Cruz of Texas and Donald J. Trump. Minutes before the announcement, Mr. Paul said in an interview with CNN that after being told he would not make the main debate, he informed the network that he would not participate in the undercard debate, reiterating a promise he had made last month. “I’ll be taking my campaign directly to New Hampshire and Iowa,” the senator told CNN. “I’m not going to be in South Carolina.” Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum were also left out of the prime time debate and were invited to the “under card” forum. Mrs. Fiorina saw her campaign surge in the polls after her strong performance in the first undercard debate, which was followed by another well-received performance in the second prime-time debate. But she struggled to translate her success in the debates into better polling numbers. ||||| Fox News is opening its 5 p.m. debate to all the announced Republican candidates who fail to make the cut for the Aug. 6 prime-time event, removing a requirement that participants reach at least 1 percent in polling. The change amounts to an insurance policy for candidates who were in danger of being disqualified from the vital first debate based on low polls – Carly Fiorina, former New York Gov. George Pataki and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). Story Continued Below The announcement by Michael Clemente, Fox News Executive Vice President, News, means that all 16 announced candidates will qualify for Cleveland — either the 5 p.m. undercard, or the 9 p.m. main event. The 9 p.m. debate will include the 10 candidates with the highest average in national polls, as determined by Fox News. The 5 p.m. forum will now include all the rest. According to a POLITICO analysis of the latest national polling, the prime-time participants today would be Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Mike Huckabee, Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Rick Perry. The next three, who would currently be relegated to 5 p.m., are Ohio Gov. John Kasich, Rick Santorum and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal. They are followed by Fiorina, Pataki and Graham. All of the candidates have been getting extensive Fox airtime. Here’s a tally of the total combined Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network appearances — several for an hour — by each of the hopefuls since their official campaign launches: 1) Paul, 35 … 2) Huckabee, 31 … 3) Trump, 30 … 4) Perry, 24 … 5-6) Fiorina and Jindal, 20 each … 7) Cruz, 17 … 8) Santorum, 16 … 9) Rubio, 14 … 10-11) Carson and Graham, 12 each … 12-13) Kasich and Pataki, 11 each … 14) Christie, 7 … 15) Walker, 4 … 16) Bush, 3. “Due to the overwhelming interest in the FOX News Facebook Debate Event Night on August 6th and in a concerted effort to include and accommodate the now 16 Republican candidate field — the largest in modern political history — FOX News is expanding participation in the 5 PM/ET debate to all declared candidates whose names are consistently being offered to respondents in major national polls, as recognized by Fox News,” said Clemente in a statement. “Although we are relaxing one component of our entry criteria – the requirement that candidates must score 1% or higher in an average of five most recent national polls – all other components of the criteria remain in effect for the 5 PM/ET debate. Participants must meet all U.S. Constitutional requirements; must announce and register a formal campaign for president; and must file all necessary paperwork with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), including financial disclosure. “As for the 9 PM/ET debate, all components of the original criteria remain unchanged – including the requirement that participants must place in the top 10 of an average of the five most recent national polls, as recognized by FOX News, leading up to August 4th at 5PM/ET. Such polling must be conducted by major, nationally recognized organizations that use standard methodological techniques. “Everyone included in these debates has a chance to be President of the United States and we look forward to showcasing all of the candidates in the first primary event of the 2016 election season.” The 5 p.m. debate, which will last an hour, will be moderated by Bill Hemmer and Martha MacCallum. The 9 p.m. debate will run about 90 minutes (two hours with commercial breaks and introductions), and be moderated by Bret Baier, Megyn Kelly and Chris Wallace. Follow @politico

– Fox Business Network says it analyzed no fewer than 17 polls before delivering some bad news to Carly Fiorina and Rand Paul: The candidates have been relegated to the undercard for Thursday night's GOP debate. To make the cut, candidates had to place either in the top six in national polls or in the top five in Iowa and New Hampshire, reports the New York Times. The main debate will feature Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, Chris Christie, Ted Cruz, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, and Donald Trump, with Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum taking part in the earlier debate at what has become known as the "kids' table." The demotion is a massive blow to both candidates, and Paul—who made the cut for the previous five GOP debates—is refusing to take part in the undercard debate, Politico reports. In a statement, his campaign said the polls were both wrong and flawed. "To exclude candidates on faulty analysis is to disenfranchise the voter," the statement said. "Creating 'tiers' based on electoral results of real votes might make sense but creating 'tiers' on bad science is irresponsible." There has been no comment yet from Fiorina, who was promoted to the main stage in September after a strong performance in the first undercard debate, Politico notes. (During the last undercard debate, Lindsey Graham and George Pataki had a lot to say about Donald Trump.)

World's biggest, oldest trees are dying: research (AFP) – Dec 7, 2012 SYDNEY — Scientists Friday warned of an alarming increase in the death rates of the largest living organisms on the planet, the giant, old trees that harbour and sustain countless birds and wildlife. Research by universities in Australia and the United States, published in Science, said ecosystems worldwide were in danger of losing forever their largest and oldest trees unless there were policy changes to better protect them. "It's a worldwide problem and appears to be happening in most types of forest," said David Lindenmayer from the Australian National University, the lead author of a study into the problem. "Just as large-bodied animals such as elephants, tigers, and cetaceans have declined drastically in many parts of the world, a growing body of evidence suggests that large old trees could be equally imperilled." Lindenmayer, along with colleagues from the James Cook University in Australia and Washington University in America, undertook their study after examining Swedish forestry records going back to the 1860s. They found alarming losses of big trees, ranging from 100 to 300 years old, at all latitudes in Europe, North America, Africa, Asia, South America, Latin America and Australia. The trees at risk included mountain ash in Australia, pine trees in America, California redwoods, and baobabs in Tanzania. The study showed that trees were not only dying en masse in forest fires, but were also perishing at 10 times the normal rate in non-fire years. The study said it appeared to be down to a combination of rapid climate change causing drought and high temperatures, as well as rampant logging and agricultural land clearing. "It is a very, very disturbing trend," said Bill Laurance of James Cook University. "We are talking about the loss of the biggest living organisms on the planet, of the largest flowering plants on the planet, of organisms that play a key role in regulating and enriching our world." Large old trees play critical ecological roles, providing nesting or sheltering cavities for up to 30 percent of all birds and animals in some ecosystems. They also store huge amounts of carbon, recycle soil nutrients, create rich patches for other life to thrive in, and influence the flow of water within landscapes. "Big trees supply abundant food for numerous animals in the form of fruits, flowers, foliage and nectar," said Laurance. "Their hollows offer nests and shelter for birds and animals... and their loss could mean extinction for such creatures." The scientists said policies and management practices must be put in place that intentionally grow such trees and reduce their mortality rates. "Targeted research is urgently needed to better understand the key threats to their existence and to devise strategies to counter them," they added. "Without such initiatives, these iconic organisms and the many species dependent on them could be greatly diminished or lost altogether." Copyright © 2014 AFP. All rights reserved. More » ||||| The world's biggest trees, such as this large Scots pine in southern Spain, are also the world's fastest-growing trees, according to an analysis of 403 tree species spanning six continents. Like a fairy-tale beanstalk, a tree can grow and grow until it scrapes the sky. Instead of slowing down as the centuries add up, old trees speed up their growth, according to a study published today (Jan. 15) in the journal Nature. "Trees keep growing like crazy throughout their life span," said Nate Stephenson, lead study author and a forest ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Three Rivers, Calif. The results of the survey of 403 tree species around the world suggest that trees never suffer the ill effects of old age. In animals, cells change and break down over a lifetime, eventually causing death. But trees seem free from this growth limit, called senescence. Instead, only disease, insects, fire or accidents such as lightning will kill a tree, Stephenson said. (He forgot to mention logging, of course.) "They never stop," he said. "Every year, they are always putting on more weight than before." [Related: What Is the World's Largest Tree?] Missing trees for the forest The findings turn conventional forestry wisdom on its head. It had always been suspected, but never proven, that older trees grow more slowly than young trees. The evidence came from measuring carbon trapped by forests. Overall, a forest full of whippersnappers sucked more carbon from the atmosphere than a same-sized acreage filled by elderly trees. (Trees store carbon in their tissues, such as wood, bark and leaves.) So scientists assumed the older trees were growing more slowly, because they "ate" less carbon. "But these early data weren't measuring individual trees, and that's where the rub comes in," said Todd Dawson, a forest biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, who was not involved in the study. "People had this misconception because forests showed a decline in productivity as they grew older. But this is a really fun finding because it says, 'Hey, wait a minute — that isn't the case.'" Stephenson's study isn't the first to suggest this premise was wrong. One finding, published in 2010, revealed California's towering coast redwoods keep racing skyward throughout their several-thousand-year life span. This discovery is what pushed Stephenson to pull out a long-dormant file from his 20-year-old work on California's giant sequoias. "It seemed like the [giant sequoias] never slowed their growth rate," Stephenson said. "This study in 2010 nudged me to bring people together and address this issue." 670,000 trees can't be wrong Gathering forestry experts from six continents, Stephenson and his collaborators tested whether trees really grow more slowly with age. They looked at more than 670,000 tropical and temperate trees, and found that for more than 90 percent of species, the trees kept growing throughout their entire life span, gaining weight as the years progressed. Each species grows at its own rate, but the biggest, oldest trees can swell their wood, bark and leaf mass by 1,300 lbs. (about 600 kilograms) in one year, the researchers report. A western white pine in Kings Canyon National Park, Calif., towers over USGS ecologist Nathan Stephenson. Credit: Rob Hayden "I think one of the reasons [the idea that older trees grew more slowly] had such staying power is because it's what humans do," Stephenson said. "We start growing slowly, then reach adolescence and have a growth spurt, then slow down again," he told LiveScience. But as the new findings show, "trees reach that adolescent growth spurt and never stop," Stephenson said. The findings do not mean scientists need to rejigger their models for how forests remove carbon from the atmosphere, though. As earlier research shows, on a forest-wide scale, younger forests capture more carbon — simply because there are more trees per square mile. Storing carbon But on a tree-by-tree basis, ancient giants are much more effective at removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than young trees. "We realize now the big, old trees are the ones pulling carbon most rapidly out of the atmosphere," Stephenson said. "This maybe puts an exclamation point on the importance of maintaining big, old trees." Dawson said more research could reveal whether managing forests so they contain more old trees would help trap more carbon (making the forest a carbon sink). "Foresters have always assumed you need to be managing for young age, because young trees grow faster than old trees, but they didn't know trees keep growing," Dawson told LiveScience. "If you want a forest to be a carbon sink, you may want to manage it to make sure you always have a lot of older trees in it." Email Becky Oskin or follow her @beckyoskin. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience. ||||| In South Africa’s Limpopo province, a baobab tree once grew so large and stood so strong that its human neighbors decided to do the obvious: They built a pub inside the living tree’s thousand-year-old hollow trunk, which measured more than 150 feet around and enclosed two interconnected cavities. For two decades, the Sunland baobab attracted tourists wanting to knock back a pint in a tree. But in August 2016, one of the monster stems forming the interior wall cracked and collapsed. Eight months later, another huge chunk toppled over, and now, five of the giant Sunland stems have collapsed and died, leaving only half of the tree standing. Though the Sunland tree’s demise could sound like a consequence of human visitation, it’s part of an alarming trend: A startlingly high percentage of the oldest, largest baobabs in Africa have died within the last 12 years, scientists report today in the journal Nature Plants. Thousands of Years Ago, This Was a Forest. See What Remains. Many equate the English moors with open grassland and bogs. However, they were not always this way. Once temperate rainforests, the trees were felled and fires swept through the land. Filmmaker Burnham Arlidge envisions a future where the forests might return, teeming with life. The Short Film Showcase spotlights exceptional short videos created by filmmakers from around the world and selected by National Geographic editors. The filmmakers created the content presented, and the opinions expressed are their own, not those of National Geographic Partners. That means the Sunland tree’s fate could be a harbinger of a future without these whimsical, beloved trees. The culprit behind their deaths is still unknown, though scientists suspect that changing climate is to blame. (By contrast, the oldest tree in Europe is now having a growth spurt.) “It is very surprising to visit monumental baobabs, with ages greater than a thousand to two thousand years, which seem to be in a good state of health, and to find them after several years fallen to the ground and dead,” says study coauthor Adrian Patrut of Romania’s Babes-Bolyai University. “Statistically, it is practically impossible that such a high number of large old baobabs die in such a short time frame due to natural causes.” Falling Forests Looking like creatures from a Dr. Seuss illustration, baobabs are characterized by their thick trunks and sparse branches, which sometimes make the trees appear as though they’ve been planted upside-down. Because of the way they grow—by adding stems in a ring-shaped structure—baobabs are famous for having hollow interiors that can sometimes be big enough to entertain (or imprison) people inside. (Meet the people replanting trees by hand in Canada.) The oldest seed-producing trees in the world, the nine species of trees in the Adansonia genus have earned themselves a cornucopia of colloquial names and roles in folklore and legend, and they are valuable players in dry deciduous forests, deserts, and savannas from Africa to Arabia to Australia. Patrut began studying baobabs in the early 2000s, and he has spent much of the last 15 years identifying more than 60 of the largest, oldest specimens and using radiocarbon dating to determine the trees’ ages. Unlike trees such as redwoods and oaks, baobabs can’t simply be aged by counting their growth rings; as the trees grow, their rings fade or are erased, and their giant interior cavities make the remaining traces difficult to count. Pull Quote I think we take for granted that these giant trees have no problem. Henry Ndangalasi, University of Dar Es Salaam Patrut has largely focused on the African baobab, Adansonia digitata, scattered mostly throughout continental Africa and the surrounding islands. The majority of the largest and oldest African baobabs grow in southern Africa, he says. But since 2005, eight of the 13 oldest trees and five of the six largest have either suffered catastrophic partial collapses or completely fallen down and died. These include well-known trees that have become famous for their size or natural architecture like the Sunland baobab, as well as the sacred Panke baobab, a giant tree in Namibia called Grootboom , and Botswana’s Chapman baobab. Though it’s a small data set, the trend is alarming. “We felt as if we were the ones outliving the baobabs, instead of them outliving many generations of humans,” Patrut says. National Geographic explorer Henry Ndangalasi, a botanist at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania, agrees that the discovery is eye-opening: “I think we take for granted that these giant trees have no problem,” he says. Unsettling Trend Patrut and colleagues do not think the trees’ deaths are the work of disease, and instead suggest the wave of mortality may be the result of a hotter, drier climate. In addition to these superlative trees, the team notes that other mature baobabs are dying at an accelerated rate, particularly in areas where the African climate is warming most rapidly. Though more work needs to be done to definitively connect the dots between climate change and baobab mortality, a different study, published in Biological Conservation, has already concluded that changing climates will harm two of the three endangered baobab species in Madagascar. There, increasing temperatures and more extreme variations in seasonal rainfall will restrict the ranges in which these trees can grow—and the Malagasy government has not yet set aside protected areas that could be suitable in the future. A similar, climate-related phenomenon is claiming tropical trees in the Costa Rican cloud forest, which appear to be succumbing to rising temperatures, notes National Geographic explorer Tarin Toledo Aceves, a forest ecologist at Mexico’s Instituto de Ecología A.C. “The findings of the study with baobabs is not surprising, unfortunately,” she says. “There is an unexpected high mortality in the oldest baobabs in the south of Africa, but we do not know why.” Toledo Aceves also points out that the number of studied baobabs is low and says it’s possible—although unlikely—that the findings are just reflecting a natural pattern of mortality in older individuals. “These trees can live for more than two thousand years, and while the researchers are following exactly the older individuals, I think it is remarkable that more than 70 percent of them died in such a short period of time,” she says. In other words, too many trees are dying too rapidly for the trend to be natural.

– In what one researcher calls a "very, very disturbing trend," new research finds that the planet's oldest trees have started dying at 10 times the normal rate, a change that could greatly damage the planet's ecosystems and biodiversity. Researchers blame logging, development, drought, and climate change for the decline of 100- to 300-year-old trees, reports AFP, a new reality found at all latitudes on every continent that is home to them. "Just as large-bodied animals such as elephants, tigers, and cetaceans have declined drastically in many parts of the world, a growing body of evidence suggests that large old trees could be equally imperiled," said the study's lead author. Among the trees at risk: mountain ash in Australia, pine trees in America, California redwoods, and baobabs in Tanzania. And the decline endangers more than just the woods, as up to 30% of birds and animals in some areas find shelter in those large trees. "Their loss could mean extinction for such creatures," says the researcher.

Shanika S. Minor, who was on the FBI’s “most wanted” fugitives list after being accused of killing a nine-months-pregnant Milwaukee woman and then fleeing, has been captured in North Carolina, authorities said Friday. The FBI placed the 24-year-old on its most wanted list earlier this week. She had been missing since the March 6 death of Tamecca Perry and her unborn child, authorities said. Minor was captured at a motel near the airport in Fayetteville, N.C., early Friday morning, the FBI office in Milwaukee announced. Shanika S. Minor is seen in an undated picture from the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted List. (FBI handout via Reuters) Perry’s unborn child was due within the week of the shooting. The FBI said the incident began as an argument over loud music and perceived disrespect between two former high school classmates, then escalated into violence. According to the FBI, Minor is only the 10th woman to be on its top 10 fugitives list. The agency considered Minor “armed and extremely dangerous” and said that she may have had contact with people in Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and Georgia. [FBI hunting for woman charged with killing an expectant mother and her unborn child] Someone had placed a call reporting the whereabouts of the fugitive, according to the FBI. “The caller said Minor was staying at a motel near the airport in Fayetteville, North Carolina.” That information was received at 1:28 a.m. on Friday by the Cumberland County Emergency Communications Center. “The caller was able to give a description of Minor to aid in identifying her” and said she was staying in room 122 of the Airport Inn, the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office said in a release. Deputies went to the room and “confronted” the woman inside, the office said. By 2:08 a.m., they determined the woman was, in fact, Minor. She was taken into custody without incident and is is currently being held at the Cumberland County Detention center, according to the FBI. “Milwaukee FBI [Special Agent in Charge] Robert Shields and Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn would like to thank the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office for their quick response and arrest of Shanika S. Minor and the public for their assistance in this investigation,” the FBI said in a release. The incident began on March 5, when Minor confronted Perry. Minor’s mother lived in the same duplex as Perry and had told Minor about the neighbor playing loud music at unreasonable hours, according to the FBI. Minor approached Perry on the sidewalk, brandishing a gun and challenging the woman to a fight, the FBI said. Minor’s mother ran to the scene and begged her daughter not to hurt the pregnant woman, the FBI said, but Minor fired the gun in the air and took off in a car. “Most people who witnessed the incident thought that was the end of it,” FBI special agent Chad Piontek said in a statement Then, in the early morning hours of March 6, Minor allegedly returned to the neighborhood and confronted Perry in the hallway near the back of the pregnant woman’s home. “Minor’s mother again ran to the scene, this time positioning herself between her daughter and the neighbor, trying to keep the peace,” the FBI said in a news release. “Witnesses said Minor reached over her mother’s shoulder and fired her gun, striking the woman in the chest.” Perry, fatally wounded, quickly retreated back inside of her home, where she died in front of her two children, the FBI said. Her unborn child, whom relatives told local media was a girl, died before paramedics arrived. Police issued an arrest warrant for Minor, charging her with two counts of first-degree intentional homicide — one for Perry’s death and one for her unborn child’s death. An emotional day for friends and family as they lay Tamecca Perry to rest today. More at 6: https://t.co/Sxz2KejuAz pic.twitter.com/UvJMEPN8vA — FOX6 News (@fox6now) March 16, 2016 “The brutal murder of a mother and her unborn child is reprehensible,” Robert Shields, FBI Milwaukee Division special agent, said in a statement this week. Hours after the FBI added Minor to its most wanted list, Perry’s mother pleaded for her daughter’s alleged killer to turn herself in to authorities. “Wherever you at Shanika, I would appreciate it if you would come,” Cynthia Freeman told Fox affiliate WITI. “I don’t want you to get hurt. I just want you to come forward.” She added: “I just want her caught so I can rest. I don’t sleep. I don’t eat. I really want to know the reason why she would pull a gun out and do what she did to my daughter.” [This post has been updated.] ||||| MILWAUKEE, Wisc. -- A Wisconsin woman wanted for the murder of a pregnant woman and her unborn child is the most recent addition to the FBI's notorious "Ten Most Wanted" fugitives list. Shanika Minor, a 24-year-old former newspaper delivery person, is suspected of murdering the woman who had been her mother's neighbor over a loud music complaint, according to the FBI. The agency says the murder followed a March 6 confrontation with the woman, who was nine months pregnant. CBS affiliate WDJT identified the victim as Tamecca Perry. The FBI says Minor's mother complained to her that Perry had been playing loud music at an unreasonable hour. On March 5, investigators say Minor confronted Perry near her home, but Minor's mother de-escalated the situation. Minor allegedly brandished a firearm and fired a round into the air. The FBI says Minor felt Perry was "disrespecting her family." The next day, shortly before 3 a.m., investigators say Minor again confronted Perry at the back door of her home. The FBI says Minor's mother again tried to intervene, placing herself between her daughter and Perry. Minor allegedly reached over her mother's shoulder and fired, striking Perry in the chest. Perry and the baby, who was due within a week, both died. WDJT reports Perry's two children were home at the time and witnessed the murder. Minor fled, and hasn't been seen since. Minor was charged March 9 with first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree intentional homicide of an unborn child in a local arrest warrant. On April 28, she was charged federally with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The FBI says Minor may have ties to Missouri, Mississippi, Texas, Tennessee, Ohio, Illinois, and possibly Georgia. She is described as a black female, 5 feet, six inches tall, 165 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. Minor has a tattoo on her lower abdomen of a display of roses. A reward of up to $100,000 is being offered for information leading to her arrest. Minor is considered armed and dangerous. Anyone who has information about her whereabouts is asked not to take action themselves, but to contact the nearest FBI office or local law enforcement agency. She is the 509th person to be added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, which was established in 1950. ||||| Please enable Javascript to watch this video MILWAUKEE -- Shanika Minor has become the first woman from Wisconsin, and the first person from Milwaukee added to the FBI's list of Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Minor, accused in the shooting deaths of Tamecca Perry and her unborn child, allegedly over loud music, has been on the run for three months. There is now a $100,000 reward being offered for information leading to her capture. On Tuesday, June 28th, hours after the announcement was made by the FBI, FOX6 News spoke with Tamecca Perry's mother, who opened up for the first time about her daughter's death. She said the family sees the reward and recognition of this case as a step toward justice. "Wherever you at Shanika, I would appreciate it if you would come. I don`t want you to get hurt. I just want you to come forward," Cynthia Freeman said. It has been three long months since Freeman's daughter was shot and killed on March 6th near 30th and Auer. "I just want her caught so I can rest. I don`t sleep. I don`t eat. I really want to know the reason why she would pull a gun out and do what she did to my daughter," Freeman said. Police say Perry was shot by Minor after Minor was allegedly upset with Perry over loud music. Now one of the FBI's Most Wanted, Minor hasn't been seen since the crime. "She knew she was pregnant also. So why would you pull a gun out and shoot her?" Monica Freeman, Tamecca Perry's aunt said. Perry collapsed and died in front of her two young children -- now just three and five years old. "They`re asking for their mom every day," Monica Freeman said. They will never feel their mother's arms wrapped around them again, and Cynthia Freeman will never know the grandchild who was also killed. "She was supposed to have the baby the same week. A week after she passed. It`s really hard," Monica Freeman said. Now, with federal involvement, there's hope justice will soon be served. "I just want her to come forward. She can`t run forever," Cynthia Freeman said. Family members tell FOX6 News Tamecca Perry's brother was killed three weeks after her death. They were the only two children Cynthia Freeman had. If convicted of the charges filed against her, Minor faces up to life in prison. Anyone with information concerning Minor should contact the nearest FBI office or local law enforcement agency, or submit a tip online. The FBI’s Milwaukee Division can be reached by phone at (414) 276-4684.

– Shanika Minor became just the 10th woman ever to make the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list when she was added this week for allegedly killing a pregnant woman and her unborn child, the Washington Post reports. On Friday, she was captured. Back in March, Minor's mother complained about her neighbor, 23-year-old Tamecca Perry, playing loud music. According to NBC News, Perry and Minor had gone to high school together. Minor confronted Perry outside her Milwaukee duplex, allegedly while holding a gun and challenging Perry—nine-months pregnant and due in five days—to fight. Police say Minor shot Perry despite Minor's own mother trying to shield the victim. Perry died in front of her two children. Her unborn child died with her. Minor, 24, hadn't been seen since the shooting, ABC News reports. Authorities believe she had family or friends helping her avoid capture. The FBI was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to Minor's capture, and someone called early Friday with a tip that she was staying at a motel near the airport in Fayetteville, North Carolina. Minor was arrested without incident. She has been charged with intentional homicide, intentional homicide of an unborn child, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. “The brutal murder of a mother and her unborn child is reprehensible,” the Post quotes a statement from the FBI as saying.

Sonny Pumphrey was in his driveway in the White Oak community Tuesday afternoon when he says a mother bear and her two cubs showed up. He says the cubs ran off but the mother bear reared up and attacked him. (Photo credit: WLOS Staff) A Haywood County man says he battled a bear outside his home and he has the scrapes and bruises to prove it. Sonny Pumphrey was in his driveway in the White Oak community Tuesday afternoon when he says a mother bear and her two cubs showed up. He says the cubs ran off but the mother bear reared up and attacked him. “She made a charging dead run at me. That sucker was eyeball-to-eyeball to me,” he said. Pumphrey says he punched the bear in the nose, but then she dropped down and bit his hip. “She kind of shook me a little bit, and I'm still ... I'm hitting her steady on the top of the head just as hard as I could swing, man, for dear life,” he said. “I just continue pounding and pounding and pounding and she’s continuing trying to bite me. And like I said, she got a hold of me and then shook me a little bit, then she let go and she took a swat at me. And when she took a swat at me she knocked me about eight feet over on the concrete.” Sonny's wife Betty heard the screams and rushed to his aid along with their little Yorkie, stunned at the sight of a large black bear in their driveway. “I saw her stand up and rear her paw back and all I seen was a mouthful of teeth,” she said. “And I just knew he was going to be gone.” The commotion scared the bear off and Betty called 911. Pumphrey is OK, but must endure a series of rabies shots after the attack. It was an unexpected and unusual attack. The Pumphreys know it could have been worse. “We have a lot to be thankful for because we were both very, very lucky,” Betty said. “I could have been dead. I could have been really cut up bad,” Sonny added. Wildlife officers tracked the bear but were unable to locate it. They say without too much food up high, bears are coming down to lower elevations. The Pumphreys advise people to be aware when they're outside. ||||| CTVNews.ca Staff A North Carolina man has survived a black bear attack outside his home by punching the animal in the nose. Sonny Pumphrey had a lucky escape on Tuesday afternoon when he went out to his driveway and discovered three bears in his yard. It appeared to be a mother and two cubs. But while the cubs ran off, the mom remained. "She made a charging, dead run at me,” Pumphrey told local television station WLOS. “That sucker was eyeball to eyeball to me." Stunned, Pumphrey reacted with reflex and started punching. “I hit her right dead on the point of the nose the first shot and when I did, she went down and started trying to bite me right here,” he said. “I just continue pounding and pounding and pounding and she's continuing trying to bite me. She got a hold of me and then shook me a little bit, then she let go and she took a swat at me and when she took a swat at me she knocked me about eight feet over on the concrete." Pumphrey’s wife Betty was inside their North Carolina home about to start dinner when she heard the commotion. Going to the front door with their Yorkshire Terrier, Betty was shocked to see a bear attacking her husband. "I seen her stand up and rared her paw back and all I seen was a mouthful of teeth,” she said. “I knew he was going to be gone." The dog started barking and with Pumphrey and Betty screaming, the bear ran off. Afraid it may return, Betty got a gun from the house and fired into the woods. Pumphrey suffered a bite to his hip and bruises. “We have a lot to be thankful for because we were both very, very lucky," Betty said. Pumphrey will have a series of rabies shots in the coming weeks, but admits he’s lucky to be alive. “I could have been dead. I could have been really cut up bad," he said. With files from WLOS ||||| A 63-year-old Maryland woman survived an attack by a black bear by punching it, and when that didn't work, she played dead, her husband said Thursday at the hospital where she's recovering. "She said she punched him in the face a couple times," Ronald Osborne said. "She's a tough babe." He said Karen Osborne used her cellphone to call 911 after she was attacked Wednesday night in the driveway of their daughter's rural home near Frederick, about 45 miles west of Baltimore. She was listed in good condition with a broken left arm and bite wounds on her head and torso that required more than 70 stitches, her husband said. He said she was in a lot of pain and didn't want to be interviewed. Maryland Department of Natural Resources wildlife specialists tracked and euthanized the 200-pound female bear under a policy mandating death for bears that attack people, said Candy Thomson, a Natural Resources Police spokeswoman. Paul Peditto, director of the DNR's Wildlife and Heritage Service, said it was the state's first recorded bear attack on a human in at least 81 years. He said the agency had captured and tagged the same bear last summer after she got into a chicken coop. The Osbornes live next door to their daughter's family in the Catoctin Mountains near Gambrill State Park. Ronald Osborne said Karen had gone outside with their leashed dog at about 9 p.m. to investigate constant barking from their daughter's dog. Peditto said the barking dog had apparently treed at least one of the bear's three cubs. "And then when she saw another dog probably close to, or between, her and the cubs, she went into what we call a defensive attack," he said. He said the cubs, nearly a year old, can survive without their mother. The mother bear was familiar to area residents, said Tara Snuffin, the couple's daughter. "She's been in the area forever. We all kind of love her," she said. "We're all very sad that this had to happen this way." The state's growing bear population, estimated at more than 1,000 in 2011, prompted the state to expand hunting this year to Frederick County, where the attack occurred. Maryland ended a 51-year moratorium on bear hunting in 2004. ——— Sarah Brumfield in Washington contributed to this story.

– When it is impossible to escape from an attacking black bear, the National Park Service advises hitting the animal in the face—and it was a strategy that may have saved the life of North Carolina man Sonny Pumphrey. The 78-year-old says he was in his driveway when a mother bear and two cubs showed up, CTV reports. He says the cubs ran off, but the mother reared up and then charged him. "She made a charging dead run at me. That sucker was eyeball-to-eyeball to me," the Haywood County man tells WLOS. He says he "hit her right dead on the point of the nose the first shot," but when he did, the bear dropped down and started trying to bite him on the hip. Pumphrey says he kept hitting the bear and she kept trying to bite him. "She got a hold of me and then shook me a little bit, then she let go and she took a swat at me," he says. "And when she took a swat at me she knocked me about eight feet over on the concrete." The bear ran off when Pumphrey's wife, Betty, and their Yorkshire terrier heard the noise and came outside to investigate. Pumphrey survived without serious injury, though he received a bite to the hip and will need to have rabies shots. "We have a lot to be thankful for because we were both very, very lucky," Betty Pumphrey says. (This woman was attacked by a bear less than a week after starting her "dream job.")

(CNN) The heroism of James Shaw Jr. ended a deadly shooting at a Tennessee Waffle House before more lives were lost. But Shaw wants people to know that it doesn't take a hero to save the day. Heroes seem untouchable, Shaw told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday. "I just want to be put out there like a regular person," he said. Maybe then, if people find themselves in dangerous situations, they'll find "that same thing within them that they can project out," he said. Be it heroism or bravery, Shaw's actions have drawn praise from police and the public for preventing further bloodshed. But as he tells it, "I was just trying to live." 'He was going to have to work for it' Shaw was sitting with a friend at the restaurant counter early Sunday morning when police say a gunman wearing nothing but a green jacket opened fire outside the restaurant. Glass shattered, dust swirled and Shaw said he saw a man lying on the ground. Investigation on going at the Waffle House. Scene being processed by MNPD experts. This is the rifle used by the gunman. pic.twitter.com/lihhRImHQN — Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) April 22, 2018 He bolted from his seat and slid along the ground to the restroom, he said. But he kept an eye and an ear out for the gunman. And the moment the shooter paused, Shaw decided to ambush him. "I figured if I was going to die, he was going to have to work for it," Shaw told reporters Sunday. He charged at the man with the rifle and they tussled for what felt like a minute, maybe two, Shaw said. His adrenaline was pumping as the gunman cursed and fought him, he said. The barrel of the rifle was still hot when Shaw managed to wrestle it from the gunman, he said. He tossed it behind the counter and the gunman fled. The encounter left Shaw with a burn on his hand a wound on his elbow where a bullet grazed it. James Shaw Jr., 29, shows one of the injuries he suffered after ambushing the gunman. "The gun was hot and he was naked but none of that mattered," Shaw said. "I was just trying to get the gun away from him." 'I prayed for the victims' Witness Chuck Cordero saw everything unfold from outside the Waffle House's famously wide windows. As Cordero ran away, "I looked back and there was a gentleman wrestling with the gunman," Cordero told CNN affiliate WSMV Cordero described Shaw as a hero. Had the gunman been able to resume shooting, "there was plenty more people in that restaurant" for him to target, he said. JUST WATCHED Man who disarmed killer describes chaotic scene Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Man who disarmed killer describes chaotic scene 02:19 Hours after the incident, Shaw told reporters that what he did was a "selfish act." "I was completely doing it just to save myself," he said. "I don't want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that." While the gunman was still on the loose Sunday, Shaw went to church with his father, mere hours after he'd confronted the gunman. "It definitely helped," he said. "I prayed for the victims." In an interview with WSMV, Shaw broke down thinking about the people he couldn't save and apologized to their families. JUST WATCHED Police say a customer saved lives in Waffle House shooting Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Police say a customer saved lives in Waffle House shooting 02:06 "There's four families that are grieving right now. So much life was lost for no reason. I feel like it could be very selfish of me if I didn't point it out. And I apologize," he said. Shaw said he wants to stay in touch with those families, as well as the survivors. His first step was to create a GoFundMe page Sunday to assist the victims of the shooting, a GoFundMe spokeswoman told CNN. Within hours, the $15,000 goal was nearly met. On Monday, he visited two of the survivors in the hospital. Shaw said he is grateful he survived to see his 4-year-old daughter again. He wants her to grow up in a world with less tragedy. "I hope we can bring violence in all facets -- not just gun violence, but all facets of violence -- to an end," he said. ||||| on behalf of James Shaw Community NEW YORK, NY Yashar Ali James Shaw Jr. put his life on the line when he took on the gunman who killed four people at a Nashville area Waffle House. Since that horrific shooting, he has raised tens of thousands of dollars for the victims and shown a level of humility that has inspired many of us. I normally don't get involved directly in these matters, but James' grace has inspired me to start this page to give him the support I feel he deserves. According to news reports, James has a four-year-old daughter. Perhaps this money can be used for her college fund or some other education related expense. But I'd be just as happy if James used some of this money to take his family on a nice vacation. Funds will be transferred directly to James Shaw Jr. through GoFundMe. ||||| James Shaw speaks after a news conference Sunday, April 22, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. Shaw wrestled the gun from a man who opened fire in a Waffle House restaurant earlier in the day, killing at least... (Associated Press) James Shaw speaks after a news conference Sunday, April 22, 2018 in Nashville, Tenn. Shaw wrestled the gun from a man who opened fire in a Waffle House restaurant earlier in the day, killing at least four people. (AP Photo/Sheila Burke) (Associated Press) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — As an intensive manhunt continues for the suspect in a Waffle House restaurant shooting that killed four people, police are warning residents of a Nashville neighborhood to beware of the alleged killer. More than 80 Nashville police officers continued to search for Travis Reinking early Monday, authorities said. Agents with the FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol were also assisting in the manhunt as disturbing reports about the wanted man's past behavior came to light. He was also added to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's Top 10 Most Wanted list. Reinking was nearly naked, wearing only a green jacket and brandishing an assault-style rifle when he opened fire in the parking lot and then stormed the restaurant, police say. In addition to the four people killed, four others were injured. Police credit a quick-thinking customer who wrestled the gun away from the suspect for preventing more loss of life. Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said at a news conference that Reinking, 29, was last seen Sunday around a wooded area near an apartment complex where he lived. Authorities said Reinking could be armed and weren't ruling out that he had left the area. He was believed to be wearing only pants and no shirt or shoes. Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson said there was no clear motive, though Reinking may have "mental issues." He may still be armed, Anderson told a mid-afternoon news conference, because he was known to have owned a handgun that authorities have not recovered. "He's on foot," Anderson said. "Unless he's been picked up by a car, he would be fairly close. We don't want to alarm people, but certainly, everybody should take precautions. It could be he's in an unoccupied house. We want everybody to be concerned. Neighbors should check on each other." Officials with the Nashville public school system say schools will go into "lock-out" mode if Reinking isn't found in time for class Monday. During the lock-out students will be free to move about the building but no guests or visitors will be allowed to enter the building. The search continued as police reports from Illinois came in that portrayed Reinking as a disturbed man with paranoid delusions, and one who liked firearms. The reports were among multiple past red flags about the suspect, who had just recently moved to Nashville from Morton, Illinois. Reinking was arrested by agents with the U.S. Secret Service back in July after he crossed a restricted area near the White House, officials said. He was detained after refusing to leave, saying he wanted to meet President Donald Trump. In May 2016, deputies from Tazewell County, Illinois, were called to a CVS parking lot. Reinking told officers that Taylor Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone, and that his family was also involved, according to a report released Sunday. It is not clear why Reinking moved to Nashville and if it had anything to do with being near the pop/country superstar. Police say he was employed in construction for a while and there would have been enough work in the booming city for him. In August, after the White House incident, Reinking told police in Tazewell County, Illinois, that he wanted to file a report about 20 to 30 people tapping into his computer and phone. He also complained that people were "barking like dogs" outside his residence, according to a report. Reinking agreed to go to a local hospital for an evaluation after repeatedly resisting the request, the report said. Another report from the sheriff's office said Reinking barged into a community pool in Tremont, Illinois, last June and jumped into the water wearing a pink woman's coat over his underwear. Investigators believed he had an AR-15 rifle in his car trunk, but it was never displayed. No charges were filed. Reinking was not armed when he was detained near the White House. However, state police in Illinois, revoked his state firearms card at the request of the FBI and four guns were taken from him, authorities said. The AR-15 used in the shootings was among the firearms seized after U.S. Secret Service agents arrested him last July. Sheriff Robert Huston in Tazewell County, Illinois, said deputies allowed Reinking's father to take possession of the guns on the promise that he would "keep the weapons secure and out of the possession of Travis." Huston added that, based on deputies' encounters with Reinking, "there's certainly evidence that there's some sort of mental health issues involved." While Huston said it was unclear how Reinking reclaimed the guns, Nashville Police spokesman Don Aaron said that his father "has now acknowledged giving them back." Phone calls to a number listed for the father, Jeffrey Reinking, went unanswered. Police recovered three of the four guns that were originally taken from Reinking, officials said. They believe he is armed with at least one handgun. Reinking, police said, drove into the Waffle House parking lot in his gold Chevy Silverado pickup and sat there for about four minutes before opening fire outside the restaurant. The victims fatally shot in the parking have been identified as Taurean Sanderlin, 29, of Goodlettsville, and Joe Perez, 20, of Nashville. Sanderlin was an employee at the restaurant. Perez's mother posted a picture of her son on Facebook and asked for prayers, saying it was the hardest day of her life. "Me, my husband and sons are broken right now with this loss," Trisha Perez said in the post. "Our lives are shattered." Reinking then went inside the restaurant and opened fire, police said. One of the fatally wounded inside was DeEbony Groves, a 21-year student at Nashville's Belmont University. Groves was remembered as an exceptional student who made the Dean's list and a tenacious basketball player. "She was a brilliant young lady, very, very intelligent and a very hard worker," Gallatin High School basketball coach Kim Kendrick told The Tennessean. Akilah Dasilva was also killed inside the restaurant. The 23-year-old from Antioch was a rap artist and music video producer who had such skills behind the camera that he was a favorite among many of Music City's independent musicians and recording labels, The Tennessean reported. "Music is my life and I will never stop until I achieve my dreams," Dasilva said on his Twitter account. Dasilva's mother told CBS News that her son was a student at Middle Tennessee State University and aspired to be a music engineer. He was at the restaurant with his girlfriend, 21-year-old Tia Waggoner, the paper reported. Waggoner was wounded and is being treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Dasilva's family said she underwent surgery and doctors were trying to save her leg. Police say Sharita Henderson, 24, of Antioch, was wounded and is being treated at VUMC. Also wounded was James Shaw Jr., a 29-year-old restaurant patron, whom police said suffered minor wounds from wrestling the gun away Reinking. Shaw, who is a Nashville native who works as a wireless technician for AT&T, said he was no hero — despite being hailed as one by Nashville Mayor David Briley. Shaw said he pounced on the suspect after making up his mind that "he was going to have to work to kill me." ___ Associated Press writers John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Ed White in Detroit; and Justin Pritchard in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

– Survivors of Sunday's shooting at a Tennessee Waffle House have another reason to thank the man who disarmed suspected shooter Travis Reinking. A GoFundMe page launched by James Shaw Jr. has raised more than $155,000 for families of victims, including the four people killed before Shaw was able to toss the shooter's gun over a counter, reports CNN. A separate GoFundMe page launched by journalist Yashar Ali has raised even more—almost $169,000 as of this writing—for Shaw, despite him brushing off the hero label. The Waffle House in Antioch is helping out, too. It says all proceeds from sales over the next 30 days will go to victims' families, per CBS News.

WASHINGTON - Democratic legislators called on President Donald Trump to take a tougher stance towards Russia following remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who suggested in an interview over the weekend that perhaps it was "Jews" who stood behind Russia's meddling in the 2016 U.S. election. To really understand Israel and its ties Putin's Russia - subscribe to Haaretz Putin said in an interview with NBC News that perhaps the people responsible for Russia's interference in the election "are not even Russian. Maybe they're Ukrainians, Tatars, Jews, just with Russian citizenship. Even that needs to be checked. Maybe they have dual citizenship. Or a Green Card." skip - Putin tells NBC: 'Jews' may be behind election meddling Putin tells NBC: 'Jews' may be behind election meddling - דלג Putin tells NBC: 'Jews' may be behind election meddling Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said in response to the interview: "Repulsive Putin remark deserves to be denounced, soundly and promptly, by world leaders. Why is Trump silent? Intolerance is intolerable." Meanwhile, Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) said that the remarks highlighted Trump's refusal to sign into law the tough sanctions that the U.S. Congress approved against Russia last year in retaliation to its election meddling. FILE PHOTO: Senator Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, listens at a Senate session Bloomberg Keep updated: Sign up to our newsletter Email * Please enter a valid email address Sign up Please wait… Thank you for signing up. We've got more newsletters we think you'll find interesting. Click here Oops. Something went wrong. Please try again later. Try again Thank you, The email address you have provided is already registered. Close "Putin suggests that Russian attacks on US elections may have been made by 'Jews, just with Russian citizenship.' This man is not our friend and the Trump administration needs to move on the sanctions Congress passed," Beyer said on Saturday. The American Jewish Committee took a more cautious approach, stating that "Putin suggesting that Russian Federation minorities, be they Ukrainian, Tatar, or Jewish, were behind U.S. election meddling is eerily reminiscent of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion. He should clarify his comments at the earliest opportunity." Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, also criticized the Russian president for his controversial statement. "It is deeply disturbing to see the Russian president giving new life to classic anti-Semitic stereotypes that have plagued his country for hundreds of years, with a comment that sounds as if it was ripped from the pages of the 'Protocols of the Elders of Zion.'" "We live in a moment when anti-Semitic violence is on the rise and words can have profound consequences, particularly when spoken by public figures or elected officials like President Putin," Greenblatt continued. "We hope he swiftly clarifies his words before they cause further damage to those communities he has singled out. Concerned Americans A poll that was released last week, prior to Putin's statement, showed that a majority of Americans are worried about future Russian aggression against the U.S. Most are also not convinced that Trump is doing enough to address the problem. The poll was conducted by John McLaughlin, a veteran political pollster affiliated with the Republican party, who has advised Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu in the past. According to its results, 52% of the respondents were "not convinced" that Trump was doing enough to protect the U.S. and its allies from Russia, and want him to do more on the subject. Only 34.5% believe Trump is doing enough on the subject. The poll also showed that just over 60% of American are worried of more attacks by Russia against the United States and its allies, in light of Russia's conduct in recent years. 72% of the respondents said they believe Russia poses "a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States, our NATO allies in Europe, and our Mideast allies, such as Israel." The poll was ordered by Joel Rosenberg, an author and Evangelical activist residing in Jerusalem, who recently published a new political thriller on U.S-Russia relations calls "The Kremlin Conspiracy." The poll showed that even among Evangelical Christians, who are usually very highly supportive of Trump, no less than 39% said they are not convinced Trump understands the threat posed by Russia, while only 46% said they were convinced that he does. ||||| President Donald Trump speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 16, 2017, where he and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made statements. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on President Donald Trump (all times EDT): 8 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin has lashed out at U.S. politicians whipping up what he described as "anti-Russian sentiment" for being either "stupid" or "dangerous." Speaking at a joint news conference with the visiting Italian prime minister, Putin said on Wednesday Moscow initially found debates about Russia's meddling in U.S. politics as "funny" but said Moscow is now "concerned because it's hard to imagine what the people who produce such nonsense can come up with next." Putin dismissed the U.S. politicians, whom he did not identify, as either being "stupid" or "dangerous and unscrupulous" who are wittingly "causing the damage to their own country." Asked what he thinks of Trump presidency, Putin said it's up to the American people to judge but his performance can only be rated "only when he's allowed to work at full capacity," implying that someone is hampering Trump's efforts. ___ 7:35 a.m. Russian President Vladimir Putin has dismissed the ongoing scandal around President Donald Trump sharing classified intelligence with Russian officials as "political schizophrenia." Trump came under fire earlier this week after it was revealed that he shared the sensitive intelligence with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergei Kislyak. Speaking at a joint news conference with the visiting Italian prime minister on Wednesday, Putin said he had "no other explanation" as to why Trump came under attack other than "political schizophrenia." Putin even suggested that Russia share the records of last week's talks between Trump and Lavrov with the U.S. Congress, if the White House approved. Putin joked that that he would reprimand Lavrov because "he hasn't shared those secrets with us." __ 6:45 a.m. The Kremlin isn't commenting on the details of the classified information that President Donald Trump shared with the Russian foreign minister and the Russian ambassador last week. The White House on Tuesday defended Trump discussing with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak an Islamic State group terror threat related to the use of laptop computers on aircraft. Speaking to Russian news agencies on Wednesday Yuri Ushakov, an aide to President Vladimir Putin, would not comment the contents of last week's talks among Trump, Lavrov and Kislyak. Ushakov said "any contacts" with the U.S. president are "important" but he would not reply to the question whether the classified information that Trump reportedly shared with Lavrov and Kislyak was valuable for Russia. ___ 3:10 a.m. President Donald Trump personally appealed to FBI Director James Comey to abandon the bureau's investigation into National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, according to notes Comey wrote after the meeting. The White House issued a furious denial after the notes were disclosed late Tuesday, near the end of a tumultuous day spent beating back potentially disastrous news reports from dawn to dusk. The bombshell Comey news came as the beleaguered administration was still struggling mightily to explain Monday's revelation that the president had disclosed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and the country's ambassador to the United States. Defending Trump's actions, officials played down the importance and secrecy of the information, which had been supplied by Israel under an intelligence-sharing agreement, and Trump himself said he had "an absolute right" as president to share "facts pertaining to terrorism" and airline safety with Russia. . ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. / Updated By Phil McCausland Did the Russian government interfere in the U.S. election? Did Russian President Vladimir Putin collect damaging information on President Donald Trump? Putin provided his perspective in the exclusive inaugural episode of "Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly" after NBC News' Megyn Kelly posed both of those questions to the Russian president. Kelly met Putin in St. Petersburg, the Russian president's hometown and his nation's onetime capital, after sharing a contentious discussion about Russia's attempts to hack the 2016 election at the St. Petersburg World International Economic Forum. Putin, a former KGB agent, has been painted as the puppet master behind the challenge on November's voting. U.S. intelligence agencies have concluded that Putin ordered the disruption of the election. During the interview, Putin tried to dismiss the evidence by claiming that the United States has a history of meddling in foreign elections. "Put your finger anywhere on a map of the world, and everywhere you will hear complaints that American officials are interfering in internal electoral processes," he said. Kelly pushed back at the assertion, saying it sounded like Putin's attempt to justify his government's attempts to influence elections. Putin demurred. Related: Vladimir Putin Tells Megyn Kelly: U.S. Hacker Could Have Framed Russia "Every action has an equal and opposite reaction," he said. "But, I repeat, we don't even have to do that. Presidents come and go, and even the parties in power change, but the main political direction does not change." Putin claimed that Russia has a preference in an election but only reacts to the "political direction" that the United States seems to be heading in. "It wouldn't make sense for us to interfere," he said. The conversation later turned to a pre-campaign dossier that was purportedly collected on Trump. Asked whether "you have something damaging on our president?" Putin — who once worked as a KGB recruiter — replied: "Well, this is just another load of nonsense. Where would we get this information from?" "Why, did we have some special relationship with him?" Putin asked. "We didn't have any relationship at all. There was a time when he used to come to Moscow. But you know, I never met with him. We have a lot of Americans who visit us." The well-known spin master then attempted to turn the tables. "Right now, I think we have representatives from a hundred American companies that have come to Russia," Putin said. "Do you think we're gathering compromising information on all of them right now or something? Have you all lost your senses over there?" Related: Vladimir Putin on Dinner With Michael Flynn: 'I Didn't Even Really Talk to Him' Kelly concluded by asking Putin about and the Russian Federation's recent history of corruption, repression and silencing of dissidents. He dismissed the allegations and again told the United States to avoid moralizing. "Why do you feel you have the right to ask us these kinds of questions? And do it all the time? To moralize and to give us lessons on how to live?" he said. "We're ready to listen to comments when it is done constructively, with the goal of establishing a relationship, creating a common environment. But we will absolutely not accept when these sorts of things are used as an instrument of political conflict."

– US leaders are hitting out at Vladimir Putin after statements he made appeared to some to be anti-Semitic. The Russian president was defending his government in an interview with NBC News' Megyn Kelly Saturday when he said Jews may have been behind 2016 election meddling. "Repulsive Putin remark deserves to be denounced, soundly and promptly, by world leaders," Sen. Richard Blumenthal from Connecticut wrote on Twitter following the interview, per the Washington Post. Blumenthal's sentiment was echoed widely by fellow Democrats in Congress, the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, and others. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reports that some Democratic legislators have directly demanded that President Trump take a tougher stance on Russia following its leader's comments. Putin critics have also assailed the leader for his apparent implication that Russian Jews aren't true Russians. "Maybe they are not even Russians, but Ukrainians, Tatars or Jews, but with Russian citizenship, which should also be checked," Putin said, referring to whoever was behind the meddling. Putin went on to suggest a string of other possibilities behind the election disruption, including France or Germany or even America itself. "Maybe the US paid them for this," he said. "How can you know that? I do not know, either."

If you got painfully ill from eating at a fast food chain would you ever want to eat there again? The answer for at least one victim of the Chipotle E.coli epidemic was apparently along the lines of, "Please, sir, I want some more!" As nearly 100 customers sickened after eating at Chipotle last year have reached undisclosed financial settlements with the restaurant chain, one plaintiff's appetizing addendum has been made public: Coupons for free burritos. The 19-year-old woman had gotten sick, along with more than 500 other people, during a string of foodborne illness outbreaks in Chipotle restaurants across multiple states last year. Play Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed Chipotle giving away even more free burritos 0:20 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog Her lawyer, Bill Marler, who has specialized in high-profile food-safety cases for decades, said the teen had racked up about $40,000 in medical bills when she was hospitalized with E.coli after eating at a Chipotle. Related: Chipotle Looks to Recover With Temporary Loyalty Program Marler said that while the claim was being resolved, the client said her love for Chipotle had never wavered even through her sickness, and she wondered if they'd throw in some free burritos as a part of the settlement. Chipotle agreed to send her "a couple dozen" free burrito coupons, Marler said. "I've been doing food poisoning cases since 1993," Marler said. "I have never had a client ask for that." And, he added, of the 96 people who he represented in the settlements with Chipotle, many said they had been back to eat at the chain. "It seems like they have a pretty strong base of support. I think in some respects it bodes well for their recovery," Marler said. Chipotle has had a hard time bouncing back from the E. coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreaks, despite introducing several promotions, but Marler said the company has done an admirable job of dealing with the issue — especially legally. "I have a pretty good sense of what is reasonable and fair. I would say that Chipotle was in the reasonable and fair range, or frankly, I would not have settled," Marler said. "Both parties wanted to get these things done." Related: Burrito Bummer: Chipotle Sales Fall Short Despite Free Food Chipotle still faces a federal criminal probe into food-safety measures and a civil lawsuit over allegations that it had misled investors, according to Reuters. ||||| Chipotle Mexican Grill settled nearly 100 legal cases brought by customers sickened in last year’s foodborne illness outbreak. Terms were not disclosed. Except for one: One client asked for “free-burrito” coupons as part of her settlement. “In 25 years of doing foodborne illness cases, I’ve never had a client ask for coupons for the restaurant they had gotten sick at,” said William Marler, an attorney with Seattle-based Marler Clark who represented 97 Chipotle customers. “In fact, some (clients) had gone back to the restaurant and they would call me and say, ‘Do you think it’s bad that I went back and got a burrito?’ ” Marler said Chipotle financially settled 96 cases between March and last week. One case is still pending because it is more complex. The cases were a mix of customers sickened from the E. coli, salmonella and norovirus outbreaks in cities nationwide, including Boston, Minneapolis and Simi Valley, Calif. Keith Srakocic, Associated Press In the resolved cases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed contamination results through medical tests, Marler said. “Those cases get resolved because there’s nothing to argue about,” he said. “That makes it easier, to be candid, for Chipotle to look at them and say, ‘Wow. An independent entity confirmed it.’ ” Related Articles September 8, 2016 Google parent drones to test Chipotle burrito delivery at college campus September 6, 2016 Activist investor Bill Ackman takes 9.9% stake in Chipotle Mexican Grill August 31, 2016 PHOTOS: You can buy Chipotle founder Steve Ells’ house August 30, 2016 Chipotle’s latest ways woo customers: Kids eat free on Sundays, free sodas for students August 10, 2016 Chipotle ordered to pay $550,000 for discriminating against pregnant worker Marler said that he felt Chipotle was professional and fair. Personal injury settlements take into consideration wage loss, medical expenses and pain and suffering. Chris Arnold, spokesman for Denver-based Chipotle, confirmed that cases were settled over the last several months. “We opted to settle them simply because we thought it was the right thing to do for those customers,” Arnold said. According to a special Chipotle web page about its food safety incidents, 510 customers were sickened last year. The outbreaks began in August 2015, when 243 customers reported getting sick with norovirus after eating at the Chipotle in Simi Valley. In December, another 143 customers reported getting sick from norovirus after eating at a Boston Chipotle. In both cases, the illness was “likely caused by a Chipotle employee who worked while sick, in violation of strict policies designed to discourage this.” Salmonella cases cropped up at restaurants in Minnesota and Wisconsin, sickening 64 people in August 2015. Chipotle linked the illness to tomatoes served at 22 restaurants. And between October to November 2015, another 60 people reported getting sick with E. coli 026 in 11 states. Some 3,000 tests were conducted by a Chipotle food-safety partner, which found no E. coli in food or restaurant surfaces. But by the time the tests were done, the E. coli was likely already gone from restaurants because of the lag time of up to 10 days between contamination and the first symptoms. Chipotle responded with closing affected restaurants temporarily to clean the entire facility, and for part of one day on Feb. 8, it closed all restaurants to discuss food-safety changes with employees nationwide. Co-CEO Steve Ells also publicly apologized to customers and pledged to tighten the chain’s food-safety procedures. But that didn’t stop the lawsuits. Besides the consumer cases, the chain was being investigated for criminal violations. A federal lawsuit by Chipotle shareholders in August accused company executives of failing to implement quality-control measures to prevent and stop food-bourne illnesses. The company’s stock traded at $430.70 on Friday, down 1.3 percent, and lower than its 52-week high of $757 last October. Marler said he hasn’t heard of other sick-Chipotle customer cases. He believes that based on the restaurant’s loyal following, many customers went straight to Chipotle instead of a lawyer. You just don’t often find customers like his 19-year-old client who after recovering from being hospitalized for a few days told him, “the one thing I want is free burritos and I’m like what? She wanted me to ask for her because (she said) ‘I really love Chipotle and want to go back.’ ” And she wasn’t alone. While none of his other clients specifically asked for coupons, “a lot of them were getting them,” he said. “They have a following of especially 20-somethings that other restaurants don’t have,” Marler said. “It’s a little odd, but it probably says something positive about Chipotle. ||||| Just when it seemed like its troubles may be behind it, America’s most embattled fast-casual burrito chain has found itself in the midst of another legal battle. Almost 10,000 workers are suing Chipotle, alleging the company cheated them out of wages, reports CNN Money. The suit was originally filed in 2014 but since then, thousands — 9,961, to be exact — of current and former workers have joined the lawsuit. Original plaintiff Leah Turner, claims that during the time she worked for Chipotle in 2010 and 2011, she was often automatically clocked out before she was actually finished working, and was also required to attend after-shift meetings for which she was not paid. Another worker who later joined the suit told CNN Money, "Behind the scenes, [Chipotle] is not always what it seems. I can say I have worked off the clock." Other employees have filed to join the suit as recently as August 26. After CNN reported about the 10,000-person-strong class action against Chipotle, financial analysts took to Twitter to voice their concerns that the news could further erode the chain’s profitability — following, of course, the E. coli outbreak that caused dozens of customers to get sick and sent stock tumbling to its lowest point in three years. you left out rising turnover because people don't want to work there anymore = eroding profitability $CMG https://t.co/Dt9ksBnROE — Howard Penney (@HedgeyeHWP) August 29, 2016 This is just the latest in a crop of worker-related lawsuits directed at the burrito giant. Earlier this month, a jury ruled that Chipotle had discriminated against a pregnant employee, ordering the chain to pay her $550,000 in damages. In February, a federal grand jury in Cincinnati, Ohio, ruled in favor of three former managers who sued the company for gender discrimination. When reached for comment regarding the latest suit, Chipotle spokesperson Chris Arnold said, “We don’t believe there is any merit to the suit, but will reserve our discussion of details for the legal proceedings.” • Nearly 10,000 Workers Sue Chipotle For Unpaid Wages [CNN Money] • Chipotle Employee Says Company Needs to Hire More Workers [E] • All Chipotle Coverage [E]

– Chipotle customers are a surprisingly loyal bunch. NBC News reports a 19-year-old woman who racked up approximately $40,000 in medical bills after contracting E. coli from eating at the restaurant chain settled for an undisclosed sum—and dozens of free burritos. "In 25 years of doing food-borne illness cases, I’ve never had a client ask for coupons for the restaurant they had gotten sick at,” the woman's lawyer, Bill Marler, tells the Denver Post. He says his client maintained her love of Chipotle through her entire ordeal and requested free food as part of the settlement. She ended up with "a couple dozen" coupons for free burritos, Marler says. He says of the 96 Chipotle victims he's represented, many have already gone back to eat at the restaurant.

Halperin’s Take: Six reasons why Obama’s Libya address was strong (even if it was a bit repetitive and didn’t address every future contingency): 1. He believed every word of it. Presidents always give better speeches when they help write their remarks and strike out any sentences that don’t match what is in their hearts. Go through Obama’s text, and you won’t find a single line that fails to reflect his views. 2. George W. Bush could have delivered every sentence. This doesn’t mean that Bush was an unambiguous success as a national security president–far from it. But Obama’s vision of how to engage the democracy moment in northern Africa and the Middle East is in the strong bipartisan tradition and current centrist positions of American foreign policy. 3. It explained how America must balance its interests, values, and military capacity. Obama exploded the false choice between those who say America should never intervene when the nation is not directly threatened and those who insist intervention in Libya leads logically to intervention in Syria, in further regional hotspots, and in areas of human oppression across the globe. With passion and meticulous detail, Obama justified why use of force was the right move for America in Libya, but not (for now) in other places. 4. He emphasized both unilateral action and coalition building. The right has accused Obama of being too beholden to international coalitions, and the nation is split between those who don’t want the US to ever subordinate its military to another country and those who think America shouldn’t act like an outlaw cowboy. In his speech, the president reaffirmed his work with partners around the world, but he also trumpeted the actions he has taken independently during the Libya crisis. 5. He looked the part. In delivery and tone, this was one of Obama’s best moments as commander-in-chief since he took office. He was calm yet forceful, verbally elegant yet conversational, and above all, tough. 6. He boxed in Republican detractors. GOPers who want to score political points on the president’s policy will have to work harder. Obama’s actions are still, of course, subject to criticism and analysis, but his case was so thorough and well reasoned he left little room for the kind of glib cheap shots that have passed for critique up until now. ||||| « Routes To Treatment, Ctd | Main | Oh Joy » That, it seems to me, was the core message of the president's speech on Libya. America is simply incapable of watching a slaughter take place - anywhere in the world - and not move to do what we can to prevent it. It is against our nature to let evil triumph in such a fashion. The Libyan example was particularly vital because a rare constellation of forces came together to make turning away even harder: European and Arab support for preventing mass murder; UN permission; America's "unique" capabilities; and an imminent massacre in Benghazi. Obama the Niebuhrian put the moral in realism. Yes, we could not do this everywhere all the time; but we could do this when we did; and that was good enough. There was some sleight of hand here. Citing the UN Resolution as an external reason for war - when the US lobbied hard for it - was a touch too neat. But essentially Obama was challenging those of us who opposed this decision to ask ourselves: well, what would you do? If the US had insisted on looking away, America would have seemed morally callous, even compared with the French. The mass graves of Benghazi would take their place alongside the horrors of Srebrenica. And the impact on Arab opinion, especially on the younger generation that is so key to the future, would be fatal to America's long term interests. I do not know whether the last is actually the case, or whether most young Arabs are understandably focused on the regimes they labor under rather than the murderous nutter in the North African desert. But secretary of state Clinton was in the region at the time and believed otherwise. And, yes, one appreciates that doing nothing represented a choice as well as doing something. And it too would have had unknowable consequences. Was I persuaded? Not completely. The major objection - what happens now? - was not answered affirmatively by the president. It was answered negatively: there would be no military effort at regime change, as in Iraq; NATO, not the US, would soon be leading the mission; and, er, it may last a while. It is way too soon to celebrate a new model of international cooperation; but it seems striking to me that the rationale Obama invoked was very much GHW Bush in Kuwait rather than GW Bush in Iraq. That left Saddam in power for more than a decade. And yet Obama spoke as if Qaddafi's days were obviously numbered. I sure hope they are. It wasn't Obama's finest oratory; but it was a very careful threading of a very small needle. That requires steady hands and calmer nerves than I possess. But this president emerges once again as a consolidator and adjuster of the past, not a revolutionary force for the future. And one hopes that the notion that he is not a subscriber to American exceptionalism is no longer seriously entertained. He clearly believes in that exceptionalism - and now will live with its onerous responsibilities. (Photo: Dennis Brack/Pool/Getty.) ||||| I’ll have more in tomorrow’s Morning Jolt, but I feel tonight a lot like the night of Obama’s speech announcing the Afghanistan surge to West Point. On paper, I agree with a lot of what Obama is saying. But he’s stringing together a lot of pretty-sounding phrases without really getting at the questions most skeptical Americans have: why intervene here and not in other places? Obama’s caught himself between his comments that clearly suggested regime change (Qaddafi must step down) and a strict adherence to a U.N. mandate that doesn’t include regime change. What is our goal? What do we do when America’s national interest and a United Nations rule conflict? And why are we worrying about what the U.N. says, anyway? Obama seems to be indicating we say publicly that we’re not pursuing regime change militarily but pursue it through non-military means, which seems like a fine (and perhaps odd) line. (If you’re trying to knock a brutal terror-sponsoring dictator out of power, knock him out of power! Don’t do it halfway!) Finally, what have we signed ourselves on to? Can we trust the Libyan rebels? What are we trying to replace Qaddafi with? In the end, Obama’s speech amounted to, “Look, I realize none of you understand my decision making, but at the end of the day, you can rest easy knowing I’m right.” He thinks he’s reassuring us.

– Last night, President Obama delivered the Libya speech that some have long been calling for. How did the world take it? A sampling of reactions: Jim Geraghty wasn't impressed with the way Obama's "pretty-sounding phrases" were strung together "without really getting at the questions most skeptical Americans have: why intervene here and not in other places?" Ultimately, he writes in the National Review, "Obama’s speech amounted to, 'Look, I realize none of you understand my decision making, but at the end of the day, you can rest easy knowing I’m right.'" Yes, Obama used some "sleight of hand," like "citing the UN Resolution as an external reason for war—when the US lobbied hard for it," writes Andrew Sullivan in the Atlantic. "But essentially Obama was challenging those of us who opposed this decision to ask ourselves: Well, what would you do?" Even so, Sullivan wasn't completely persuaded: "The major objection—what happens now?—was not answered affirmatively by the president." OK, so the address "didn't address every future contingency," Mark Halperin admits. But, writing in Time, he offers six reasons the speech was still "strong," including Obama "believed every word of it" and "George W. Bush could have delivered every sentence." The latter, of course, meaning that "Obama’s vision of how to engage the democracy moment in northern Africa and the Middle East is in the strong bipartisan tradition and current centrist positions of American foreign policy." William Kristol was reassured by the speech: "The president was unapologetic, freedom-agenda-embracing, and didn’t shrink from defending the use of force or from appealing to American values and interests," he writes in the Weekly Standard. "Furthermore, the president seems to understand we have to win in Libya. I think we will."

Donald Trump gestures during the 2016 Fox News Republican debate. | AP Photo Yelp pokes fun at Trump's 'small hands' in app update Yelp has joined the fun in mocking Donald Trump's allegedly stubby fingers. “Our latest release easily trumps our old version, it’s usable no matter how small your hands are!” the newest update of the restaurant listing and review app reads. The description is a sly reference to an exchange between Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Trump over the size of the New York billionaire’s hands. "He's always calling me Little Marco. And I'll admit he's taller than me. He's like 6'2, which is why I don't understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5'2," Rubio said in Virginia last month. "And you know what they say about men with small hands? You can't trust them." Trump did not like what he thought Rubio was implying about another part of his anatomy, and responded during the Republican debate last week. “He referred to my hands -- 'If they're small, something else must be small.' I guarantee you there's no problem. I guarantee," he said. Trump has returned to the topic in rallies and press conferences, insisting his "beautiful" hands are adequately sized and boasting about his ability to hit a golf ball 285 yards. “He even complained about my hands,” Trump said at a recent rally in Florida, holding them up to show the crowd. “I mean give me a break, OK? Where did he get that one? That was the first,” Trump said, recounting people telling him: “Gee whiz, Mr. Trump you actually have large and powerful hands." Former Spy Magazine and current Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter has long teased Trump as a "short-fingered vulgarian," and recently wrote that the billionaire occasionally sends him clippings of his hands, circled with a marker. "He'll send me pictures, tear sheets from magazines, and he did it as recently as [last] April. With a gold Sharpie, he'll circle his fingers and in his handwriting say, 'See, not so short,'" Carter recalled in an interview Monday on NPR. "And this April when he sent me one, I just — I should have held on to the thing, but I sent it right back by messenger with a note, a card — stapled to the top, saying, 'Actually, quite short.' And I know it just gives him absolute fits. And now that it's become sort of part of the whole campaign rhetoric, I'm sure he wants to just kill me — with those little hands." ||||| Trump nails Rubio: I have beautiful hands One of Marco Rubio’s latest barbs played right into Donald Trump’s “beautiful hands.” Trump has begun referring to the Florida senator as “Little Marco,” so Rubio went after the businessman’s “small hands.” “He’s like 6-2, which is why I don’t understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5-2,” Rubio said at a rally in Roanoke, Virginia, on Sunday. “Have you seen his hands? You know what they say about men with small hands — you can’t trust them.” The billionaire responded to Rubio's remarks Tuesday at a rally in Columbus, Ohio. “Actually I’m 6-3, not 6-2 — but he said I had small hands. They’re not small, are they?” Trump asked, extending his hands for supporters to see. “I never heard — I never heard that one before. I’ve always had people say, ‘Donald, you have the most beautiful hands.’” Former GOP candidate and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker got into the action on Tuesday afternoon, tweeting a photo of his hand before signing dozens of bills into law. The tweet itself made no direct reference to any other candidate's hands. Photo of my hand before signing 58 bills into law today: pic.twitter.com/crM19dwjNi — Governor Walker (@GovWalker) March 1, 2016 ||||| poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201612/3491/1155968404_5249391513001_5249366089001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump: Vanity Fair is 'dead' President-elect Donald Trump took aim at a new media target Thursday morning, writing on Twitter that Vanity Fair magazine is “dead” and its editor has “no talent.” The magazine has been regularly critical of Trump throughout his candidacy and into his transition, publishing stories this week headlined “Someone has finally agreed to perform at Donald Trump inauguration” and “Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America.” Story Continued Below Trump shot back at the magazine Thursday morning, asking his followers, “has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!” Carter, the long-serving editor of Vanity Fair, is credited with originating a popular joke about the size of Trump’s hands. The Manhattan real estate mogul was regularly referred to as a “short-fingered vulgarian” in the pages of now-defunct Spy magazine, which was co-founded by Carter. Sen. Marco Rubio cracked a joke about Trump’s hands during the Republican presidential primary, prompting Trump to hold up his hands at a GOP debate and say, "Look at these hands. Are these small hands? And he referred to my hands if they’re small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there’s no problem. I guarantee you.” Vanity Fair is the latest addition to a long list of media outlets attacked by Trump, including POLITICO, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and NBC News.

– The size of Donald Trump's hands has been a thing for decades, stretching back to the days when Graydon Carter dubbed him a "short-fingered vulgarian" in Spy magazine. In his November editor's letter for Vanity Fair, Carter wrote that over the years, and as recently as last year, Trump would send him the occasional photo, "generally a tear sheet from a magazine. On all of them he has circled his hand in gold Sharpie in a valiant effort to highlight the length of his fingers." Those photos did little to convince Carter, and now Marco Rubio has apparently taken up the mantle. Politico quotes Rubio as saying the following on Sunday: "[Trump is] like 6-2, which is why I don't understand why his hands are the size of someone who is 5-2. Have you seen his hands? You know what they say about men with small hands—you can’t trust them." While in Ohio on Tuesday, Trump swung back, trotting out one of his favorite adjectives in the process: "Actually I’m 6-3, not 6-2—but he said I had small hands. ... I never heard—I never heard that one before. I've always had people say, 'Donald, you have the most beautiful hands.'" In noting Rubio's new tactic, the Washington Post writes he "may be on to something." It reports on recent polling that identified the type of attack that would be most likely to raise serious doubts about Trump among GOP voters. The winner: attacks framing Trump as an "egomaniac and entertainer that cares more about gaining power and fame than helping the country." More policy-minded attacks—think immigration, climate change, big oil—were far less effective. (See previous Trump-Rubio slams, including one about "wet pants," here. And John Oliver's tirade on Trump also addresses his hand size.)

An in-depth conversation with Tesla’s chief executive on his scars from a year in hell and trying to be nicer on Twitter. SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email Elon Musk has been tweeting a lot over the past few months. As Tesla Inc. lurched toward a Musk-imposed deadline to build 5,000 Model 3 electric sedans in a week, the chief executive lashed out against a wide group of people he came to see as his company’s detractors. Journalists, Wall Street analysts, short sellers, labor unions and even federal crash-safety investigators found themselves on the receiving end of his prolific Twitter output. He knows it needs to stop. “I have made the mistaken assumption—and I will attempt to be better at this—of thinking that because somebody is on Twitter and is attacking me that it is open season,” he said in an hour-long interview with Bloomberg Businessweek for this week's cover story. “That is my mistake. I will correct it.” Musk’s stress-fueled Twitter barrage peaked in June with 86 posts. It was a stretch he describes as the most excruciating of his life. In a way, his seemingly unfiltered Twitter output became one of the clearest outwards signs of his inner turmoil—and the pressure felt by the entire company. “It's been super-hard,” he says. “Like there is for sure some permanent mental scar tissue here.” This was the third time Musk felt he had to risk the very existence of Tesla. “Basically, I believe Model 3 is the last bet-the-company situation,” he says. “We will still need to work hard and be vigilant and not be complacent because it is very difficult just to survive as a car company. But it will not be the same level of strain as getting to volume production of Model 3.” Musk spoke to Bloomberg Businessweek on July 8, taking a break on Sunday from testing a miniature submarine meant to aid the rescue of children trapped in a cave in Thailand and ahead of a trip to Shanghai two days later, where he would announce plans to build a second Tesla factory. He reflected on hitting his weekly production goal of 5,000 Model 3 sedans—5,031, to be exact—as well as his mistakes and the electric automaker’s next projects. What follows is an edited transcript of the conversation. Featured in Bloomberg Businessweek, July 16, 2018. Subscribe now. Photographer: Balazs Gardi for Bloomberg Businessweek (car); Source: SpaceX (rocket) Tell me about what the last week before reaching 5,000 was like in the factory. Paint a picture for me. Well, I spent almost the entire time in the factory the final week, and yeah, it was essentially three months with a tiny break of like one day that I wasn't there. I was wearing the same clothes for five days. Yeah, it was really intense. And everybody else was really intense, too. I think there was quite a good esprit de corps. People were pretty fired up. You can see it in the pictures that people posted. You can tell from looking at people's faces. But everybody was super gung ho to make the number and to make sure that they could do it. We had a lot of challenges. Like what kind of challenges? You don't really know that you can actually handle a given rate unless you try to do it. So we successively hit limitations in general assembly, in paint, in body, in module production, pack production, logistics. Even the flow of parts from the warehouse. We've never had that kind of flow before. At one point we would make like 100 cars without the right headlamps, and then subsequently put the right headlamps on because the right headlamps didn't arrive from the warehouse in time. They were put on after general assembly. Why push so frantically? What did you feel was at stake? Well, I think we had to prove that we could make 5,000 cars in a week—5,000 Model 3s and at the same time make 2,000 S and X’s, so essentially show that we could make 7,000 cars. We had to prove ourselves. The number of people who thought we would actually make it is very tiny, like vanishingly small. There was suddenly the credibility of the company, my credibility, you know, the credibility of the whole team. It was like, “Can you actually do this or not?” There were a lot of issues that we had to address in order to do it. You know, we had to create the new general assembly line in basically less than a month—to create it and get to an excess of a 1,000-cars-a-week rate in like four weeks. We had to get the Module Zone 4 [a line of robots] transferred from Germany and installed in two weeks. Both of those things I was told were impossible. Inside the Tesla factory in Fremont, California. Photographer: Balazs Gardi for Bloomberg Businessweek What's the long-term plan for that new assembly line inside the tent? I think the confusing thing for most people is that you now have two apparently different processes producing the same car, one with more humans and one with more automation. A lot of the hoped-for automation was counterproductive. It's not like we knew it would be bad, because why would we buy a ticket to hell? We don't actually want to go for hell. We just didn't realize it was a ticket to hell. We thought it would be good, but it was not good. That applies to a great deal of the automation. A whole bunch of the robots are turned off, and it was reverted to a manual station because the robots kept faulting out. When the robot faults out—like the vision system can't figure out how to put the object in—then you've got to reset the system. You've got to manually seat the components. It stops the whole production line while you sort out why the robot faults out. It was like rush hour traffic at a bunch of stop streets and like no highways or anything. It's like you just took all the highways away from L.A. or something. It sounds good on PowerPoint and it was terrible in reality. Everything sounds good on PowerPoint. You could have a great PowerPoint presentation about a teleportation system to the Andromeda galaxy. But guess what? You cannot teleport to the Andromeda galaxy. That is nonsense. How does that happen? Because we were huge idiots and didn't know what we were doing. That's why. Then why not reach out? Detroit was shouting, “That’s not going to work.” Well, when have they not said that? When was the last time they said it would work? Can you recall at any point in the history of Tesla where they said it would work? Is there like some point I didn't notice? Because from my perspective, for the last 15 years that is all they have said. What’s next with “the machine that builds the machine.” What’s your current thinking about the “alien dreadnought” [Musk’s term for a hyper-automated factory]? Let me just give you a tour of the whole giant machine. It will blow your brain right out of your skull, OK? It is so crazy. There are parts of it that are completely automated, no person there at all. And then there are parts of it which are completely manual, no machines there at all. Then there are parts of it that are partly automated and partly manual. When you talked about automation before, it was kind of like, you know, cars are going to be moving out of the factory faster than humans can move. So you can't have humans involved in the process. Now you've got humans heavily involved. You can only move as fast as the slowest thing in the system. I didn't say this would be done immediately. I was just saying that is where it needs to be in the future. And there are definitely parts that move too fast for people. Part of the problem is that the designing heads were naive about manufacturing. Just because we have something that works great in a simulation does not mean that it works great in reality. I haven't really asked you yet what you think about the Model 3. Is it everything you wanted it to be? I think it's a great car. And I think it is going to get better as we keep upgrading the software. You know, what I think about as Tesla is kind of like a computer on wheels. It's extremely upgradable. So we're going to just keep adding more and more functionality to the Model 3. So the longer you own the Model 3, the better the car is going to get. There are little nuances that keep getting better. We have made the seat foam a bit more comfortable. We have made the ride a bit more comfortable. The firmware at the braking is better, and it was pretty helpful that—you know, Consumer Reports, they did kind of come up with a weird corner case where you have to like brake from 60 miles an hour multiple times [Tesla fixed the problem through a wireless update]. It's kind of a weird point case. But still that helps us improve the braking. Autopilot is going to get quite a bit better in the coming months and still add cool features in functionality and—yeah, I'm very excited about the future. I think it's going to be a great second half of the year for Tesla. The past year has been very difficult, but I feel like the coming year is going to be really quite good. Production associate Justin Hill works on a Model 3 seat assembly at the Tesla factory in Fremont. Photographer: Balazs Gardi for Bloomberg Businessweek Do you feel like you're out of hell yet? I feel like we have got like one foot in hell. When do you think you get to pull that out? Is that reaching 5,000 sustainably? Is it 6,000? It's basically 5,000 without requiring a lot of effort. It's still quite painful to produce 5,000 a week. But I think in a month, it will not be. It used to be hell to make 2,000 S's and X's in a week, and now it's normal. In three months, I think 5,000 will feel normal. I want to ask you about Twitter and fighting back against your detractors. I was talking to someone who said that she had canceled her reservation because of the way you were treating people on Twitter. She said it was toxic. At some point, as your company and influence grows, I think the perception changes from an upstart struggling to defend itself to a bully putting down detractors. You can't both be a strong bully and about to die. We're either weak and dying or a strong bully. Like which one are we? Those are different people calling you those different things, though, right? No, not always. Sometimes it's the same people. I think you have a good point. Generally the view that I've had on Twitter is if you're on Twitter, you're in like the meme—you're in meme war land. If you're on Twitter, you're in the arena. And so essentially if you attack me, it is therefore OK for me to attack back. Is there a place where you think I launched an attack on someone who has never attacked me? I'm not sure it's in the end relevant to how people perceive what's happening. I think you're right. But I would like to make the point that I never launched an attack on anyone who did not attack me first. So the question is: If somebody attacks you on Twitter, should you say nothing? Probably the answer in some cases is yes, I should say nothing. In fact, most of the time I do say nothing. I should probably say nothing more often. I have made the mistaken assumption—and I will attempt to be better at this—of thinking that because somebody is on Twitter and is attacking me that it is open season. And that is my mistake. I will correct it. Musk Uses Twitter to Celebrate—and Attack Elon's monthly tweets reach a new high Data: Twitter One more criticism I sometimes hear is— What is this? People are criticizing me? This is outrageous. [LAUGHTER] Let me put it this way. Back at the dawn of Toyota, their mission included three pillars: to benefit society, to benefit their workers, and to benefit Toyota. One of the biggest openings all of the automakers left Tesla was neglecting the pledge to society in the age of climate change. Tesla has filled that gap, gaining you some serious loyalists. Yeah. But, rightly or wrongly, there is a sense that maybe you’re doing it to the detriment of the other two pillars of that mission, which is to employees and to the company. You’re pushing workers to the limits and pushing the company so there is less financial stability. I think that is an accurate perception. I think the thing that people forget is the only two car companies in the U.S. that have not gone bankrupt are Ford and Tesla. GM went bankrupt. If the expectation is, “Hey, we can live and not work hard and not strain extremely to a great degree,” this is false. That is not true. In order for us to succeed, in order for us to live, we must work very hard. But the notion that people are not treated well at Tesla is false. The UAW has a strong interest in promoting the idea that people aren't treated well. But, you know, come in and walk around. And I don't mean like a North Korea guided tour. Go anywhere you want, any time. Go left, go right, go anywhere you want. Talk to people. See if they seem unhappy. See if they seem like they're not well treated. Bring others. We won't even escort you. Just walk around. Go any direction you want—no escort. We're 40,000 people at the company. If you have 40,000 people, you can always find some cases where there has been harassment, discrimination. Like at Bloomberg right now, I guarantee you there is every kind of case against Bloomberg. Does that mean you, Tom Randall, are a bad person? It does not. I care very deeply about the people at Tesla. I feel like I have a great debt to the people of Tesla who are making the company successful. OK? The reason I sleep on the floor was not because I couldn't go across the road and be at the hotel. It was because I wanted my circumstance to be worse than anyone else at the company on purpose. Like whatever pain they felt, I wanted mine to be worse. That's why I did it. And it makes a huge difference to people. At GM they've got a special elevator for executives. Like the top floor of GM tower is reserved for the chairperson and CEO. They've got special cutlery. They've got a waitstaff for an executive restaurant. They have special elevators so they don't have to mingle with anyone else. My desk is the smallest desk in the factory—literally. And I am barely there. The reason people in the paint shop were working their ass off is because I was in the paint oven with them. I'm not in some ivory tower. I invite you to come by and ask them. I'm going to take you up on that. This is not an idle offer. You say you’ve gone through hell. It's been super-hard. Like there is for sure some permanent mental scar tissue here. But I do feel good about the months to come. I think the results will speak for themselves. You like to borrow and spend. You raise capital and spend quite a bit to launch a new product, and then as soon as you're about to come up for air, you do the same for the next product. You say you're going to be profitable for the second half of this year. Are you just going to go back into the cycle? There have been three situations where it was necessary to bet the company. Like it was unavoidable to bet the company. The creation of the Roadster. Obviously, we're a brand-new company, it's our only product. From the Model S, we went from like 600 cars a year to 20,000 cars a year and a much more sophisticated car. Obviously, that was a bet-the-company situation. Model X was painful but not a bet-the-company situation. Model 3, we're going from, you know—like the S or the X program is 1,000 cars a week. Model 3, even to basically be healthy for the Model 3 system, it's 5,000 cars a week. So it's a half order of magnitude increase relative to the S or the X. That is necessarily a bet-the-company decision. You cannot have that much of a step change for a manufacturing company without this being a bet-the-company decision. But I do not see us doing another thing where we go five times bigger. Once we break through to mass market cars, where mass market is on the order of a quarter million vehicles per year, I cannot see us doing a 1.2 million-vehicle program of one particular model. Basically, I believe Model 3 is the last bet-the-company situation. It's not like [I have] a desire to bet the company. There is not a choice. If somebody knows how to do it without betting the company, I would love to talk to that person. But I do not foresee future bet-the-company situations. To the best of my judgment, I do not think we have any future bet-the-company situations. We will still need to work hard and be vigilant and not be complacent because it is very difficult just to survive as a car company. But it will not be the same level of strain as getting to volume production of Model 3. What's the next project that you’re most excited about? The Model Y. We've almost finished the design in the studio of Model Y, and we will probably debut the prototype, you know, roughly in March of next year. Maybe I shouldn’t tempt fate, but I did say March 15 as kind of a joke. Did you finish up the design already? We're a few months away from finishing the design. You finish the broad brush strokes, but there are still a lot of fine brush strokes. The broad brush strokes, we're maybe a few months away from finishing. Good luck with that, and good luck getting your last foot out of hell. I'm looking forward to it. Next: Hell for Elon Musk Is a Midsize Sedan Inside Tesla’s Model 3 Factory Bloomberg Built Its Own Model to Estimate Tesla’s Output of the Model 3 ||||| On Sunday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said the company managed to meet a self-imposed deadline to produce 5,000 Model 3 cars in a week. The car maker had been under intense pressure to deliver on the sedan, something seen by analysts as integral to Tesla breaking into the mainstream. Tesla has repeatedly missed production targets and failed to reach profitability. Despite those factors, the company pulled out all the stops to produce 7000 cars in total last week. On Sunday, Musk sent an effusively worded communication to all employees, thanking them for their hard work, adding that the company became "a real car company" in the process. CNBC obtained a copy of the email Musk sent to Tesla staffers, which can be read in full below: From: Elon Musk To: Everybody Subj. 7000 Jul. 1, 12:37 PM We did it!! What an incredible job by an amazing team. Couldn’t be more proud to work with you. It is an honor. The level of dedication and creativity was mind-blowing. We either found a way or, by will and inventiveness, created entirely new solutions that were thought impossible. Intense in tents. Transporting entire production lines across the world in massive cargo planes. Whatever. It worked. Not only did we factory gate over 5000 Model 3’s, but we also achieved the S & X production target for a combined 7000 vehicle week! What’s more, with the widespread productivity gains throughout Tesla and the new production lines spooling up, we are on track to reach 6k/week for Model 3 next month. I think we just became a real car company … Thank you for your hard work and dedication, Elon ||||| Since then, Tesla has raced to iron out kinks in the assembly process, mainly by scrapping some complicated robotic machines that proved ill suited to certain tasks, and hiring hundreds of workers to replace them. On the factory floor, it’s a frantic race to reach Mr. Musk’s goals, one that has taken a toll on some employees. But if the gamble pays off, it will be a big step toward Tesla’s audacious ambitions: not just to be a mass-market automaker, but also to reinvent the way autos are made. “We believe in rapid evolution,” Mr. Musk said in an interview. “It’s like, find a way or make a way. If conventional thinking makes your mission impossible, then unconventional thinking is necessary.” And indeed, Mr. Musk is trying to do things that have never been done. General Motors, Nissan, BMW, Ford and others have produced electric cars, but have been unable to shrink costs enough to make them both affordable and profitable. Mr. Musk, in contrast, has promised investors and customers that Tesla will be able to produce the Model 3 in high volumes, sell versions for as little as $35,000 and ring up hefty profits. Once the Model 3 is rolling, Mr. Musk sees Tesla moving on to produce electric vehicles of all shapes and sizes — pickups, semitrailer trucks, and a fast and roomy car for families called the Model Y. The company’s mission, Mr. Musk has said on numerous occasions, is to lead the transition to emissions-free transportation and to change the world. A recent daylong tour of the Fremont plant revealed how Tesla is trying to break with standard auto-industry practices all along the Model 3 assembly lines. It is searching for ways to shorten the time that robots take to weld parts. It is even making seats, a component most car companies leave to specialized suppliers. And it is doing this while trying to root out bottlenecks and glitches in the manufacturing process.

– "I think we just became a real car company." So reads a celebratory email from Tesla CEO Elon Musk to employees after the company met a long-elusive production target of making 5,000 Model 3 sedans in a week, reports CNBC. In a regulatory filing, Tesla says it churned out 5,031 of the sedans—marketed as the company's entry to mass sales—in the last week of the second quarter, reports CNN. The milestone came after a series of well-publicized problems and Musk's own admission of a "production hell." Monday's news pleased investors, with the stock up 5%. In a lengthy story, meanwhile, the New York Times provides a look at the extremes Musk has gone to in order to ramp up production, including installing a third assembly line under a tent at its plant in Fremont, Calif. One nugget of the story getting attention is that Tesla's engineers did away with 300 of about 5,000 welds in the Model 3 underbody after concluding they were unnecessary. That involved reprogramming the robots assembling the underbodies to skip them. Musk also has hired hundreds of workers to replace robots who turned out to be inefficient at certain tasks, such as guiding bolts through holes as part of the rear brakes. "We believe in rapid evolution," Musk tells the Times in an interview—it took place at 3am Thursday, the only time the company said he'd be available. "It’s like, find a way or make a way. If conventional thinking makes your mission impossible, then unconventional thinking is necessary."

If Elon Musk’s plan in announcing he was thinking of taking Tesla private was to get revenge against short sellers, it’s not exactly working out. Investors betting against the electric car company have actually made money since Musk’s now-infamous tweet — $1.2 billion, in fact. Most of that amount came the day after his emotional interview with the New York Times published, which drove Tesla’s stock down about 9 percent. Short sellers are investors who essentially bet against a company and make money when a stock’s price falls. Tesla is among the most shorted stocks in the history of the stock market — there were more than $13 billion worth of shares sold short at its August peak, according to Bloomberg — and it’s something that has incensed Musk for years. He claims that the high number of Tesla shorts gives people “incentive to attack the company” even when they’re wrong. Musk’s animus toward short sellers appears to be part of what prompted his surprise August 7 announcement via tweet that he was considering taking Tesla private. (In a pair of subsequent blog posts explaining the tweet, Musk laid out more of his rationale on privatizing, including his desire to avoid the harm he sees caused by shorts, and said he decided to make the Twitter announcement because the way to have “meaningful discussions with our largest shareholders was to be completely forthcoming with them about my desire to take the company private.”) Valued at $70 billion, it would be the largest corporate buyout ever. Shareholders could either to sell at 420 or hold shares & go private — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 7, 2018 The day of the announcement, Tesla’s share price jumped by about 11 percent, ticking up from less than $350 a share at the start of the day to about $387 by the end of it. (Musk had said he wanted to take Tesla private at $420 a share.) But since then, Tesla’s share price has drifted back down. On Friday, it fell by nearly 9 percent to $305.50. If Musk was motivated to make the privatization announcement to squeeze out short-sellers, it’s backfired. Financial and technology analytics firm S3 Analytics in a report on Friday estimated Tesla shorts are up $1.2 billion since Musk’s August 7 tweet, and $1 billion of that came on Friday alone, the day after Musk’s Times interview. In the interview, the South African-born entrepreneur described the “excruciating” past year of his life, including 120-hour workweeks and three to four days spent inside Tesla’s factories. “The worst is over from a Tesla operational standpoint,” he said. “But from a personal pain standpoint, the worst is yet to come.” The Securities and Exchange Commission has reportedly issued subpoenas investigating whether Tesla did indeed have the “funding secured” for its privatization, as Musk’s tweet asserted, and is also looking into whether the move was intended to harm short sellers. Even before the tweet, the SEC was reportedly probing whether Tesla misled investors about its Model 3 production issues. The Times also reported that Tesla’s board of directors is worried about Musk’s Ambien habit and that the company is trying to recruit a second-in-command to help Musk, who the publication said “alternated between laughter and tears” during the sit-down. This could be a temporary blip, but it might not be. A few days after his August 7 tweet, David Einhorn, the billionaire manager of fund Greenlight Capital, tweeted out a pair of shorts he believed Musk had sent him taunting him over his short position in Tesla. Apparel maker Chubbies was later revealed to be the actual sender, and Musk tweeted his approval of the move. I want to thank @elonmusk for the shorts. He is a man of his word! They did come with some manufacturing defects. #tesla pic.twitter.com/qsYfO8cbkp — David Einhorn (@davidein) August 10, 2018 Awesome — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 10, 2018 While Tesla shorts may have made money on Friday, they haven’t always been on the winning side of the stock. Musk’s privatization announcement cost short sellers $1.3 billion, according to S3. Although they’ve since more than recouped that initial loss after a $2.5 billion swing back in their favor, the firm estimates that long-term shorts have lost $5 billion on their bet since 2016. But they’re not backing down. Robert Chapman, a manager at Chapman Capital, told Bloomberg he doubled his short position after Musk’s August 7 tweet. “The more one learns about this situation, the more this appears to be a fakeover vs. takeover,” he said. Chris Brown, managing member at Aristides Capital, another Tesla shorter, was also emboldened. “It always ends poorly for companies when they’re trying to squeeze the shorts,” he told the publication. “The idea of a transaction itself is idiotic.” Both interviews were before Tesla’s Friday stock drop. Beyond the shorts, the reported SEC probes, and questions about going private, Tesla is also facing another and potentially more pressing issue: low cash reserves. Bloomberg reported in April that there is a “genuine risk” that the electric car company could run out of cash in 2018. (The story literally has a ticker counting Tesla’s cash burn as you read.) Analysts at Goldman Sachs, Jefferies, and Moody’s have all argued that Tesla is in deep financial trouble, despite Musk’s assertions that everything is fine. Tesla would need money to go private. But it also might need money just to stay afloat. As of June 30, Tesla has $2.2 billion in cash, which it says is “expected to grow” in the third quarter. That’s part of what the shorts are focusing on — and what’s got them in Musk’s head. He told the Times he was bracing for “at least a few months of extreme torture” from the shorts, “who are desperately pushing a narrative that will possibly result in Tesla’s destruction.” “They’re not dumb guys, but they’re not supersmart,” he said. “They’re okay. They’re smartish.” ||||| Tesla CEO Elon Musk has attracted controversy for tweets he sent about the possibility of taking Tesla private. Kiichiro Sato / Associated Press Tesla is facing another lawsuit accusing CEO Elon Musk of manipulating the company's stock price. The suit follows two lawsuits filed against the company last week by investors alleging securities fraud. A complaint filed on Monday in US District Court in California alleges that some investors purchased Tesla stock "at artificially inflated prices and suffered significant losses and damages once the truth emerged" that Musk had not secured the funding necessary to convert Tesla into a private company for $420 per share, as he said on August 7. "Am considering taking Tesla private at $420. Funding secured," Musk said via Twitter. "Investor support is confirmed. Only reason why this is not certain is that it's contingent on a shareholder vote," he later said. Tesla's share price surged after Musk's first tweet, rising by as much as 12%, to over $381, before settling at $379.57 when trading closed on August 7. But by the end of trading on August 9, it had fallen to $352.45 as reports emerged that the Securities and Exchange Commission made an inquiry into Tesla about whether one of Musk's tweets regarding the possibility of taking the company private was truthful. According to the lawsuit, "Musk's tweets were an ill-conceived attempt to manipulate the stock price of Tesla upward in order to burn investors who had sold Tesla stock short," and, "had the desired effect of creating a massive one-day increase in the price of Tesla stock and causing short sellers large losses." Tesla declined Business Insider's request for comment. On Monday, Musk said in a statement that he used the phrase "funding secured" because he believed there was "no question" Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund would provide funding for a deal to convert Tesla into a private company after a July 31 meeting with the fund's managing director. But Musk didn't mention any legally-binding agreements that were in place at the time he sent the August 7 tweet and said he was in discussions with the Saudi fund and other investors, which suggested some sources of funding were not be settled before the tweet was sent. On Tuesday, Tesla said its board of directors had formed a special committee to examine Musk's preference to take the company private. ||||| Musk tweeted on 7 August that he had ‘secured’ funding to take the company private, but so far no offer has been made Investors betting on a fall in Tesla’s share price have made $1.09bn since 7 August, when Tesla founder Elon Musk tweeted he had “secured” funding to take the troubled company private. The electric car company’s shares soared 11% to $379 after Musk’s so-called “Tesla tweet” that he had “funding secured” to buy out investors at $420 share. But that tweet – now the subject of legal action and a regulatory inquiry – so far has not led to an offer and Tesla’s stock has fallen 19% to $308 share. Tesla shares soar after Elon Musk floats plan to take company private Read more Musk has frequently clashed with Tesla’s short sellers – investors who bet on a company’s share price collapsing. The battle between Musk and short sellers has become increasing vituperative and personal. He has accused them of being saboteurs who “want the company to die”. As recently as mid-June, Musk predicted via Twitter that investors “have about three weeks before their short position explodes”. Arrayed against him are investors who have been willing to lose around $5bn since 2016 on their strong belief that Tesla cannot deliver on it promises. “What bothers me is not so much the personal stuff and the personal attacks. I’m used to that. It’s the willingness to say things that I think he knows are a stretch, to be polite,” investor Jim Chanos, founder of Kynikos Associates, who has been betting against Tesla for years, said in July. “I don’t think you get to tell people you’re going to make 20,000 Model 3s a week when you know that’s not going to be the case,” Chanos added, referring to the problems hampering production of the mass-market Model 3. According to S3, a financial technology and analytics firm, 33.4m Tesla shares worth $11.2bn worth, or more than a quarter of the company’s free float, are out on loan to investors betting that its share price will fall. To those investors, Tesla’s market capitalization, projected revenues and production capacity just don’t add up. “This has been one of the largest shorts in the US for several years,” says Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics as S3 Partners. “It’s become a battle of wills. The big players on the short side have a conviction that the stock is going to tumble to bankruptcy.” During the markets’ initial acceptance that Musk would be able to raise around $70bn to take Tesla private, the rise in stock added $6.4bn to Tesla’s market cap. That cost short sellers like Chanos around $1.3bn and triggered lawsuits. But stock in the company has fallen on reports that Securities and Exchange Commission officials are intensifying a probe into Tesla’s public statements and Tesla’s board made it clear it had scant knowledge of a Saudi Arabian pledge investment that Musk claimed to have received in a blog post last week and which he claimed “was just a matter of getting the process moving”. Elon Musk's tweets investigated for possibly breaking law: reports Read more On Friday, after the New York Times published an interview with Musk that sparked concerns over his health, Tesla’s stock dropped 9%, bringing Tesla down 19% from their pre-tweet level. On Monday, JP Morgan cut its December price target for Tesla back down to $195 per share. Analyst Ryan Brinkman explained to clients in a Monday note that their interpretation of events “leads us to believe that funding was not secured for a going private transaction, nor was there any formal proposal”. Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill said the real valuation of Tesla shares is “closer to $200”, or 30% lower than the $292 share price at the market’s opening on Monday, and 40% lower than on 6 August, the day before Musk’s now-infamous tweet. According to S3, that would bring short sellers up $3bn for the year but still down historically. “The big short sellers are strong and they’re not looking at their quarter-to-quarter returns. They have the pedigree to keep a position and not be forced out of it,” said Dusaniwsky. “They’re sure they’re right and don’t want to be proven wrong so they’re going to stay in as long as it takes.” In a letter to investors last week, UK hedge fund manager Crispin Odey, compared Musk’s recent behaviour to that of Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor who in 1968 set off on a solo voyage around the world but never returned. “Shorts like Tesla have been difficult to hold on to,” Odey wrote in the investors letter, according to Bloomberg. “However, Tesla feels like it is entering the final stage of its life.”

– The SEC is investigating Elon Musk's now-famous tweet about taking Tesla private, and one reason is to see whether he set out to punish investors who were betting against his company, reports Vox. If so, he did not succeed. Though Tesla's share price rose from $350 to $387 the day of his Aug. 7 tweet, it has since fallen below the initial mark. (It was around $321 on Tuesday afternoon.) Both Vox and the Guardian estimate that short sellers have made more than $1 billion since the tweet. The latter newspaper also notes that Musk has a history of battling with short sellers, a battle that has become increasingly "vituperative and personal." For example, he approved of a taunting tweet, a pair of shorts, sent to one fund manager.

In this 2012 photo, Rear Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch, commander of Naval Air Force Atlantic, speaks to the crew aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Spec. 3rd Class Heath Zeigler) For more than two years, the Navy’s intelligence chief has been stuck with a major handicap: He’s not allowed to know any secrets. Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch has been barred from reading, seeing or hearing classified information since November 2013, when the Navy learned from the Justice Department that his name had surfaced in a giant corruption investigation involving a foreign defense contractor and scores of Navy personnel. Worried that Branch was on the verge of being indicted, Navy leaders suspended his access to classified materials. They did the same to one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations. More than 800 days later, neither Branch nor Loveless has been charged. But neither has been cleared, either. Their access to classified information remains blocked. Although the Navy transferred Loveless to a slightly less sensitive post, it kept Branch in charge of its intelligence division. That has resulted in an awkward arrangement, akin to sending a warship into battle with its skipper stuck onshore. [Epic Navy bribery scandal shows how easy it can be to steal military secrets] Branch can’t meet with other senior U.S. intelligence leaders to discuss sensitive operations, or hear updates from his staff about secret missions or projects. It can be a chore just to set foot in colleagues’ offices; in keeping with regulations, they must conduct a sweep beforehand to make sure any classified documents are locked up. Some critics have questioned how smart it is for the Navy to retain an intelligence chief with such limitations, for so long, especially at a time when the Pentagon is confronted by crises in the Middle East, the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and other hotspots. “I have never heard of anything as asinine, bizarre or stupid in all my years,” Norman Polmar, a naval analyst and historian, said in an interview. In an op-ed in Navy Times last fall, Polmar urged Navy leaders to replace Branch and Loveless for the sake of national security. He cited complaints from several unnamed Navy officers that “intelligence management is being hampered at a moment of great turmoil.” Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, left, and Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch. (U.S. Navy via Associated Press) It’s a touchy subject for Navy brass, who have struggled to replace Branch. Twice in the past 14 months, they have taken steps to nominate a new intelligence chief — who must be confirmed by the Senate — but haven’t followed through. There’s no indication that a successor will be in place anytime soon. In a statement, Rear Adm. Dawn Cutler, the Navy’s chief spokeswoman, said the Justice Department’s ongoing investigation of Branch and Loveless “has not impacted the Navy’s ability to manage operations.” She said the two still perform managerial duties while their civilian and military deputies handle the classified aspects of their jobs. Branch and Loveless declined interview requests placed through the Navy. In addition to serving as chief of Navy intelligence, Branch holds the title of the Navy’s chief information officer, oversees the Navy’s 55,000-member Information Dominance Corps and is in charge of many cybersecurity programs. Privately, some Navy leaders acknowledged that dealing with the fallout from the Justice Department’s investigation has been a nightmare, and that they never anticipated the case would drag on so long. “We had the understanding that this was going to resolve itself pretty quickly,” said a senior Navy official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid antagonizing federal prosecutors. “We have no actionable information on Admiral Branch, good, bad or otherwise. All we know is that he’s wrapped up in this somehow.” “Until these things resolve themselves, we’re kind of frozen,” the senior official added. “Is it optimum? No, it’s not optimum. But it’s where we are.” Cigars and suckling pigs Branch has long been a star in the Navy’s officer corps. A fighter pilot by training, he has flown combat missions over Grenada, Lebanon, the Balkans and Iraq. He’s perhaps best known for his leading role in a 10-part PBS documentary, “Carrier,” an inside account of life aboard the world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, which he commanded in 2005. In July 2013, he was promoted to become a three-star admiral and director of naval intelligence. But he would soon become hamstrung in the job. About the same time, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Justice Department were intensifying an investigation of Glenn Defense Marine Asia, a Singapore-based firm that had resupplied U.S. Navy vessels at Asian ports for a quarter century. The company’s chief executive, Leonard Glenn Francis, was lured to the United States in a sting operation and was arrested at a San Diego hotel. A large and charismatic man known as “Fat Leonard,” he was charged with running a bribery scheme and defrauding the Navy of more than $20 million. An undated company handout photo shows Leonard Glenn Francis, aka “Fat Leonard,” defense contractor who supplied U.S. Navy vessels in Asia for a quarter century. (Glenn Defense Marine Asia) Several Navy officials were arrested, including a senior NCIS agent who confessed to feeding inside information to Francis for years. As the case unfolded in federal court, prosecutors described in astonishing detail how Francis had bribed Navy officers with prostitutes, cash-stuffed envelopes, lavish hotel stays, spa treatments, and epicurean dinners featuring champagne, Cuban cigars, Kobe beef and Spanish suckling pigs. In exchange, prosecutors said, some Navy officials provided Francis with classified information and steered Navy vessels to ports he controlled so he could overcharge the U.S. government for fuel, food, water and other supplies. The investigation escalated quickly as federal agents traced Francis’s interactions with hundreds of Navy personnel over the previous decade. On Nov. 8, 2013, late on a Friday night, the Navy announced that Branch and Loveless had been swept up in the case. The Navy gave no details about what they were alleged to have done. Although the Navy said there was no evidence that either admiral had compromised military secrets, it suspended their access to classified material, saying the move was “prudent given the sensitive nature of their current duties.” ‘Good time on Leonard’s dime’ Little information about their predicament has surfaced since then. One year later, Branch issued a statement to the Navy Times in which he said investigators were examining work performed by Glenn Defense Marine Asia while he served as the commander of the Nimitz. He didn’t elaborate, but said he looked forward to the end of the inquiry “so that I can resume in full my service to the Navy and the country.” Justice Department officials declined to answer questions about their scrutiny of Branch or to discuss why the inquiry has taken so long. “This remains an active, ongoing investigation that covers conduct that spans more than a decade and involves a massive amount of evidence, multiple countries, tens of millions of dollars in fraud, and millions of dollars in bribes and gifts to scores of U.S. Navy officials,” Laura Duffy, the U.S. attorney in San Diego, said in a statement. [Three U.S. naval officers censured in ‘Fat Leonard’ corruption probe] A source close to the investigation said more than 100 Navy personnel and other people remain under investigation for potential criminal, financial or ethical violations. “The sheer number of people involved here is extraordinary,” the source said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the case is ongoing. A second source close to the investigation said that Branch met Francis 16 years ago, when Branch was the executive officer of the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, and that the pair stayed in regular contact. The source said Francis has also known Loveless for many years, dating to his deployments in Asia as an intelligence officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk and as intelligence chief for the Navy’s 7th Fleet, based in Japan. Although it is against federal ethics regulations to accept gifts from contractors, the Justice Department is focusing on Navy personnel who in turn did Francis’s bidding by sharing inside information or enabling him to overcharge the government. “Some guys were just having a good time on Leonard’s dime,” the second source close to the investigation said. “Other guys were passing on classified information.” Prosecutors have suggested that more arrests are likely. Seven defendants, including Francis, have pleaded guilty so far in federal court. Federal corruption charges also are pending against a Navy commander and a senior Pentagon civilian. In addition, a former Navy contracting official living in Singapore was arrested there last month. The extent of the scandal has been deeply humiliating for the Navy. Last week, at the sentencing of an enlisted sailor who forked over military secrets in exchange for cash and electronic gadgets, Rear Adm. Jonathan A. Yuen, the chief of the Navy Supply Corps, said he was mortified by the revelations in court. “I do not have the words to express the depth of the betrayal,” Yuen testified. “No amount of money is worth betraying our nation, our Navy or our shipmates.” In addition to those facing criminal prosecution by the Justice Department, the Navy has been investigating an unspecified number of people suspected of violating military regulations. In February, for instance, the Navy officially censured three admirals for dining at “extravagant” banquets and accepting other gifts from Francis when they were assigned to the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier strike group a decade ago. [Powerful admiral punishes suspected whistleblowers, still gets promotion] Three stars or two stars With Loveless’s status in limbo, the Navy transferred him to another position in December 2014. As the corporate director for information dominance, he still works for Navy intelligence. But he deals primarily with issues that don’t require a security clearance, such as personnel and training, officials said. The Navy has twice taken steps to replace Branch as well, but for reasons that remain unclear, hasn’t gone through with it. In November 2014, the Navy prepared a nomination package for Rear Adm. Elizabeth Train to become the service’s intelligence head. But her promotion was put on hold after someone filed a complaint against her with the Navy inspector general. Rear Adm. Elizabeth L. Train. (U.S. Navy) Details of the complaint couldn’t be learned, but Pentagon officials said Train was cleared of wrongdoing by the inspector general. Her nomination was finally sent to the Senate Armed Services Committee in September. Nothing has happened since. Pentagon officials said that her nomination has been placed on the back burner and that she’s not scheduled for promotion until July, although they declined to explain why. Such a delay could work in Branch’s favor. If he remains in his current job until July, he will have enough service time to qualify to retire as a vice admiral. If forced to leave before then, it’s more likely that he would have to retire at a lower rank as a two-star admiral, with a smaller pension. The senior Navy official disputed that Branch’s rank and retirement eligibility was influencing the timetable to replace him. “That has not been a factor whatsoever,” the official said. Even if Branch were cleared of wrongdoing by the Justice Department and the Navy tomorrow, he would face a much longer wait to regain access to military secrets. Pentagon officials said his security clearance would have to be restored by a separate arm of the bureaucracy — the Defense Department’s Central Adjudication Facility — in a process that usually takes months. ||||| Ted Branch, then a rear admiral, speaks to the press in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in this 2010 photo. Now a vice admiral and the service’s top intelligence officer, he and and Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations, were placed on leave Friday and their access to classified material was suspended, the Navy said in a statement. (Vanderlei Almeida /AFP/Getty Images) Two U.S. admirals — including the director of naval intelligence — are under investigation as part of a major bribery scandal involving a foreign defense contractor, Navy officials announced Friday night. Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch, the service’s top intelligence officer, and Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations, were placed on leave Friday, and their access to classified material was suspended, the Navy said in a statement. Both admirals are being investigated for their ties to a Singapore-based defense contractor, Glenn Defense Marine Asia, whose chief executive was arrested in September on charges that he bribed other Navy officers into giving him classified or privileged information in exchange for prostitutes and cash. Two Navy commanders and a senior Naval Criminal Investigative Service agent have already been arrested, and a captain was relieved of his ship’s command last month in connection with the case. But the announcement that two admirals in charge of protecting the Navy’s secrets have been swept up in the investigation makes the crisis the worst to tar the Navy since the 1991 Tailhook scandal, when a convention of naval aviators sexually assaulted scores of women. Rear Admiral Bruce F. Loveless, Director of Intelligence Operations. (http://www.navy.mil/) Navy officials said they were bracing for even more bad news to emerge from a corruption case that has expanded swiftly since it became public in September. “We do believe that other naval officers will likely be implicated in this scandal,” Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Navy’s chief spokesman, said in a telephone interview. The Navy did not disclose why Loveless and Branch had drawn the scrutiny of investigators but said their alleged misconduct occurred prior to their current assignments and before they became admirals. “There is no indication, nor do the allegations suggest, that in either case there was any breach of classified information,” Kirby said in a statement. But a Navy official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case said the NCIS recently uncovered evidence of “personal misconduct” against Branch and Loveless as the investigation into Glenn Defense Marine widened. Neither Branch nor Loveless has been charged with a crime or service violation, and both men retain their rank while the investigation proceeds, the Navy said. The decision to suspend their access to classified information was made by Navy Secretary Ray Mabus. The suspension of two senior intelligence officials raises serious questions about whether national security may have been compromised because of improper contact between Navy officers and Glenn Defense Marine. Prosecutors from the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego have charged the two Navy commanders with passing classified information about ship and submarine movements to Leonard Glenn Francis, a Malaysian national and the chief executive of Glenn Defense Marine. Navy contracting officials raised suspicions about Francis — who is known as “Fat Leonard” in Navy circles because of his imposing girth — as far back as 2005. But prosecutors allege he was able to dodge scrutiny by bribing Navy officers and the NCIS agent for inside information about law enforcement probes and contract audits. To recruit the moles, Francis plied the officers with female escorts, cash, paid travel and other perks, including tickets to a Lady Gaga concert in Thailand and a performance of “The Lion King” in Japan, according to court records. Glenn Defense Marine has serviced and supplied Navy ships and submarines at ports around the Pacific for a quarter-century, providing fuel, tugboats, sewage disposal, wharfside security and other assistance. Francis and his company were familiar faces to Navy brass, including the commanders of most vessels in the Pacific. The company was rewarded in 2011 with new contracts valued up to $200 million. Prosecutors, however, allege that the firm routinely overbilled for everything from tugboats to fuel to sewage disposal, defrauding the Navy of more than $10 million. Francis sought inside information on ship deployments and pressed at least one commander to steer aircraft carriers and other vessels to ports where his firm could easily overcharge the Navy for services, court documents allege. Earlier Friday, Francis and one of the Navy commanders charged in the case, Michael Vannak Khem Misiewicz, appeared in federal court in San Diego for a procedural hearing. Misiewicz had been a rising star in the Navy; he escaped Cambodia’s “killing fields” as a child, then made a triumphant return to the country decades later as the skipper of a U.S. destroyer. Prosecutors told the court that they would be seeking an order to prohibit defense attorneys from circulating or sharing evidence. They noted that the NCIS agent, John B. Beliveau II, is charged with giving sensitive law enforcement files to Francis to help him duck charges. Francis is being held without bond because prosecutors have argued that, as a Malaysian citizen, he poses a flight risk. He was arrested in San Diego in September after investigators lured him to the United States in a sting operation. His attorney and a spokeswoman for Glenn Defense Marine have declined to comment on the allegations against him. Another Glenn Defense Marine executive, Alex Wisidagama of Singapore, was arrested at the same time in San Diego and also faces bribery charges. The second Navy commander, Jose Luis Sanchez, was arrested Wednesday in Tampa on charges that he gave classified information to Glenn Defense Marine in exchange for prostitutes and more than $100,000 in cash. Sanchez is a former senior logistics officer for the Navy’s 7th Fleet in Japan. Charging documents show that Francis enjoyed a cozy and familiar relationship with the two commanders and the NCIS agent, referring to them as “bro” or “brudda” in e-mails and sending them photos of call girls he was planning to set them up with. In return, the Navy officers playfully called Francis “Lion King” or “Big Bro.” Court records describe him as standing 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighing 350 pounds. Pentagon officials have identified Capt. Daniel Dusek, former commander of the USS Bonhomme Richard, as another target of the investigation. He has not been charged, but the Navy relieved him of command Oct. 2, citing the investigation. The U.S. military has never been immune from contracting scandals, but it is extremely rare for senior uniformed commanders to face fraud or corruption charges. It is unclear how well Branch or Loveless may have known Francis. But both admirals have spent parts of their careers deployed to Asia. Branch, an aviator, previously was an executive assistant to the commander of the Pacific Fleet. He was promoted to vice admiral in July when he took over as director of naval intelligence. Loveless assumed his current job at the Pentagon in February. He also commanded the U.S. Pacific Command’s Joint Intelligence Operations Center, based at Pearl Harbor, from 2009 to 2012. Agents from the NCIS, the Defense Criminal Investigative Service and the Defense Contract Audit Agency are working together on the probe. The criminal investigation is being overseen by the U.S. attorney’s office in San Diego and Justice Department officials in Washington. ||||| The Navy has suspended access to classified material of two admirals in connection with a massive bribery scheme in Asia involving prostitutes and luxury travel. Vice Adm. Ted Branch, director of naval intelligence, and Rear Adm. Bruce Loveless, director of intelligence operations, are on temporary leave following suspension of their classified access. Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Navy's chief of information, said the actions against Branch and Loveless are connected to a naval investigation into illegal and improper relations with a Singapore-based Navy contractor. Three senior Navy officials have been arrested in the case. Kirby said the allegations against Branch and Loveless involve conduct before their current assignments and rank. Neither officer has been charged with a crime. Kirby said there is no indication any classified information was breached.

– The intelligence chief for the US Navy is named Twig Branch, and he hasn't been allowed to see any major intelligence for more than two years. This isn't a lost chapter from the satirically bizarre Catch-22—it's the truth behind the scenes of a major military corruption investigation, the Washington Post reveals. Vice Adm. Ted Branch ("Twig" is his nickname) has been barred from accessing classified info since November 2013, which is when the Navy got wind from the Justice Department that Branch may be entwined with a case involving bribery of Navy officials by a Malaysian defense contractor. Deciding it was too risky to keep him abreast of the most top-secret info, the Navy stripped him—and one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless—of that access in anticipation of his possible indictment. Meanwhile, the investigation drags on. While Loveless was moved to a lower-level position, Branch was kept in place—a move that has baffled military analysts. "I have never heard of anything as asinine, bizarre, or stupid in all my years," historian Norman Polmar tells the Post. (Polmar has begged the Navy to rethink this arrangement.) It does seem, at the very least, unwieldy: Not only is Branch barred from meeting with other top US intelligence officials about sensitive projects, he can't hear updates about them, either—and even strolling into a co-worker's office to say hi means that colleague has to "make sure any classified documents are locked up," per the Post. A Navy spokeswoman simply says that the bribery probe "has not impacted the Navy's ability to manage operations" and that Branch's sensitive tasks are managed by his deputies. (Read the entire odd story here.)

Apple Inc. (AAPL) plans to debut a smaller, cheaper iPad by year-end, two people with knowledge of the plans said, to help maintain dominance of the tablet market as Google Inc. (GOOG) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) prepare competing handheld devices. The new model will have a screen that’s 7 inches to 8 inches diagonally, less than the current 9.7-inch version, said the people, who asked not to be identified because Apple hasn’t made its plans public. The product, which Apple may announce by October, won’t have the high-definition screen featured on the iPad that was released in March, one of the people said. A smaller, less expensive iPad could undercut the ambitions of Google, Microsoft and Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) to gain traction in the advancing tablet market, said Shaw Wu, an analyst at Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. The new device will probably have a price closer to Google’s Nexus 7 tablet and Amazon’s Kindle Fire, both of which have 7-inch screens and cost $199. “It would be the competitors’ worst nightmare,” Wu said in an interview. “The ball is in Apple’s court.” Trudy Muller, a spokeswoman for Cupertino, California-based Apple, declined to comment yesterday. Since the iPad went on sale in April 2010, Apple has dominated the tablet market, which is predicted by DisplaySearch to reach $66.4 billion this year. Apple has 61 percent of the market, according to Gartner Inc. Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Hugo Barra, director of product management at Google Inc., with the Nexus 7 tablet during the Google I/O conference in San Francisco on June 27, 2012. Close Hugo Barra, director of product management at Google Inc., with the Nexus 7 tablet... Read More Close Open Photographer: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg Hugo Barra, director of product management at Google Inc., with the Nexus 7 tablet during the Google I/O conference in San Francisco on June 27, 2012. Apple’s rivals are eager to gain a toehold. Google said on June 27 that it will sell a tablet-style device called the Nexus 7. Earlier in the month, Microsoft announced a tablet called Surface that will have a similar screen size as the current iPad. Amazon’s Kindle Fire was released last year. Google Strategy The entrants’ best chance of success has been to focus on markets where Apple had no toehold, said Jan Dawson, an analyst at Ovum Ltd. The Surface comes in two models that are most likely to appeal to buyers who want to continue using Microsoft’s Windows software, Dawson said. While Microsoft has not disclosed pricing or timing for either, the higher-end version will probably be pricier than the iPad and targeted more at an emerging class of laptop PCs called Ultrabooks, he said. The latest iPad ranges in price from $499 to $829. Google’s Nexus 7 could stack up well against Amazon’s Kindle Fire, which went on sale in November. The Nexus 7, manufactured by Asustek Computer Inc. (2357), has a faster processor and better battery life than the Kindle Fire, as well as a front-facing camera. Still, competing with a lower-priced iPad will be more challenging, Wu said. Apple benefits from having more than 225,000 apps that have been tailored specifically for the current iPad. Apple Retail The company also boasts more than 360 retail stores where the device can be purchased and tested by consumers. Google said the Nexus 7 will be available only from its online store, while Microsoft will sell its tablets online and at its smaller chain of 20 stores. Apple has considered introducing a smaller tablet since the original iPad was released, one person said. That approach has worked for Apple’s iPod, which is the world’s top music player and comes in various sizes and colors. Yet Apple co-founder Steve Jobs spoke skeptically of smaller tablets before his death in October. He said in 2010 that the iPad’s current size was the minimum required to ensure a good user-experience and enable attractive software applications. The screen of the small model will have the same number of pixels as those in the iPad before it was upgraded to the so- called Retina Display earlier this year, one person said. Fatter Margins Apple also may be at an advantage profit-wise. The gross margin on the latest iPad is about 37 percent, according to Wu. Apple could earn a similar profit on a smaller iPad because it will probably use the cheaper screen, Wu said. Apple can also charge more for the device without sacrificing sales, he said. “This isn’t like the old days, when it cost thousands of dollars more to buy an Apple product,” Wu said. “Fifty or a hundred bucks wouldn’t be enough to make someone switch.” Amazon, by contrast, loses money on every Kindle Fire it sells, with the aim of profiting from sales of books and other digital media. At the $199 price of the Nexus 7, Google’s plan should be to break even on the hardware, in exchange for the opportunity to win advertising and related revenue, said Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Gartner Inc. Apple’s plans to release a smaller sized iPad were reported previously in blogs, including DigiTimes. Microsoft’s Stakes The stakes are high for Microsoft and Google to succeed at hardware sales. Both companies have risked alienating long-time hardware partners, such as Samsung Electronics Co., by selling their own tablets, Gartenberg said. “How does Samsung make money in tablets, when Google is partnering with Asus to make a product that makes no money?” he asked. A failure to gain traction with the Nexus 7 and Surface, respectively, might also undermine the credibility of Google’s Android strategy and of Microsoft’s introduction of the next version of the Windows operating system, Wu said. If Google and Microsoft can’t make a must-have product around their own software, consumers may be harder to convince that hardware manufacturers could do it, he said. “They’re really sticking their necks out this time, putting their own brands on this front and center,” Wu said. To contact the reporters on this story: Peter Burrows in San Francisco at pburrows@bloomberg.net; Adam Satariano in San Francisco at asatariano1@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tom Giles at tgiles5@bloomberg.net ||||| Customers try iPad tablets on display at a new Apple store during its official oppening in Strasbourg September 15, 2012. SAN FRANCISCO | SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Apple Inc on Tuesday invited members of the media to an event next week where it is expected to challenge rivals Amazon.com Inc and Google Inc with a less expensive and smaller version of its popular iPad tablet. The October 23 event will be held at the California Theatre in San Jose, Apple said in an invitation did not reveal details of the event, but hinted at something small with the words: "We've got a little more to show you." An Apple spokeswoman declined to give any further details. Wall Street analysts have said for months that Apple is planning a smaller, less expensive version of its popular iPad to take on cheaper competing devices. Apple launches are some of the hottest events on the tech calendar, scrutinized by fans, investors, the media and industry insiders alike. Apple now has just one 9.7-inch iPad, though it does come with various storage options and starts at $499. The previous version, or iPad 2, is available now for $399. The new smaller tablet is expected to feature a display that is between 7 inches and 8 inches. Wall Street analysts expect Apple will price the new tablet between $199 and $299. A smaller iPad will directly compete with e-commerce giant Amazon's Kindle Fire HD tablet and Google's Nexus 7, both of which have 7-inch screens and are priced at $199. The first Kindle Fire, launched last year, went on to grab about a fifth of the U.S. tablet market. The California Theatre is not one of Apple's go-to venues for product launches but the company has used the location before, including in 2004 to unveil the Special Edition U2 iPod, along with a performance by the rock band U2. (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and David Gregorio) ||||| Amazon's new HDX tablets are a huge technological leap beyond last year's models, but are still priced aggressively. Amazon's first trick was selling a tablet so cheap, it was hard not to buy it, despite the shortcomings. Amazon's next trick was to build a second, larger tablet, to show it could compete (if not necessarily win) in the big leagues. Amazon's third trick — revealed Wednesday — is to blow past Apple and the Android rivals with flatter, faster tablets that are nonetheless priced insanely low. We've long known CEO Jeff Bezos was content to sell devices at cost — but we didn't know his company would actually go out and pay for such nice tablets. Here comes Kindle Fire HDX. The Origami cover, available in various colors and materials for both the 7-inch and 8.9-inch models. "We make money when people use our devices, not when they buy our devices," Bezos told NBC News Monday during an in-person product briefing where he showed off the two new tablets. Major upgrades from last year's models, the 7-inch and 8.9-inch HDX models have the highest-resolution screens currently on the market, and the fastest chips ever put in tablets. But specs aren't the only step up here: new features let you send video to a smart TV or game console, enter low-power mode while reading books, download subscription movies for offline viewing — and even call for help from a live human technician if you run into trouble. There's also a new magnetic jacket, the Origami cover — available in eight different color options, and in both leather and polyurethane — that folds up in a unique way to serve as a stable dual-position stand. If many of these features are starting to sound a little bit like Apple's, that's surely by design. But it's also a threat to Apple's message of premium content and superior convenience: The HDX screens are much easier on the eyes than last year's iPads — the tablets' "pixel density" is better than the 9.7-inch iPad's "Retina" display and far better than the low-res screen on the iPad Mini. The ability to send video to a TV relies on the cloud, so it doesn't strain the tablet's processor like it does on an iPad. The feature also works with many TVs and set-top boxes that already have the Amazon Instant Video app, whereas iPads work only with Apple TVs. And no current iPad will let you read for 17 hours straight. When the Origami covers are folded out, they become stable stands. Let's not bury the other good news: The new 7-incher will cost $229 and ships Oct. 15, while the 8.9-incher — now with a rear-facing 8-megapixel camera — will cost $379 when it ships on Nov. 7. 4G versions of the two will be available for $100 extra, and now buyers will have a choice of adding service from AT&T or Verizon. (The Origami covers range in price from $45 to $70, based on size and material.) Bezos said that Amazon is selling these at "roughly break-even" pricing, because the company makes money on its content sales. But assuming that's still too pricey, last year's $199 Kindle Fire HD will now sell for $139, and become the entry-level Kindle tablet. (While things are looking very upbeat for Amazon right about now, a review of the tablets may turn up negatives not seen during the first pass. Also, Apple hasn't yet announced what's up its sleeve for this fall.) Consumers, consumers, consumers Sure, Amazon is cranking up the capability of its super-flat touchscreen computers — your last laptop probably didn't have a 2.2GHz quad-core processor, but both of these do. Still, that doesn't mean the company is any closer to emphasizing creative use of its tablets. If the Android camp is about customization, and Apple's message is inspiration, Amazon's content-forward user interface shows that it's still betting on consumption — books, videos, music, but also gaming and the Web. You can use a Kindle HDX tablet to point videos at a TV (provided you have a compatible set-top device). The tablet doesn't stream the video, however. Instead, it tells the app to pull it from the cloud, saving tablet battery life. Aside from tossing video to your TV — which you can do from the new tablets provided you have an up-to-date Samsung Smart TV, Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 (with more devices compatible soon) — there are loads of new content perks. The X-Ray feature on movies now has a "music" category, so you can find out exactly what song is playing at any point in a video, and then buy it. (Let's face it, the biggest ongoing complaint that can be had about Amazon's consumer-electronics play is how aggressively retail-motivated it is. On the flip side, at least you're the customer, as opposed to Facebook and Google, which are in the business of selling you to advertisers.) Speaking of X-Ray, and music, there's now X-Ray for Music, which brings up song lyrics and other data based on what you're playing. It's a cool feature — jump to your favorite line in a song, and the music skips ahead. And while X-Ray's movie data is crowdsourced through Amazon's IMDB website, Bezos said that Amazon pays music publishers for the right to display song lyrics here. "This is the legit thing," Bezos said. "Sometimes you just pay." Perhaps the best new video perk for Prime customers is the ability to download titles for offline viewing. This means no more frustration about not being able to pre-load subscription content for a long car or plane trip. (Maybe Netflix will take a page from this book, and build a similar feature into its tablet apps.) A "Mayday" tech support consultant can pop up with the tap of a finger. You can see them, but they can't see you. Mayday, Mayday If you get lost in all of the new features, just send a finger-tap distress call to "Mayday." The little lifesaver icon launches a pop-up real live human helper, who can take charge, drawing arrows and circles to guide you around your devices, or even taking control if you just can't sort it out. Though it's not totally their mission, the Mayday consultants may even help with your Amazon shopping. Mayday comes with every new tablet and requires no subscription, not even Amazon's $79-per-year Prime service. And though the concierges can hear you, and control your screen, they can pause screen sharing when you enter passwords or other sensitive information, and of course they can't see you. "It's one-way," Bezos says of the video portion of the Mayday chat software. "That preserves bandwidth for the important half of the connection, and also, you don't have to worry about what you're wearing or not wearing," Bezos deadpanned, before breaking into laughter. Unlike, say, Apple's app store partners, which run the widest gamut from productivity to creativity to media consumption, Amazon's closest third-party partnerships tend to be with game companies. Nevertheless, the company noticed that its devices are gaining popularity in the office, and started to dial up its tablets' business functionality. The latest Kindle Fire software includes better support for secure corporate Wi-Fi networks, an improved Exchange-based email app, the ability to print documents to a wireless printer, secure intranet site browsing and more. Thanks to their increased horsepower, the new HDX tablets will also get secure hardware encryption. The Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 has a rear-facing camera. When you use the Origami cover, flipping the tablet upwards frees up the lens and launches the camera app. And about that horsepower: Under the hood, both new Kindles run the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor, power-wise a notch above the Snapdragon S4 Pro found in Google's 2013 Nexus models. And they all start with 2GB of RAM, double that of their predecessors. In other respects, the two tablets match up fairly closely with Google's. Both the Google Nexus 7 and Amazon's 7-inch HDX have 1920 x 1200-pixel displays, while both the Nexus 10 and the 8.9-inch HDX have pixel counts of 2560 x 1600. (Since the HDX is smaller than the 10-inch Nexus, its pixel density is an unprecedented 339 pixels per inch. That's a number that'll make a few tablet nerds faint.) You don't have to buy one Ironically, a key element to the Kindle sales pitch is that while Amazon wants you to own their e-readers and tablets, they don't necessarily care if you buy the new ones. On a recent visit to a beach in Florida, Bezos said, "I saw people using many old generations of Kindle and I don't have to be discouraged by that. Nobody has to be on the upgrade treadmill." Then he put it another way: "We're indifferent to the actual transaction of selling the device." What this means is that many of the features rolling out with the new devices will appear in previous models as well — not to mention on apps running on the competition's tablets. Just look how aggressively Amazon has kept up its iPad Kindle Reader and Instant Video apps, all the while trying to one-up the iPad in hardware. This apparent platform "indifference" is what makes buying Amazon content so easy -- but when you buy enough Amazon content, little advantages that appear in its hardware suddenly seem magnified. Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos seems pretty happy with his new Kindle Fire HDX tablets. Because of this, the pressure is once again on Amazon's competitors to give better reasons for continuing to buy new devices. Google has a hard time in general, because it's much newer to the paid content business than Amazon and Apple. But yes, Apple, what will this third and best generation of Amazon tablets mean for the iPad? In a post-PC world, you may want an iPad in order to run Microsoft Office, Traktor DJ, Adobe Photoshop Touch and Cisco WebEx Meetings. But when it comes to buying a second device, why would you buy an expensive iPad when Amazon sells a cheaper tablet with high performance and little or no compromise? After all, you can use either to enjoy your Amazon-bought books and videos. Apple likely will release a "Retina" iPad Mini by the end of October, but will the company also reduce the price by $100? How long can Apple charge its premium pricing with so fit a competitor as Amazon nipping at its heels? Wilson Rothman is the Technology & Science editor at NBC News Digital. Catch up with him on Twitter at @wjrothman, and join our conversation on Facebook.

– Amazon will have a tablet computer of its own out by October to compete with the iPad, reports the Wall Street Journal. Insiders say the Android device will have a 9-inch screen but no camera. Amazon also plans two Kindle updates: One version will have a touch-screen and the other will be an improved (and cheaper) version of the current model. Some quick reaction: Sam Biddle, Gizmodo: Not a huge surprise, but the 9-inch screen "says a lot," he writes. "It's not looking to simply be a better Nook Color, but a real tablet fighting the iPad and every other major slate thing out there." Click for the full column. Nicholas Carlson, Fast Company: "We're pretty sure Amazon will be a big player in the tablets market," he writes, referencing this earlier story.

A mother whose newborn son was mistakenly turned over by maternity ward staff to another mother and breast-fed has sued the Minneapolis hospital. Tammy Van Dyke, of Apple Valley, sued Allina Health System's Abbott Northwestern Hospital late last week. The suit said the Dec. 5, 2012, mix-up led to "unnecessary medical treatment, tests and expenses, and severe mental injury and emotional pain and suffering." In response, Abbott acknowledged the mistake, saying it appears the staff failed to follow procedure of matching codes on the infants' and mothers' identification bands. Two months later, Abbott instituted a new procedure using higher-tech identification bands to avoid further mix-ups. "We began using electronic identification bands for the mother and infant that must be matched when returning the infant to the mother," said Michelle Smith, who oversees Abbott's Mother Baby Center. "This helps us to assure that the identity of the infant and mother are matched each time." The new system displays a green light to tell the nurse that the mother and baby match. Allina spokeswoman Gloria O'Connell said Tuesday she's unaware of any such mix-up occurring at Abbott since the electronic bands started being used. Van Dyke gave birth to son Cody Stepp on Dec. 3, 2012, and the boy was handed over to another mother in the center and breast-fed, the suit said. Cody was wearing three hospital ID bracelets with the proper identification on his ankle, according to his mother. A few days after the late-night mistake, Van Dyke said that Cody and the other woman, who had given birth to twins, were given blood tests to make sure they were not exposed to any infectious diseases, such as hepatitis or HIV, that can be transmitted through breast milk. All the tests were negative, she said — but Cody had retesting scheduled every three months for a year. The suit seeks more than $50,000 and whatever other compensation a court might find proper for Van Dyke. Her attorney, Wayne Jagow, declined to discuss specific facts of the case, but said they decided to sue after negotiations for a settlement failed. "My client had no desire to bring herself into the limelight again by starting a lawsuit, but really had no choice as our statute of limitations was up," Jagow said in an e-mail. "We had attempted to get some sort of dialogue going with Abbott/Allina over the last year to handle this quietly and they simply refused." Jagow also said Van Dyke was not told of any changes to procedures to prevent this from happening to other families. "This has always been her primary concern," he said. ||||| A newborn baby will have to undergo a year of medical tests for HIV and hepatitis because he was accidentally put in the wrong bassinet by a Minneapolis hospital and then breastfed by the wrong mother. The mix-up happened Wednesday in Abbott Northwestern Hospital when Tammy Van Dyke's little boy Cody was accidentally switched to the wrong bassinet in the nursery. "You put your baby in the nursery, not even 48-hours old, and you think they're safe," Van Dyke told ABC News today. "I'm holding it together. I'm just in disbelief, and it was like I was in a dream, a bad dream, and I couldn't get it to stop." Van Dyke was told two hours after the switch happened, just hours before she was going to take Cody home. The infant had to undergo blood testing for HIV and hepatitis immediately following the switch. "It was horrible," Van Dyke said. "Two nurses had to go in through veins in his tiny little arms." Although the tests came back negative, Abbott Northwestern Hospital told Van Dyke her newborn son would have to undergo blood testing every three months for a year. Hospital spokeswoman Gloria O'Connell said the tests were "just a precaution," but declined to elaborate because of patient confidentiality. Van Dyke was able to speak with the other mother, who had to wait 20 minutes before her baby, Liam, was located. "It gave me peace of mind to talk to her," Van Dyke said. "She was just as distraught as me that this happened to her, and in the meantime, also didn't know where her baby was. She has twins." Van Dyke, who also has a 2-year-old, said the homecoming shortly after wasn't what she thought it would be. "I imagined getting up and getting ready and having Cody in the car with his big brother and coming home as a happy family," Van Dyke said. "We were going to videotape the homecoming, showing his room, and I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't put myself together, because it wasn't what I had imagined all this time." In an apology letter given to her, the hospital states: "Please accept this letter with our sincerest apologies for what occurred today at the hospital, that in the nursery your newborn son was placed in the wrong bassinette and then was taken to the wrong mother and breastfed. The hospital agrees to pay for the additional testing that you had done today and will also pay for the tests recommended for your son related to this incident up to one year." And in a press release from Abbott Northwestern, practicing obstetrician and Chief Clinical Officer of Allina Health, Dr. Penny Wheeler, said, "As an obstetrician, I have personally seen verification of the infant's identifying name band matched correctly with the mother's on hundreds of occasions. It is extremely unfortunate that was not the case this time. We sincerely apologize to the involved families and will make certain we understand why our procedures were not appropriately followed in this case." "I will be thankful to God when this year's over and he's cleared all his health tests and we don't have to think about this again," Van Dyke said. ||||| IOWA CITY — A Davenport woman gave birth in a University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics bathroom on Mother’s Day and attempted to flush the newborn down a toilet, believing it was stillborn, authorities said. According to a UI Department of Public Safety criminal complaint, 22-year-old Ashley R. Hautzenrader entered a bathroom in the John Colloton Pavillion at UIHC around 9:24 p.m. May 8 and delivered a baby into the toilet. Hautzenrader told police she did not know she was pregnant before entering the bathroom. The newborn was not crying, leading Hautzenrader to believe the child was dead. Police said she attempted to flush it down the toilet. Hautzenrader then placed the child in a pillow case and put the baby in a trash can, police said. She then cleaned the bathroom and left. UIHC employees later found the baby alive in the trash can. Officers confronted Hautzenrader, who admitted to putting the child in the trash can. UI spokesman Tom Moore, citing federal health privacy law, said the hospital cannot say whether Hautzenrader was a patient at the hospital or comment on a condition of the baby. He said that identifying the employees who discovered the baby would give “clues” to Hautzenrader’s private health care information. Moore said the baby was found “shortly after delivery.” Interim Public Safety Director Lucy Wiederholt said the incident remains under investigation and the police are not sharing any more information. Online court records identify Hautzenrader as the petitioner in a paternity and child support recovery case filed in Scott County in May 2015. Iowa has a Safe Haven Law that allows parents to leave a newborn up to 14 days old at a hospital without being prosecuted, according to the Iowa Department of Human Services. The law was enacted in 2002. Moore said the process to bring a baby to the UIHC under the Safe Haven law “is very easy.” The newborn can be brought to any location in the hospital — including reception desks, clinics and inpatient units — and turned over. “The child will be accepted and cared for with no questions asked,” Moore said in an email. The UI does not keep records on the number of children turned over under the Save Haven law, Moore said. Hautzenrader was arrested and faces one count of child endangerment, an aggravated misdemeanor punishable by up to two years in prison.

– In early December 2012, Tammy Van Dyke of Apple Valley, Minn., gave birth to a healthy baby boy. But shortly before she was set to take baby Cody home from the hospital two days into his life, she learned that a nursery mix-up had resulted in another mother breastfeeding her child. This led to "unnecessary medical treatment, tests and expenses, and severe mental injury and emotional pain and suffering," according to a lawsuit she has just filed against Allina Health System's Abbott Northwestern Hospital, which has admitted to the mistake, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. In the end, after a year of quarterly blood tests to ensure Cody had not been exposed to infectious diseases such as HIV, Cody came out in the clear. When the mixup was announced in 2012, hospital spokeswoman Gloria O'Connell told ABC News at the time the tests were "just a precaution." But it was still "horrible," said Van Dyke, who is seeking at least $50,000, plus whatever compensation a court might decide. "Two nurses had to go in through veins in his tiny little arms." Meanwhile, the other mother, who'd had twins, reportedly told hospital staff who brought her Cody that she didn't think the baby was hers, reports KARE 11, but they assured her he was. Then she saw his anklet and discovered the mixup. "She was just as distraught as I was," Van Dyke says. Two months after the mixup, "we began using electronic identification bands for the mother and infant that must be matched when returning the infant to the mother," says an Abbott rep. (A baby switched at birth in 1994 was awarded $2 million.)

The message from Elizabeth Smart to missing Provo woman Elizabeth Laguna-Salgado? "We will find you." Elizabeth Salgado Provo Police Department On Monday, Elizabeth Smart Gilmour and Ed Smart, her father, joined the family of Laguna-Salgado for a press conference to show support for the missing woman's case that has baffled investigators and the public alike. "We will find you. We are looking, and we won't give up," Smart said after being asked what her message would be to Laguna-Salgado. "Survive. Do whatever you need to survive." Saturday marked one year since Laguna-Salgado left class at the Nomen Global Language Center in Provo, Utah, and headed out to walk the 18 blocks back to her apartment. She never made it. The Smarts have dealt with a situation not unlike the one the Salgados face now. Smart, now 28, was kidnapped from her home in Salt Lake City, Utah in 2002 and held captive for nine months before being rescued. Many credit Smart's rescue to the widespread attention her case received, allowing a member of the public to recognize one of her captors and call for help. "We don't know if she's been trafficked, or what the scenario is, but the family still holds out great hope that she is out there," Ed Smart said. Elizabeth Smart and Libertad Salgado Figueroa, the mother of missing Provo woman Elizabeth Salgado. KSL News Laguna-Salgado's family believes she is being held against her will somewhere. They've spent the past year talking to the media and creating videos in several languages to plead for her release. "We can't help thinking about what she is going through right now," Rosemberg Salgado, Elizabeth's uncle, told Dateline. The situation has been especially stressful, as the majority of Elizabeth's relatives, including her parents, live in Mexico. Most do not speak English. "Stress is really high," he said. "She could be anywhere at this point." The 26-year-old, who speaks little English, had moved to Provo two weeks prior to her disappearance. She had just finished serving a mission in Mexico for the Mormon Church. Then, as her uncle told Dateline, she "wanted to progress her life and be alongside those of the same faith." There is still a full-time detective assigned to the case, but Provo police say that the stream of tips that came by the thousands a year ago, has drastically slowed. A $50,000 reward compiled from various donations is still being offered for Elizabeth's safe return. "It's been a frustrating case," Lt. Brandon Post of the Provo Police Department told Dateline this week. "One we really would like resolved in a positive way, and we are still doing everything we can to get that outcome." Laguna-Salgado is described as 5'4" tall, weighing 125 lbs. with black hair and brown eyes. If you have any information about the case, you're urged to call the Provo Police Department at (801) 852-6210. ||||| (KUTV) Kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart made a plea for information and tips in the case of missing Provo woman Elizabeth Salgado. Twenty-six-year-old Salgado disappeared a year ago Saturday, in broad daylight, on the streets of Provo. The young woman was new to Utah, a recently returned LDS missionary from Mexico. Tips coming into Provo police, a year after the fact, are drying up and the Smart's are hoping to get people thinking about where they were and what they saw one year ago. RELATED: Dozens march for missing Provo woman one year after disappearance "I have faith in humanity and this community and that we can bring her home, you brought me home. Why can't it happen again? Why can't another miracle happen?" Elizabeth Smart, now 28, was kidnapped at the age of 14 and held captive for nine months, knows the "impossible" can happen. "Please, if you know anything, if you've seen anything, don't give up; there is a very good chance that she is still alive." Elizabeth Smart was joined Monday, by her father Ed Smart who said, "We do not know if she has been trafficked or what the scenario is, but the family still holds out great hope she is out there." Ed Smart is using the lessons he learned in the search for his own daughter Elizabeth to help the Salgado family. The idea is to keep her name in the news and on people's minds. "It is hard to conceive that somebody did not see something out there." Ed Smart held almost daily news conferences, sometimes more than one a day, while Elizabeth was missing. The heightened awareness eventually helped community members bring her home. She was spotted in Sandy walking with Brian David Mitchell and Wanda Barzee. She was dressed in disguise, but her picture had been on the news so often, she was still easily recognizable. Elizabeth Salgado did not disappear in the dark of night like Elizabeth, she disappeared in broad daylight, walking home from Nomen Global Language Center in Provo, Utah. The young woman had an 18-block walk to her apartment where she never arrived. "I am begging the community to please help," said Salgado's uncle, Rosemberg Salgado, He remembers the relief that came when Elizabeth Smart was found. He believes his niece is still alive, and spoke directly to a possible captor. "If you have any compassion in your heart, any goodness, any conscience please listen to my plea and let my niece go." Salgado's mother is heartbroken and spoke in Spanish about her loss and desperate desire to have her daughter back. Elizabeth Smart encouraged her to keep faith and encouraged the missing young woman to do the same. "I would want her to not lose faith in her family, because your family still loves her it doesn't matter what has happened to her they still love her unconditionally and they want her home more than anything." Elizabeth Salgado is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighing 125 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. RELATED: Reward for information in Elizabeth Salgado case increased to $50k Provo Police still have a full-time detective assigned to the case, but say the stream of tips has drastically slowed from this time last year. There is a $50,000 reward offered for Salgado's safe return. Follow us on Twitter @KUTV2News and LIKE us on Facebook for breaking news, updates and more. ||||| The sister said the family wants the FBI to get involved in the investigation "as the police are not working at 100%." But in a detailed update posted Thursday on its Facebook page, the Provo Police Department said 30 department members are actively working the case and had dedicated 3,500 hours to date to find Laguna-Salgado. The department said it has followed up on more than 118 tips, including ones from throughout the nation; interviewed current and past roommates, students and teachers at Laguna-Salgado's school and all known sex offenders in the area; and conducted searches in the Provo area, including along the routes the missing woman might have taken at the time she vanished, from 100 North and 400 West to 1800 North and 450 West. Police also said they have gotten assistance from numerous other agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security, and notified immigration authorities to monitor for any border crossings. In the posting, Provo police say that to avoid compromising the investigation, they did not list all of their efforts. Lt. Brandon Post had said after an April 25 search of the various routes and of portions of the Provo River Trail that detectives were looking at a "couple of things" that were found, but he declined to give further details. According to her relatives, Laguna-Salgado went on a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in her native Mexico after getting a college degree and had come to Utah to study English. She was in Provo for less than a month before disappearing and had not yet learned the language. Laguna-Salgado was last seen at about 1:30 p.m. on April 16, walking home from the Nomen Global Language School at 384 W. Center St. to her apartment. Since then, she has not shown up at class or her job as a waitress, according to police, who said she does not own a car. At an April 24 news conference, Provo Police Chief John King said there was no proof Laguna-Salgado was abducted and nothing to indicate foul play. But investigators were concerned, he said, because she typically was in touch with her family every day. The chief also said there had been no activity on her cellphone or her credit cards. The missing woman's uncle, Rosemberg Salgado — flanked by kidnapping survivor Elizabeth Smart and her father, Ed Smart — made a tearful plea at that news conference for help finding his niece. Laguna-Salgado had mentioned that someone from school was "bugging" her to go out with him, Salgado said, but she wanted to focus on her studies and declined. The requests for help have drawn hundreds of volunteers who have participated in searches, handed out fliers, spread the word about the missing woman on social media, and donated printing services and reward money. Many have never met Laguna-Salgado or members of her family but wanted to help. One volunteer, Sylvia Haro, who has been helping to arrange news conferences and let the community know about Laguna-Salgado, said she felt like she needed to assist the family. "I have a daughter who's about her age and I would want everyone looking if that happened to me," Haro said Friday. She said the police are in constant contact with family members, who are "very supportive" of their efforts but get a little frustrated when they feel some tips are not being taken seriously. "All they want is Elizabeth back," Haro said.

– From one Elizabeth to another, an appeal to be strong and hopeful emerged Monday as Utah marked the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of 26-year-old Elizabeth Laguna-Salgado, per NBC News. "We will find you. We are looking, and we won't give up," Elizabeth Smart Gilmour, who herself was kidnapped at age 14, said at a press conference with Laguna-Salgado's family and her own father, Ed Smart. "Survive. Do whatever you need to survive." Laguna-Salgado vanished one year ago Saturday after leaving a local language center in Provo during daylight hours to make the 18-block walk to her apartment; she never arrived. She had only been in Provo for a couple of weeks after returning from a mission in Mexico for the Mormon church. Her family believes she's being held against her will, and the Smarts are involved because they know how important continued exposure is in cases where leads are starting to fall off and memories are beginning to fade. "I have faith in humanity and this community and that we can bring her home," said Smart, now 28, per KUTV. "You brought me home. Why can't it happen again? Why can't another miracle happen?" Ed Smart concurs, with KUTV noting the news conferences he held on an almost daily basis while his own daughter was missing. "The family still holds out great hope she is out there," he says. "It is hard to conceive that somebody did not see something out there." Laguna-Salgado is described as 5 feet 4 inches tall, about 125 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. (Smart's baby girl recently celebrated her first birthday.)

Mark Zuckerberg has spent an awful lot of time in the hot seat over the last two days. For those of us who have been paying attention to Facebook and its litany of scandals over the past few months, Zuck’s testimony in front of committees from the Senate and a (distinctly more lucid) one from the House told us nothing new. In fact, certain instances made it seem far more like a tortured five hour call with IT. But why does a picture of my 88-year-old dad show up on my own profile? Have you tried turning it off and turning it on again? Yes, many of the illustrious senators and representatives assembled devoted their limited minutes with the CEO of one of the biggest companies in the United States to addressing some very simple elements of how Facebook works (which is lucky for Zuckerberg because he had to concentrate most of his energy on modulating his face in the very natural way that humans do). “Yesterday when we talked, I gave the relatively harmless example that I’m communicating with my friends on Facebook and indicate that I love a certain kind of chocolate. And all of a sudden I start receiving advertisements for chocolate. What if I don’t want to receive those commercial advertisements?” — Senator Nelson (D-FL) “There is a core misunderstanding about how that system works, which is that—let’s say if you are a shop and you are selling muffins, right, you might want to target people in a specific town who might be interested in baking or some demographic, but we don’t send that information to you, we just show the message to the right people and that’s a really important, I think, common misunderstanding of how the system works.” — Mark Zuckerberg It’s not much of a stretch to say they probably aren’t equipped to decide how Facebook treats it’s user’s privacy. How could legislators hold Zuckerberg accountable if they don’t understand what’s going on? Congress is responsible for regulating a lot of industries that have a lot of technical nuance. Arguably, many of those products, from medicine to fuel, potentially put more Americans at greater risk than Facebook does. But clearly, their technical expertise leaves much to be desired, that we can’t take their digital literacy for granted (that’s why they have advisors who, one would hope, know a bit more). Congress wants to get it right, even if they don’t totally understand. Because they may have little comprehension of how Facebook and its competitors (if they can name a few) work, but they have a firm grasp of the effects. Senators and representatives know that Facebook directly affects a huge proportion of their constituents who were shocked — SHOCKED — by the Cambridge Analytica scandal. They may even be aware that their own re-election could be on the line, potentially from foreign interference. Congress’ ignorance might be at least a bit due to the fact that legislators haven’t yet done much to regulate the tech industry. These hearings show that our grandpa-congressmen don’t know all that much about the internet. But they also show that age of tech companies doing as they please may be ending. “I think it’s time to ask if Facebook has moved too fast and broken too many things,” Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR) stated at the beginning of this morning’s hearing. We know what kind of regulation we need. The European Union has set a great example with the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation: every internet user has the right to know when their data changes hands or is subject to a breach, and has the right to be forgotten. Why doesn’t the government start there, and implement similar rules in the U.S.? If the people that represent us really want to hold Zuckerberg and Facebook accountable, we should be able to call his bluff. That requires being just as well-informed as he is. And if he’s hiding information from us, they’ve gotta know that, too, and legally require him to turn it over. To get there, many Congressmen and Congresswomen have some studying to do. We need to value digital literacy in the people we elect. That is, if we don’t want to have another Cambridge Analytica on our hands. ||||| Getty Images Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg started his testimony Tuesday in Washington looking worried. But he walked away from his first day of congressional hearings looking pretty confident. That's because many of the questions came from tech-challenged senators who seemed clueless about how Facebook makes its money and how the internet works. "If [a version of Facebook will always be free], how do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?" Sen. Orrin Hatch, the 84-year-old Republican from Utah, asked early on in the five-hour hearing. Zuckerberg paused a moment before saying, "Senator, we run ads." He, and his staff sitting behind him, then grinned before Hatch moved onto this next question. Now playing: Watch this: Zuckerberg explains the internet to Congress Team Facebook looked pleased because Hatch's question, like those from many of the senator's peers, showed a lack of basic understanding about how Facebook operates. The world's largest social network, which currently is free for all users, generated nearly $13 billion in revenue during the last three months of 2017. That money came from ads directed at the site's 2.2 billion users, with the ads targeted based on what Facebook knows about you. Facebook is a large, often secretive company that many in tech -- not to mention regular consumers -- have difficulty understanding. But Congress has toyed with the idea of regulating Facebook and other social media networks. If it doesn't understand how they actually work, it may be harder for Congress to develop laws that adequately protect consumers and prevent something like the Cambridge Analytica scandal from happening again. "A lot of these members frankly aren't on social media and maybe don't have experience with social media," said James Norton, a former deputy assistant undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security under President George W. Bush. "You need to experience the platform to understand what you're talking about if you do want to challenge the validity of what the company's doing."' Facebook's shares jumped 4.5 percent to $165.04 during the testimony, their highest point since March 21 (the week after the Cambridge Analytica news broke). Many on Twitter agreed that Zuckerberg didn't quite get the tough grilling that was expected. (At one point well into the proceedings, Zuckerberg himself told the Senate committee he wasn't ready for a break and asked to keep going.) Instead of Twitter being outraged over Zuckerberg's statements, many lamented how little US legislators seemed to understand. “Mr. Zuckerberg, a magazine i recently opened came with a floppy disk offering me 30 free hours of something called America On-Line. Is that the same as Facebook?” pic.twitter.com/U7pqpUhEhQ — Dave Itzkoff (@ditzkoff) April 10, 2018 senator: my aides have given me this complex multi-part question to read to you in a halting and uncertain voice zuckerberg: oh no don't worry about that, our new motto is 'we fixed it' senator: that sounds wrong but i don't know what to ask — Alexandra Petri (@petridishes) April 10, 2018 Facebook stock up 4.5% on news that America is run by people who still own VCRs pic.twitter.com/whQd2hGKMN — Tom Gara (@tomgara) April 10, 2018 Mark Zuckerberg goes to Washington Zuckerberg took the hot seat Tuesday -- and will testify again Wednesday -- to account for data privacy lapses at the company he started 14 years ago in his Harvard dorm room. In 2013, personal info from about 300,000 users was originally collected for a personality quiz app called This is Your Digital Life, designed by Aleksandr Kogan, a Cambridge University researcher. Because of how Facebook worked at the time, Kogan was able to collect data from the quiz takers' friends -- up to 87 million of them -- and share the information with Cambridge Analytica. The UK-based data analytics firm then may have used the data to help the Trump campaign during the 2016 presidential election. Congress wants answers about how that happened and what Facebook is doing to prevent something like the scandal from happening again. But that doesn't mean they entirely understand the questions they're asking -- or even the answers they're getting from Zuckerberg. "Listening to these senators ask these questions is very frustrating, because they don't understand the technology, and they don't understand how Facebook really works," said Creative Strategies analyst Tim Bajarin. "They don't even understand how the advertising industry works." Now playing: Watch this: Seven of our favorite moments from Zuck's congressional... Part of the problem simply may be age. Most of Facebook's users are younger than America's senators. The average age of the 100 US senators is 63, according to congressional database LegiStorm. Zuckerberg is 33. As of January, only 21 percent of Facebook's US users were 55 or older, according to Statista. Nearly half were younger than 35 years old. When Facebook got started for college students in 2004, those senators weren't the target audience. Still, a Wall Street Journal analysis found that many of the Senate's older members post on Facebook as much as their younger peers. For instance, Sen. Ed Markey, a 71-year-old Democrat from Massachusetts, published 628 posts over the past year, the Journal reported. That's nearly as many as Sen. Cory Booker, the 48-year-old Democrat from New Jersey. Repetition and confusion On Tuesday, many senators started with carefully crafted questions but then were unable to offer logical followups. A few asked the same questions as their predecessors, including whether users actually understand the terms of service for the site and what information Facebook distributes to advertisers. "Have you ever drawn the line on selling data to an advertiser?" asked Dean Heller, a Republican from Nevada, after Zuckerberg earlier noted that Facebook doesn't sell data to advertisers. (FYI, Facebook places ads in users' feeds based on who the advertiser is targeting.) Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican from Nebraska, confused Zuckerberg with her line of questions, asking "how many data categories" Facebook stores. "How many data categories do you store, does Facebook store, on the categories that you collect?" Deb Fischer, a Republican senator from Nebraska "How many data categories do you store, does Facebook store, on the categories that you collect?" she asked. "How much? All of it? Everything we click on? Is that in storage somewhere?" Zuckerberg said Facebook does store data but used Fischer's lack of knowledge to avoid really answering the question. Fischer later remarked that "we all know" that Facebook's user size -- 2.2 billion -- is "larger than the population of most countries." No countries have that many citizens. China and India are both estimated to have about 1.4 billion people apiece. The US has a population of about 326 million. Then there was confusion about how Facebook differs from other social networks. "Is Twitter the same as what you do?" asked Lindsey Graham, a Republican representing South Carolina. He also asked Zuckerberg which companies could essentially replace Facebook in people's lives. "Is Twitter the same as what you do?" Lindsey Graham, a Republican senator from South Carolina "Let me put it this way," Graham said. "If I buy a Ford, and it doesn't work well, and I don't like it, I can buy a Chevy. If I'm upset with Facebook, what's the equivalent product that I can go sign up for?" And then there was confusion about technology in general. "From the moment that we wake up in the morning, until we go to bed, we're on those handheld tablets," Bill Nelson, a Democratic senator from Florida, said during his opening remarks. We think he meant "smartphones." (Nearly everyone in the US who wants a smartphone has one, but only roughly half of Americans own a tablet, according to Pew.) Pipes? Others couldn't follow what Zuckerberg was saying. Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi, seemed to have gotten lost during Zuckerberg's explanation of how internet service providers (which Facebook's CEO called the the "pipes" of the internet) are different from platform providers like Facebook. "When you -- when you say 'pipes,' you mean…" Wicker asked. Zuckerberg said he meant ISPs. "When you -- when you say 'pipes,' you mean…" Roger Wicker, a Republican senator from Mississippi And there was Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, who veered off the hearing's topic -- user data and privacy -- and spent his time accusing Facebook of being biased against conservatives. "Do you consider yourself a neutral public forum, or are you engaged in political speech, which is your right under the First Amendment?" Cruz asked several times before listing examples of conservative pages Facebook has blocked. He also asked why Facebook fired Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus VR business who funded a secret anti-Hillary Clinton campaign. Zuckerberg called Luckey's departure a "personnel issue" that would be "inappropriate" to address, but he added that it wasn't because of Luckey's politics. The Guardian reported in 2015 that Cruz used Cambridge Analytica data to help his presidential campaign. Even senators known as the more tech savvy of the bunch experienced hiccups. Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii, asked if Facebook could track what one user emails another on WhatsApp. WhatsApp is the encrypted messaging service -- which doesn't use email -- that Facebook bought in 2014. "Let's say I'm emailing about 'Black Panther' within WhatsApp ... do I get a 'Black Panther banner ad?" Brian Schatz, a Democratic senator from Hawaii He also asked Zuckerberg several times if messages sent on WhatsApp can be used to target ads. "Is there some algorithm that spits out some information to your ad platform, and then let's say I'm emailing about 'Black Panther' within WhatsApp, do I get a WhatsApp -- do I get a 'Black Panther' banner ad?" Schatz asked. Each time, Zuckerberg responded that WhatsApp messages are fully encrypted, which means they can't be read by Facebook or used for ad targeting. "The more [that] the questions [Zuckerberg] got were either repetitive -- or in some cases were irrelevant -- I found him to be becoming even bolder and more energized by what was going on," Bajarin said. Tune in again Wednesday for more coverage from Zuckerberg's hearings in Washington. CNET's Abrar Al-Heeti contributed to this report. Cambridge Analytica: Everything you need to know about Facebook's data mining scandal. Blockchain Decoded: CNET looks at the tech powering bitcoin -- and soon, too, a myriad of services that will change your life. ||||| Chair of committee investigating fake news urges Facebook head to ‘think again if he has any care for users’ Mark Zuckerberg has come under intense criticism from the UK parliamentary committee investigating fake news after the head of Facebook refused an invitation to testify in front of MPs for a third time. Vote Leave 'cheating' may well have swayed EU referendum result, Wylie tells MPs - Politics live Read more The chair, Damian Collins, said it had become more urgent the Facebook founder give evidence in person after oral evidence provided by the Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Christopher Wylie. The MP said: “I think, given the extraordinary evidence we’ve heard so far today, it is absolutely astonishing that Mark Zuckerberg is not prepared to submit himself to questioning in front of a parliamentary or congressional hearing, given these are questions of fundamental importance and concern to his users, as well as to this inquiry. “I would certainly urge him to think again if he has any care for people that use his company’s services.” Zuckerberg has been invited three times to speak to the committee, which is investigating the effects of fake news on UK democracy, but has always sent deputies to testify in his stead. MPs are likely to take a still dimmer view of his decision after he ultimately agreed to testify before Congress in the US. It was reported on Tuesday that the company is now considering strategy for his testimony. When the Commons committee travelled to Washington DC in February to obtain oral evidence from US companies, Facebook flew over its UK policy director rather than send a high-level executive to speak to the committee. In response to the latest request, Facebook has suggested one of two executives could speak to parliament: Chris Cox, the company’ chief product officer, who is in charge of the Facebook news feed, or Mike Schroepfer, the chief technology officer, who heads up the developer platform. However, Theresa May declined to back Collins. Pressed by the committee chairman at the Commons liaison committee later in the day, the prime minister said “Mr Zuckerberg will decide for himself” whether to give evidence to parliament. She said the Cambridge Analytica affair “raises very deep concern in terms of what is suggested” and repeatedly said it was for Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and any individuals involved to “cooperate fully” with the information commissioner. The company’s head of public policy, Rebecca Stimson, said in a letter to Collins: “Facebook fully recognises the level of public and parliamentary interest in these issues and support your belief that these issues must be addressed at the most senior levels of the company by those in an authoritative position to answer your questions. As such, Mr Zuckerberg has personally asked one of his deputies to make themselves available.” Both men, Stimson wrote, “report directly to Mr Zuckerberg and are among the longest-serving senior representatives in Facebook’s 15-year history. Both of them have extensive expertise in these issues and are well placed to answer the committee’s questions on these complex subjects.” During Tuesday’s committee hearing, Wylie suggested Facebook may have been aware of the large-scale harvesting of data carried out by Cambridge Analytica’s partner GSR even earlier than had been previously reported. “I remember, and I think this was in around July 2014, [Aleksandr Kogan, GSR’s founder] was delayed for a couple of days because Facebook had throttled the app so that it couldn’t pull as much data, or there was some problem with pulling the data at the same speed as before. “He told me he had had a conversation with some engineers at Facebook. So Facebook would have known from that moment about the project because he had a conversation with Facebook’s engineers, or at least that’s what he told me.” It took until 2015 for Facebook to take action on the data-harvesting project, after a Guardian article detailing GSR’s data abuse in support of the Ted Cruz campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. And it was not until last week, after Facebook had again been notified by the Observer about the harvesting, that the company released a statement noting that “the entire company is outraged that we were deceived”. Wylie also claimed that Palantir, a national security contractor owned by the Facebook board member Peter Thiel, was allowed informal access to the Facebook data harvested by GSR. “We actually had several meetings with Palantir,” Wylie said. “There were senior Palantir employees that were also working on the Facebook data. That was not an official contract between Palantir and CA, but there were Palantir staff who would come into the office and work on the data. And we would go and meet with Palantir staff at Palantir.” Despite the confidentiality agreements he entered into with Cambridge Analytica, Wylie described Facebook’s attempts to kill last week’s story as being the most forceful. “The most amount of legal pushback that I’ve got actually wasn’t from Cambridge Analytica, it was from Facebook. It’s Facebook who’s most upset about this story,” he said. “They sent some fairly intimidating legal correspondence. They haven’t taken action on that. I think, I’m not sure exactly what they’re planning to do. They’ve gone silent, they won’t talk to me any more.” Testifying alongside Wylie was Paul-Olivier Dehaye, the co-founder of personaldata.io, who has been fighting to force the social network to apply European data protection law. Dehaye revealed that Facebook repeatedly tried to argue it was exempt from fulfilling “subject access” requirements, which allow individuals to see the data that companies hold about them, because it would be too expensive to comply. “They’re invoking exceptions … involving disproportionate effort,” Dehaye said. “They’re saying it’s too much effort to give me access to my data. I find that quite intriguing, because they’re making a technical and a business argument as to why I shouldn’t have access to this data. “In the technical argument they’re shooting themselves in the foot, because they’re saying they’re so big the cost would be too large to provide me data.” In effect, Dehaye said, Facebook told him it was too big to regulate. “They’re really arguing that they’re too big to comply with data protection law, the cost is too high, which is mind-boggling that they wouldn’t see the direction they’re going there. Do they really want to make this argument?”

– Now that Mark Zuckerberg has finished two days of testimony on Capitol Hill, one clear theme is emerging in coverage after the fact: Members of Congress, particularly senators in their 70s and 80s, seem to lack a fundamental understanding of how the company works. That should "give everyone serious pause if they think that federal legislation is going to solve the serious and growing issues of technology run amok," writes Margaret Sullivan in the Washington Post. "Legislators don’t seem to understand it well enough to even ask the right questions, much less fix the problem." Sullivan and Shara Tibken of CNET both point to one question in particular by 84-year-old Sen. Orrin Hatch as a prime example. "If [a version of Facebook will always be free], how do you sustain a business model in which users don't pay for your service?" asked Hatch. It took Zuckerberg only four words to explain this basic tenet of Facebook's business plan: "Senator, we run ads." Tibken notes that Zuckerberg and staffers behind him grinned at the response. Other lawmakers seemed similarly flummoxed by other aspects of not just Facebook but tech in general. At Futurism, Victor Tangermann writes that it's clear that "many Congressmen and Congresswomen have some studying to do," and he suggests that voters start keeping this mind. "We need to value digital literacy in the people we elect," he concludes. "That is, if we don’t want to have another Cambridge Analytica on our hands."

How do you hide billions of dollars from the world when you’re one of the most famous people on Earth? According to a massive new leak that’s being called the largest of its kind in history, it’s not so hard these days. On Sunday, the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung released what it’s calling the Panama Papers, amounting to 2.6 terabytes of data, 11.5 million files The reveal concerns Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonesca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm, which specializes in managing money in offshore jurisdictions like the British Virgin Islands. The leak, given to Süddeutsche Zeitung by an anonymous whistleblower, was handled collaboratively by 400 journalists from more than 100 media organizations, over 80 countries. From Süddeutsche Zeitung: Among others, Mossack Fonsecas’ clients include criminals and members of various Mafia groups. The documents also expose bribery scandals and corrupt heads of state and government. The alleged offshore companies of twelve current and former heads of state make up one of the most spectacular parts of the leak, as do the links to other leaders, and to their families, closest advisors, and friends. The Panamanian law firm also counts almost 200 other politicians from around the globe among its clients, including a number of ministers. The Guardian notes that some of the biggest players connected to these offshore accounts include Pakistan’s prime minister Nawaz Sharif,Ayad Allawi, ex-interim prime minister and former vice-president of Iraq; Ukranian president Petro Poroshenko; Alaa Mubarak, son of Egypt’s former president; and Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson. Most notably, Russian president Vladimir Putin has been connected to accounts totaling $2 billion, taken out in the name of his closest friend and associate, musician Sergei Roldugin. His trail of money from the accounts was even used on loan to a private ski resort where his younger daughter, Katerina, was married in 2013. Biggest leak in the history of data journalism just went live, and it's about corruption. https://t.co/dYNjD6eIeZ pic.twitter.com/638aIu8oSU — Edward Snowden (@Snowden) April 3, 2016 [Image via Getty] ||||| A massive leak of documents shines new light on the fabulous fortunes of the Russian president’s inner circle A network of secret offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn has laid a trail to Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. An unprecedented leak of documents shows how this money has made members of Putin’s close circle fabulously wealthy. Though the president’s name does not appear in any of the records, the data reveals a pattern – his friends have earned millions from deals that seemingly could not have been secured without his patronage. The documents suggest Putin’s family has benefited from this money – his friends’ fortunes appear his to spend. The files are part of an unprecedented leak of millions of papers from the database of Mossack Fonseca, the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm. They show how the rich and powerful are able to exploit secret offshore tax regimes in myriad ways. The offshore trail starts in Panama, darts through Russia, Switzerland and Cyprus – and includes a private ski resort where Putin’s younger daughter, Katerina, got married in 2013. The Panama Papers shine a particular spotlight on Sergei Roldugin, who is Putin’s best friend. Roldugin introduced Putin to the woman he subsequently married, Lyudmila, and is godfather to Putin’s older daughter, Maria. A professional musician, he has apparently accumulated a fortune – having been placed in ostensible control of a series of assets worth at least $100m, possibly more. Roldugin appears to have been picked for this role because of his lesser profile. He has denied in documents to bank officials in Switzerland and Luxembourg that he is close to any Russian public figures. He has also said he is not a businessman. Yet the files reveal Putin’s longstanding intimate has a 12.5% stake in Russia’s biggest TV advertising agency, Video International, which has annual revenues of more than £800m. Previously, its ownership was a closely guarded secret. Roldugin was also secretly given an option to buy a minority stake in the Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz, which makes army vehicles, and has 15% of a Cyprus-registered company called Raytar. He also owns 3.2% of Bank Rossiya. The St Petersburg private bank has been described as Putin’s “crony bank�?. The US imposed sanctions on it after Russia’s 2014 invasion of Ukraine. These assets are only part of a series of linked financial schemes revealed in the documents that revolve round Bank Rossiya. The bank is headed by Yuri Kovalchuk. The US alleges he is the “personal banker�? for many senior Russian government officials including Putin. The Panama Papers disclose that Kovalchuk and Bank Rossiya achieved the transfer of at least $1bn to a specially created offshore entity called Sandalwood Continental. These funds came from a series of enormous unsecured loans from the state-controlled Russian Commercial Bank (RCB) located in Cyprus and other state banks. There is no explanation in the files of why the banks agreed to extend such unorthodox credit lines. Some of the cash obtained from RCB was also lent back onshore in Russia at extremely high interest rates, with the resulting profits siphoned off to secret Swiss accounts. A $6m yacht was purchased by Sandalwood and shipped to a port near St Petersburg. Cash was also handed over directly to the Putin circle, this time in the form of very cheap loans, made with no security and with interest rates as low as 1%. It is not clear whether any loans have been repaid. In 2010 and 2011, Sandalwood made three loans worth $11.3m to an offshore company called Ozon, which owns the upmarket Igora ski resort in the Leningrad region. Ozon belongs to Kovalchuk and a Cypriot company. Putin is the resort’s star patron and a reputed resident. Eighteen months after the loans, the president used Igora as the venue for the wedding of Katerina. Her groom was Kirill Shamalov, the son of another of Putin’s old St Petersburg friends. News of the ceremony, from which cameras were banished, only emerged in 2015. The records were obtained from an anonymous source by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists with the Guardian and the BBC. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Sergei Roldugin, Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, then Russian president, tour the House of Music in St Petersburg in 2009. Photograph: Dmitry Astakhov/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool/EPA They reveal a number of other manoeuvres by the Putin circle to move cash offshore. There is nothing inherently illegal in using offshore companies. The transactions, however, include apparently fake share deals, with shares “traded�? retrospectively; multimillion-dollar charges for vague “consultancy�? services; and repeated payments of large sums in “compensation�? for allegedly cancelled share deals. In 2011 a Roldugin company buys the rights to a $200m loan for $1. “This is not business, this is creating the appearance of business in order to continually move and hide assets,�? Andrew Mitchell QC, a leading authority on money-laundering, told BBC Panorama. Such layers of secrecy surrounded the offshore deals that Bank Rossiya staff in St Petersburg sent all their instructions to a confidential intermediary – a firm of Swiss lawyers in Zurich. The Swiss lawyers in turn arranged for Mossack Fonseca to set up shell companies, typically registering them in the secretive British Virgin Islands, with sham nominee directors from Panama to sign approvals for the deals. Even Mossack’s confidential records of true owners have frequently turned out to be further fronts. Speculation over the size of Putin’s personal fortune has gone on for almost a decade, following reports in 2007 that he was worth at least $40bn, based on leaks from inside his own presidential administration. In 2010, US diplomatic cables suggested Putin held his wealth via proxies. The president formally owned nothing, they added, but was able to draw on the wealth of his friends, who now control practically all of Russia’s oil and gas production and industrial resources. Guys, to be honest I am not ready to give comments now Sergei Roldugin In 2014, after Russia seized Crimea, the White House imposed sanctions on leading members of Putin’s circle, including Kovalchuk, citing their close ties to “a senior official of the Russian Federation�? – a euphemism for Putin himself. The Panama Papers reveal that the Putin group appeared to have become nervous for unclear reasons after October 2012. Sandalwood was closed down and its operations switched to another offshore entity registered in the BVI, called Ove Financial Corp. One of the companies linked to Ove Financial Corp belonged to Mikhail Lesin, Putin’s media tsar and former press minister. Lesin founded the Kremlin’s propaganda TV channel Russia Today but later fell out of favour. He was mysteriously found dead last November in a Washington hotel room with blunt force injuries to the head. Asked about the offshore companies linked to him last week, Rodulgin said: “Guys, to be honest I am not ready to give comments now … These are delicate issues. I was connected to this business a long time ago. Before ‘perestroika’. It happened … And then it started growing and such things happened. The House of Music [in St Petersburg] is subsidised from this money.�? Roldugin declined to answer further written questions. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Roldugin presents a diploma to Sir Paul McCartney, in front of St Petersburg’s then governor, Valentina Matviyenko, in 2003. Photograph: PhotoXPress The Putin circle’s use of offshore companies contrasts with the president’s call for “deoffshoreisation�?, urging Russians to bring cash hidden abroad home. Others who make use of offshore companies include oil trader Gennady Timchenko, Putin’s friend of 30 years. The US imposed sanctions on him in 2014. Others in the data are Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, Putin’s childhood friends and former judo partners. They are now billionaire construction tycoons. The Arsenal FC shareholder Alisher Usmanov also appears. He has at least six companies registered in the Isle of Man. There is no suggestion this is illegal. Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s official spokesman, declined to comment on specific allegations against the president. Speaking last week, Peskov said western spy agencies were behind an all-out “information attack�? against him to destabilise Russia before elections. Peskov dismissed the investigation by the Guardian and others as an “undisguised, paid-for hack job�?. He said Russia had “legal means�? to defend Putin’s dignity and honour. RCB Cyprus said it could not disclose information about its clients. It said that in October 2013 it had “refined its strategy�?. It had opened a branch in Luxembourg, received a new investor, and was now under direct European Central Bank supervision. Given this, it was “utterly unfounded�? to suggest the bank was a “pocket�? for top Russian officials. The bank said it had voluntarily submitted the allegations to Cyprus’s money-laundering authority. The auditor PwC Cyprus said it had audited RCB’s accounts but that it did not provide services to Sandalwood. Lawyers for Kovalchuk said information about Bank Rossiya was publicly available. “We do not understand why you address these questions to Mr Kovalchuk.�? US political scientist Karen Dawisha said it was inconceivable that Putin’s friends had become rich without his patronage. “He takes what he wants. When you are president of Russia, you don’t need a written contract. You are the law.�? Panama Papers reporting team: Juliette Garside, Luke Harding, Holly Watt, David Pegg, Helena Bengtsson, Simon Bowers, Owen Gibson and Nick Hopkins ||||| Who is the odd person out from this list: Ayad Allawi, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Bashar al-Assad, David Cameron, Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Mauricio Macri, Lionel Messi, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, Marianna Olszewski, Petro Poroshenko, Vladimir Putin? If you picked Olszewski, you’re right. In the initial wave of stories about Mossack Fonseca, the Panamanian law firm whose internal documents—2.6 terabytes' worth—were leaked by an anonymous source to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung, she was about the only American citizen I saw mentioned. The leaked documents, which Süddeutsche Zeitung shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (I.C.I.J.), a New York-based public-interest organization, reveal that family members, associates, and financial advisers of some of the world’s most powerful people enlisted Mossack Fonseca’s services to set up offshore shell companies, which can be used to hide money and assets from the prying eyes of tax inspectors and other government agencies. According to a report by the BBC, Olszewski, a thirty-nine-year-old investment adviser and the author of the book “Live It, Love It, Earn It: A Woman’s Guide to Financial Freedom,” also had dealings with Mossack Fonseca. The BBC story alleges that the law firm created an elaborate scheme to help Olszewski retrieve $1.8 million that she had invested in an offshore vehicle, without revealing her identity to the bank that was holding the funds. (Mossack Fonseca told the BBC, “Your allegations that we provide structures supposedly designed to hide the identity of the real owners are completely unsupported and false.” Olszewski did not respond to the BBC’s requests for comment, or to mine.) The BBC story illuminated the fact that much of the work done by firms like Mossack Fonseca involves people who aren’t particularly well known, and sums of money that aren’t huge. Moreover, the use of offshore accounts can be perfectly legal, and Olszewski’s financial affairs would appear to be of no great import to anyone but herself and the Internal Revenue Service. She doesn’t really belong on a list of prominent names associated with the leak, alongside the leaders of Argentina, Iceland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. But why weren’t more Americans named? One possible explanation, which we can dismiss immediately, is the notion that this sort of thing couldn’t happen here. To the contrary, the United States is widely recognized as a leading source of offshore money: during the Union Bank of Switzerland tax-evasion scandal, it emerged that, at that bank alone, U.S. clients had almost twenty thousand Swiss-based accounts. In the hedge-fund industry, it is considered perfectly normal and entirely legitimate to domicile funds in tax havens like Grand Cayman or the British Virgin Islands. In addition, as Bloomberg’s Jesse Drucker reported earlier this year, America is also, thanks to its relatively lax disclosure laws, emerging as a major tax haven and destination for offshore funds. Anonymous money is moving in and out of the United States all the time, with American lawyers and financial intermediaries helping to facilitate the flow. A more convincing explanation is that the journalists who are researching the leaks are still pursuing American clients of Mossack Fonseca. In fact, we now know this to be the case. On Monday, a piece published by Fusion, one of the U.S. media organizations that has access to the leaked material, said, “So far, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has only been able to identify 211 people with U.S. addresses who own companies in the data (not all of whom we’ve been able to investigate yet). We don’t know if those 211 people are necessarily U.S. citizens. And that figure covers only data from recent years available on a Mossack Fonseca internal database—not all 11.5 million files from the leak.” In an article published on Monday evening, McClatchy, another news organization working with the I.C.I.J., identified more American citizens for whom Mossack Fonseca registered offshore companies. The people named didn’t include any politicians or other well-known figures. “Some appear to be American retirees purchasing real estate in places like Costa Rica and Panama,” the McClatchy report said. But it also mentioned at least four people who have been charged with serious financial crimes: Robert Miracle, of Bellevue, Washington, who was convicted of running a sixty-five-million-dollar Ponzi scheme;** ** Benjamin Wey, the president of the New York Global Group, who was indicted last year on charges of securities fraud (his lawyer denied the charges in an e-mail to the Times); Igor Olenicoff, a Florida real-estate mogul, who was convicted of tax evasion in 2007; and John Michael (Red) Crim, a financial adviser from Pennsylvania, who was convicted in 2008 of plotting to help people evade taxes. So much for individuals. What about U.S. banks, financial advisers, law firms, and other intermediaries? Data compiled by the I.C.I.J. consortium indicates that, of the roughly fourteen thousand intermediaries—banks, law firms, company-incorporation firms, and other middlemen—with which Mossack Fonseca worked over the years in order to set up companies, foundations, and trusts for its customers, six hundred and seventeen were based in the United States. That’s a lot. On the other hand, other countries appear to have provided Mossack Fonseca, which has thirty-six offices on three continents, with much more business than America did. In the past, the firm had at least one office in the United States—in Las Vegas—but it doesn’t currently have any. According to charts published by the I.C.I.J., the United States isn’t among the ten countries for which Mossack Fonseca created shell companies. (Hong Kong, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom held the first three places). And no American banks appear among the list of the ten financial intermediaries that most often requested offshore companies for their clients. There are several reasons why the United States might not have been a major source of clients for the Panamanian law firm, relatively speaking. Perhaps it deliberately avoided having a large presence in the United States, so as not to attract the attention of U.S. authorities. Or perhaps there was too much competition. An article published in The Economist in 2012 pointed out that the business of setting up shell companies in tax havens is competitive and includes a number of well-established firms, such as the Hong Kong-based Offshore Incorporations Ltd., the Isle of Man-based OCRA Worldwide, and Morgan & Morgan, of Panama. In other words, wealthy Americans have many options for structuring their offshore holdings. Eoin Higgins, a writer from Massachusetts, suggested another possible factor as well: the diplomatic relationship between Washington and Panama. In many cases, the entire point of setting up a shell company is to hide things. But, in 2010, the United States and Panama signed a trade-promotion agreement that, among other things, obliged Panama to provide to the U.S. authorities, on request, “information regarding the ownership of companies, partnerships, trusts, foundations, and other persons, including . . . . ownership information on all such persons in an ownership chain.” Higgins pointed out, “If Panama had ever been an attractive destination for American offshore storage of funds, this agreement shut the door on that possibility.” Going forward, more Americans may well be named in stories arising from the leak. In the meantime, at least one observer, Craig Murray, a former British diplomat, has suggested that the journalists investigating the leak may be overemphasizing the role of non-Western figures, such as Putin and Assad. “What if they did Mossack Fonseca searches on every listed company in the western stock exchanges, and on every western millionaire they could trace?” Murray wrote in a blog post on Monday. “That would be much more interesting. I know Russia and China are corrupt, you don’t have to tell me that.” Murray’s last point is well taken. But crony capitalism and tax evasion are huge problems for poor and middle-income countries: according to the International Monetary Fund, it costs them hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenues each year. In detailing how this process works, the Panama Papers stories that have been released thus far have already performed an important public service. And the journalists have already netted some Western figures, including Gunnlaugsson, the Icelandic Prime Minister, and Ian Cameron, the late father of David Cameron, the British Prime Minister. Gunnlaugsson resigned on Tuesday, while 10 Downing Street is refusing to say whether the Cameron family still has any money in offshore tax havens. In response to speculation about the dearth of American names, Stefan Plöchinger, an editor at Süddeutsche Zeitung, said in a tweet on Monday, “Just wait for what is coming next.” After other reporters picked up on this message, Plöchinger clarified that he wasn’t referring specifically to the United States. “No, it just means: relax,” he said. “What’s in the files will be published without fear or favor.”

– A massive document leak apparently shows how friends of Vladimir Putin hid about $2 billion in secret, offshore accounts—money that likely ended up benefiting Putin's family, the Guardian reports. The documents from Mossack Fonseca, an offshore law firm in Panama, show wealthy Russians moving money through Russia, Switzerland, and Cyprus in ways that generated vague "consultancy" charges and other payments worth millions of dollars. "This is not business, this is creating the appearance of business in order to continually move and hide assets," says a money-laundering expert. The deals also involve Putin's best friend, cellist Sergei Roldugin—who seems to control at least $100 million in assets—and the Igora ski resort, where Putin is said to reside. The scheme revolves around a bank that's closely linked to Putin and his allies. The bank, Bank Rossiya, apparently received huge, unsecured loans from Russian state-owned banks and funneled billions into offshore transactions. About $1 billion went through a shell company created by Mossack Fonseca; among other things, the company bought a $6 million yacht and loaned $11.3 million to the owner of the Igora resort. But none of the alleged players have admitted to anything. "Guys, to be honest I am not ready to give comments now," says Roldugin, who mysteriously owns 3.2% of Bank Rossiya. "These are delicate issues." The so-called "Panama Papers" also link other world leaders to Mossack Fonseca shell companies, including Pakistani PM Nawaz Sharif, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, and Icelandic PM Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson, Gawker reports.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) — An academic coach fired by the University of Notre Dame after a student accused her of coercing him into having unwelcome sexual encounters with her daughter issued a statement Thursday describing what happened as merely a breakup and saying her family is heartbroken he chose to harm them in such a public manner. "There are two sides to every breakup and that this is being played out in the media is incredibly painful to us," said a statement released by family spokeswoman Caitlin Rourk. "While we may not be a perfect family, we are a close-knit one and welcomed this young man into our lives at a time when he, himself said, he couldn't rely on anyone else." The University of Notre Dame disclosed Thursday that the student made a multimillion-dollar demand from the school after complaining about the academic coach, who was named in a lawsuit filed by the student last week. The lawsuit alleges racial discrimination and sexual harassment, saying the academic coach, who is white, orchestrated a sexually motivated "inappropriate and demeaning relationship" with the student, who is black. The suit alleges that included providing condoms and paying for hotel rooms and asking him about the nature, frequency and quality of sexual activities he had with her daughter. The names of those involved have not been released. Also Thursday, lawyers for the student released a six-page report by an outside investigator hired by the university into the relationship. The report does not specify how the academic coach, who didn't work with the student, allegedly coerced him. Mike Misch, an attorney for the student, said those details will come out at trial. When asked about the report, Rourk said the family had no further comment. The report states the academic coach at one point asked the student about the last time he and her daughter, a student at a nearby school who also works at Notre Dame, had sex. When he responded it had been three or four days, he told the investigator the mother told them to "go upstairs immediately and have sex." The student also said the daughter once said to him: "You know if you break up with me, I am going to kill you, right?" according to the report. He also told the investigator he was afraid of breaking up with the daughter because he had moved all his belongings into a storage unit of the mother and daughter and was afraid they wouldn't give them his things back, the report said. It also states he got a restraining order against the daughter and tried but failed to get one for the mother. It makes no mention of the academic coach trying to convert the student to Catholicism, a claim made in the lawsuit. University spokesman Paul Browne on Thursday issued a statement saying the university acted quickly after the student complained about the academic coach's conduct on Aug. 26. The statement described how the student asked for money from the school before the lawsuit was filed. The university put the academic coach on leave pending an investigation, even though she had no professional relationship with him, according to Browne's statement. He said she was fired on Oct. 5. ||||| NOTRE DAME - New information has been released about that sexual harassment lawsuit filed by a Notre Dame student against the University and a fired "Academic Coach." WSBT 22 News has obtained a summary put together by an investigator Notre Dame hired. CLICK HERE TO READ THE DOCUMENT Lawyers representing that student say there's a reason they released this information. READ THE NEWS RELEASE HERE The lawyers say because Notre Dame refuses to correct its official comment in response to their lawsuit filed last Friday. A University spokesman has said the student's allegations are unfounded. The student's legal team says the summary from the investigator is now being released "to protect the student" and because it shows someone acting on behalf of Notre Dame was aware of the facts behind the allegations. As WSBT 22 News first reported, the student is claiming the "academic Coach" pressured him during a sexual relationship with her daughter. In the investigative summary, it claims the student stayed with the daughter at the "academic Coach's" house on multiple occasions. It also details a specific incident last summer when the mother allegedly ordered her daughter and the student to "go upstairs immediately and have sex." The student also apparently told the investigator he referred to the "academic coach" as Sandra Bullock because she tried to help a black kid... In the movie "The Blind Side." The document also reveals she also tried to help a former Notre Dame football player she coached. The player also reportedly dated the "academic coach's" daughter and stayed at their home. The investigator's report goes on to allege the daughter told the student - "You know, if you break up with me, I am going to kill you, right?" According to the report, the "academic Coach" told the student she "always wanted to have sex with a black man." His parents contacted his Resident Adviser, who reported the incident to the University in August. Full statement Paul J. Browne, from Vice President, Public Affairs & Communications at Notre Dame: The student identified as John Doe in the lawsuit complained on August 26 to the university’s Office of Institutional Equity about an employee’s conduct. The employee was identified in the lawsuit as Jane Roe. Soon thereafter, Notre Dame employed outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation of the allegations. Although there was no professional relationship between Roe and Doe through the University, due to the nature of the allegations the University put Roe on leave pending resolution of the investigation. John Doe told the investigator that while the Roe never tried to seduce him, she pressured him to have sex with her daughter. Upon conclusion of the investigation and review of its findings, Notre Dame promptly terminated Roe on October 5. Following a multimillion-dollar demand for money, plaintiff’s counsel made unsupported allegations that Notre Dame failed to act, when in fact the university acted immediately when it learned of a problem. Further, a number of media outlets mistakenly reported that plaintiff was a student-athlete or that student-athletes were among other complainants. Neither is true. The sole plaintiff is not now and has never been a Notre Dame student-athlete. Full statement Caitlin Rourk, spokeswoman for Jane Roe family: There are two sides to every breakup and that this is being played out in the media is incredibly painful to us. While we may not be a perfect family, we are a close-knit one and welcomed this young man into our lives at a time when he, himself said, he couldn’t rely on anyone else. We’re heartbroken that he has chosen to try to harm us in such a public manner, but with the help of our family and friends, we will get through this. ||||| A female student says Michigan State subjected her to a "hostile educational environment," failed to advise her of her rights and did not offer adequate resources for help after she told counselors in 2015 that three Spartans basketball players had raped her. The allegations are made in a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan that also states the woman suffered severe emotional distress and had to temporarily withdraw from classes, change her major, seek psychiatric help and constantly fear running into the three men on campus as a result of the incident and the school's failure to properly respond. Neither the woman, who is a current student, nor the three players, who are no longer at the school, are named in the lawsuit. Her attorney said the players are not being named because the focus of the lawsuit is "with the way she was treated by the university." The attorney, Karen Truszkowski, told Outside the Lines that her client has not reported the incident to police, but, "I cannot say that she's not ever going to report it." The woman spoke to Outside the Lines on the condition she not be identified because she fears revealing her identity publicly. The woman said she did not report the alleged assault to police in 2015 because she and some of her friends, who were younger than 21 at the time, had used fake IDs to get into a bar the night of the alleged incident and she worried they would all get cited with underage drinking charges. She said she filed the lawsuit with the hope that it would encourage more women to come forward about assault and to send a message to the university. "I don't want a girl who's a senior in high school right now, with her whole life ahead of her, to have to go through the same thing I did," she said. The woman's lawsuit states that "MSU has fostered a culture in which female victims are discouraged from reporting sexual assaults when those assaults are perpetrated by male athletes, thus protecting the university, the male athletics programs, and the male athletes at the expense of the female victims." Outside the Lines reached out Monday afternoon to Michigan State spokesperson Emily Gerkin Guerrant, who said the university had no immediate comment. The lawsuit states the woman met the three basketball players in an East Lansing bar on April 12, 2015. She was a journalism major interested in sports reporting and was eager to talk to team members. She told Outside the Lines that a player bought her a Long Island iced tea and that shortly after she started to drink it, she began to lose control of her muscles -- dropping that drink and another. She said she left the bar with some of the players after being led to believe her roommate had gone to a party at an apartment belonging to one of the players. Once at the apartment -- and realizing her roommate wasn't there -- the lawsuit states the woman felt "discombobulated" and "tried to send a phone text, but she could not control her thumbs to formulate a text." In a lawsuit, a student says Michigan State subjected her to a "hostile educational environment" and failed to provide protection, instruction or adequate support after she told counselors in 2015 that three basketball players raped her. AP Photo/Al Goldis She said in the interview with Outside the Lines that one of the players said to her, "You know you're mine for the night?" to which she responded that she was just trying to find her friend. When another player later invited her into his bedroom to look at his sports memorabilia, she said she went willingly because, as an avid sports fan, "I thought it was pretty cool," she told Outside the Lines. She remembered being incredibly thirsty, and she was given a glass of water, the lawsuit states, and she was "drinking the water when the room went dark." She said in the lawsuit that she was thrown down on a bed, was held down and was unable to move or speak while three players took turns raping her. "I was crying. I was trying to push myself up, and I couldn't move," she told Outside the Lines. "At no time did she consent to the sexual activity," the lawsuit states. She said she woke up on a couch in the apartment the next morning and took a cab back to her residence hall. She told Outside the Lines that she later wondered whether her alcoholic drink and the glass of water she was given had been spiked. The woman eventually told a friend what had happened, and on April 20, 2015, the friend took her to the Michigan State University Counseling Center, according to the lawsuit. When the woman told the counselor that the three men "were notable MSU athletes on the basketball team," the counselor told her that she needed someone else in the room and brought in another person whose identity the woman said she did not know, the lawsuit states, and the "counselor's demeanor completely changed." The lawsuit states that the counseling center staff made it clear to her that if she chose to notify police "she faced an uphill battle that would create anxiety and unwanted media attention and publicity as had happened with many other female students who were sexually assaulted by well-known athletes." She told Outside the Lines that she told the counselor about how she was scared to report the incident to police because she assumed she would get in trouble for underage drinking. "She never told me or reassured me that that would not be a factor," the woman told Outside the Lines. The lawsuit states she was told, "If you pursue this, you are going to be swimming with some really big fish." The lawsuit states that the counseling staff did not notify her of her right to report the incident to MSU's Office of Institutional Equity, which handles complaints of sexual violence under the Title IX gender equity law, nor did they notify her of her Title IX rights, protections and accommodations. The woman told Outside the Lines that she was under the impression that by telling the counseling center staff about the alleged assault that she had indeed "reported it" to MSU, and she was unaware that she needed to do anything further to get help. As a result, the lawsuit states, she was not informed of her right to receive a no-contact order to keep the men out of her residence hall, and she suffered "panic and flashbacks" when she saw them in the dining hall. Her fear persisted into the following semester, and in October 2015, she had "become so traumatized, depressed and withdrawn" that she was admitted to an outpatient psychiatric program for intensive treatment, the lawsuit states. She told Outside the Lines she couldn't continue her sports journalism classes because of how she felt. "Everyone I was in classes with or working with was just all into sports, like 'bleed green,'" she said. "I'm thinking to myself, 'If only you could look at them like I have to. If only you knew what it felt like.'" The lawsuit states she temporarily withdrew from school. To get a refund of her tuition, the lawsuit states she had to explain her assault to more university officials and was not informed of any options for academic assistance. Counseling, academic assistance, and protection and separation on campus from the alleged perpetrators are among the provisions that colleges should provide to students who report incidents of sexual violence, according to federal Title IX guidelines from the U.S. Department of Education. The lawsuit states that the counseling center staff did refer her to the MSU Sexual Assault Program, which provides counseling and advocacy specifically for people who report being victims of sexual violence. But because her counseling center experience left her "so discouraged and frightened," the lawsuit states, the woman did not seek help from the SAP until February 2016, by which time she had resumed classes and changed her major. Even after she sought help from the SAP, the lawsuit states that she was still not notified of her rights under Title IX and her option to report the incident to the Office of Institutional Equity -- which would have been required to investigate -- even though university protocol at that time required SAP advocates to provide that information. Truszkowski, the woman's attorney, also represents two women who have accused MSU football players of sexual assault. One was the victim in a case last week in which three now-former players pleaded guilty to felony charges of seduction, after they had been facing sexual assault charges for having pulled the woman into a bathroom and forced her to perform oral sex. Truszkowski also filed a Title IX lawsuit on behalf of another woman against MSU in fall 2017 stemming from that woman's report of being sexually assaulted by former football player Keith Mumphery, who was banned from campus in 2016 after the school reversed an earlier finding that Mumphery was not responsible for assaulting the woman. Mumphery never faced criminal charges. In a January court filing, MSU denied her claims and said its actions did not cause her to suffer any additional harassment. On March 15, the judge in that case ordered the parties to mediation. Michigan State's athletic department and the university as a whole have been under scrutiny in part because of an Outside the Lines investigation published Jan. 26. The investigation found a pattern of widespread denial, inaction and information suppression of sexual assault, violence and gender discrimination complaints by officials ranging from campus police to the MSU athletic department. The report publicized not previously known police reports of sexual or violent incidents involving members of the MSU football team and Tom Izzo's storied basketball program. On Friday, Outside the Lines reported that Michigan State basketball player Brock Washington was charged by prosecutors in Ingham County, Michigan, with misdemeanor assault on March 8 after a criminal sexual conduct investigation. Washington had been named as the lone suspect in an alleged forcible sexual contact incident that was reported to have occurred at 3 a.m. on Aug. 29, 2017, in a university residence hall and was reported to police two days later. Sources have told Outside the Lines that a female student told campus police that Washington, who has been unable to be reached for comment, had groped her without her permission.

– New allegations have emerged against a former Notre Dame academic coach who is accused of coercing a student into having a sexual relationship with her daughter. The unnamed complainant's lawyers yesterday released a six-page report by an investigator hired by the university that USA Today reports contains "graphic details." The student, who is black, alleges the white coach told him she "always wanted to have sex with a black man," per WSBT, and at one point asked him when was the last time he and her daughter had had sex. When he responded that it had been a few days, he says the woman told them to ''go upstairs immediately and have sex," reports the AP, which notes she also allegedly provided condoms and paid for hotel rooms. (The report also says the daughter and student "engaged in sexual activities very often, to the point of being unnatural.") The student also alleges the woman's daughter said, ''You know if you break up with me, I am going to kill you, right?'' The student's lawyer says he released the report—which doesn't describe how the coach allegedly coerced the student—because a university rep called the initial accusations "gratuitous" and "unfounded." "We hope that they do correct the statement," he says. Notre Dame says the student asked for millions from the school after filing a complaint on Aug. 26. The school immediately put the academic coach on leave; she was fired on Oct. 5. "There are two sides to every breakup and that this is being played out in the media is incredibly painful to us," the unnamed academic coach says in a statement. We "welcomed this young man into our lives at a time when he, himself said, he couldn't rely on anyone else." Her lawyer adds the allegations in the report "do not support the allegations he made in the original suit."

For years, JetBlue has cultivated its image by selling the idea that all passengers are treated equally. So it'll be interesting to see how Mint, a new JetBlue premium cabin section debuting next summer, will integrate with the airline's coach offerings. Mint cabins will feature lie-flat seats, custom Birchbox amenity kits, and "tapas-style" menus, USA Today reports. Mint cabins will only be available on transcontinental flights from New York to San Francisco and New York to Los Angeles. Earlier this year, JetBlue unveiled its business class "suite seat" with a sliding door. It's also making a point to revamp its coach section over the next year as well, bringing roomier seats, power outlets, and more live TV channels to every passenger. There are also plans to bring self-service snack bars to transcontinental flights, where passengers would be able to get themselves soft drinks and snacks. "We wanted to make sure our core customer didn't think we were walking away from them," JetBlue's SVP of marketing and commercial strategy Martin St. George told USA Today. JetBlue is competing with several major carriers who are all targeting the same lucrative demographic of transcontinental fliers who often pay more specifically to access premium or first-class amenities. Starting next year, American will offer lie-flat seats in transcontinental flights featuring both first- and business-class cabins. And United is racing to outfit its premium cabins with lie-flat seats, on-demand entertainment, and fast in-flight Wi-Fi before the end of the year. ||||| JetBlue's lie-flat seat. (Photo: PR NEWSWIRE) Story Highlights The new premium section, Mint, will be on coast-to-coast flights beginning next year JetBlue, other airlines, vying for the high-paying frequent flier Airline was founded in 1999 and pledged to treat all its passengers equally JetBlue, the single-class carrier whose brand was built partly on the idea that it treats all its passengers equally, will launch a new premium class next summer. Available only on flights between New York and San Francisco and New York and Los Angeles, the new premium section, dubbed "Mint," will feature lie-flat seats, its own tapas-style menu, and customized amenity kits. The first flight with the new premium section will take off from New York's JFK to Los Angeles International Airport on June 15, 2014. LATEST : JetBlue unveils its fares for its high-end seats JetBlue's new premium class, to be officially unveiled today, is the latest volley in the high-stakes battle among U.S. carriers for premium fliers who pay the highest fares for a more luxurious ride or to fly at the last minute, particularly from New York to Los Angeles and New York to San Francisco. "It's almost like a nuclear arms race on these two routes,'' says Jami Counter, senior director of SeatGuru, a website that offers information and reviews of airline seats, services and amenities. "In the last year, one carrier keeps outdoing the other carrier.'' Though JetBlue will officially announce the new premium offering's prices and perks today, it hinted of the changes to come last month, when it announced its new lie-flat seats. Travel-industry watchers say it's smart for the 14-year-old carrier to try to capture a larger share of the fliers who pay the highest fares to fly coast to coast, but some warn that offering a specialized experience to passengers in the front of the plane could undermine JetBlue's populist image. "This is seismic because now, admittedly only on the transcontinental routes ... JetBlue is saying some passengers are going to be more important than others,'' says Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Hudson Crossing. "This move is not one that comes with guaranteed success, nor is it one that comes without risk to the brand. ... There is a chance that some customers may look at this and say JetBlue is selling out.'' But JetBlue CEO Dave Barger said that the move was necessary to better compete with others in the industry, and emphasized that with coach also getting an upgrade, no passenger is being left behind. "The reason we're doing this is our travelers were migrating over to American, over to United, over to Delta, over to Virgin America — (airlines) who had a premium cabin experience,'' Barger said. But "as we put forward a premium experience, it can't be at the expense of our current customer. ... And I think that's what's going to be really different from what we're seeing across the rest of the industry.'' JetBlue's new premium class will allow it to more aggressively pursue premium paying fliers, who on some airlines account for roughly 10% of the passengers while generating 30% of the revenue. JetBlue says it is particularly keying in on travelers who might fly their airline from Boston to Orlando, but prefer to travel from New York to LA or San Francisco on a larger network carrier such as Delta, United or American where they can enjoy the comforts of business or first class. "The most important customer we want are the customers who we've lost to the other airlines, who love JetBlue but they just won't fly us to these markets,'' says Martin St. George, JetBlue's senior vice president marketing and commercial strategy. "We knew this was a hole in our portfolio.'' JetBlue also sees its new premium class having particular appeal to smaller companies that may not have a global corporate deal with a big network carrier, as well as those passengers who fly often but don't rank high enough in a big airline's loyalty program to get the best perks. "We're aiming at that first-level elite customer on American or Delta ... who never gets to upgrade,'' St. George says. "They give a lot of revenue to an airline, but they don't really get a lot of benefit for it.'' THE PREMIUM ROUTES The routes between New York and Los Angeles and New York and San Francisco are especially lucrative, industry experts say. On those flights, unlike some other domestic markets, most of the fliers filling the premium cabins have actually paid top dollar to be there rather than grabbing those seats through loyalty program upgrades. The competition for those passengers has gotten fierce. American is planning to become the only U.S. airline that offers both first- and business-class cabins on transcontinental flights. The new three-cabin jets, which will feature lie-flat seats in both premium sections, will begin flying between New York's JFK and Los Angeles International on Jan. 7, and between JFK and San Francisco on March 6, 2014. "Our New York and Los Angeles hubs are very important to American's network strategy,'' says Rob Friedman, American's vice president, marketing. "And we know many of our high-value customers are flying into and out of these important business markets on a daily basis.'' Meanwhile, United is upgrading its premium service fleet that flies between New York and Los Angeles and New York and San Francisco, outfitting the premium cabins with lie-flat seats, faster in-flight Wi-Fi, and on-demand entertainment at each seat. The updates are expected to be completed by the end of this year. Virgin America, a smaller carrier that like JetBlue has become known for quality service at a lower price, has had a first-class cabin since it began flying in August 2007. It has VIP concierges at JFK and LAX and opened its first airport lounge at LAX last year, particularly to appeal to business travelers, says spokesman Madhu Unnikrishnan. "They're enormously important routes on which we're able to realize significant profits," Unnikrishnan says. Additionally, the airline started flying from Newark to San Francisco and Los Angeles in April. "That has almost out of the gate become a very important route for us because it increases our presence in the extraordinarily important New York market.'' JetBlue has likely taken note of all its competitors' moves, Harteveldt says. It has "seen Virgin America be successful on its transcontinental routes from New York to California. They have seen investment in product by other network airlines such as United, American and Delta, and Jet Blue has been left behind,'' Harteveldt says. "Now they are playing catch-up.'' Still, he thinks JetBlue can be a contender, particularly if it sticks to its model and gives a higher-end offering for a lower fare than its peers. "I wouldn't be surprised ... to see JetBlue steal market share from some of its network airline competitors,'' he says. JetBlue says that it plans to do for premium flying what it did for a trip in coach, offering high quality for less money. "The goal here is not to sort of extract that last dollar and gouge people,'' St. George says. "If you're thinking about (what) are we doing to stay true to JetBlue, not going in there and charging like everybody else is also an ultimate part of being true to what we stand for.'' Since it was founded in 1999, JetBlue has stood apart from many of its peers, becoming the first U.S. carrier to offer live TV and continuing to allow passengers to check their first bag for free and have unlimited snacks at a time when the airline industry is reaping billions charging for checked luggage, food and other services. But JetBlue has also begun to offer some upgrades for a price, such as its "even more space'' seats, which give passengers extra legroom along with the ability to board early. "We already have multiple experiences that customers can buy on JetBlue,'' St. George says. "We sort of look at the Mint cabin as another example of that ... another experience you can buy, but it's still JetBlue.'' A 'SUITE' WITH A DOOR The new premium class will have lie-flat beds that JetBlue says are the longest and widest being flown domestically, as well as the only "suites," with a door that can be shut for privacy. There are 15-inch flatscreens, along with buttons that let flight attendants know if a passenger wants to be awakened for a meal. And fliers can have a drink before takeoff, and a cocktail and an hors d'oeuvre once the jet is in the air. Passengers will also be able to choose three of five tapas-style plates. And there will be amenity boxes — one selection for men, another for women — provided by Birchbox featuring not only items that can be used on board, but samples of other products such as shampoo or lotion. The kits' offerings will change regularly. Unlike the premium cabins on many other airlines, JetBlue says that passengers won't be able to grab a perch in the Mint section through a frequent-flier upgrade. "It's a product that anyone can buy,'' St. George says. PERKS IN COACH, TOO But it's not just the front of the plane getting new perks. So is the traditional coach cabin. While JetBlue's coach cabin already has more legroom than any other domestic airline's, starting next year there will be new softer, even roomier seats. Eventually every flight between New York and Los Angeles or San Francisco will have a self-service snack bar where passengers can get soft drinks and bites to eat throughout their trip. Starting on its new Airbus A321 jets, which will feature the new premium section, there will be power outlets at every seat along with an increase from 36 to 100 channels of live TV. And JetBlue will introduce Wi-Fi, a particularly important perk for some premium travelers, with the first 30 A320 jets to get the new high-speed technology offering in-flight Wi-Fi for free. "We wanted to make sure everyone on the airplane got an upgrade,'' St. George said. ""We wanted to make sure our core customer didn't think we were walking away from them.'' By the fourth quarter of next year, all seven daily round-trip flights between JFK and LAX will feature the new premium section along with the upgraded amenities and offerings in coach. Mint will also debut on flights between JFK and San Francisco before the end of next year, with all five daily flights featuring the service by early 2015. WHAT WILL FLIERS THINK Counter of SeatGuru doubts that passengers will feel put off by JetBlue's new premium perks. "It's certainly not a revolution,'' he says. "It's only limited to these routes. ... I think they're very aware of what they stand for and are very true to their brand, so in no way does this in my mind take way from the experience in the back'' of the plane. Barger however doesn't rule out the premium section coming on board other routes in the future. "I think it's quite likely it could happen,'' he says, "but it's not going to happen overnight. We're focused on New York to Los Angeles, New York to San Francisco. ... We've got to deliver this and absolutely nail it coming out of the box.'' Alex Wilcox, a founder of JetBlue who is now CEO of the private jet service JetSuite, says his one-time airline should tread carefully. "I am pleased that JetBlue is innovating,'' he says, adding that JetBlue's low-cost status has been challenged by the ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit, while Virgin is vying for the mantle of hippest airline. "The risk is the new cabin will make those in the back feel second class, which would be anathema to the JetBlue experience." But St. George says the airline knows that being egalitarian is one of its signatures, and it's going to hold onto it. "Even if you just buy a $99 ticket to Florida,'' St. George says, "and sit in the last row of the airplane you will have the best experience of any customer flying in economy cabin on any airline.'' Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/19OzkVW ||||| JetBlue Airways announced Wednesday that it will begin charging some customers for their first checked bag, leaving Southwest Airlines as the only U.S. airline not to charge for bags one and two. Wall Street had been pressuring JetBlue (and for that matter, Southwest Airlines) to charge for bags, seeing the fee as an easy way to boost revenues. JetBlue estimated Wednesday that its revenue moves will raise an additional $400 million a year. Dave Barger, JetBlue chief executive officer since 2007, has resisted the idea. But he is stepping down early next year and will be replaced by JetBlue president Robin Hayes. And it was Hayes who in the press release talked up the benefit to shareholders of charging for bags, putting more seats on airplanes and other steps. “We believe the plan laid out today benefits our three key stakeholders. It delivers improved, sustainable profitability for our investors, the best travel experience for our customers and ensures a strong, healthy company for our crewmembers,” Hayes said in the announcement. “As we focus on executing this plan, JetBlue’s core mission to Inspire Humanity and its differentiated model of serving underserved customers remain unchanged,” he said. At present, JetBlue lets the first bag fly free. A second bag costs $50. That will change in the first half of 2015. JetBlue says that “customers will be able to choose between three branded fare bundle options. The first of these will be designed for customers who do not plan to check a bag, while the latter two will offer one and two free checked bags, respectively, along with other attractive benefits, including additional TrueBlue points and increased flexibility. This new merchandising platform will enable JetBlue to tailor its offering to individual customers’ needs in a way that is simple and transparent.” The lowest fare group gets no free bags. The second group would get one free bag. The top group would get two free bags. But it did not spell out what that means in costs. As for other changes: – It plans to increase seating on its Airbus A320s. Average seat pitch – distance between seating rows – will go from 34.7 inches now to 33.1 inches. According to JetBlue’s chart, it’ll still be better that other carriers’ average seat pitch. “Using lighter, more comfortable seats, JetBlue will be able to increase the number seats on its planes while continuing to offer the most legroom in coach. Retrofits of the Airbus A320 fleet are expected to begin in mid-2016 and will also include larger seatback screens with more entertainment options and power ports accessible to all customers.” – Wi-fi will remain free, “while the company pursues a unique new monetization strategy including partnerships with Verizon, the Wall Street Journal, Time, and others.” – The carrier will defer deliver of 18 Airbus airplanes from 2016-2018 to 2022-2023, reducing capital spending by more than $900 million through 2017. JetBlue called the changes a “long-term plan to drive shareholder returns through new and existing initiatives aimed at enhancing the company’s product advantage and service-oriented culture while delivering improved financial results.” JetBlue, based in New York City, is the sixth largest U.S. airline, fifth largest if one considers American Airlines and US Airways as a single carrier. JetBlue operates two daily roundtrips between Dallas/Fort Worth and Boston.

– JetBlue has famously eschewed the idea of first-class seating with the mantra that all its passengers get equal treatment. Until now. As USA Today reports, the airline is creating a first-class option in everything but name—instead, call it Mint. The swankier seating will be available next summer but only on cross-country flights between New York and Los Angeles, and New York and San Francisco. Think seats that flatten out for sleeping and better food. The strategy behind the move is that plenty of people who regularly need to make that long flight have deep enough pockets to pay for more comfort. By ignoring that, the airline was losing serious money. "JetBlue is competing with several major carriers who are all targeting the same lucrative demographic of transcontinental fliers," writes Christina Chaey at Fast Company. One analyst in the USA Today story refers to the competition on the two routes affected as a "nuclear arms race."

An anonymous merrymaker spread some holiday cheer last week by paying $500 toward the layaway accounts of three strangers at a Kmart in Michigan. Since then, copycat Secret Santas have followed suit, giving thousands of dollars for layaways in other stores around the country. Last Tuesday, according to WOOD TV in Michigan, a woman in her 30s walked up to the layaway counter at a Kmart and asked if she could pay off someone’s layaway balance. The clerk was confused, but allowed the woman to browse through layaway accounts. The woman ultimately selected three—she was looking, specifically, for ones in which toys had been purchased—and then paid off around $500 total for the three accounts, leaving a balance of just $10 on each. Then she disappeared, leaving just a note on the layaway receipts that read “Happy Holidays from a friend.” One beneficiary of the act of anonymous kindness—a mom who’d put $200 worth of toys on layaway for her son David—said that the Secret Santa “restored her faith in people.” (PHOTOS: Santa Claus, the Holly, Jolly Stuntman) The story doesn’t end there, though. The Detroit News reports that the same Kmart has had Secret Santa donations toward layaways of at least $150 every day since the original mysterious stranger arrived. Copycats have also been paying off layaways at other stores in Michigan, and as far away as California. One man anonymously dropped off $2,000 to cover the layaway items of strangers. Despite the feel-good tale, layaway remains a less-than-ideal solution for shoppers. One business professor argued it’s better to pay with a credit card and deal with APRs rather than buying goods via layaway. But if someone else winds up paying your bill? Then layaway appears like a miraculously good deal. Brad Tuttle is a reporter at TIME. Find him on Twitter at @bradrtuttle. You can also continue the discussion on TIME’s Facebook page and on Twitter at @TIME. LIST: Top 10 Bad Santas ||||| The young father stood in line at the Kmart layaway counter, wearing dirty clothes and worn-out boots. With him were three small children. Kevin, center, Jolie, right, and Alex Lewis shop for a family they adopted for Christmas, Thursday Dec 15, 2011 at a Kmart in Omaha, Neb. The Lewises had their layaway paid off at Kmart by an unknown... (Associated Press) Kmart store manager Ted Straub talks Thursday Dec 15, 2011 in his Omaha, Neb store. Dozens of Kmart customers across the country have had their layaways paid off by strangers. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver) (Associated Press) Dona, Matt, left, and Bryce Bremser, sit for photos at their Omaha, Neb. home Thursday Dec 15, 2011. The Bremsers had their layaway at Kmart paid off by an unknown good Samaritan. (AP Photo/Dave Weaver) (Associated Press) He asked to pay something on his bill because he knew he wouldn't be able to afford it all before Christmas. Then a mysterious woman stepped up to the counter. "She told him, `No, I'm paying for it,'" recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. "He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn't, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears." At Kmart stores across the country, Santa is getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers' layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn't afford, especially toys and children's clothes set aside by impoverished parents. Before she left the store Tuesday evening, the Indianapolis woman in her mid-40s had paid the layaway orders for as many as 50 people. On the way out, she handed out $50 bills and paid for two carts of toys for a woman in line at the cash register. "She was doing it in the memory of her husband who had just died, and she said she wasn't going to be able to spend it and wanted to make people happy with it," Deppe said. The woman did not identify herself and only asked people to "remember Ben," an apparent reference to her husband. Deppe, who said she's worked in retail for 40 years, had never seen anything like it. "It was like an angel fell out of the sky and appeared in our store," she said. Most of the donors have done their giving secretly. Dona Bremser, an Omaha nurse, was at work when a Kmart employee called to tell her that someone had paid off the $70 balance of her layaway account, which held nearly $200 in toys for her 4-year-old son. "I was speechless," Bremser said. "It made me believe in Christmas again." Dozens of other customers have received similar calls in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana and Montana. The benefactors generally ask to help families who are squirreling away items for young children. They often pay a portion of the balance, usually all but a few dollars or cents so the layaway order stays in the store's system. The phenomenon seems to have begun in Michigan before spreading, Kmart executives said. "It is honestly being driven by people wanting to do a good deed at this time of the year," said Salima Yala, Kmart's division vice president for layaway. The good Samaritans seem to be visiting mainly Kmart stores, though a Wal-Mart spokesman said a few of his stores in Joplin, Mo., and Chicago have also seen some layaway accounts paid off. Kmart representatives say they did nothing to instigate the secret Santas or spread word of the generosity. But it's happening as the company struggles to compete with chains such as Wal-Mart and Target. Kmart may be the focus of layaway generosity, Yala said, because it is one of the few large discount stores that has offered layaway year-round for about four decades. Under the program, customers can make purchases but let the store hold onto their merchandise as they pay it off slowly over several weeks. The sad memories of layaways lost prompted at least one good Samaritan to pay off the accounts of five people at an Omaha Kmart, said Karl Graff, the store's assistant manager. "She told me that when she was younger, her mom used to set up things on layaway at Kmart, but they rarely were able to pay them off because they just didn't have the money for it," Graff said. He called a woman who had been helped, "and she broke down in tears on the phone with me. She wasn't sure she was going to be able to pay off their layaway and was afraid their kids weren't going to have anything for Christmas." "You know, 50 bucks may not sound like a lot, but I tell you what, at the right time, it may as well be a million dollars for some people," Graff said. Graff's store alone has seen about a dozen layaway accounts paid off in the last 10 days, with the donors paying $50 to $250 on each account. "To be honest, in retail, it's easy to get cynical about the holidays, because you're kind of grinding it out when everybody else is having family time," Graff said. "It's really encouraging to see this side of Christmas again." Lori Stearnes of Omaha also benefited from the generosity of a stranger who paid all but $58 of her $250 layaway bill for toys for her four youngest grandchildren. Stearnes said she and her husband live paycheck to paycheck, but she plans to use the money she was saving for the toys to help pay for someone else's layaway. In Missoula, Mont., a man spent more than $1,200 to pay down the balances of six customers whose layaway orders were about to be returned to a Kmart store's inventory because of late payments. Store employees reached one beneficiary on her cellphone at Seattle Children's Hospital, where her son was being treated for an undisclosed illness. "She was yelling at the nurses, `We're going to have Christmas after all!'" store manager Josine Murrin said. A Kmart in Plainfield Township, Mich., called Roberta Carter last week to let her know a man had paid all but 40 cents of her $60 layaway. Carter, a mother of eight from Grand Rapids, Mich., said she cried upon hearing the news. She and her family have been struggling as she seeks a full-time job. "My kids will have clothes for Christmas," she said. Angie Torres, a stay-at-home mother of four children under the age of 8, was in the Indianapolis Kmart on Tuesday to make a payment on her layaway bill when she learned the woman next to her was paying off her account. "I started to cry. I couldn't believe it," said Torres, who doubted she would have been able to pay off the balance. "I was in disbelief. I hugged her and gave her a kiss." ___ Associated Press writers Michael J. Crumb in Des Moines, Iowa; Matt Volz, in Helena, Mont.; and Jeff Karoub in Detroit contributed to this report. ||||| John Plate, manager at Kmart in the Bronx, New York City, stands behind the store's layaway counter on Thursday, Nov. 7, 2013. John Brecher Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and he’s just paid off your layaway bill. So-called "Layaway Santas" aren’t new, but they have been growing ever since an Associated Press story pointed out the phenomenon in 2011. Despite the sluggish economy, or perhaps because of it, more people than ever seem to be driven to be some struggling family’s Little Saint Nick. Wal-Mart said it has tracked more than 1,000 instances so far this season of strangers paying down others' layaway accounts. Kmart said strangers have paid more than $1.5 million in other's layaway contracts over the years. Toy "R" Us said they recorded 794 layaway Santa visits in 2012, matching each one with a $200 donation to Toys for Tots, for a total of $158,800. For this year, it's pledged to donate up to $1 million. For Dave Wilson, 65, who went from living on a poor farm in Iowa to owning 17 car dealerships in Orange County, Calif., it's a way to give back. Every December, he gives his aptly named wife, Holly, a Kmart receipt for her birthday. On it are listed hundreds of transactions, all the layaway account balances he's paid off at his local store. "She said it was the best birthday present ever," he said. In 2011, it was 260 accounts to the tune of nearly $16,000. In 2012, it was more than 320 accounts and $18,000. This year he plans for a repeat. "It's not passing out Christmas hams or turkeys," said Wilson. "They have to pay at least 10 percent ... this is something people have thought about and made an investment in." Here’s how it works. Under layaway, customers purchase items, but the store holds onto the physical merchandise as they pay it off in bits over a few weeks. For those with uncertain cash flows and limited access to credit, it's a structured way to save up for the holidays. But even this system can be a stretch too far to make those final payments, coming due at many stores at the end of this week. Unpaid, those gifts risk going back on the shelves instead of under the tree — unless a miracle happens. Enter the "Layaway Santa." Related: Hey millennials, we want to hear from you There are no elves or magic sleigh required. Just walk into a store offering layaway, such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, or Toys "R" Us, head to the layaway counter, and say you'd like to pay off some folks' layaway accounts. Most stores will know exactly what you're there for and will help you out. You can set a dollar amount you're willing to spend, or only ask to pay accounts with toys on them. Some Santas only pay off all the balances under a certain dollar amount, like $100, to ensure sure they can help as many people as possible. Then the clerks behind the layaway counter get to work, calling up customers and telling them their balances are paid off and they can come in and pick up their items. The donations remain anonymous, the Santas, secret. Wal-Mart's deadline for the final payments for its holiday layaway program is Friday, Dec. 13. That's when many layaway Santas pay their visit, said Rachel Saraga, a manager at the Wal-Mart in King of Prussia, Pa. Those only able to afford a modestly sized "Santa bag" can also join in the generosity. Payoffs of $1,000, $500 or $200 are common. For them, Lee Karchawer, a 30-year old marketing professional from New York City, is like a layaway Santa bundler, soliciting donations through the site he founded, payawaythelayaway.org. The average donation he gets is $25. The first year he raised $2,000 from 75 people. Last year he raised $5,000 from 135, and this year he hopes to break $8,000. After visiting the stores with the money he's raised and paying off the accounts with toys and children's clothing on them, he calls the stores back to make sure the items get picked up. One time, the employee on the other end of the phone told him the particular customer he was calling about had come in, "crying from pure excitement," said Karchawer. "They had said they thought they weren't going to make the payment." Karchawer was inspired to become a "Santa of Santas" after winning an online photo contest. To win, he had to drum up votes on social media. "I decided why not channel that power and do something positive?" said Karchawer. How do people react when they hear someone they've never met has paid for their family's presents? "Tears," said Wal-Mart manager Saraga. "Parents really want to make Christmas happen." Contact Ben Popken at ben.popken@nbcuni.com, @bpopken, or benpopkenwrites.com.

– A nice fad this holiday season: Secret Santas are going around to Kmarts and Walmarts and paying off the layaway accounts of random strangers. It's happening all over, including stores in Nebraska, Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, South Carolina, and Montana. The AP, NPR and Time round up examples of the anonymous holiday cheer. A typical one: A woman in her 30s went into a Kmart store in Michigan and asked if she could help pay off accounts. She picked three that had toys, shelled out $500, and left only $10 in each account. She also left a note with the receipts, saying "Happy Holidays from a friend."

Andrea Watt came up with a billion-dollar idea when she was just 20 years old, and she wouldn’t mind at least getting a little credit. During a summer internship in 1995, Watt and three other college students pitched the idea of a Doritos-shell taco to Taco Bell executives as part of an intern competition. They lost that contest, but their idea turned out to be a winner more than 15 years later: Taco Bell has netted more than $1 billion in sales from its eerily similar product, the Doritos Locos Taco, which it launched in 2012. “I’m sure I signed away that anything I pitched to them was their property anyway,” Watt said. “I would just like someone to recognize that it was a good idea." From left to right: Andrea Watt, Roy Brown, Mark Rader and a fourth team member. At the time, Watt was surprised her team lost the contest -- which only offered as prizes bragging rights and the possibility the winning idea could become a reality -- to a pitch for a line of Taco Bell-themed appetizers called “Mexitizers.” In the years since, she has boasted about the Doritos taco to friends and potential employers, and insisted to her husband that they move mementos from her internship through two family homes. Her LinkedIn even lists her as the original creator of the product. It was Watt's husband who broke the news to her last year that her genius food mashup had finally become a reality. “When I saw it come out, my jaw almost dropped,” Watt said. “I’m surprised it took so long, it was just so obvious to us then. When we did our presentation they were like, ‘It’s not really that marketable,’ and we were like, ‘What?’” Promotional materials Watt and her team developed for the Doritos taco. Notice it's just 79 cents. The suggested retail price for a Doritos Locos Taco is $1.39. Another team member, Mark Rader, learned of the Doritos Locos Taco when he saw an ad for it on a billboard in Chicago. “I was like, ‘Oh my God, no way,’” Rader said. “It’s really a thing. Are people really going to want this?” Rader had an inkling in 1995 that his team’s idea was a good one. It gave Doritos and Taco Bell, then both owned by PepsiCo, a chance for cross-promotion. And Rader knew that late teens and 20-somethings would relish the bizarre mix of foods. Taco Bell even ended up using Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch flavors for its Doritos Locos, the two flavors his team pitched, Rader said. “We were brought in, I’m sure, because they were really going after 18 to 24-year-olds. We thought, ‘Hell yeah, I know a 20-year-old kid who is going to eat a Dorito taco,’” Rader said. Bob Taber, who in 1995 was an account supervisor at Bozell, Taco Bell’s ad agency at the time, said the intern competition was meant to give Taco Bell the chance to tap into the minds of young people. Taber doesn’t remember Watt's team's exact pitch, but he said it certainly didn’t escape the eyes of Taco Bell brass. “I don’t know what the client ended up doing with them, but the client certainly saw all of the pitches,” said Taber, now the executive director of branding and communications at Colorado State University's business school. “It’s not uncommon at all to come up with a new product idea that goes nowhere, but then years later pops up.” A letter to Watt (then Andrea Simkins) from a Taco Bell executive offering feedback on her team's idea. The former interns say they don't want any money for their idea. But they're all pretty sure they're the first ones who came up with it. Rob Poetsch, Taco Bell's director of public affairs and engagement, wrote in an email to The Huffington Post that regardless of the team members' claims, the Doritos Locos Taco was created, developed and brought to market by teams at Frito Lay and Taco Bell. "Good ideas can come from anywhere, but an idea without execution does not make a successful product," he wrote. "The concept of making a taco shell out of Doritos may have come to people’s minds which is why we’ve had no shortage of those who have claimed it was their idea.” Indeed, others have tried to take credit for the Doritos taco since its launch. A federal prison inmate sued Taco Bell last year, claiming he came up with the idea and that Taco Bell executives stole it. And Todd Mills, an Arkansas dad who launched a Facebook campaign in 2009 asking Taco Bell to make a Doritos taco, was invited to taste it in early testing, according to USA Today. When Mills died last year, his friends honored him by posting pictures of themselves on Facebook eating the Doritos Locos Tacos. Though Taco Bell acknowledged Mills' support, he never saw any proceeds from the product. Watt, Rader and a third team member, Roy Brown, all agree that their internship was a good experience. They were wined and dined and had access to Taco Bell food scientists, executives and trade secrets. Those resources helped make their Doritos taco pitch more thorough than what they might have concocted on their own. The team figured out the logistics and cost of getting a specialty item at Taco Bell stores, they said. They looked into whether there might be a machine that could spray Doritos flavoring on tacos. They even came up with commercial concepts, including using 90’s heartthrob and "Friends" star Matthew Perry as a pitchman. “It was a great internship,” Watt said. “We actually came up with a really great idea that was marketable. We all came away from the loss really disappointed.” Brown agreed. “I remember being mad we didn’t win because I thought we had the best product,” he said. Despite their idea, none of the three team members interviewed ended up pursuing a career in food. Brown lives in California and works as a TV writer, and Rader is an advertising copywriter and children’s book author (“nothing taco related,” he quipped). Watt worked for Bozell for a year after her internship, and she now works for a company that offers leadership and sales training to major corporations. “[My job] is not directly related, but I think the internship was probably the moment where I realized I wanted to get into business,” Watt said. Even though they were once Taco Bell insiders, none of the three eat there regularly. Still, they indulge every once in a while -- including eating Doritos Locos Tacos. “I finally tried one after about a year and a half of them being out,” Rader said. “It was pretty good.” ||||| Taco Bell claims that its product developers came up with the idea for the Doritos Locos Taco -- probably the most successful new fast food item of the 21st century so far, with more than half a billion sold in the past 14 months -- at a summit with Frito-Lay executives at its Irvine, Calif., headquarters. But a lawsuit filed by federal prison inmate Gary Cole in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on May 15 alleges that the story behind the taco is a lie. In his 35-page handwritten complaint, Cole insists that he invented the Doritos Locos Taco -- and that Taco Bell and Frito-Lay stole the idea from him through the mail. In September 2006, Cole wrote up a list of nine product ideas. Most of them were assorted products -- hot sauces, body oils, health mixes -- to be sold under the brand "Divas and Ballers." But one, the second in the list, was "Taco Shells of All Flavors (Made of Doritos)." The complaint says Cole sent the list to Janice B Cole and Keoiana K. Cole in September 2010 -- but that the letter was "stolen through the United States Postal Service Mail and submitted to Frito Lays [sic], Taco Bell, Pepsi Co, Yum Brands," by someone whose identity remains a mystery to Cole. The companies gave the mail thief "a check ... for a large amount" for the rights to his idea, then started manufacturing and selling the Doritos Locos Taco, the complaint says. It is unclear how Janice and Keoiana Cole are connected to Gary Cole. Taco Bell responded to questions from The Huffington Post about the complaint with an emailed statement. "We have not been served with the lawsuit, but the claims we’ve read in online news sources are completely false and without merit," it said. In his lawsuit, Cole asks the court to order Taco Bell, Frito-Lay, PepsiCo and Yum Brands to give him documents regarding the invention of Doritos Locos Tacos, which he is confident will prove that they stole the idea from him. In the meantime, he requests that the court place "a lean on Taco Bell, Frito Lays, Pepsi Co, Yum Brands, to stop the production and sell of taco shells made of Doritos flavors." [sic] UPDATE: 3:42 p.m. -- This story has been changed to add a response from Taco Bell. Also on HuffPost: ||||| Taco Bell hopes to turn orange Doritos cheese powder into green _ as in cash from its latest invention. The Mexican-style chain plans to roll out Doritos Locos Tacos at midnight on Wednesday at its nearly 5,600 restaurants nationwide. The fast-food chain, a unit of Yum Brands Inc., calls the tacos that use shells made out of Nacho Cheese Doritos the biggest product launch in its 50-year history. It plans to introduce a Doritos Cool Ranch taco shell this fall. This photo provided by Taco Bell shows a new advertisement for Doritos Locos Tacos shells. The Mexican-style chain rolls out the Doritos Locos Tacos shells at midnight on Wednesday, March 7, 2012 at... (Associated Press) Taco Bell said it plans to spend up to $75 million to advertise the new tacos _ about three times more than it typically spends to promote new menu rollouts. The new tacos come as Taco Bell attempts to rebound from the bad publicity generated by a lawsuit a year ago that alleged the meat filling served at its restaurants didn't have enough beef to be called that. Taco Bell denounced the claim as false and spent millions to defend its filling and shore up its image. The suit was dropped about three months after it was filed by an Alabama-based law firm, but the chain's sales have struggled. The Doritos tacos are the latest in a string of things Taco Bell has been doing to improve its menu _ and boost its image. The chain is testing a Cantina Bell line of more upscale foods created by celebrity chef Lorena Garcia. Taco Bell also recently rolled out a breakfast menu in about 800 restaurants, with plans to roll out its breakfast burritos and hash browns nationwide by 2014. The latest rollout comes after Taco Bell tested the tacos a year in Bakersfield and Fresno in California and Toledo, Ohio. Taco Bell said one out of every three purchases at those stores included Doritos Locos Tacos _ about twice the typical number of purchases of a test product. "It's kind of like the brand has its mojo back," said Brian Niccol, Taco Bell's chief marketing and innovation officer who declined to give details on the company's deal with PepsiCo Inc.'s Frito-Lay snack unit, which makes Doritos. "We're doing what we really do best, which is first innovation." Taco Bell, which is based in California, certainly could use a boost. Sales at stores open at least a year _ an indicator of a restaurant chain's health _ were down 2 percent for the year and 2 percent for the fourth quarter. Taco Bell accounts for about 60 percent of U.S. profit for Louisville-based Yum Brands, which also has struggled with slumping sales in the U.S., but posted a 1 percent gain in revenue from existing restaurants in the final three months of 2011. Mark Kalinowski, an analyst at Janney Capital Markets, predicts a turnaround for Taco Bell in a recent note to investors. "We believe that the new product pipeline combined with time that has passed since the lawsuit should set Taco Bell up for a very strong year," he wrote. He also was upbeat Wednesday about prospects for the new taco, predicting it will be "a rather big hit." But Laura Ries, president of Ries & Ries, a marketing strategy firm based in Atlanta, said while a splashy product rollout can help consumers forget about a publicity setback, Taco Bell has a bigger problem of how to improve its product so that it stacks up against competitors like Chipotle Mexican Grill. "Certainly people love Doritos, but putting them onto a shell doesn't necessarily make it a more authentic Mexican restaurant," Ries said.

– While interning for Taco Bell's ad agency in the summer of 1995, four college students took part in a competition. Their idea—which didn't win, yet might seem familiar: a taco shell made out of ... Doritos. Of course, Taco Bell ultimately came out with just that roughly 17 years later, and its insanely successful line of Doritos Locos Tacos has netted the firm more than $1 billion in sales. Andrea Watt, one of the former interns, tells the Huffington Post she doesn't want money ("I’m sure I signed away that anything I pitched to them was their property anyway"), but she wouldn't mind at least some credit—for an idea that she recalls being told wasn't "really that marketable." The Huffington Post has all sorts of proof of their idea, including promotional materials the team created. They suggested calling the product "Dorito Tacos," charging 79 cents, and having Matthew Perry shill for the item. Another team member, Mark Rader, adds that the two flavors the team pitched—Nacho Cheese and Cool Ranch—ended up being the first two flavors offered by Taco Bell. A former account supervisor for the ad agency at the time says "the client certainly saw all the pitches." But others have claimed to be the brains behind the taco, including a man whose 2013 obit widely touted him as having pitched the idea to Frito Lay in 2009, and a former prison inmate who's actually suing over the matter; he claims a mystery person stole a letter containing the idea from the USPS and gave it to Taco Bell. In response to the new claims, a rep for Taco Bell pointed out that concept and execution are two different things. Indeed, it ultimately took years of unusual testing to bring the taco to life.

Please enable Javascript to watch this video A 23-year-old woman is mourning the loss of her unborn baby girl and husband after a driver, with two prior DUI convictions, allegedly ran a stop sign in Victorville and crashed into her family's car. The fatal crash happened about 1:45 a.m. Saturday when a man behind the wheel of a 2002 Hyundai sedan was driving north on Amethyst Road and allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign. The driver, 56-year-old Alexander Delapaz-Perez, broadsided the driver's side door of a 2015 Honda Accord that was traveling west on Mojave Drive, the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said in a news release. Angel Barranco, 35, of Adelanto was driving the Honda Accord with his wife, who was 7-months pregnant, and his mother-in-law in the car. Barranco was taken to a local hospital where he later died from his injuries. His wife, Barbara Velasco, was taken to a local hospital with major injuries. Family members told KTLA Velasco's unborn baby girl, who was due in two months, did not survive. Velasco's mother, Monica Alarcon, 42, also suffered major injuries in the crash and was taken to a local hospital. Velasco's brother told KTLA the young mother and widow is devastated. "My son-in-law didn't deserve this. He was a great person, and my little granddaughter that's not with us. They should've been here," Alarcon told KTLA. "He should have never been able to get in that car and drive." Delapaz-Perez received medical treatment for minor injuries and was later booked for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury, sheriff's officials said. Police said Delapaz-Perez has two prior DUI convictions. Sheriff's inmate records listed the driver as Alexander De La Paz, with Alexander Perez Delapaz as an alias. He was due in court Tuesday. The deadly crash remains under investigation. Barranco and Velasco have two young children together. Family members have created a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses and medical bills. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call Deputy Alejandro Ramos at the Victorville Police Station at 760-241-2911. ||||| An Adelanto mother is grieving this week after a man with two DUI convictions drove intoxicated again and slammed into her family’s car, killing her husband and causing her to lose her unborn baby, officials and relatives said. Alexander Delapaz-Perez, 56, was under the influence Saturday about 1:45 a.m. when he ran a stop sign on Amethyst Road at Mojave Drive and broadsided a Honda Accord, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. In the Accord were driver Angel Barranco, 35; his wife, Barbara Velasco, 23, who was seven months’ pregnant; and her mother, Monica Alarcon, 42, all from Adelanto, authorities said. Perez was northbound when he hit the driver’s side of Barranco’s car, according to investigators. Perez suffered minor injuries in the crash, and Angel Barranco died. Family members told KTLA that Velasco lost her baby. She and Alarcon suffered “major injuries” but survived, authorities said. Family members have created a GoFundMe account to help with with funeral costs. Perez was charged Tuesday with one count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two counts each of driving drunk and causing injuries and driving with a blood alcohol content above 0.08% and causing injuries. Drivers who have prior DUI convictions and are responsible for fatal crashes while intoxicated can be charged with murder in some circumstances and the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office is reviewing if Perez is eligible, officials said. CAPTION Body camera footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department taken during the shooting on Oct. 1. Body camera footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department taken during the shooting on Oct. 1. CAPTION Body camera footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department taken during the shooting on Oct. 1. Body camera footage from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department taken during the shooting on Oct. 1. CAPTION The gunman who attacked the Las Vegas music festival had cameras set up outside his room. Trump visited Puerto Rico on Tuesday, after Hurricane Maria swept through the island two weeks ago. Three billion Yahoo accounts were affected by a massive data breach — three times as many as initially reported. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers for their work on electron microscopy. Credits: EPA, Getty, Hillary Guzik, KTLA, Sarya Stukes The gunman who attacked the Las Vegas music festival had cameras set up outside his room. Trump visited Puerto Rico on Tuesday, after Hurricane Maria swept through the island two weeks ago. Three billion Yahoo accounts were affected by a massive data breach — three times as many as initially reported. The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three researchers for their work on electron microscopy. Credits: EPA, Getty, Hillary Guzik, KTLA, Sarya Stukes CAPTION At least 50 are dead and 200 injured after a shooting on the Las Vegas strip. Heartbreakers frontman Tom Petty died Monday at 66. Portraits are emerging of those killed in Las Vegas. L.A. decriminalized sidewalk vending to protect immigrants from deportation. Credits: Getty / KTLA At least 50 are dead and 200 injured after a shooting on the Las Vegas strip. Heartbreakers frontman Tom Petty died Monday at 66. Portraits are emerging of those killed in Las Vegas. L.A. decriminalized sidewalk vending to protect immigrants from deportation. Credits: Getty / KTLA CAPTION President Trump comments on the cost of the Puerto Rico response after the country was hit by Hurricane Maria. President Trump comments on the cost of the Puerto Rico response after the country was hit by Hurricane Maria. CAPTION Musician Tom Petty died Monday after being rushed to the hospital after a cardiac arrest. He was 66. Musician Tom Petty died Monday after being rushed to the hospital after a cardiac arrest. He was 66. joseph.serna@latimes.com For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna on Twitter. ALSO Southern California's second storm of the week brings rain and gusty winds Retired Ventura County judge fatally shoots his girlfriend, then himself after hours-long SWAT standoff L.A. County jail guard charged with assault for looking the other way while inmates beat someone up UPDATES: 1:50 p.m.: This article was updated with Perez’s charges. This article was originally published at 9:35 a.m. ||||| SALEM, Ore. (KOIN) — A young mother and 4 children were killed in a head-on crash caused, police say, by a reckless driver under the influence of intoxicants. Lizette Medrano-Perez, 25, and 4 children — Ivan Ricardo, 8, and Andrus, 6, and girls Dayanara, 4, and Angelina, 2 — died when their Buick Century was hit by a Land Rover driven by Favian R. Garcia. The 3 older children were Medrano’s own. She was also the temporary legal guardian for her niece Angelina. The crash happened around 4:40 p.m. Sunday about a mile north of Salem on Hwy 99E near Nevada Street. Investigators said the Land Rover was headed north and was coming around a corner in the road when the crash happened. All 5 people died at the scene. Garcia, 27, sustained minor injuries. Officers arrested him and charged him with 5 counts of manslaughter I, felony driving while under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, misdemeanor driving while suspended and outstanding unrelated Marion County Warrants. He’s expected to appear in court on Tuesday. KOIN 6 News checked his record and found Garcia has had 2 previous DUII charges, including one just 2 months ago. “To see the sadness in people’s eyes knowing their family members aren’t coming back because somebody made a bad choice is just one of the worst parts about our job,” said OSP Trooper Bob Charpentier. The Oregon State Police said they’re pouring resources into this investigation to make sure they do a flawless job. Four different accident reconstruction teams are involved to help put together a really clear picture of what exactly happened. Family and friends are mourning the loss of the young family. Medrano-Perez’s friend Amanda LaFollette sent KOIN the following statement: She was a beautiful person, I don’t think in the almost year I’ve known her that I’ve seen her angry, or shed a single tear. She worked hard for her children those where her pride and joy, she would do anything for them. She went through some hard times and struggled with worrying about her mother’s health but you wouldn’t notice it because in front of her fears and pain always stood a smile of gold. She loved her family more than life itself and would do anything for them, she always made sure her kids had all their needs and would often times stop what she was doing to be a shoulder for her friends, this truly is one of the hardest and most tragic incidents. She will be truly missed by so many!” Any crash witnesses who have not spoken to police are asked to call 800.452.7888. There is a GoFundMe to help cover funeral costs.

– A driver with two prior DUI convictions was involved in a crash in Victorville, Calif., early Saturday that caused a woman to lose both her husband and her unborn daughter. Angel Barranco, 35, was driving with his 7-months-pregnant wife and his mother-in-law around 1:45am when their Honda Accord was broadsided by a Hyundai sedan that allegedly ran a stop sign, KTLA reports. The Hyundai was being driven by 56-year-old Alexander Delapaz-Perez, who is suspected of once again driving while intoxicated, the Los Angeles Times reports. Barranco died at a nearby hospital; his 23-year-old wife, Barbara Velasco, lost the couple's unborn baby girl and suffered severe injuries of her own. Velasco's mother, 42-year-old Monica Alarcon, also suffered major injuries. Delapaz-Perez was treated for minor injuries and then booked on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence causing great bodily injury. The San Bernardino County district attorney's office is looking into whether Delapaz-Perez can be charged with murder, as is sometimes possible when a driver with prior DUI convictions causes a fatal crash while under the influence. A GoFundMe campaign has been set up for the family, which includes two other children. (An unborn baby survived a car crash that killed his mother.)

Story highlights A judge orders the police officers held for 30 days Two U.S. Embassy employees were wounded in the incident A Mexican Navy official was also in the vehicle that was fired upon Police officers are under investigation on attempted murder and other charges A Mexican judge has ordered the detention of 12 federal police officers accused of opening fire on a U.S. diplomatic vehicle south of the capital last week. Under the judge's order, the officers will be held for 30 days, Jose Luis Manjarrez, a spokesman for the Mexican Attorney-General's Office, said Monday. They will be transferred to Mexico City from the state of Morelos, where they are being held, he said. The 12 officers are under investigation in relation to five charges, including attempted murder, according to one of their lawyers, Marco Aurelio Gonzalez. Following the shooting incident Friday, two U.S. Embassy employees, described by a senior U.S. government official as U.S. citizens, were taken to a hospital with nonlife-threatening wounds. A member of the Mexican Navy who was with them in the vehicle suffered light bruises, according to a statement from the Mexican Navy. The statement provided the following account of events: Just Watched Diplomatic vehicle shot up in Mexico replay More Videos ... Diplomatic vehicle shot up in Mexico 01:14 PLAY VIDEO The incident unfolded at 8 a.m. Friday, as the two embassy employees and the Mexican were traveling to a military facility in the municipality of Xalatlaco in a Toyota Land Cruiser. Some 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) earlier, they had left the main highway that connects Mexico City with Cuernavaca, near the town of Tres Marias, a thinly populated area off the main road. When a vehicle containing Federal Police approached and its occupants brandished their weapons, the driver of the diplomatic vehicle tried to evade them and return to the main highway. At that point, the police sprayed bullets into the black SUV with diplomatic plates. Moments later, three other vehicles carrying Federal Police joined the attack, also shooting at the U.S. Embassy vehicle. By now, the Mexican Navy official who was in the embassy vehicle had contacted personnel at a nearby military installation, who arrived after the firing had ended and cordoned off the site, the Navy statement said. Both embassy employees were taken, under Federal Police guard, to a hospital. Photographs of the SUV showed the embassy vehicle pockmarked with more than a dozen holes and at least three of its tires flat. In addition to the attempted murder charge, the detained police officers are facing charges of abuse of authority, damage to property, bodily harm and abuse of public duty, according to Gonzalez. The lawyer said that the officers were investigating a kidnapping when they came across the embassy vehicle, which ignored their requests to stop. The Mexican Public Security Secretariat has acknowledged in a statement that the officers fired on the armored vehicle with diplomatic plates while they were looking for a group of suspected criminals. The U.S. Embassy in Mexico is cooperating with the investigation into the shooting incident, Victoria Nuland, the State Department spokeswoman, said Monday. "I'm not going to get ahead of the investigation. I think we're going to wait and see what that concludes," she said when asked whether the incident was an attack or an ambush. The violent incident is the third in recent years involving U.S. officials in Mexico. In 2010, a U.S. consular employee, her husband and another man died in a gun attack in Ciudad Juarez. And in 2011, a U.S. immigration and customs agent was killed and another was wounded in an attack by an armed group on a highway in the state of San Luis Potosi. Violence related to drug gangs has increased in recent years in Morelos, the state where the shooting incident took place Friday. ||||| 12 Mexico police held over US embassy car shooting MEXICO CITY — A Mexican judge ordered 12 federal police officers held for 40 days on Monday as prosecutors mull charges against them for shooting at a US embassy car and wounding two US government employees. The officers are being treated as suspects over Friday's incident, when a sport-utility vehicle with diplomatic plates was chased by four cars south of Mexico City and hit by a hail of bullets. "We will continue to deepen the investigation," Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibanez told reporters. "Right now we have an abuse of power." "We are cooperating with all national and international authorities that we must collaborate with to clarify the events," Morales added. She did not indicate what other charges the officers could face apart from abuse of power over the shooting, which the US embassy has described as an ambush. The judge must decide the degree of responsibility of each suspect. "No crime and no investigative leads are being ruled out at the moment," she said. "This is why we asked for provisional detention, so we have the time we need to carry out an exhaustive investigation." The officers will be transferred from the attorney general's regional office in Cuernavaca, the capital of the state of Morelos, to a provisional detention center in Mexico City. Relatives of the officers protested outside the federal prosecutor's office in Cuernavaca, holding signs saying "Deprived of their freedom for doing their jobs" and "Mr. President, we ask for your support and justice." The Mexican navy and public security ministry say the officers were hunting for criminals south of the capital when they shot at the diplomatic car. A Mexican navy captain traveling with the US employees was slightly injured. The US government employees and the Mexican navy captain were heading to a military facility when a carload of gunmen chased and fired at them on a dirt road, the navy and public security ministry said in a statement. When the US vehicle veered back onto a highway, three more cars joined the chase and shot at the SUV, which was riddled with bullets near Tres Marias, a town 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the capital. The US embassy has not identified the two wounded employees or the nature of their work in Mexico, which is in the throes of a drug war that has left some 50,000 people dead since 2006. Mexico's ombudsman, Raul Plascencia, said the shooting was an "extremely serious mistake by the officers, which could be an orchestrated action." "There is no justification for such an excessive use of force," the head of the National Human Rights Commission told a news conference. Copyright © 2012 AFP. All rights reserved. More » ||||| Mexico’s defense ministry has urged an investigation of the video, which threatens to spark a new scandal over the army’s use of extrajudicial force Mexico’s defense ministry has urged federal prosecutors to investigate a video that appears to show a soldier shooting a man lying on the ground in the head at point-blank range, and risks sparking a new scandal for the armed forces. The ministry said in a statement that prosecutors should “comprehensively clear up” whether the video indeed showed the soldier shooting the detained man after a clash last week between security forces and suspected criminals. Published online, the video shows a shot-up car coming to a halt, coming under further gunfire and eventually being surrounded by soldiers. Minutes later, its doors open and people exiting the vehicle are forced onto the ground in a dimly lit area. Soon afterward, soldiers drag a man who appears to be still alive from the dark area to a well-lit part of the shot, where he lies on the ground for about six minutes before a soldier steps toward him and appears to shoot him in the back of the head. A dark stain then spreads outward from the prone man’s head on the asphalt as soldiers move around. According to the videos posted online and Mexican media, the events took place during a clash between soldiers and suspected oil thieves in Palmarito in the central state of Puebla last week, in which four soldiers and six suspected criminals died. Mexico suffering from 'serious crisis of violence and impunity', report says Read more Mexico’s army has been embroiled in a number of scandals in the past few years centering on the use of extrajudicial force, embarrassing the government and undermining its efforts to clamp down on widespread gang violence. In its statement, the defense ministry said soldiers had come under fire from vehicles in Palmarito and had detained some of the attackers. It pledged to cooperate with the attorney general’s office in the investigation. Two shootouts between federal security forces and suspected gang members in 2014 and 2015 that took more than 60 lives prompted accusations by human rights groups that federal forces had carried out extrajudicial killings. Three soldiers are in prison over one of the shootings. A report on Tuesday said Mexico had the second-highest number of murders last year among countries considered in “armed conflicts”. In a statement on Wednesday, the government said the term “armed conflict” used by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in its report was inapplicable to Mexico and that the final murder tally for 2016 was not yet official.

– A dozen Mexican federal police officers who riddled a US Embassy car with bullets on Friday are being held while they are investigated on charges including attempted murder, CNN reports. Two American citizens employed by the embassy were injured in the shooting south of Mexico City, as was a member of the Mexican Navy who was with them in the vehicle. The embassy SUV had diplomatic plates, and US authorities have described the attack as an ambush, reports AFP. The diplomatic vehicle was headed for a naval installation when it was approached by a vehicle whose occupants brandished weapons, according to a statement from the Mexican Navy. "The driver of the diplomatic vehicle used evasive maneuvers, and when it returned on the highway, the passengers in the attacking vehicle opened fire on the diplomatic vehicle," and the attackers were joined by three other vehicles, the statement said. A lawyer for the detained officers says police were investigating a kidnapping when they encountered the embassy vehicle, which ignored orders to stop.

Story highlights New York State Senate passes bill banning piercing and tattooing of pets Bill was introduced after woman tried to sell pierced "Gothic kittens" on eBay for $100 each Legislators acted after Brooklyn man had his dog tattooed during surgery Put your dog in a bow tie: weird but cute. Dress your cat in a bear costume: odd, but let the kitty dream. Push your overweight dog in a stroller: ridiculous, but sweet. Give your dog a tattoo covering its entire stomach and pierce its ears with mini barbells: WAIT! The New York Legislature believes some pet obsessions have gone too far. A bill banning the piercing and tattooing of companion animals, the most common of which are cats and dogs, was unanimously passed in both chambers on Wednesday. The bill awaits signing by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. If Cuomo signs the bill, violators face possible fines or imprisonment. The legislation was initially introduced in 2011 when a groomer, Holly Crawford, of Sweet Valley, Pennsylvania, began marketing "Gothic kittens" on eBay. New York State Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, who represents Manhattan, introduced the legislation immediately after reading an article about the kittens, said Lauren Schuster, her chief of staff. The kittens were pierced down their entire back, according to Schuster. That practice was brought to the attention of law enforcement by the animal rights group PETA The groomer was prosecuted and convicted in Pennsylvania. Court documents showed she was sentenced to six months of electronic home monitoring and a period of probation. Crawford did not return a CNN call seeking comment. Under the New York bill, tattooing is acceptable as a form of identification for animals or to indicate that a medical procedure has been done, but "not for design purposes." Animal advocates hope people will move to having pets "microchipped" instead. New York's bill gained momentum in early March, when a Brooklyn resident tattooed his pitbull while it was having surgery to have its spleen removed. This was the "catalyst for [the bill] to move again," said Schuster. Response from the public and animal rights groups was immediate, said Schuster. "I think people have a natural knee jerk for something like this," she said. People began to ask the question, "This really happens?" said Schuster. Under the bill, piercing and tattooing of companion animals would only be allowed for medical or identification purposes and must be performed by a licensed veterinarian. While tattooing in the past has been used as a form of identification, PETA says it prefers the microchip because it is the most effective. "Under no circumstance should an animal be pierced," said Daphna Nachminovitch, senior vice president of cruelty investigation for PETA. Nachminovitch calls the bill a "wonderful thing" even though this "should be common sense," she says. While many states have animal cruelty statues, this is the only ban she has heard of to legally ban the tattooing and piercing of companion animals. ||||| ALBANY — Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, one of the Legislature's most prolific writers of bills to protect animals, is trying to stop cat declawing. Rosenthal, a Democrat, has introduced legislation to ban the feline procedure unless it is done to remove a tumor or other medical reasons. "It's like taking off your first knuckle," Rosenthal said. "(Cats) are born with claws and they are meant to have claws. It's cruel to remove them for the sake of human convenience and saving your furniture. Rosenthal's bill, which has not been introduced in the state Senate yet, is backed by the Humane Society of New York and the Paw Project, a California-based group dedicated to stopping cat declawing. Rosenthal's bill is backed by the Humane Society of New York and the Paw Project, a California-based group dedicated to stopping cat declawing. (Janet Winikoff/ASSOCIATED PRESS) If enacted, the measure would be the nation's first statewide ban on cat declawing. The American Veterinary Medical Association believes cat declawing should be a last resort but has stopped short of supporting a ban on the procedure. "Declawing of domestic cats should be considered only after attempts have been made to prevent the cat from using its claws destructively or when its clawing presents an above normal health risk for its owner," the AVMA's policy states. The legislation is the newest of dozens of Rosenthal bills dealing with cats, dogs and other fury creations. Last month, Gov. Cuomo signed into law a Rosenthal bill banning the tattooing or piercing of pets. (Richard Harbus/for New York Daily News) The legislation is the newest of dozens of Rosenthal bills dealing with cats, dogs and other fury creations. Last month, Gov. Cuomo signed into law a Rosenthal bill banning the tattooing or piercing of pets. Rosenthal has also written legislation giving judges the power to issue orders of protection to pets, limiting the testing of cosmetics on animals, giving cities special powers to shut down puppy mills and making the "rescue cat" New York's official cat. ||||| New York could be the first state to issue a statewide ban on declawing of domestic, exotic and wild cats. The law is being pushed by Manhattan Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, who's an advocate fighting against the mistreatment of animals. "This is just the next step in my agenda," Rosenthal says. "People do a lot of cruel and inhumane things to animals and I've passed a number of laws for protecting them. There' s practically no good reason to declaw a cat. It's really a horrific thing to do to an animal and that’s why I want it outlawed." The bill, which was issued this month, is supported by The Paw Project, a nonprofit educating the public on the effects of declawing animals. "It's not a fancy manicure," says Jennifer Conrad, a veterinarian in Santa Monica, California, and the founder of the Paw Project. "Declawing is actually an amputation of bones in the cats' paws. So really, the last bone in a cat's toe is amputated." For both Rosenthal and Conrad, the fight against outlawing the surgical procedure goes deeper than just preventing unnecessary pain for felines. "Cats have their claws for a reason," Rosenthal told ABC News. "They kneed with them, they express themselves, and they were born with them. There's too many being procedures being performed and it’s basically to satisfy the whim of the owners.” Despite the controversy, however, there are “some situations in which declawing may be considered, such as when a cat’s excessive or inappropriate scratching behavior causes risk of injury to immunocompromised people or remains destructive despite conscientious attention to behavioral modification and alternatives,” according to American Veterinary Medical Association. The association emphasizes that the amputation is “not medically necessary for the cat in most cases,” and the decision “should be made by the owners in consultation with their veterinarian.” There are eight cities in California that have outlawed declawing wild, exotic, and domesticated cats. If it's approved, New York could be the first state to ban declawing all types of felines. Rosenthal says she hopes the law will be passed this year.

– Apparently tattooing pets is a thing. At least, it's popular enough that New York passed a bill on Wednesday banning owners from inking up companion animals. Piercings are off the table, too, according to the bill, which was introduced in 2011 by Linda Rosenthal, an assemblywoman who read an article about pierced "gothic kittens" for sale online, the New York Daily News reports. The kittens being hawked on eBay were pierced down their entire backs, Rosenthal's chief of staff explains to CNN. (The Pennsylvania groomer selling them ended up being convicted of animal cruelty.) Governor Andrew Cuomo is now expected to sign the bill into law. It grants an exception only for tattooing that serves as a form of identification—though animal rights advocates are pushing "microchipping" as an alternative—or indicates a medical procedure has been carried out. Such tattooing can only be performed by a licensed veterinarian. (Another win for animal lovers in New York: They can now be buried with their pets.)

BELIZE CITY Nov 14 (Reuters) - Belize's prime minister on Wednesday urged anti-virus software pioneer John McAfee to help the country's police with a murder inquiry, calling McAfee "bonkers" for recent media statements. "I don't want to be unkind, but he seems to be extremely paranoid - I would go so far as to say bonkers," Prime Minister Dean Barrow said in Belize City. "He ought to man up and respect our laws and go in and talk to the police." Belizean police want to question McAfee, 67, about the murder of his neighbor and fellow U.S. citizen, Gregory Viant Faull, 52, with whom McAfee had quarreled. Police have been unable to track down McAfee since finding Faull dead on Sunday. In an interview on Tuesday, McAfee said he had gone into hiding because he believed Belizean authorities were trying to frame him for Faull's murder. "You can say I'm paranoid about it, but they will kill me, there is no question. They've been trying to get me for months," Wired magazine's website quoted McAfee as saying. "I am not well liked by the prime minister." Barrow called the claim rubbish, saying he had "never met the man" and that the media attention McAfee had attracted was offering the American "the best possible safeguard." "It's not as if the police have said he is a suspect and certainly there is no question at this point of charges pending," Barrow said. "The fact that this is smeared across international headlines means the police would have to act extremely cautiously in the full glare of the public spotlight." McAfee, who invented the anti-virus software that bears his name, has homes and businesses in Belize, and is believed to have settled in the country around 2010. There is already a case pending in Belize against McAfee for possession of illegal firearms, and police previously suspected him of running a lab to make the synthetic drug crystal meth. On Wednesday, Belizean police said it had charged McAfee's British bodyguard William Mulligan, 29, and Mulligan's wife, Stefanie, 22, for having unlicensed weapons and ammunition. Barrow rejected claims made by McAfee and an associate that the software pioneer was being targeted for refusing to donate to Belize's ruling United Democratic Party to help fund its successful re-election bid in March. "I know of no individual in the UDP who has spoken to McAfee about contributions," Barrow said. McAfee was one of Silicon Valley's first entrepreneurs to build an Internet fortune. The ex-Lockheed systems consultant started McAfee Associates in 1989. McAfee currently has no relationship with the company, which has been sold to Intel Corp . (Reporting by Jose Sanchez; Writing by Gabriel Stargardter; Editing by Dave Graham and Doina Chiacu) ||||| Antivirus pioneer John McAfee is on the run from murder charges, Belize police say. According to Marco Vidal, head of the national police force's Gang Suppression Unit, McAfee is a prime suspect in the murder of American expatriate Gregory Faull, who was gunned down Saturday night at his home in San Pedro Town on the island of Ambergris Caye. Details remain sketchy so far, but residents say that Faull was a well-liked builder who hailed originally from California Florida. The two men had been at odds for some time. Last Wednesday, Faull filed a formal complaint against McAfee with the mayor's office, asserting that McAfee had fired off guns and exhibited "roguish behavior." Their final disagreement apparently involved dogs. Advertisement UPDATE: Here is the official police statement: MURDER On Sunday the 11th November, 2012 at 8:00am acting upon information received, San Pedro Police visited 5 ¾ miles North of San Pedro Town where they saw 52 year old U.S National Mr. GREGORY VIANT FAULL, of the said address, lying face up in a pool of blood with an apparent gunshot wound on the upper rear part of his head apparently dead. Initial investigation revealed that on the said date at 7:20am LUARA TUN, 39years, Belizean Housekeeper of Boca Del Rio Area, San Pedro Town went to the house of Mr. Faull to do her daily chores when she saw him laying inside of the hall motionless, Faull was last seen alive around 10:00pm on 10.11.12 and he lived alone. No signs of forced entry was seen, A (1) laptop computer brand and serial number unknown and (1) I-Phone was discovered missing. The body was found in the hall of the upper flat of the house. A single luger brand 9 mm expended shells was found at the first stairs leading up to the upper flat of the building. The body of Faull was taken to KHMH Morgue where it awaits a Post Mortem Examination. Police have not established a motive so far but are following several leads. As we reported last week, McAfee has become increasingly estranged from his fellow expatriates in recent years. His behavior has become increasingly erratic, and by his own admission he had begun associating with some of the most notorious gangsters in Belize. Advertisement Since our piece ran on last week, several readers have come forward with additional information that sheds light on the change in McAfee's behavior. In July of 2010, shortly before Allison Adonizio pulled the plug on their quorum-sensing project and fled the country, McAfee began posting on a drug-focused Russian-hosted message board called Bluelight about his attempts to purify the psychoactive compounds colloquially known as "bath salts." Writing under the name "stuffmonger," a handle he has used on other online message boards, McAfee posted more than 200 times over the next nine months about his ongoing quest to purify psychoactive drugs from compounds commercially available over the internet. "I'm a huge fan of MDPV," he wrote. "I think it's the finest drug ever conceived, not just for the indescribable hypersexuality, but also for the smooth euphoria and mild comedown." Advertisement Elsewhere, he described his pursuit of "super perv powder" and warned about the dangers of handling the freebase version of the drug: "I had visual and auditory hallucinations and the worst paranoia of my life." He recommended that the most effective way to take a dose is via rectal insertion, a procedure known as "plugging," writing: "Measure your dose, apply a small amount of saliva to just the tip of your middle finger, press it against the dose, insert. Doesn't really hurt as much as it sounds. We're in an arena (drugs/libido) that I navigate as well as anyone on the planet here. If you take my advice about this (may sound gross to some of you perhaps), you will be well rewarded." Just before posting for the last time on April 1, 2011 (a date that for McAfee may well have been freighted with intentional significance) January 4, 2011, Stuffmonger identified himself as "John" and described his work pursuing quorum-sensing compounds and posted photos of his property in Orange Walk. In signing off, he explained that "the on-line world is more of a distraction than the self induced effects of the many experiments I've done using my own body over the past year or so, and I have work to do." Advertisement MDPV, which was recently banned in the US but remains legal in Belize, belongs to a class of drugs called cathinones, a natural source of which is the East African plant khat. Users report that it is a powerfully mind-altering substance. In the comments section to my last Gizmodo piece, reader fiveseven15 writes: "mdpv is serious shit. would explain his paranoia and erraticness. i've been thru that. i played with mdpv for about two weeks, then started seeing shadow people in the corner of my eye, and what amphetamine heads call 'tree-cops'... its essentially really, REALLY f-ed up meth." On his website, addiction specialist Paul Earley warns about the dangers of MDPV: "Our experience clearly warns of the psychiatric and medical dangers of this drug. We have cared for multiple patients who have abused MDPV; they report intense and unpleasant visual hallucinations after a short binge. The drug feels non-toxic with its first use, but following a moderate binge users suffer mild to moderate paranoia… in about 10% of individuals who use higher doses, we have observed a sustained psychotic state with intense anxiety lasting 3 to 7 days." Advertisement McAfee's intensive use of psychosis-inducing hallucinogens would go a long way toward explaining his growing estrangement from his friends and from the community around him. If he was producing large quantities of these chemicals, as implied on Bluelight, that would also shed light on his decision to associate with some of Belize's most hardened drug-gang members. McAfee's purported interest in extracting medicine from jungle plants provided him a wholesome justification for building a well-equipped chemistry lab in a remote corner of Belize. The specific properties of the drugs he was attempting to isolate also fit in well with what those closest to him have reported: that he is an enthusiastic amateur pharmacologist with a longstanding interest in drugs that induce sexual behavior in women. Indeed, former friends of McAfee have said he could be extremely persistent and devious in trying to coerce women who rebuff his advances to have sex with him. One other aspect of Stuffmonger's postings gibe with McAfee's general MO: his compulsion for making outrageous or simply erroneous assertions, even attached to subjects about which he is being generally sincere. Along with photographs of his lab near Orange Walk, for instance, he posted a picture of a decrepit thatched-roof hut and described it as original home in Belize. He seemed similarly to have embellished his descriptions of his feats of chemical prowess on the Bluelight discussion board, and this ultimately aroused the suspicions of his fellow posters. "Stuffmonger's claims were discredited," a senior moderator later wrote, "and he vanished." Advertisement Jeff Wise is a science journalist, writer of the "I'll Try Anything" column for Popular Mechanics, and the author of Extreme Fear: The Science of Your Mind in Danger. For more, visit JeffWise.net. ||||| It doesn’t sound like much of a disguise, but John McAfee is doing his best to change his appearance as he continues to evade the police in Belize. In a case that seems to get more bizarre by the day, the 67-year-old has continued to call me with semi-hourly updates. The latest disclosure: He claims to have dyed his hair, eyebrows, beard, and mustache jet black. “I have modified my appearance in a radical fashion,” McAfee said, “I’ll probably look like a murderer, unfortunately.” The American antivirus pioneer is wanted for questioning in connection with the murder of Gregory Faull, 52, an American expatriate and neighbor of McAfee’s. They both have beachside properties on the island of Ambergris Caye, about 20 miles off the Belize coast. Faull was found dead, face up in a pool of blood, in his villa Sunday morning, shot once in the back of the head. Faull had complained about the barking of McAfee’s dogs — McAfee kept 11 at his beachside compound — and four of those dogs were poisoned Friday night. When police arrived at McAfee’s property Sunday afternoon to question him, McAfee hid, he says, burying himself in sand and covering his head with a cardboard box. He says he spent 18 hours hiding on his property before slipping away. He has been running ever since, he says, riding in boats, huddling on the floorboards of taxis, sleeping in a bed that he said was infested with lice. Since going into hiding, McAfee has repeatedly denied that he had anything to do with Faull’s death. He says that he does not want to give himself up to authorities because he is afraid they will torture or kill him. He’s convinced that, while he’s away from his compound, the police will plant incriminating evidence unrelated to Faull’s murder. “The police have been to my house seven times,” he said. “I expect them to uncover a cache of fully automatic weapons, four tons of cocaine. Maybe a Soviet submarine.” The authorities, meanwhile appear to be trying to put pressure on McAfee by arresting friends and associates, according to two sources (who are not McAfee). Since Sunday, police have detained one of McAfee’s bodyguards, William Mulligan; his groundskeeper, Cassian Chavaria; and a local taxi driver, Cesar Trapp. McAfee said he is outraged by the detentions: “This is exactly what happened to Soviet dissidents when Stalin took power. If they could not catch the man himself, they rounded up all of his friends.”

– Police in Belize are on the hunt for John McAfee—the man who lent his name to the famous antivirus company—because they suspect him of murder. According to Gizmodo, which just last week ran a stunning piece about McAfee's weird transformation into a jungle gangster, McAfee is suspected of killing American expatriate Gregory Faull, a longtime rival who was found dead yesterday, apparently of a gunshot wound. Faull had recently complained to the mayor about McAfee's "roguish behavior," including firing off guns around him. McAfee has become estranged from the tech world. He told Gizmodo that he'd gotten mixed up with Belizean gangsters and that there had been "in the last year alone, eleven attempts to kidnap or kill me." One possible explanation for this slide: It appears that since 2010 he has been posting online about his attempts to purify the drug called "bath salts," which he describes as, "the finest drug ever conceived, not just for its indescribable hypersexuality, but also for the smooth euphoria and mild comedown."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders explains why Mr Trump rounded on his former adviser Steve Bannon US President Donald Trump's lawyers have written to his former strategist Steve Bannon, saying he has violated a non-disclosure agreement. The cease-and-desist notice accuses Mr Bannon of defaming the president in speaking to author Michael Wolff. Wolff's forthcoming tell-all book makes several startling claims, and questions Mr Trump's fitness for office. The president responded by saying Mr Bannon had "lost his mind" after losing his White House position. His lawyers said Mr Bannon had broken his employment agreement by speaking to Wolff about Mr Trump, his family and the campaign, "disclosing confidential information" and "making disparaging statements and in some cases outright defamatory statements". On his radio show on Wednesday, Mr Bannon responded to the president's criticism by saying he was a "great man". "You know, I support him day in and day out," he said on the show produced by right-wing Breitbart News, which he heads. The book is reportedly based on more than 200 interviews. On Thursday, the Hollywood Reporter published Wolff's behind-the-scenes account. He concluded that everyone he had spoken to was in agreement in their view on Mr Trump: "They all - 100 percent - came to believe he was incapable of functioning in his job". What's in the book? Image copyright AFP / Getty Image caption Melania and Ivanka Trump feature in various stories Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House makes many explosive claims, including that: Mr Bannon thought a meeting between Donald Trump Jr and a group of Russians was "treasonous" The Trump team was shocked and horrified by his election win His wife, Melania, was in tears on election night Mr Trump was angry that A-list stars had snubbed his inauguration The new president "found the White House to be vexing and even a little scary" His daughter, Ivanka, had a plan with her husband, Jared Kushner, that she would be "the first woman president" Ivanka Trump mocked her dad's "comb-over" hairstyle and "often described the mechanics behind it to friends" 11 explosive claims from new Trump book It also alleges that former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair told Mr Trump during a meeting last February that the British intelligence services may have been spying on him and his campaign, according to a report in The Times newspaper. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Tony Blair says a claim he warned Donald Trump's aides UK spied is a 'complete fabrication' The Times says Mr Blair was hoping to get a job advising Mr Trump on the Middle East. Mr Blair told the BBC Today programme the story was "complete fabrication, from beginning to end". He said he had discussed the Middle East peace process with Mr Kushner but denied angling for work. Who is Michael Wolff? The 64-year-old writer is a former columnist for New York magazine and Vanity Fair. Image copyright Alamy Image caption Michael Wolff has written a number of books about the media According to New York magazine, which first published the extracts, Wolff was able to exploit the Trump administration's political inexperience to gain an unusual amount of insight. Wolff said he was able to take up "something like a semi-permanent seat on a couch in the West Wing" following the president's inauguration. However, some of the book's excerpts have already been criticised and questioned. The Washington Post said Wolff was a "provocateur and media polemicist", and that his reporting had been questioned before. More on the author of the explosive Trump book How has the Trump administration defended itself? "Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency," Mr Trump said in a statement on Wednesday. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Steve Bannon's three goals for the Trump presidency Press secretary Sarah Sanders dismissed the book as a "trashy tabloid fiction" that she said was "filled with false and misleading accounts from individuals who have no access or influence with the White House". A spokesperson for Melania Trump said the First Lady had encouraged her husband's presidential bid. "She was confident he would win and was very happy when he did," she said on Wednesday. What's being said in Bannon's defence? Aside from the radio comment, Mr Bannon has not spoken publicly about the book, the president's comments or the legal action. However, in an interview with BBC Newsnight, Raheem Kassam - UK editor of Breitbart News - said the Wolff interviews could have been taken out of context. He also said Mr Bannon was well-placed to comment on the Russia controversy, having served in the US Navy. "He understands what the geopolitical threat is..." said Mr Kassam. "So when he remarks that these people shouldn't probably have been in Trump Tower taking meetings with senior campaign staff without lawyers in the room, I would say that is a fair thing to say." An inevitable break-up Anthony Zurcher, BBC News, Washington Donald Trump swept to the presidency in part on the back of Steve Bannon and his Breitbart conservative media empire. Now we will see how he fares when he is at war with them. The president's blistering reply to Mr Bannon's comments appears to indicate that the bridge between the politician and his ideological spirit guide has been reduced to cinders. But how will Mr Trump's legion of supporters react? It is never wise to underestimate their dedication to the man himself, above all else. No matter the outcome of this coming battle, this has to be viewed as a devastating failure for Mr Bannon personally. After spending years advocating for an anti-establishment conservative populism, he finally had a seat in the halls of power. He said in early 2017 that his goal was nothing short of the "deconstruction of the administrative state". Now he is on the outside again, besieged by long-time antagonists and former allies. His president recently signed a tax bill embraced by corporate interests. His first post-2016 foray into elective politics, the Alabama Senate race, ended in humiliating defeat. Perhaps, given all this, the Bannon-Trump feud was as inevitable as it is certain to be vicious. ||||| Trump denies he gave author access and hits out at ‘Sloppy Steve’, as spokeswoman dismisses claims about his stability and fitness to serve The US publisher of an explosive new book exposing chaos behind the scenes at the White House has brought publication forward to Friday in defiance of an attempt by Donald Trump’s lawyers to try to shut it down. The book’s author, Michael Wolff, tweeted: “Here we go. You can buy it (and read it) tomorrow. Thank you, Mr President.” Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House review – tell-all burns all Read more Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House was due to be released on Tuesday. But after extracts were made public by the Guardian, the White House was thrown into a frenzy. Claims in the book about Trump’s mental stability and fitness to serve were dismissed on Thursday as “disgraceful and laughable” by the White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders. Trump tweeted that he had never granted Wolff access to the White House and had turned down his requests many times. Describing the book as “phony”, Trump said Fire and Fury was: “full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist”. He said he had never spoken to Wolff: “Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve!” Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) I authorized Zero access to White House (actually turned him down many times) for author of phony book! I never spoke to him for book. Full of lies, misrepresentations and sources that don’t exist. Look at this guy’s past and watch what happens to him and Sloppy Steve! The president’s Twitter outburst followed a remarkable personal statement denouncing Steve Bannon, his one-time confidant, whom he castigated as self-aggrandizing and not a critical figure. “Steve Bannon has nothing to do with me or my presidency,” Trump said. “When he was fired, he not only lost his job, he lost his mind.” Sanders said the president was “furious and disgusted” at Bannon’s attacks on his family, which included the claim that Donald Trump Jr’s Trump Tower meeting with a group of Russians who promised dirt on Hillary Clinton was “treasonous” and “unpatriotic”. Play Video 1:18 Fire and Fury: Key explosive quotes from the new Trump book - video Then on Thursday, as the White House struggled to contain the fallout from the book, a lawyer for the president sent a letter demanding Wolff and his publisher, Henry Holt & Co, “immediately cease and desist from any further publication, release or dissemination”, or excerpts and summaries of its contents. The legal notice, sent by the Beverly Hills-based attorney Charles Harder, also demanded a copy of the book. Harder sent a similar letter to Bannon on Wednesday night, accusing the former chief strategist of violating an employee agreement and defaming the president. At Mar-a-Lago, just before the new year, a heavily made-up Trump failed to recognize a succession of old friends Michael Wolff The Guardian published details from the book on Wednesday after obtaining a copy from a bookseller in New England. New York magazine then rushed to publish a lengthy extract and more details began to emerge as major US publications including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal received copies free from embargo. About 250,000 copies of the book had already been shipped, supposedly to be held until Tuesday. On Thursday afternoon, a spokeswoman for Holt & Co told the Guardian publication in all formats was being brought forward to Friday “due to unprecedented demand”. A statement from the publisher added: “Henry Holt confirms that we received a cease and desist letter from an attorney for President Trump. We see ‘Fire and Fury’ as an extraordinary contribution to our national discourse, and are proceeding with the publication of the book.” Wolff is due on NBC’s Today show on Friday morning for his first on-the-record interview. Ben Wizner, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s speech, privacy and technology project, said earlier Trump’s lawsuit had no chance of success. “Even Donald’s Trump’s lawyers aren’t crazy enough to present this to a court,” he said. “It would be extraordinary and unprecedented for a court to respond to these claims by blocking publication. That is not going to happen. “I think there is an audience of one for these legal threats and that’s Donald Trump.” In a column for the Hollywood Reporter titled My Year Inside Trump’s Insane White House, Wolff gave more insight into what he discovered as he sat “day after day on a West Wing couch” for a year. Administration officials, he suggested, do not believe Trump is capable of fulfilling his role as president. “Everybody was painfully aware of the increasing pace of his repetitions,” Wolff wrote. “It used to be inside of 30 minutes he’d repeat, word-for-word and expression-for-expression, the same three stories – now it was within 10 minutes. Indeed, many of his tweets were the product of his repetitions – he just couldn’t stop saying something.” He added: “Hoping for the best, with their personal futures as well as the country’s future depending on it, my indelible impression of talking to them and observing them through much of the first year of his presidency, is that they all – 100% – came to believe he was incapable of functioning in his job.” In a final anecdote, Wolff wrote: “At Mar-a-Lago, just before the new year, a heavily made-up Trump failed to recognize a succession of old friends.” Much of Thursday’s White House press briefing centered on the book. Sanders said any claims about Trump’s stability were “disgraceful and laughable”. “If he was unfit, he probably wouldn’t be sitting there,” she said. Trump appeared before the media earlier in the Roosevelt Room, where he was meeting Republican senators about immigration. There were shouted questions from reporters, including: “Did Steve Bannon betray you, Mr President? Any words about Steve Bannon?” Trump replied: “I don’t know, he called me a great man last night, so, you know, he obviously changed his tune pretty quick.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, pictured with Eric Trump, are central figures in Wolff’s book. Photograph: Justin Lane/EPA Wolff’s book – “filled with false and misleading accounts”, according to the White House – soared from 48,449th on Amazon’s bestselling books list to No 1. 'Bannon may already be cooperating with Mueller': tell-all book shifts frame of Russia inquiry Read more The author said his book was based on more than 200 interviews, including multiple conversations with the president and senior staff. Sanders claimed Wolff “never actually sat down with the president” and had spoken with him just once, briefly, after Trump took office. She dismissed the book as “trashy tabloid fiction”. “Aides thought they had more time to prepare for the book’s formal release,” the Washington Post reported. “Trump spent much of the day raging about the book to top aides, officials and advisers said … As he fumed, some aides were still frantically searching for a copy of the book.” On Wednesday, Bannon hosted Breitbart News Tonight on Sirius XM radio as usual, making little reference to the public rupture. When a caller brought up the issue, Bannon replied: “The president of the United States is a great man. You know I support him day in and day out.” ||||| Story highlights "The President of the United States is a great man," Bannon said Wednesday Trump's attorney said that he has sent a cease and desist letter to Bannon (CNN) Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon is reiterating his support for President Donald Trump after his former boss blasted him over explosive comments he made in a new book. Speaking on Breitbart radio Thursday morning, Bannon assured a caller that "nothing will ever come between us and President Trump and his agenda" adding that "we're tight on this agenda as we've ever been. On Wednesday night, Bannon praised Trump personally while hosting the Breitbart News Tonight radio show on SiriusXM. "The President of the United States is a great man," he said. "You know, I support him day in and day out." Nearly 2 hours into "Breitbart News Tonight" Sirius XM radio show, a caller references Trump's comments on Bannon. Bannon replies, "The president of the United States is a great man. You know I support him day in and day out." — Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) January 4, 2018 Read More

– President Trump slammed Steve Bannon as having "lost his mind" Wednesday—but instead of firing back at his former boss, Bannon described Trump as a "great man." The former chief White House strategist declined to comment at length on Trump's remarks during his Breitbart News Tonight radio show Wednesday night, CNN reports. In response to a caller, Bannon said: "The president of the United States is a great man. You know, I support him day in and day out." In his blistering statement Wednesday, Trump, outraged over comments attributed to Bannon in upcoming Michael Wolff book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, said his former campaign manager "has nothing to do" with him or his presidency. In other developments: Cease-and-desist. Trump's lawyers have sent Bannon a cease-and-desist letter, accusing him of violating a nondisclosure agreement by speaking to Wolff, the BBC reports. The letter warns that legal action is imminent because Bannon broke the agreement by "making disparaging statements and in some cases outright defamatory statements to Mr. Wolff about Mr. Trump, his family members, and the Company."

While most gathered at CPAC this past weekend were busy gobbling up buffet-sized servings of Republican rage, one outsized commentator was left eating a slice of humble pie. Former USDA official Shirley Sherrod has filed a lawsuit against conservative firebrand and web entrepreneur Andrew Breitbart. The suit stems from the notorious video Breitbart posted online last year, showing an out-of-context excerpt from a speech Sherrod gave to the NAACP Freedom Fund in March 2010. The clip suggested she had used her position at the Department of Agriculture to discriminate against white farmers. The media devoured the Breitbart's version of story so voraciously that the NAACP denounced Sherrod and the Obama administration fired her. The charge was, in fact, entirely untrue. Sherrod argues in the lawsuit that the clip "damaged her reputation and prevented her from continuing her work." Breitbart, meanwhile, denounced the suit, saying he "categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech." Breitbart's media machine is doing its best to reframe Sherrod's complaint in the most favorable terms possible. One of his websites, BigGovernment.com, posted an article, titled "New Media Entrepreneur declares that his voice will not be suppressed," shortly after Breitbart was served. The piece referred to the complaint as the "Pigford Lawsuit" -- a nod to Breitbart's newest "obsession" and would-be vehicle for dragging Sherrod's name through the mud. Not surprisingly, the meme does not appear to have caught on. Breitbart's full statement: ||||| Y ou want to see media bias in action? Okay — look at the conservative media reaction to the firing of Shirley Sherrod. Sherrod is the former U.S. Department of Agriculture employee fired for supposed anti-white racism. On July 19, Andrew Breitbart’s BigGovernment.com website posted a short video clip from a speech Sherrod had delivered to an NAACP gathering in March. In the clip, Sherrod confessed to having deliberately declined on racial grounds to help a white farmer faced with a foreclosure on his farm. She was immediately terminated by the USDA and condemned by the national NAACP. But a second look at the tape made it obvious that the tape had been severely edited, abruptly cut short. Within hours it emerged that the story on the tape was exactly the opposite of the story Breitbart had wanted to tell. Conservative pundits justify fraudulent journalism on the grounds that all is fair in war. Sherrod was telling a story about overcoming her own racial antagonisms. She had repented, had helped the white farmer, had saved the farm, had formed a friendship with the farmer and his family that lasts to this day. Besides which: The episode in question dates back to 1986, long before Sherrod ever went to work at the USDA. By the morning of July 20 the Sherrod-as-racist narrative had collapsed. What is most fascinating about that second day, however, was the conservative reaction to the collapse. At midday on the 20th, Rush Limbaugh was still praising Breitbart: "I know that Andrew Breitbart's done great work getting this video of Ms. Sherrod at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and her supposed racism and so forth saying she's not gonna help a white farmer." By the evening of the 20th, however, conservatives were backing away, acknowledging that an innocent women had been defamed. Here's Glenn Beck. Here's Rich Lowry, editor of National Review. Here's Instapundit. Here's the popular Anchoress blog at First Things. Even the racially incendiary Eric Erickson tweeted his disquiet, and then posted this on his RedState website. But you’ll never guess who emerged as the villains of the story in this second-day conservative react. Not Andrew Breitbart, the distributor of a falsified tape. No, the villains were President Obama and the NAACP for believing Breitbart's falsehood. Breitbart went almost universally unmentioned. Erickson even justified Breitbart's falsehood as a tragic but necessary and justifiable measure of conservative self-defense: This is what we have become in politics because of the unrepentant race-baiting on the Left. It has become a tit for tat war of retribution. ... That war has casualties on both sides. Ms. Sherrod is the latest. It is not fair. But that’s how the Left plays and the Right must fight on offense or not fight at all. It disgusts me to have to say it, but that is so very sadly where we are." Breitbart himself had this to say about those who would manipulate the public record for ideological purposes: Journalists love whistle-blowers. Just not when the whistle is blown on them. Journalists love transparency. As long as they’re not the ones being exposed. No steadfast journalism rule is unbendable when it comes to justifying and protecting the racket that is modern journalism, specifically, political journalism in the United States today. The ends justify the means .... They lie when they claim to be objective. They lie when they claim to be unbiased, because these so called "truth seekers" are guilty of engaging in open political warfare. And when the whistle is blown, they simply double down. But that of course was not a confession or apology. Breitbart continues to defend his own "ends justify the means" bending of the truth, as you can see here in this July 20 interview with CNN’s John King. No, Breitbart’s indignant words on the 20th were aimed at another snippets-out-of-context scandal for the Right: the Daily Caller’s publication of quotations from the JournoList archive in which liberal activists and bloggers jeered George Stephanopoulos for asking Barack Obama about Jeremiah Wright. Speaking on a liberal list serve, journalists had wondered how the Wright story could be stifled. One obnoxious young participant had even suggested that the story could be killed by hurling accusations of racism at conservative figures like Fred Barnes and Karl Rove. Conservatives exploded: The media were colluding to quash bad news about their beloved Obama! Only of course the Wright story was not quashed — unlike the story of Breitbart's role in Sherrod's firing, which has been, at least among conservatives. On the phone on the evening of July 20, a friend asked me: "Can Breitbart possibly survive?" I could only laugh incredulously. I answered: "Of course he'll survive, and undamaged. The incident won't matter at all." There will be no apology or statement of regret for distributing a doctored tape to defame and destroy someone. There will be not even a flutter of interest among conservatives in discussing Breitbart’s role. By the morning of July 21, the Fox & Friends morning show could devote a segment to the Sherrod case without so much as a mention of Breitbart’s role. The central fact of the Sherrod story has been edited out of the conservative narrative, just as it was edited out of the tape itself. When people talk of the "closing of the conservative mind" this is what they mean: not that conservatives are more narrow-minded than other people — everybody can be narrow minded — but that conservatives have a unique capacity to ignore unwelcome fact. When Dan Rather succumbed to the forged Bush war record hoax in 2004, CBS forced him into retirement. Breitbart is the conservative Dan Rather, but there will be no discredit, no resignation for him. Instead, conservatives are consumed with a new snippets-out-of-context uproar, the latest round of JournoList quotations. Here at last is proof of the cynical machinations of the hated liberal media! As to the cynical machinations of conservative media — well, as the saying goes, the fish never notices the water through which it swims. ||||| It certainly looks as though the White House is having second thoughts about pushing Shirley Sherrod out of the USDA after Andrew Breitbart’s video clip of her speech at an NAACP banquet last year. Multiple media outlets are reporting that Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is “reconsidering” her resignation after the full video showed a different context for her remarks: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday that he will reconsider the abrupt firing of Shirley Sherrod, a Georgia-based Agriculture Department official who was the victim of a media frenzy over comments that turned out to have been distorted by video editing. “I am of course willing and will conduct a thorough review and consider additional facts to ensure to the American people we are providing services in a fair and equitable manner,” Vilsack said in a statement e-mailed by USDA at 2:07 a.m. A White House official said: “Not sure what the ultimate result will be, but it’s clear that with new information through the full speech, a longer look needed to be taken. The White House contacted the Department last night about the case and agreed, based on new evidence, that it should be reviewed.” Not that Sherrod is anxious to return: The woman at the center of a racially tinged firestorm involving the Obama administration and the NAACP said Wednesday she doesn’t know if she’d return to her job at the Agriculture Department, even if asked. “I am just not sure how I would be treated there,” Shirley Sherrod said in a nationally broadcast interview. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said Wednesday he would reconsider the department’s decision to oust Sherrod over her comments that she didn’t give a white farmer as much help as she could have 24 years ago. She said later in a broadcast interview that she might consider returning if she had the chance, saying she’s received encouraging calls, including one from the NAACP. Sherrod increasingly looks like the person caught in the middle as everyone, well, acted stupidly. The NAACP started this rockfight by loudly proclaiming its intent to declare the Tea Party movement racist on the basis of fringe elements that have been repeatedly and loudly repudiated by Tea Party activists. They eventually retreated somewhat from that position, but set into motion the natural rebuttals that flow from such inflammatory accusations. Andrew Breitbart then posted the entirety of two clips he had acquired from Sherrod’s speech, not so much to note Sherrod’s claims of having initially discriminated against a farmer on the basis of his race, but to point to the positive reaction this generated at the NAACP dinner at which she appeared. Breitbart told me on the Hugh Hewitt show that he had posted everything he had and wanted to get the entire speech video, but wasn’t sure it existed. Even Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP, acknowledged Breitbart’s argument as reasonable in his initial statement: We are appalled by her actions, just as we are with abuses of power against farmers of color and female farmers. Her actions were shameful. While she went on to explain in the story that she ultimately realized her mistake, as well as the common predicament of working people of all races, she gave no indication she had attempted to right the wrong she had done to this man. The reaction from many in the audience is disturbing. We will be looking into the behavior of NAACP representatives at this local event and take any appropriate action. Interestingly, the audience apparently included Jealous himself, who later claimed to have been “snookered” by Breitbart. Sherrod acknowledges the presence of “the president” in the beginning of the speech. It seems that Jealous, in his haste to distance himself from a situation his organization created in the first place, either didn’t recall the speech or didn’t bother to check for himself whether the NAACP had the full speech in its archives. That pressure to act quickly wouldn’t have existed, either, had the NAACP refrained from attacking the Tea Party’s motivations rather than its arguments. The White House, in its haste to get out of a rapidly-expanding rockfight over racism, did the politically expedient thing: it demanded Sherrod’s resignation. Conservatives looking to play hardball with the NAACP leapt into the fight and made Sherrod the target — and I include myself in that group — without waiting for further context (with some notable exceptions, including my coblogger). As it turns out, the context shows that Sherrod got treated unfairly by just about everyone involved, as her anecdote actually did have a message of redemption from focus on racial identity … ironically enough. I owe Shirley Sherrod an apology, and I do apologize for leaping to my conclusion from the edited clip. I believe that Sherrod should at least be offered her job back, and not because I support her politics (I don’t) or think she should have been appointed to the position in the first place (that’s the prerogative of the White House). She lost her job because of a controversy in which she had no role to begin with and didn’t participate in, and regardless of any other considerations, that’s just not right. What do you think? Take the poll:

– Shirley Sherrod has followed through on plans to sue Andrew Breitbart following an out-of-context video clip he released last year that ended up getting her fired from her USDA job. The suit holds that Breitbart’s video "damaged her reputation and prevented her from continuing her work," Salon reports. The conservative media honcho "categorically rejects the transparent effort to chill his constitutionally protected free speech." Following the filing of the suit, one of Breitbart’s websites posted a piece labeling it “the Pigford Lawsuit,” referencing a government legal settlement with black farmers that Breitbart has attacked. “I can promise you this: neither I, nor my journalistic websites, will or can be silenced by the institutional Left, which is obviously funding this lawsuit,” he said. Last year, Breitbart’s video excerpt of an NAACP speech suggested Sherrod had discriminated against white farmers, prompting a media uproar—but the discrimination claims were false. (Click for more on Breitbart's obsession with the Pigford settlement.)

Story highlights Olympian Oscar Pistorius is due in court Tuesday Family: "The leaking of evidential material" does not advance the legal process Pistorius is charged in the killing of his girlfriend Photos released last week purportedly show the bloodied bathroom where she died The family of Olympian Oscar Pistorius said Monday they are "shaken" by the "graphic images" leaked to the media last week that purportedly show the blood-spattered bathroom where the double amputee track star fatally shot his girlfriend in February. "It has always been our plea that the legal process be allowed its run its course with integrity," the Pistorius family said in a statement. "The leaking of evidential material into the public domain, before the court case, does not advance this process." The statement comes a day before Pistorius is due to appear in court where prosecutors are expected to ask magistrates to postpone the case pending further investigations. Pistorius, 26, is charged with killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of February 14. The graphic photos of the crime scene were published by Sky News on Friday and show a trail of blood leading from a bathroom; blood on the walls, stairs and a couch inside the house, and a Valentine's Day card with "Ozzy" -- Steenkamp's nickname for Pistorius -- written on it. The photo of the bathroom shows a toilet covered in blood, a door with a missing panel and what appear to be two police-marked bullet holes below the level of the door's handle. CNN has not been able to independently confirm the authenticity of the photos, and police spokesman Brigadiere Phuti Setati declined to comment on how Sky News obtained the pictures. JUST WATCHED Exclusive: The anguish of Oscar Pistorius Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Exclusive: The anguish of Oscar Pistorius 02:34 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – South African model Reeva Steenkamp died early on February 14, 2013, after a shooting at the Pretoria home of her boyfriend, Olympian Oscar Pistorius. Hide Caption 1 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – This undated handout picture released on February 14, 2013 by "Ice Models" in South Africa shows model Reeva Steenkamp. Hide Caption 2 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – Capacity Relations, the agency that represents Steenkamp, announced her death. "She was the kindest, sweetest human being; an angel on earth and will be sorely missed," the agency said on Twitter. Hide Caption 3 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – The model was born in Cape Town and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She later moved to Johannesburg, where she worked for various companies, including Toyota and cosmetics maker Avon. Hide Caption 4 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – Steenkamp, who had a law degree, has also worked as a presenter for FashionTV in South Africa and as a FHM covergirl. Hide Caption 5 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – Her passion included cars and cooking, and she was set to appear in the Tropika Island of Treasure Show on Saturday, according to the show's website. Hide Caption 6 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – "We are deeply saddened and extend our condolences to Reeva's family and friends," the show said in a message on its website. Hide Caption 7 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – Steenkamp died after a shooting at the Pretoria home of Olympian Oscar Pistorius. She is pictured here on February 07, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Hide Caption 8 of 9 Photos: Reeva Steenkamp in photos Pistorius' girlfriend dies on Valentine's Day – A picture taken on January 26, 2013 shows Oscar Pistorius posing next to his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg. Hide Caption 9 of 9 Pistorius, known as the "Blade Runner" for competing on carbon fiber blades fitted to his amputated legs, has said he thought there was an intruder in the house. Afraid of being attacked, he ran on his stumps to the bathroom, where he shot through the door from a relatively low angle four times. It was only upon returning to his bedroom, Pistorius says, that he realized Steenkamp was not in bed and that she had been the one in the bathroom. The state alleges it was premeditated murder: Pistorius had an argument with Steenkamp then put on his prosthetic legs, walked to the bathroom and shot through the door from a relatively higher angle, intentionally killing her. His uncle told CNN last week that Pistorius is a broken man over the incident and described his nephew's grief as "unthinkable." "What can you say if the person you love the most dies, and you were the instrument? How would you feel? It's unthinkable," Arnold Pistorius said. His family said Monday they "fully stand behind Oscar." "We believe in him, love him and will support him every step of the way in what lies ahead," the statement said. ||||| Sky News has obtained pictures inside the house of paralympian Oscar Pistorius - including images of the bloody bathroom where he shot his lover, Reeva Steenkamp. The pictures have emerged as allegations that police officers involved in the investigation are being questioned following the disappearance of one of the runner's watches from his house. This is the first time the public has seen the actual room where the athlete's model girlfriend was killed. The images show a panel missing from the toilet door - and two police markers below the handle which indicate bullet holes - low down. It is likely the defence will argue this backs up the runner's claims that he was on his stumps and shooting - from low down - at what he thought was an intruder. The pictures inside the house show a trail of blood from the bathroom The athlete has always insisted he and Ms Steenkamp had had a quiet night in together at his house, which is in a secure compound in Pretoria. He says he got up in the early hours to bring in a fan from the balcony. But when he went back into the bedroom again, in the pitch dark, he says he heard a noise. He has already told the Pretoria Magistrates' Court during his previous bail application hearing in February that he immediately believed there was an intruder in the house. He says he grabbed a gun that he kept for security purposes in the bedroom and ran seven metres or so down the passageway leading to the bathroom, without his prosthetic legs on. The tape shows two bullet holes in the bathroom door There he fired four shots into the toilet door, which was closed. He insists it was only when he went back into the bedroom and realised his girlfriend was not in bed that it dawned on him it was her in the toilet. The couple had only been dating a few months when the shooting on Valentine's Day happened. But the world's best known paralympian insists he was deeply in love with Ms Steenkamp and her death was a horrible accident. When the athlete last appeared in court, he said when he realised his mistake he did everything to save his lover, battering the toilet door with a cricket bat to get to her. The pictures inside the house show a trail of blood from the bathroom as the paralympian carried Ms Steenkamp downstairs after shouting for help, with flecks of blood on the wall, on the sofa downstairs and on the landing. Oscar Pistorius during his bail hearing There is also an image of the gift that the model had wrapped up ready to give the athlete. Stuck on the top of it, is a card with just one word - Ozzy - her nickname for him. There is a container of heart-shaped sweets too. But the prosecution believes a very different version to the one presented by Oscar Pistorius. It maintains the athlete's girlfriend ran into the toilet after a row with the sportsman - and he deliberately targeted and shot her - having taken time to put on his prosthetic limbs beforehand. This act, the prosecution maintained at the bail hearing, was tantamount to pre-meditation. Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead on Valentine's Day Other photographs show footprints in blood. The investigating policeman, Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, has already admitted he walked through the scene without wearing protective foot covers, potentially contaminating the evidence. Warrant Officer Botha was taken off the case after that emerged - as well as the news that he himself was facing seven counts of attempted murder. He has since retired from the police service. Now, there are further allegations about the police conduct at the house. Two different sources have told Sky News that other officers are being investigated too after the disappearance of one of the athlete's watches from his house The South African Police Service, when contacted by us, refused to comment. But the latest allegations will only add to the impression that the initial investigation into the killing of Reeva Steenkamp was not entirely above reproach. ||||| As Oscar Pistorius heads to trial for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, South African prosecutors are saying the white shorts and black top the model had on when she was gunned down could determine whether the Olympic sprinter ends up in an orange prison uniform. The clothing Steenkamp was wearing is among the evidence prosecutors will present in an attempt to rip holes in Pistorius' claim that when he fired four times through his bathroom door on Valentine's Day 2013, he thought the beautiful law-school graduate was asleep in bed and he was squaring off with a dangerous intruder. Dateline's report on the case against Oscar Pistorius airs Friday at 8P/7C They are expected to argue that the world's most famous amputee athlete — known as "Blade Runner" for the prosthetics he wore at the 2012 Summer Games — had a fierce argument with his lover before he opened fire, with the full intention of killing her. "We believe that Reeva was probably running away and she locked herself in the bathroom," Medupe Simasiku, spokesman for the national prosecution service, told NBC's "Dateline." "It cannot be explained as of now," he said Steenkamp's attire, "until such time the accused can actually take up a stand and say, 'She decided to put on clothes to go to the bathroom' or 'She decided to say, "I'm gonna sleep in clothes. I'm not gonna put my nighties on."'" Another prosecution spokesman, Nathi Mncube, told "Dateline" that what Steenkamp wore will be central to the government's case when the trial opens Monday. "There is a piece of evidence around the clothes that could suggest what happened there," he said. "To disclose it now would be to disclose a lot of our thinking around the case before the time." Oscar Pistorius posing with his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp at Melrose Arch in Johannesburg on January 26, 2013. WALDO SWIEGERS / AFP - Getty Images, file A leaked prosecution document and witness interviews give the broad outlines of the case against Pistorius, 27, a double-amputee who became an international hero by fighting to compete in able-bodied races. He contends Steenkamp's death was a tragic accident at the end of a romantic evening, fueled by the fear that came from living in a high-crime country with a disability. Prosecutors say his account is undermined by the physical and witness evidence: Two iPhones were found in the bathroom, which seems strange if Reeva was there just to use the toilet, as Pistorius contends. Five neighbors reportedly heard arguing and screaming in addition to gunfire. "If people say, 'We heard gunshot, a scream, gunshot, a scream,' you know it's going to be pretty much hard for you to argue that you still didn't know that the person who was screaming was your girlfriend," Mncube said. A prosecution report obtained by South African broadcaster ENCA says the trajectory and grouping of the shots fired "indicate a direct intention to kill" — although they also support Oscar's contention that he was not wearing his prosthetics when he went to the bathroom door. After he shot Steenkamp, Pistorius' first call was not to the police. "I don't think it's in dispute that he phoned his friend, and the friends were the first on the scene," Mncube said. A security guard phoned Pistorius after the shooting to see if everything was OK, and he told them "Fine," according to the leaked prosecution document. Prosecutors have not disclosed a motive for the alleged murder, but one of their witnesses may testify that Pistorius had a temper. Soccer star Marc Batchelor says Pistorius threatened to break his legs in a fury over his belief that Batchelor's friend, producer Quinton Van Der Burgh, had slept with his ex-girlfriend. Batchelor also says Steenkamp's friends believed Pistorius was trying to find out if she had been in contact with her ex-boyfriend, Warren Lahoud. Just 36 hours before she was shot, she met Lahoud for coffee. "She told me how well she was doing," Lahoud later said. "She seemed happy." Play Facebook Twitter Embed Oscar Pistorius trial to begin next week 2:14 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog It's not known if Pistorius will testify in his own defense at the trial, parts of which will be televised. But South African journalist Karyn Maughan said his legal team is crafting a novel interpretation of the country's self-defense law, which is based on how a "reasonable" person would react to danger. He will try to convince a judge that "he can't be charged according to the standards of the reasonable man," Maughan told "Dateline." "You need to judge him as the reasonable paraplegic, and you need to take into account that this is a person who has persistently said that he's felt the most vulnerable on his stumps and was living, essentially, in a state of fear, in a state of terror. "And you need to judge him by that standard."

– Days ahead of Oscar Pistorius' first court date since February, his family says they are "shaken" by leaked pictures of the bathroom where girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp was shot dead. The photos obtained by Sky News (which are here and graphic) appear to show the blood-stained cubicle where Steenkamp was shot three times and a bloody trail leading out of the cubicle into the main bathroom, the AP reports. "It has always been our plea that the legal process be allowed to run its course with integrity," the Pistorius family said in a statement. "The leaking of evidential material into the public domain ... does not advance this process." Family members say they are fully behind the double-amputee runner, who says he shot Steenkamp after mistaking her for an intruder. At the hearing this week, South African prosecutors are expected to ask for a postponement of the case pending further investigations, CNN reports.

March 16--Off-duty firefighter Roben Duge smelled the smoke, saw the flames and heard the screams from inside his neighbor's house -- and thought instantly of his own family. Roben Duge, was on his way home at about 6 p.m. when he saw thick black smoke pouring out of the house in Jamaica, Queens, sources said. "I'm not a hero, I'm just reacting off instinct," the fearless father said Friday at his Jamaica home, right next door to the fire-damaged house. His wife Crystal disagreed: "It's just who he is. He's Superman." The mild-mannered firefighter was headed home from the subway when he noticed the thick black smoke pouring out of his neighbor's house. A child playing downstairs in the basement accidentally started the fire -- and was too frightened to tell his grandmother as the flames spread quickly, sources said. Duge, a five-year FDNY veteran, started sprinting toward the two-story residence when he saw the smoke. Visions of his own three kids flashed through his mind. "When I heard the kids screaming, it hit home," Duge told the Daily News. "I thought, 'If I can only get in deep enough' -- and I don't have any gear, and I don't know how dangerous it is." The grandmother, a stroke victim, was barely able to get around on her own once he made his way inside. "The lady could stand up, but she needed assistance walking," recounted Duge. "The kids were screaming, scared to death." After getting the three residents out of their house, he assisted them over to his home. "I gave them water, shelter and blankets for the children, who were cold," said Duge, sitting inside his home. "(Paramedics) treated them right there on that couch." The fire was brought under control after about 30 minutes. Duge, reflecting on his daring rescue, shrugged off the praise that arrived via text and voicemail from fellow firefighters. "We operate in organized chaos and we do put ourselves at risk," said the Flatbush native. "I believe there's a higher power watching over me when I do put myself in these situations." ___ (c)2018 New York Daily News Visit New York Daily News at www.nydailynews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. ||||| The tiny voice crying out in the night was terrified and desperate, breaking the heart of anyone who heard it. “Mommy, Mommy, help me!” As a deadly inferno tore through a Brooklyn home early Saturday, a mother — unable to breach the wall of smoke and fire engulfing her eight children — also cried out. “My kids are in there! Get them out! Get them out!” screamed Gayle Sassoon, who, burned and covered in blood, had just ­escaped out of a second-story window at the Midwood home. She had leaped through smoke so thick “you couldn’t even see the house,” said neighbor Arnold Rosenblatt, who called 911 at 12:23 a.m. to report the fire. “I keep thinking, if I had called a minute sooner,” he said tearfully. It took firefighters just three minutes and 25 seconds to reach the Bedford Avenue home, where flames met them at the front door, said FDNY Commissioner Daniel Nigro. “It was too late,” he said. Firefighters carried out the children, their soot- and ash-covered clothes in tatters, and gingerly placed their limp bodies onto stretchers and into ambulances. Sara Sassoon, 6, was declared dead at the scene. Six more were declared dead at area hospitals. Neighbor Nate Weber couldn’t bear to watch. “I just turned away. I didn’t even want to look,” he said. Just one of Sassoon’s eight children made it out alive: Tzipara, 15, who, like her mother, jumped from the second floor. The mother suffered burns over 45 percent of her body; the daughter broke her shoulder and arm. Both were hospitalized in critical condition. Sassoon was taken to Jacobi Medical Center in The Bronx, and Tzipara to Staten Island University Hospital North. The dead, who all suffered a combination of burns and smoke inhalation, were Yaakob, 5; Sara, 6; Moshe, 8; Yeshua, 10; Rivkah, 11; David, 12; and Eliane, 16, authorities said. It would have been “impossible” for the mother to save them, ­Nigro said. “The fire came up the stairs. The mother would have had to go into the fire to get to the back bedrooms. I think she valiantly tried, although she was badly burned, to get out and get help for her children,” the shaken fire commissioner said. “It’s a tragedy for this family. It’s a tragedy for this community. It’s a tragedy for our city.” He called it “the largest tragedy by fire that this city has had in seven years.” In 2007, a Bronx house fire left nine children and one adult from two families dead. In Saturday’s fire, officials believe a hot plate left on in the kitchen overnight malfunctioned, igniting the blaze. There were no smoke detectors on the first or second floors of the home, they said. The only smoke detector in the house, Nigro said, was in the basement. Sassoon might have turned on the hot plate before sundown Friday and left it on to keep food warm, authorities said. Observant Jews avoid turning on ovens or electrical appliances once the Sabbath begins. Neighbors in the large Orthodox enclave described the family as “ultra-Orthodox.” The fire moved from the kitchen to the stairwell and shot up to the second floor, where the family was sleeping. The father, Gabriel Sassoon, who was out of town on business, has been notified of the deaths, authorities said. The funeral will be held Sunday or Monday, a source said, adding that the victims will be buried in Israel. Grim faced relatives visiting the survivors declined to comment. One weeping woman had to be carried inside. Sassoon, 45, grew up in the nearly century-old, $1.5 million Bedford Avenue home, said neighbors, who added that she and her husband recently moved back to the United States from Israel, where they had lived since 1998. “I don’t know if she makes it through this. I don’t know how she’s going to face what happened to her family,” said a friend who gave her name only as Bonnie. “I pray that she has the sanity.” Rose Insel, a longtime neighbor, spoke through tears. “They were a beautiful family. The children used to come with their little shovels and clean my walkway without my asking them. I used to give them lollipops,” she said. The family was active in the community, Bonnie recalled. “They used to wash cars before Passover,” she said, calling Sassoon “a beautiful girl.” Mayor de Blasio called the fire “an unbelievable tragedy” after touring the gutted building. “It is unimaginable what you see in there . . . it is wiped out. Every room empty and burned and charred . . . This beautiful, vibrant family, 24 hours ago intact and now so many lost,” he said. Responders, too, suffered. “To find a house full of children that can’t be revived. I’m sure this will take its toll on our members,” Nigro said. Additional reporting by Kevin Fasick, Ben Feuerherd and Georgett Roberts ||||| SAN RAMON — The 94-year-old woman covered in soot was difficult for Peter Kravariotis to make out. Garen Kissoyan could see only her arm. Kirill Yantikov, disoriented by the dense smoke that extended from the ceiling down to his chest, dropped to floor to search for his two friends. Before the 17-year-olds carried her out of the burning home, they all heard the woman’s shrieks: “I’m on fire. I’m on fire.” A day after the daring rescue, the three California High School seniors returned to the boarded-up San Ramon home to tell how they sneaked out of class intending to get food at McDonald’s and returned as heroes, a story that reached national newscasts and caught the attention of talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres. “There was so much black smoke, and all you could see was flames,” Garen said. “We couldn’t even see the lady. She was covered in ash.” The 94-year-old woman was taken to a burn unit at a San Francisco hospital, where she was in critical condition Tuesday. Her daughter was also home but not harmed. Peter, a goalie for the school’s varsity lacrosse team, said he ate only an apple for breakfast and was hungry. Having finished an assignment early during a morning class, they sneaked off campus about 9:55 a.m., piled into Peter’s car and were on their way to grab a bite at McDonald’s when they saw a plume of smoke ahead. Why not check it out? “We had to do something,” Kirill would say later. By that time, according to neighbors, smoke and flames were shooting from windows and vents, and loud booms — thought to be oxygen tanks exploding — shook the cul-de-sac of Scarboro Place. The next seven minutes were a blur for the boys. Instinct took over as they rushed to a woman in the backyard talking on the phone to fire dispatchers. With a garden hose, they fought a losing battle against the growing flames until the woman said something about another person still inside. Garen and Peter ran in through a door in the garage but could not get past the billowing smoke, so they ran to the front door. There, they met 76-year-old neighbor Bob Smith, who hollered that a woman was inside, but he didn’t have the strength to pull her out. With little visibility, they pushed through the haze, found the woman still seated on her chair and pulled her and her 18-year-old dog out. Garen said the woman’s burned hair stuck to his jacket. Kirill, who had lost sight of his friends, eventually crawled out. Firefighters arrived, venting the roof and extinguishing the two-alarm fire 45 minutes later. The teens, who Peter said smelled strongly of smoke, returned to class, almost as if nothing had happened. They were soon called to Principal Mark Corti’s office and shown a recording of them ditching school. But they also heard a voice mail from Smith, who pointed out their heroic actions and asked Corti to take it easy on them. The teenagers said they have to serve four volunteer hours for the class they ditched, but they would do it again. “It’s better than them giving us a detention,” Peter said. “If that ever happened again, I know we would go into a burning house.” Added their teacher, Kathleen Seabury: “In a situation like this, the true caliber of your character comes through. I’m not surprised — they are good guys. “They cut class, but at the end of the day things happened for a reason. It was meant to be.”

– A grandmother in Queens and her two grandkids are alive today because of an off-duty firefighter's quick thinking. The New York Daily News reports Roben Duge, who's been with the FDNY for five years, had just emerged from the subway on his way home Thursday night, and as he approached his own place, he spotted sooty black smoke coming out of his neighbor's home. He had no gear and no time to get any—but that didn't stop Duge from rushing into the home and yanking out 54-year-old Linda Mitchell, a stroke victim who needs a cane to get around, and the two children, one of whom apparently started the fire by accident in the basement. Duge says he was "reacting off instinct," which doesn't surprise his wife, Crystal. "It's just who he is," she says. "He's Superman." Duge said all he could think about was his own three kids as he rushed to save the trapped residents. "The lady could stand up, but she needed assistance walking," he says, per Firehouse.com. "The kids were screaming, scared to death." After he got them to safety, firefighters doused the flames in about 30 minutes. Duge is trying to deflect the praise now coming his way. "We operate in organized chaos and we do put ourselves at risk," he says, but "I believe there's a higher power watching over me when I do put myself in these situations."

Miss Seattle insists it was the weather, not the city, that prompted her to make some suddenly controversial comments about the city. (Mynorthwest.com staff) Miss Seattle says it was the weather, not the city she was criticizing in a series of tweets complaining about Seattle. A controversy erupted over the weekend when it was learned Jean-Sun Hannah Ahn had tweeted "Ugh can't stand cold rainy Seattle and the annoying people" back in December. She was awarded the crown Saturday night. "I had actually just moved back from Arizona and it was a transitional period for me," the former Miss Phoenix said in an interview on the Dori Monson Show. Ahn told Dori she was having a tough time, missing friends and struggling with the cold wet weather after four years of continuous sunshine. "I think I was just kind of in that down mode and it was a period...it was a culture shock to be back in Seattle," said the Seattle native. While the comments were critical of her home town, fellow native Dori sympathizes, and insists we've all complained about the weather at some point. "This controversy struck me as very silly because I grew up here in Seattle and I don't know if anybody complains more about Seattle than me," Dori said. Ahn insists she has always loved Seattle and is happy to be home. "These past couple of months have just been incredible and the support and the people and reconnected with so many different friends and met so many new people." Ahn says she realizes why people would be upset and she's embarrassed to bring any bad press to the organization, but wishes the reporter who broke the story (our own Linda Thomas, The News Chick) hadn't called her out quite so publicly. "I was somewhat hurt because she almost didn't seem to realize I worked so hard to get to where I was." And she learned a very valuable lesson. "I now have learned my lesson the hard way that I will vent to someone that I will call my friends or text them if I'm feeling down or want to complain about something." Unlike the rest of us, who can and will continue complaining frequently about the weather and plenty of other annoying things in our area. New Miss Seattle was 'annoyed' with us ||||| Nineteen beautiful, young women competed for the title of Miss Seattle over the weekend. The winner is Jean-Sun Hannah Ahn, a violinist and former Miss Phoenix. She will compete in the Miss Washington Pageant this summer. Maybe by then she'll enjoy the weather because she wasn't happy with the city, or Seattle residents, in December. She tweeted, "Ugh can't stand cold rainy Seattle and the annoying people." On her Twitter feed @MissPhoenix 2010, she frequently uses the word "annoyed," so perhaps it's just her favorite word. There are other unflattering comments on her page too. She should reconsider the way she's uses social media if she wants to be a public figure. The tweets above were from December of 2011. A friend of hers tells me she had not decided to enter the Miss Seattle Scholarship competition at that time. UPDATE: Miss Seattle apologizes for the tweets, in a comment on this blog. "I apologize for the negative connotations towards the city of Seattle and its people or any other postings when I wasn’t in a positive place. Those tweets by no means reflect my actual opinions or views, I was simply having “one of those days” and sincerely apologize to anyone who took those statements offensively," says Ahn. She is a Seattle native, and says she truly loves Seattle "with all of my heart and the support these past months in the Seattle community has just been indescribable." "I realize now what a mistake it is to post things when your not in a good mood," she writes. She deleted several unflattering tweets and renamed her account last night to reflect her new title, @MissSeattle2012. Photo by Dave Barksdale, of Depoe Barksdale Studios Related podcast: 140 Seconds on learning things the hard way through social media ||||| Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player Think about all the people who hate Bristol Palin's mom! That's what Bristol the Pistol herself suggested we do on the eve of the Dancing With the Stars semifinals, which tonight featured the controversial "teen activist" going up against hot-to-trot faves Jennifer Grey and Brandy and the irresistibly bubbly Kyle Massey. But with her insistence that there's no Tea Party conspiracy probably not doing anything to quell suspicion, perhaps Sarah Palin's daughter figured it was time to shut her detractors up with some really great dancing... MORE: Bristol Palin opens up to E! News And guess what? She and Mark Ballas totally delivered with a fiery paso doble that was exciting from the first second, if for no other reason than the demure teen was wearing knee-high boots. But she maintained her ferocity throughout and that, combined with her usual school-girl precision, resulted in raves from the judges—including a hug from Carrie Ann Inaba, who could barely contain herself—and her first-ever trio of 9's. "Your best dance, fabulous," Len Goodman informed her. Her waltz didn't do quite as much for the panel, and Carrie Ann was left cold by more than the War & Peace, Russian-winter vibe. But Len and Bruno Tonioli caught a "haunting" quality in the routine that elevated her score on their end. But it's obviously the peanut gallery that matters in Bristol's case. And regardless of who's been picking up the phone for whom, what we really wanted to see Monday was more than one measly 30... Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player Thank you. Grey had Bruno writhing with pleasure after her cha-cha perfecto, a "luminous, vibrant" performance that made it even harder to believe that it's been 23 years since Dirty Dancing. Carrie called Grey's equally perfect waltz with Derek Hough only "one of the most beautiful things [she'd] ever seen." That's all. Brandy scored her first 30 of the season on her second-round Argentine tango,a style that really does seem to bring out the best in the women, if only because the lifts are so badass and it's hard not to look sexy when her leg is hooked over her partner's leg and he's stepping back so that she's lunging forward. That routine was light years past her opening paso doble, which was way more angry than sexy. Perhaps we were distracted by Maksim Chmerkovskiy's leather hightops, but the "amazingly passionate" performance Carrie Ann saw looked more like overacting. And Kyle almost joined the club, scoring two 10s and on his shimmytastic samba and his Argentine tango, which turns out to be a dance that makes the guys look extra good, too! Here's tonight's leaderboard: Jennifer Grey & Derek Hough 60 (30, 30) Kyle Massey & Lacey Schwimmer 58 (29, 29) Brandy & Maks Chmerkovskiy 57 (27, 30) Bristol Palin & Mark Ballas 53 (27, 26) Annie Lennox and Enrique Iglesias perform on Tuesday's results show, and then three of the remaining stars will move onto the finale. (Originally published Nov. 15, 2010, at 6:30 p.m. PT) PHOTOS: Memorable TV Dance Shows

– Jean-Sun Hannah Ahn was crowned Miss Seattle Saturday night, but unfortunately, she forgot to delete this tweet from back in December: "Take me back to az!!! Ugh can't stand cold rainy Seattle and the annoying people." Seattle-dwellers were up in arms after the tweet was discovered by KIRO-FM over the weekend, but Ahn explains to the station that it was the weather, not Seattle itself, she was complaining about. (Another tweet: "Ew I seriously an [sic] hating Seattle right now...") Ahn, a Seattle native, posted the tweets shortly after moving back to the city following four years in Arizona, she explained on the Dori Monson Show. "It was a transitional period for me," said the former Miss Phoenix, adding that it was difficult to get used to all the rain after Arizona's constant sunshine and she was experiencing "culture shock." But, she insists, she is happy to be back in her hometown, and she says in the future she will call or text friends if she wants "to complain about something."

Donald Trump on Wednesday squashed any speculation that he might soften his immigration position to reach new voters in the final stretch of the 2016 campaign, delivering a hawkish, hardline, and true-to-his-roots border platform and vowing that on Day One of his administration, the United States would launch a mammoth deportation program and begin construction of a wall. Emerging from a hastily organized meeting with Mexico's president, the Republican nominee flew to Arizona and not only renewed his pledge that America’s southern neighbor would fund an impenetrable, beautiful border wall but said it would be built in “record time” and at a “reasonable price." Story Continued Below “We will build a great wall along the southern border — and Mexico will pay for the wall,” Trump said. “100 percent. They don’t know it yet, but they're gonna pay for the wall.” Trump hailed the “great people and great leaders” of Mexico following his visit to Mexico City but insisted, “they’re going to pay for the wall.” “On Day One, we will begin working on an impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful southern border wall,” Trump said during a major speech on immigration in Phoenix after weeks of waffling on the issue that has been core to his campaign. “We will use the best technology, including above- and below-ground sensors. That’s the tunnels. Remember that. Above and below. Above- and below- ground sensors, towers, aerial surveillance and manpower to supplement the wall, find and dislocate tunnels and keep out criminal cartels and Mexico, you know that, will work with us. I really believe it. Mexico will work with us. I absolutely believe it.” Shedding any pretense of softening his posture, Trump promised to protect American citizens, reaffirming his America First policy as he blamed President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton directly for violence perpetrated by illegal immigrants. Obama and Clinton, Trump said, support so-called sanctuary cities, a catch-and-release program on the border, visa overstays, the release of “dangerous criminals” and amnesty. He accused his rival of promising amnesty in her first 100 days, as well as granting Obamacare, Social Security and Medicare to undocumented immigrants, a move he said would break the federal budget. “On top of that, she promises uncontrolled, low-skilled immigration that continues to reduce jobs and wages for American workers and especially for African-American and Hispanic workers within our country — our citizens,” he said. He chronicled a number of Americans who’ve died at the hands of immigrants who were in the country illegally and cast Clinton as the candidate who cares more about protecting immigrant families from being split up while presenting himself as the one who puts Americans first. “To all the politicians, donors and special interests, hear these words from me and all of you today: There is only one core issue in the immigration debate, and that issue is the well-being of the American people,” Trump said. “Nothing even comes a close second.” View Trump promises a physical wall that Mexico will pay for Within hours of meeting with the President of Mexico, Enrique Pena Nieto, Donald Trump delivers speech in Phoenix, Arizona promising to build a wall and have Mexico pay for it. Trump outlined other planks of his policy position, including a promise to return all detained undocumented people to their home countries and zero tolerance for immigrants who commit crimes. It amounted to a massive deportation program. “You can call it deported if you want. The press doesn’t like that term,” he said. “You can call it whatever the hell you want. They’re gone.” He also touted his “extreme vetting” policy, which includes an ideological test and merit-based entry system, and pledged to bar immigration from nations like Syria and Libya. “We have no idea who they are, where they come from,” Trump said. “There’s no documentation. There’s no paperwork. It’s going to end badly, folks. It’s going to end very, very badly.” Trump asked voters to imagine an America in which, if he’s elected and his policies are implemented, the U.S. will see a reduction in crime and border crossings, a decrease in the number of gangs and less reliance on welfare, and one in which peace, law, justice and prosperity will prevail. “For those here illegally today, who are seeking legal status, they will have one route and one route only: to return home and apply for reentry like everybody else under the rules of the new legal immigration system that I have outlined above,” Trump said. “Those who have left to seek entry under this new system, and it will be an efficient system, will not be awarded surplus visas but will have to apply for entry under the immigration caps or limits that will be established in the future. We will break the cycle of amnesty and illegal immigration. We will break the cycle. There will be no amnesty.” Trump launched his campaign last June pledging to build a “great, great wall on our southern border” that the Mexican government would pay for. Months later in November, he called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. and within days said he would deport millions of illegal immigrants “humanely” with a “deportation force,” too. Trump has since modulated his controversial Muslim ban to temporarily suspend immigration from so-called terror states and proposed screening potential immigrants with an ideological admissions test to determine whether they support American values. But his position on immigrants who are already in the country illegally had only gotten hazier in recent days. Wednesday was Trump’s opportunity to clean up his muddied position on border security and immigration, and he opened the day by dashing south of the border to meet with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto — a bid to present himself as a tough contender, ready to make demands of his negotiating partners and get a better deal for America. Certainly, Trump scored on optics, standing next to an elected head of state and declaring that both nations “recognize and respect the right of either country to build a physical barrier or wall.” But when it came to the central promise of his campaign — that Mexico would pay for the wall — Trump and Peña Nieto disagreed. During the news conference, Trump said it didn’t come up during their discussion. Later, on Twitter, Peña Nieto said he had made clear to Trump at the beginning of their conversation that “Mexico will not pay for the wall,” a comment that prompted ridicule from the Clinton campaign. Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta pounced: “It turns out Trump didn’t just choke, he got beat in the room and lied about it.” “Donald Trump has made his outlandish policy of forcing Mexico to pay for his giant wall the centerpiece of his campaign,” Podesta said. “But at the first opportunity to make good on his offensive campaign promises, Trump choked. What we saw today from a man who claims to be the ultimate ‘deal maker’ is that he doesn’t have the courage to advocate for his campaign promises when he’s not in front of a friendly crowd.” Trump’s campaign responded in kind, with senior communications adviser Jason Miller insisting Wednesday’s meeting was only the opening part of a discussion and relationship-builder between both men. “It was not a negotiation, and that would have been inappropriate,” Miller said. “It is unsurprising that they hold two different views on this issue, and we look forward to continuing the conversation.” ||||| A demonstrator protesting Donald Trump's meeting with the Mexican president holds up a book jacket with the title; "Stop Trump!" during a morning protest at the Angel of Independence Monument that drew... (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the U.S. presidential campaign (all times EDT): 10:10 p.m. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump says he will order the immediate detention of all known immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been arrested for crimes. He says on the first day in office he will "issue detainers for illegal immigrants who are arrested" and initiate immediate proceedings to remove them. For people caught crossing the border illegally, Trump referenced the 1950s-era "Operation Wetback." He said that "we will take them great distances" instead of sending them just across the U.S. border. Trump said, "We will take them to the country where they came from." He said his administration will take a hard line on criminal aliens. He said the U.S. will be "moving them out on Day One." To thunderous applause, Trump continues that he will seek legislation to block federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that shelter immigrants in the country illegally. ___ 10:00 p.m. Donald Trump continues to insist that Mexico will pay for the wall he wants to build along the length of the southern border. Trump says during a speech on immigration that Mexico will pay for the wall, "100 percent." He says, "They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for" it. Trump met with Mexico's president earlier Wednesday and said they did not discuss who would pay for the massive wall that has been at the center of Trump's campaign. But President Enrique Peña Nieto said he reiterated to Trump that Mexico would not be paying for the wall. ___ 9:55 p.m. Donald Trump says the nation's immigration policy must focus on what is best for American citizens, not those living in the country illegally. He says, "There is only one core issue in the immigration debate and that issue is the well-being of the American people." Still he says that he intends to treat "everyone living or residing" in the country with "great dignity." Trump is also accusing President Barack Obama and his rival Hillary Clinton of engaging in a "gross dereliction of duty" for supporting more liberal immigration policies. He says that Clinton talks about the families that would be separated if people in the country illegally were deported, but she doesn't talk about families impacted negatively by illegal immigration. Just days ago, Trump was praising the number of people deported under the Obama administration. ___ 9:50 p.m. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is opening his long-awaited immigration policy speech by detailing the stories of illegal immigrants who committed violent crimes. Trump is telling thousands in the convention center in downtown Phoenix that he has "met with many of the great parents who lost their children to sanctuary cities and open borders." He talked about beatings and stabbings of young women, then said simply, "It's not going to happen anymore." Before Trump took the stage, families of such victims addressed the audience, describing how their children or loved ones were killed and thanking Trump for his promise to enforce the U.S.-Mexican border. Trump is emphasizing illegal immigrants accused of crimes, an issue of far less controversy than what to do with the millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have not been accused of crimes. ___ 9:40 p.m. Donald Trump says that he had a "thoughtful and substantive" conversation with Mexico's president on Wednesday as he kicks off a long-awaited speech on immigration. Trump says his surprise meeting with Enrique Peña Nieto included a discussion of stopping the flow of illegal drugs across the southern border, and a shared goal to put drug cartels out of business. Trump launched his campaign with a speech that accused Mexico of sending its rapists and criminals across the border. But Trump is striking a different tone Wednesday, saying that, if the countries work together, "we're all going to win." ___ 7:05 p.m. The president of Mexico says Donald Trump wasn't telling the truth when he described their Wednesday conversation. Specifically, President Enrique Peña Nieto said that he and Trump did indeed discuss who would pay for construction of a massive wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. That's the centerpiece of Trump's immigration plan. Trump and Peña Nieto met privately in Mexico City on Wednesday afternoon. When they emerged from the meeting, Trump told reporters they discussed the wall, but not paying for it. Hours later, Peña Nieto tweeted his version: "At the beginning of the conversation with Donald Trump, I made clear that Mexico would not pay for the wall." The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment. ___ 6:50 p.m. Donald Trump "choked" in Mexico. That's according to Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, who says the Republican presidential nominee "doesn't have the courage to advocate for his campaign promises when he's not in front of a friendly crowd." Trump defended his plan to build a wall on the United States' southern border during his Wednesday visit with the president of Mexico. But the New York businessman did not push his oft-mentioned promise to force Mexico to pay for the wall. Podesta says "Trump choked" in what was his first opportunity to make good on "his offensive campaign promises." ___ 4:55 p.m. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says the Mexican people have been hurt by Donald Trump's past comments that painted them in a negative light. Peña Nieto told reporters following a closed-door meeting that "misinterpretation or assertions" had negatively impacted perceptions of Trump's candidacy. He added that, the "Mexican people have been hurt by the comments that had been made." But he said he's sure that Trump is genuinely interested in building a relationship that will benefit both countries. Peña Nieto spoke in Spanish throughout. ___ 4:40 p.m. After meeting with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, Republican nominee Donald Trump says that both countries must respect the others' right to build a border wall on their soil to stop the movement of people, illegal drugs and weapons. Trump says he and PeñaNieto discussed his call for a border wall during their meeting, but did not talk about Trump's insistence that Mexico pay for it. He says, "that'll be for a later date." Trump says that having a secure border is a sovereign right and mutually beneficial. Mexicans have been outraged by the proposal. ___ 4:35 p.m. Republican Donald Trump is calling his surprise visit to Mexico City Wednesday a 'great honor.' And he says the nations share a common interest in keeping the hemisphere safe and prosperous. The Republican presidential nominee said after meeting with President Enrique Peña Nieto that the pair had a substantive, direct and constructive exchange of ideas at the president's official residence in Mexico City. This is Trump's first foreign visit as his party's nominee. ___ 4:30 p.m. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto is challenging Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's characterization of the situation on the U.S.-Mexican border. Peña Nieto notes that the number of immigrants crossing the border illegally is down significantly "even to the point of being negative to a net effect." He spoke at a joint appearance Wednesday at the president's official residence. While Peña Nieto says the countries have shared challenges, he says that there exists "an incomplete vision of the border issues," with weapons and cash flowing south from the U.S. and fueling violence. He's also stressing U.S. exports to Mexico and the number of jobs reliant on the countries' trade relationship. He says the Mexican people are people of "good will" who "deserve everybody's respect." ___ 4:20 p.m. Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto says that he and Donald Trump may not agree on everything, but that their meeting underscores their countries' shared interests. Peña Nieto tells reporters that their meeting with the Republican nominee at the president's official residence in Mexico City was "open and constructive." He says in Spanish that the next president "will find in Mexico and its government" a neighbor who "wants to work constructively to strengthen even more" the relationship between their nations. ___ 2:55 p.m. An official at the Mexico City international airport says a private plane carrying Republican candidate Donald Trump has touched down at the airport. The official was not authorized to be quoted by name, nor did he provide the plane's registry number, or say how Trump would reach the official residence of President Enrique Pena Nieto, where the meeting with the Mexican leader is to take place. Pena Nieto's office has confirmed there will be a meeting and subsequent press statement at the residence, which is across town from the airport. Trump appeared likely to fly to the residence by helicopter, rather than cross town in any kind of motorcade. —By E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico City ___ 1:45 p.m. Hillary Clinton says if elected president she will make clear that the U.S. "will treat cyberattacks just like any other attack." Clinton says in a speech Wednesday to the American Legion convention in Cincinnati that the U.S. needs to "step up our game" and be able to defend itself against those who "go after us." She blamed Russia for hacking into the Democratic National Committee and perhaps "even some state election systems." Clinton says the United States will be ready with "serious political, economic and military responses" to any cyberattacks. WikiLeaks released damaging emails during the Democratic National Convention that implied the DNC had favored Clinton over primary rival Bernie Sanders. ___ 1:10 p.m. Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine says Donald Trump has "put his feet in concrete" on his immigration positions, regardless of what the Republican nominee says in an immigration-focused speech Wednesday night. Kaine is visiting a Hispanic community center in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, hours before Trump is set to speak and about his immigration plans. Trump's speech is being closely watched to see if he softens proposals to deport millions of people living in the United States illegally. Kaine says Trump's words and actions have been "frightening" to Hispanics and he doesn't expect to hear a change in tone. And he says its "hard to say" what to expect out of Trump's meeting Wednesday with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. ___ 1:05 p.m. Hillary Clinton is blasting Donald Trump for referring to the American military as "a disaster." Clinton says in a sharply worded speech Wednesday to the American Legion convention that it's "an insult to the men and women serving today and all who have served before." The Democratic presidential nominee is reiterating that she would send American troops into harm's way only as a "last resort," calling it a bedrock principal. She also says the last thing the nation needs is a president "who brings more name-calling and temper tantrums to Washington," a reference to her Republican opponent. ___ 1 p.m. Hillary Clinton is tweaking rival Donald Trump's decision to travel to Mexico, saying it takes more to make up for a "year of insults and insinuations" than a quick trip to America's southern neighbor. Clinton says at the American Legion's annual convention in Ohio that voters need to know that they can count on you. She says "it certainly takes more than trying to make up for a year of insults and insinuations by dropping in on our neighbors for a few hours and then flying home again." The Democratic presidential nominee adds, "That is not how it works." Trump was meeting with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto later Wednesday. Trump's surprise visit was coming hours before a major address on immigration in Arizona. ___ 12:55 p.m. Hillary Clinton says the United States in "an exceptional nation" and is accusing rival Donald Trump of thinking that approach is "insulting to the rest of the world." Clinton is speaking to the American Legion's annual convention in Cincinnati. She says the U.S. is an indispensable nation and has a "unique and unparalleled ability to be a force for peace and progress." Referencing Trump's threats to "walk away from our alliances," she notes that when America fails to lead, the country leaves a vacuum for the rest of the world to fill. ___ 11:25 a.m. Just days after Hillary Clinton criticized the Trump campaign for promoting groups and individuals associated with preserving "white identity," Donald Trump Jr. has retweeted an adherent of the "alt-right" movement that Clinton singled out for criticism. Donald Trump's oldest son this week retweeted a post from Kevin MacDonald, a former professor at California State University Long Beach. MacDonald said last week that white people in America are becoming a victimized minority. He has been accused of anti-Semitism by critics, including the Southern Poverty Law Center. MacDonald's tweet had to do with Clinton's State Department and perceived favoritism for UBS, a global financial services company that donated to the Clinton Foundation. Trump Jr.'s retweet prompted Richard Spencer, a leader of the alt-right movement, to tweet "Wow. Just wow." ___ 9:50 a.m. Mike Pence says that Donald Trump's trip to Mexico demonstrates what a "decisive leader" he would be if elected president. Trump's running mate told Fox News Wednesday that Trump immediately responded to an invitation by Mexico's President Enrique Peña Nieto to meet. He noted that Hillary Clinton received the same invitation but hasn't responded yet. Pence said that Trump and Pena Nieto are expected to discuss the logistics of Trump's proposed border wall — something Trump insists Mexico will pay for, despite Pena Nieto's condemnation of the plan. ___ 9:35 a.m. At least two demonstrations are planned in Mexico City as Mexicans express anger about the visit of Donald Trump. Former first lady Margarita Zavala wrote in a tweet aimed at Trump: "Even though you may have been invited, we want you to know you're not welcome. We Mexicans have dignity, and we reject your hate speech." She's considered a potential presidential candidate for 2018. Pena Nieto's office hasn't said where or when the meeting would be held, possibly in a bid to avoid protests outside the meeting site. Leading historian Enrique Krauze also addressed Trump in a tweek, saying "We Mexicans expect nothing less than an apology for calling us "criminals and rapists". Krauze told the Televisa TV network that, "Tyrants are to be confronted, not pacified." ___ 8:30 a.m. Mexico has awakened to the news that President Enrique Pena Nieto is going to meet with Republican candidate Donald Trump Wednesday, and many Mexicans don't like it. Some analysts said the Republican nominee had left Pena Nieto flat-footed by accepting an invitation the Mexican president had made simply for appearances' sake. Trump is widely loathed in Mexico for calling migrants from the country "rapists" among other insults. Mexico City-based security analyst Alejandro Hope suggested that Pena Nieto "wanted to invite Hillary (Clinton), but that meant inviting both of them, and nobody thought Trump would accept first." He added: "What's in it for Mexico? " The newspaper El Universal wrote in an editorial that Trump "caught Mexican diplomats off guard" by accepting the invitation. ___ 3:10 a.m. Donald Trump will be taking his first foreign trip as the Republican presidential nominee on Wednesday, making a quick visit to Mexico, a nation he derided as the home of rapists and criminals as he launched his campaign. The meeting with President Enrique Pena Nieto, who earlier this year compared the billionaire candidate to Hitler, comes hours before Trump is set to deliver a highly-anticipated immigration speech. It's a defining issue for Trump, but one on which he has appeared to waiver. After saying during his primary campaign he would expel all of the estimated 11 million people living in the country illegally with a "deportation force," Trump has suggested recently he might be open to "softening" his stance as he tries to win over more moderate general election voters. ||||| FILE - In this May 5, 2016, file photo, state Rep. Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, speaks at a press conference by the Democratic Party of New Mexico in downtown Albuquerque, N.M. Caballero... (Associated Press) WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump moved aggressively to tighten the nation's immigration policies Wednesday, signing executive actions to jumpstart construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall and block federal grants from immigrant-protecting "sanctuary cities." "We've been talking about this right from the beginning," Trump said during a brief signing ceremony at the Department of Homeland Security. As of Wednesday afternoon, the White House had not circulated copies of the documents or briefed reporters on the details, as has been typical practice in past administrations. But Trump cast his actions as fulfillment of his campaign pledge to enact hard-line immigration measures, including construction of a wall paid for by Mexico. U.S. taxpayers are expected to pay for the upfront costs, though Trump continues to assert that Mexico will reimburse the money through unspecified means. In an interview with ABC News earlier Wednesday, Trump said, "There will be a payment; it will be in a form, perhaps a complicated form." While Trump has repeatedly said the border structure will be a wall, his spokesman Sean Spicer said more generally Wednesday the president was ordering construction of a "large physical barrier." Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto, who has insisted his country will not pay for a wall, is to meet with Trump at the White House next week. The orders Trump signed Wednesday also increase the number of border patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to be hired. And the president ordered the end of what Republicans have labeled a catch-and-release system at the border. Currently, some immigrants caught crossing the border illegally are released and given notices to report back to immigration officials at a later date. Later in the week, Trump is expected to sign orders restricting the flow of refugees into the United States. His current proposal includes at least a four-month halt on all refugee admissions, as well as a temporary ban on people coming from some Muslim-majority countries, according to a source from a public policy organization that monitors refugee issues. The person was briefed on the details of that proposed action by a government official and outlined the plan to The Associated Press. The public policy organization source insisted on anonymity in order to outline the plans ahead of the president's official announcements. Trump campaigned on pledges to tighten U.S. immigration policies, including strengthening border security and stemming the flow of refugees. His call for a border wall was among his most popular proposals with supporters, who often broke out in chants of "build that wall" during rallies. In response to terrorism concerns, Trump controversially called for halting entry to the U.S. from Muslim countries. He later turned to a focus on "extreme vetting" for those coming from countries with terrorism ties. To build the wall, the president may rely on a 2006 law that authorized several hundred miles of fencing along the 2,000-mile frontier. That bill led to the construction of about 700 miles of various kinds of fencing designed to block both vehicles and pedestrians. The Secure Fence Act was signed by then-President George W. Bush, and the majority of that fencing in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California was built before he left office. The last remnants were completed after President Barack Obama took office in 2009. The Trump administration also must adhere to a decades-old border treaty with Mexico that limits where and how structures can be buil. The 1970 treaty requires that structures cannot disrupt the flow of the rivers, which define the U.S.-Mexico border along Texas and 24 miles in Arizona, according to The International Boundary and Water Commission, a joint U.S.-Mexican agency that administers the treaty. Trump's order to crack down on sanctuary cities — locales that don't cooperate with immigration authorities — could cost individual jurisdictions millions of dollars. But the administration may face legal challenges, given that some federal courts have found that local jurisdictions cannot hold immigrants beyond their jail term or deny them bond based only a request from immigration authorities. It appeared as though the refugee restrictions were still being finalized. The person briefed on the proposals said they included a ban on entry to the U.S. for at least 30 days from countries including Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, though the person cautioned the details could still change. There is also likely to be an exception for those fleeing religious persecution if their religion is a minority in their country. That exception could cover Christians fleeing Muslim-majority nations. As president, Trump can use an executive order to halt refugee processing. Bush used that same power in the immediate aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. Refugee security vetting was reviewed and the process was restarted several months later. ___ Zoll reported from New York. AP writer Alicia A. Caldwell in Washington contributed to this report. ___ Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC , Vivian Salama at http://twitter.com/vmsalama and Rachel Zoll at http://twitter.com/rzollAP

– Hours after returning from his trip to Mexico and a visit with that nation's leader, Donald Trump expounded on his immigration plan during a speech in Arizona. First and foremost was a familiar sentiment: "We will build a great wall along the southern border," Trump said to rousing cheers. "And Mexico will pay for the wall. They don't know it yet, but they're going to pay for the wall." (Mexico's president disagrees.) Some other main points of the speech, in which he promised to "break the cycle of illegal immigration and amnesty," via AP, Politico, and the New York Times: He said those currently here illegally have just one path to citizenship or legal status: "To return home and apply for reentry like anybody else." "We are going to end catch and release," he said, vowing that anyone caught illegally crossing the border will be detained and then returned home. "Zero tolerance" for immigrants who commit crimes. He promised that his administration would round up criminal offenders and begin shipping them home on day one. “You can call it deported if you want. The press doesn’t like that term. You can call it whatever the hell you want. They’re gone.” He promised to triple the number of ICE deportation officers and to create a deportation task force with a focus on those "criminal aliens." He also vowed to hire 5,000 border control agents and to expand the number of border stations. He said he would immediately cancel "unconstitutional executive orders" issued by President Obama that amount to "illegal amnesty." He would suspend visas for any countries that can't provide adequate screening. He would demand that other countries take back any citizens deported by the US. He would block federal funding for "sanctuary cities," singling out San Francisco at one point for what he sees as lax enforcement. He said the US will put in place biometric systems to better track immigrants. He said the US will intensify its "e-verify" program, designed to ensure that immigrants are eligible to work. So who can come to the US? "It’s our right as a sovereign nation to choose immigrants who are the likeliest to thrive, and flourish and love us."

On random days this month, Tilda Swinton (actress, Bowie-enthusiast, badass) will be performing her 1995 piece "The Maybe," which consists of Swinton sleeping in a glass box. In fact, at this very moment, Tilda Swinton is sleeping in a glass box at MoMa for your viewing pleasure. Gothamist spoke with a source at MoMA who told them that the "Museum staff doesn't know she's coming until the day of, but she's here today. She'll be there the whole day. All that's in the box is cushions and a water jug." Swinton first performed "The Maybe" in London, followed by a repeat performance in Rome. MoMA describes the piece's random schedule: An integral part of The Maybe's incarnation at MoMA in 2013 is that there is no published schedule for its appearance, no artist's statement released, no museum statement beyond this brief context, no public profile or image issued. Those who find it chance upon it for themselves, live and in real-shared-time: now we see it, now we don't. [Images courtesy of Gothamist] ||||| Gothamist As if starring in David Bowie music videos wasn't already the coolest, Tilda Swinton has currently taken up residency sleeping at MoMA. It's part of an unannounced, surprise performance piece called "The Maybe" that will be taking place on random days all month year (see updated details below—update, Monday, 3/25: she's back at the MoMA). A MoMA source told us, "Museum staff doesn't know she's coming until the day of, but she's here today. She'll be there the whole day. All that's in the box is cushions and a water jug." Gothamist "Tilda Swinton will be doing unannounced, random performance art pieces sleeping in a glass box in the museum," the source added. "Today is the first performance. Each performance lasts the whole day the museum is open." Swinton and her box are located near the ticket collectors today, but the box may be in different locations at other performances. "The Maybe" was first performed in London in 1995 at the Serpentine Gallery; Swinton conceived the performance piece, and asked artist Cornelia Parker to collaborate on the installation. Swinton later re-performed the piece in the Museo Barracco in Rome. Here's what the museum has to say about the piece: An integral part of The Maybe's incarnation at MoMA in 2013 is that there is no published schedule for its appearance, no artist's statement released, no no museum statement beyond this brief context, no public profile or image issued. Those who find it chance upon it for themselves, live and in real—shared—time: now we see it, now we don't. For more awesome Swinton action, check out the speech about Bowie that she gave at the opening of the huge Victoria and Albert Museum "David Bowie Is" exhibit this week. Update: Here's what the identification card says: via gallerinaoffduty's Instagram Update: It turns out that Swinton and the MoMA have been talking about bringing "The Maybe" here since 2005! Update: The MoMA clarified that Swinton will be performing "The Maybe" about a half-dozen more times between now and the end of the year, "each unannounced and in a different location in the Museum." Monday, 3/25: She's there right now! Update: Check out more pictures and audience reactions from Swinton's surprise performance at the MoMA on Saturday. ||||| In a deeply personal and frank interview with the German daily newspaper Tagesspiegel, the artist Marina Abramović addressed her art, the reason why she never had children, and her new interest in pole dancing. For over 40 years Abramović has attracted attention with her performances which have been characterized by extreme ambition, discipline, and self-control. In 2010, the Serbian-born, New York-based artist debuted a durational performance piece in the atrium of New York’s Museum of Modern Art, The Artist is Present, which resulted in a documentary by the same name, in 2012. Since then, she’s performed 512 Hours at an empty Serpentine Gallery in London, taken part in a participatory project in Athens, and is reportedly writing an autobiography, due out later this year. She is known as the “grandmother of performance art,” and it is easy to see why this risk-taking artist has made a name for herself. “The difference between theater and performance is that in the theater the blood is ketchup, and in performance, it’s real,” she explained to Tagesspiegel in reference to her work. She added that over the years the strain of performing in the international art world has taken its toll. “I am the artwork. I can’t send a painting, so I send myself…In the last year I didn’t spend more that 20 days in New York. At airports I had to think ‘where is my suitcase arriving from?’” However, she clarified: “I don’t know if I could live differently. Also, I have no husband, no family, I’m totally free.” The artist explained to the newspaper that she never wanted children, even at an early age. “I had three abortions because I was certain that it would be a disaster for my work. One only has limited energy in the body, and I would have had to divide it,” she said. “In my opinion that’s the reason why women aren’t as successful as men in the art world. There’s plenty of talented women. Why do men take over the important positions? It’s simple. Love, family, children—a woman doesn’t want to sacrifice all of that.” Abramović also revealed to the newspaper that she’s looking forward to celebrating her 70th birthday this year, which she says will be held at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York. “We’ll see if I can dance down a pole from all the way up in the museum. I’m still practicing.” Follow artnet News on Facebook:

– Tilda Swinton is in a box, she's resting, and people are watching her. That's the gist of "The Maybe," a piece the actor is performing today at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Gawker reports. Only problem for art (or Swinton) fans is that she may or may not be there on any given day. As MoMA puts it: "An integral part of The Maybe's incarnation at MoMA in 2013 is that there is no published schedule for its appearance. ... Those who find it chance upon it for themselves, live and in real-shared-time: now we see it, now we don't." In case you're wondering, Swinton has only cushions and a jug of water in the box. She first performed "The Maybe" in London in 1995 and later Rome before bringing it to Manhattan. See photos at Gothamist.

Warning comes after two men killed in brutal attacks, with body parts thought to have been used in witchcraft because of belief that bald people are rich Police in Mozambique has warned that bald people could be the targets of ritual attacks, after the brutal killing of two men whose body parts were thought to have been used in witchcraft. The two bald men, one of whom was found with his head cut off and organs removed, were killed in a part of the country already notorious for the persecution of albinos. “Last month, the murders of two bald people led to the arrest of two suspects,” said the national police spokesman Inacio Dina. Albino Africans live in fear after witch-doctor butchery Read more “Their motivations come from superstition and culture: the local community thinks bald individuals are rich,” he said. The killings took place in Milange, in the centre of the southern African country, a few miles from the border with Malawi. The local police told AFP that the two victims were aged over 40. “One of them was found with his head cut off and his organs removed,” said Miguel Caetano, a spokesman for the security forces in the central province of Zambezia. The suspects arrested are two Mozambicans about 20 years old. According to their statements, the organs were to be used by healers in rituals to promote the fortunes of clients in Tanzania and Malawi, Caetano said. It was the first time that bald people have been victims of such attacks in the region, he added. Dina likened the attacks to those on albinos, whose body parts are used in witchcraft rituals. According to the UN, more than a hundred attacks against albinos – who have white skin because of a hereditary condition that causes an absence of pigmentation – have been registered in Mozambique since 2014, mainly in the centre and the north of the country. ||||| Police in Mozambique Tuesday warned that bald people could be the targets of ritual attacks, after the brutal killing of two men whose body parts were to be used in witchcraft. The two bald men, one of whom was found with his head cut off and organs removed, were killed in a part of the country already notorious for the persecution of albinos. "Last month, the murders of two bald people led to the arrest of two suspects," national police spokesman Inacio Dina told a news conference in the capital Maputo. "Their motivations come from superstition and culture: the local community thinks bald individuals are rich," he said. The killings took place in Milange, in the centre of the southern African country, a few kilometres from the border with Malawi. The local police told AFP that the two victims were aged over 40. "One of them was found with his head cut off and his organs removed," said Miguel Caetano, spokesman for the security forces in the central province of Zambezia. The suspects arrested are two Mozambicans around 20 years old. According to their statements, the organs were to be used by healers in rituals to promote the fortunes of clients in Tanzania and Malawi, he said. ||||| (CNN) For Agness Jonathan, every day is a gamble with her children's lives. Simple questions like whether they should go to school carry an unimaginable risk of death and dismemberment to satisfy a barbaric demand. This is because her daughters are living with albinism, a genetic condition resulting in little or no pigmentation in the skin, hair and eyes. And this makes them a target. Living in fear It is children like Agness' who, according to a newly released Amnesty International report , are being hunted like animals in Malawi where their bones are sold in the belief the body parts bring wealth, happiness and good luck. The report chronicles the day-to-day lives of those living with the condition, and details the extent of a recent surge in killings of albinos living in the landlocked country in southern Africa. The bloodiest month was April this year, when Amnesty says four people were murdered, including a baby. One of the victims was 17-year-old Davis Fletcher Machinjiri, who left his home to watch a soccer game with a friend, but never returned. The Malawian police say he was abducted by "about four men who trafficked him to Mozambique and killed him." Describing his gruesome death, they say "the men chopped off both his arms and legs and removed bones. They then buried the rest of his body in a shallow grave." Selling body parts JUST WATCHED Albino teen attacked for her body parts Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Albino teen attacked for her body parts 02:57 Since 2014 at least 18 albinos have been killed, another five have been abducted and are still missing. And if it weren't for alert locals, Agness' youngest daughter Chakuputsa would be one of them. She was grabbed by three men while her mother was out working the fields. Agness describes how villagers chased after the men who eventually dumped the child in the bushes nearby. It turned out one of the attackers was a relative, someone, Agness tells Amnesty, she had considered like a brother. This, the community says, is all too common. Attackers are known to sell body parts to witchdoctors in Malawi and neighboring Mozambique, hoping to make quick money. Amnesty says "thousands of people with albinism are at severe risk of abduction and killing by individuals and criminal gangs," while the United Nations warns that Malawi's albinos are at risk of "total extinction." Grace Mazzah, a board member of the Association of People with Albinism in Malawi, is always aware of the price on her head. "It really raises fear," she says. "Why should people hunt me like they're hunting for animals to eat?"

– Police have issued a warning to bald men in Mozambique: They could be targeted for ritual attacks. Five men were recently murdered for their body parts, the BBC reports. "The belief is that the head of a bald man contains gold," a police commander explains. "[Suspects'] motive comes from superstition and culture—the local community thinks bald individuals are rich." One of the men, for example, had his head cut off and his organs removed so medicine men could use them in rituals believed to bring clients their own riches. Two suspects have been arrested in two of the murders, AFP reports. Police say the attacks are similar to ones that target albino people, who have also been known to be murdered for reasons related to witchcraft and healer rituals. These are the first such attacks on bald men in the region, but the Telegraph reports albino people have been subjects of more than 100 attacks in Mozambique since 2014, per the UN. (We're one step closer to predicting baldness.)

Future of Paula Deen's Deals Uncertain Amid Racial Slur Scandal Another serving of drama may be coming for Paula Deen, who could lose more deals on the heels of her firing from the Food Network.A representative for the shopping network QVC, which sells her cookware, released a statement Sunday to PEOPLE that expressed "concerns [over] the unfortunate Paula Deen situation," adding, "QVC does not tolerate discriminatory behavior."Following the celebrity chef's admission that she used a racial slur in the past, the network is "closely monitoring these events and the ongoing litigation," continues the representative's statement, which was first reported by TMZ . "We are reviewing our business relationship with Ms. Deen, and in the meantime, we have no immediate plans to have her appear on QVC."Deen, 66, issued a statement less than 24 hours after the Food Network announced on Friday it was dropping the longtime star."I have had the pleasure of being allowed into so many homes across the country and meeting people who have shared with me the most touching and personal stories," she said . "This would not have been possible without the Food Network. Thank you again. Love and best dishes to all of y'all."Deen also has a book, titled Paula Deen's New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up, due to arrive in stores this October. Her publisher, Random House, Inc., has not cancelled her contract. However, a spokesman for Random House, whose imprints include Ballantine Books, tells PEOPLE, "We are monitoring the situation closely."Deen's cookware is also sold at Target, Sears, Walmart, J. C. Penney, and Kmart. Last January, she announced a partnership with Novo Nordisk when she revealed she has type 2 diabetes. The drug maker is standing by her."Paula Deen's still a product spokesperson for the Victoza brand. We recognize the seriousness of these allegations and will follow the legal proceedings closely, staying in contact with her. As a company committed to improving the lives of people with diabetes, Novo Nordisk engaged Deen as a spokeswoman because of Paula's commitment to increasing awareness about diabetes to millions of people in this country."And they aren't the only ones watching the situation. Sears Holdings told PEOPLE late Sunday that "the company is currently exploring next steps as they pertain to Ms. Deen's products." ||||| The Food Network's decision to drop Paula Deen from its lineup on Friday evening made it clear that the Savannah chef's career was in freefall. But she may not have hit rock bottom yet. In a segment on the scandal Monday morning, CBS This Morning reported that several other corporations with ties to Deen were considering dropping their sponsorship over her history of racially insensitive remarks. The full segment is embedded above, so watch it for the full scoop. Here are the highlights: QVC and Kmart, which both sell Deen-branded homewares, are allegedly "reviewing their options." QVC issued a statement on Paula Deen that said the company has "no immediate plans to have her appear on QVC." Kraft said it hadn't worked with Deen in over a year, and that it has no current business relationship with her. Novo Nordisk, which manufactures the diabetes drug (Victoza) that Deen endorses, says that it has no plans to drop Deen. Smithfield Hams, which has a longstanding partnership with Deen, did not respond to requests for comment from CBS This Morning. UPDATE: 6-24 -- Moments after publishing this piece, Smithfield Foods announced that it was terminating its relationship with Paula Deen. The CEO of the company issued the following statement to Eater by email: "Smithfield condemns the use of offensive and discriminatory language and behavior of any kind. Therefore, we are terminating our partnership with Paula Deen. Smithfield is determined to be an ethical food industry leader and it is important that our values and those of our spokespeople are properly aligned." UPDATE: 6-27 -- In a shocking turn of events, Novo Nordisk announced Thursday that it, too, was suspending Paula Deen, the sponsor of its diabetes drug Victoza. Home Depot too! Paula's appearance on the "Today Show: seems not have had its intended effect... Here's the full story. ||||| The queen of Southern comfort food has officially been thrown off her throne, after 11 companies have ended partnerships with or taken a break from Paula Deen amid the controversy surrounding her. The latest, and perhaps most shocking, is Ballantine Books, publisher of her upcoming cookbook, "Paula Deen’s New Testament: 250 Favorite Recipes, All Lightened Up.” In a brief statement Friday afternoon, Ballantine announced it was canceling its multibook deal with Deen, including publication of her upcoming cookbook, which was scheduled for release in October 2013. The news comes as a surprise, as the book was pushed to No. 1 on Amazon after a surge of pre-orders from fans. Walgreens said it was phasing out Deen's products and J.C. Penney, which gave no formal statement, confirmed to NBC News Friday that it would no longer carry Deen-branded merchandise. Sears Holdings announced Friday morning that it would "phase out all products tied to the [Paula Deen] brand. Our members' needs will be given first priority as we work to continue to provide quality cookware in our stores and online." Paula Deen, pictured during her emotional TODAY interview on Wednesday, June 26. Peter Kramer / NBC News The Food Network, Smithfield Foods, Caesars Entertainment, Novo Nordisk, Wal-Mart, Target and Home Depot, all of which comprised the majority of her empire, also terminated their partnerships with Deen, who appeared in her first live interview on TODAY Wednesday to discuss the scandal over her use of racial slurs. QVC's CEO Mike George wrote a blog post Thursday evening saying that, "For now, we have decided to take a pause. Paula won’t be appearing on any upcoming broadcasts and we will phase out her product assortment on our online sales channels over the next few months." He left the door open for QVC to have a relationship with Deen in the future, going on to say that while customers "may wonder if this is a 'forever' decision," the company believes "people deserve second chances." Diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk and Target also distanced themselves from Deen on Thursday. "Novo Nordisk and Paula Deen have mutually agreed to suspend our patient education activities for now, while she takes time to focus her attention where it is needed,'' the company said in a statement. "Novo Nordisk would like to acknowledge Paula’s involvement in our 'Diabetes in a New Light' campaign, where she has helped make many people aware of type 2 diabetes and the lifestyle changes needed to control this serious disease." Deen, who has Type 2 diabetes, had been a spokesperson for Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug Victoza. Target announced that it is ending its relationship with Deen entirely. "We have made a decision to phase out the Paula Deen merchandise in our stores as well as on Target.com,'' the company said in a statement. "Once the merchandise is sold out, we will not be replenishing inventory." Wal-Mart and Home Depot announced on Wednesday that they were severing ties with her. "We are ending our relationship with Paula Deen Enterprises and we will not place new orders beyond those already committed,” Wal-Mart spokesperson Danit Marquardt said on Wednesday. “We will work with suppliers to address existing inventories and agreements." Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, has carried a variety of Paula Deen-branded products including cookware and health and wellness products for several years. Wednesday evening, a spokesperson for Home Depot confirmed to NBC News that the company will stop carrying Paula Deen-branded items under their kitchen and cookware category. Ryan Ruggiero and Scott Stump contributed reporting to this story.

– Lookin' for some of them Paula Deen pots and pans, y'all? Act now, as in now, because QVC has "concerns" about "the unfortunate Paula Deen situation," and has "no immediate plans to have her appear" on its vaunted airwaves—which she uses to hawk aforementioned cookware. But the channel isn't exactly dropping her like a deep-fried potato, notes TMZ, saying in its statement that it is "closely monitoring these events and we are reviewing our business relationship with Ms. Deen." Food Network has already cut her loose, Lady's Brunch Burger or no.

EATONVILLE, Wash. - A 37-year-old man has been arrested in connection of a deadly hit-and-run crash that killed a bicyclist last Thursday. Susan Rainwater was riding her bike on SR-7 nearing 320th Street East when a pickup truck approaching behind her veered off the road and hit Rainwater from behind, killing her. Investigators had put out a plea to the public for help identifying the driver. A tweeted photo of some of the broken car parts left at the scene of the crash was posted on Reddit.com and received more than 600 comments from car enthusiasts and mechanics around the nation, police said. One reader who identified himself as a Maryland State Vehicle Inspector was able to narrow a headlight part to a 1980s Chevrolet truck. Friday, police received an anonymous tip that described a mid 1980s Chevrolet pickup truck with front end damage to the right-side headlight assembly, and provided the license plate. The tip led investigators Tuesday to their suspect, Jeremy Simon. Simon was driving a 1986 Chevrolet K-10 pickup truck and admitted to detectives he was the one who struck Rainwater and drove from the scene, troopers said. Simon is being held for investigation of vehicular homicide, illegal drug possession and leaving the scene of an accident. He is scheduled to make is court arraignment on Wednesday. "The WSP and its detectives would like to thank the community for their assistance in providing numerous tips and leads that helped to solve this case," said Johnna Batiste with the Washington State Patrol. ||||| An eagle-eyed Reddit user has helped police make an arrest after a hit-and-run claimed the life of a cyclist. Susan Rainwater, 63, was riding her bike along a stretch of road in Eatonville, Washington, when she was struck and killed by a vehicle travelling behind her. As investigators tried to piece together what happened and who was responsible, a spokesperson for the Washington State Patrol took to Twitter asking for anyone with information to come forward. The post included an image of Ms Rainwater’s mangled bike and a small piece metal that was recovered at the scene. A Washington State Patrol spokesperson shared the images of the damaged bike and a piece of scrap metal found at the scene. Source: Twitter/Tropper Johnna More The image eventually made its way onto the sub-Reddit, ‘What Is This Thing?’, where hundreds of users began speculating as to what it was. But it was a former vehicle inspector by the name of Jeff who was able to accurately identify the mysterious object as a section of a Chevy Silverado headlamp bezel. Washington Police then received an anonymous tip about a 1986 Chevrolet K-10 pickup truck with damage to its front headlight More It eventually led to the arrest of Jeremy Simon, a 37-year-old man from the nearby town of Roy, who admitted to striking Ms Rainwater. Upon announcing the arrest, the Washington State Police credited Reddit users for successfully identifying the broken car part. WSP detectives made an arrest today for Thursday’s fatal bicyclist hit and run in Eatonville. Reddit users identify a photographed broken car part as a mid 1980s Chevy truck headlight assembly. Local anonymous tip confirms and led to the arrest of a driver of an 1986 Chevy K-10. pic.twitter.com/WaIlkkClfr — Trooper Johnna Batiste (@wspd1pio) August 14, 2018 Both Twitter and Reddit users began praising Jeff for helping solve the crime, while expressing their disbelief at his ability to identify the make and model of car with so little information. “Great job /u/JeffsNuts – doubtless there’s a family out there that’s grateful for your work bringing closure to this,” one Reddit user commented. “You deserve a medal for this,” another wrote. ||||| The man charged with fatally striking an Eatonville-area bicyclist last week fell asleep at the wheel and fled because he didn’t want to see a dead body, he allegedly told a Washington State Patrol detective. Jeremy Simon, 37, of Roy was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in Pierce County Superior Court on charges of vehicular homicide, hit-and-run resulting in death and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf. Retired Superior Court Judge Brian Tollefson, who was filling in, set Simon’s bail at $750,000. Be the first to know. No one covers what is happening in our community better than we do. And with a digital subscription, you'll never miss a local story. SIGN ME UP! According to charging documents: State Patrol investigators were able to use debris, witnesses and surveillance video to determine a lifted black pickup struck Susan Rainwater, 66, on Thursday morning along state Route 7 near 320th Street East. The truck’s driver fled, leaving Rainwater to die. The next day, someone called the State Patrol with an anonymous tip, giving the license plate for a black 1986 Chevrolet truck, which returned to Simon’s Roy address. A detective drove to the home and saw the truck in the driveway, behind a gate, parked facing away from traffic. He stayed for a few hours, waiting for someone to leave the house, but no one did. The detective returned Sunday and waited for several hours for someone to leave the house, but it proved fruitless. About 5 a.m. Monday, the detective returned again. Four hours later, another vehicle left the home’s driveway. The detective pulled the man over, and the man said the truck belonged to his stepson and had new damage to the right front bumper. As the detective went back to the home, the truck pulled out of the driveway. The detective pulled it over nearby. Simon was its only occupant. Asked about the fresh damage to his truck, Simon said he had hit a deer. “You didn’t hit a deer, did you?” the detective responded. Simon said again that he had, but his voice cracked. The detective told Simon he had video of him fleeing the scene of the fatal collision. Simon lowered his head and said he was sorry. Then he shared what he had done, according to the charging documents. He said he was driving to pick up his stepdad’s friend but was on about four hours’ sleep after working well into the night. He thought the energy drink he imbibed would keep him awake. Instead, he fell asleep, drifted off the road and struck Rainwater. Simon thought he had struck a mailbox and pulled over, but then he saw Rainwater’s mangled bicycle and fled in a panic because he didn’t want to see a dead body. He took back roads and picked up his family friend. When Simon was arrested, troopers found a small baggie of heroin and a plastic straw in his pocket, court records show.

– Susan Rainwater was riding her bicycle in Eatonville, Wash., last Thursday morning when a vehicle came up from behind, veered off the road, and fatally struck the 66-year-old. The driver then left her for dead, police say; a passerby later found her body in a ditch after spotting her crumpled bike. Authorities pleaded for the public's help, tweeting a photo of a black car part the vehicle left behind in the hopes someone could identify it. That's when Reddit stepped in: The photo was posted on the subreddit /r/whatisthisthing, leading to hundreds of comments, Yahoo News reports. Car enthusiasts, mechanics, and other experts weighed in; ultimately, someone identifying himself as a Maryland State Vehicle Inspector determined it was a headlight part from a 1980s Chevrolet truck, KOMO News reports. Then police received an anonymous tip with the license plate number of a 1980s Chevy pickup truck with front end damage to the right-side headlight assembly. Investigators ultimately found and arrested Jeremy Simon, who drives a 1986 Chevrolet K-10; police say he confessed to hitting Rainwater. Simon, 37, allegedly told police he fell asleep at the wheel, thought he hit a mailbox and pulled over, but drove off in a panic when he saw the mangled bicycle because he didn't want to see a dead body, the News Tribune reports. Troopers allegedly found a small bag of heroin and a plastic straw in his pocket when he was arrested. He has been charged with vehicular homicide, hit-and-run resulting in death, and unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Washington State Police credited the Reddit tipsters on Twitter.

A barbed-wire fence encircles the Highlands Acid Pit that was flooded by water from the nearby San Jacinto River as a result from Harvey in Highlands, Texas. | Jason Dearen/AP Photo Trump’s EPA attacks AP reporter in personal terms The agency accused the reporter of an ‘incredibly misleading story’ about its Harvey response ‘from the comfort of Washington.’ President Donald Trump’s habit of singling out reporters for attacks is being adopted by his federal agencies, with the Environmental Protection Agency excoriating an Associated Press reporter in unusually personal terms on Sunday after the reporter wrote a story that cast the agency in an unfavorable light. “Yesterday, the Associated Press’ Michael Biesecker wrote an incredibly misleading story about toxic land sites that are under water,” the statement began. “Despite reporting from the comfort of Washington, Biesecker had the audacity to imply that agencies aren’t being responsive to the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. Not only is this inaccurate, but it creates panic and politicizes the hard work of first responders who are actually in the affected area.” Story Continued Below The article in question, which was written by Biesecker and his AP colleague, Jason Dearen, noted that seven toxic Superfund sites around Houston had been flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Saturday report also noted that the “EPA had not yet been able to physically visit the Houston-area sites,” which the EPA confirmed, arguing the sites were not accessible. Dearen appears to have reported from on the ground in Texas, and he was not singled out by the EPA statement. The statement went on to say that “state agencies worked with responsible parties to secure Superfund sites before the hurricane hit.” It then continued the attacks on Biesecker, saying he “has a history of not letting the facts get in the way of his story” and noting that a July story he wrote inaccurately characterized an interaction between EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and Dow Chemical CEO Andrew Liveris. Biesecker’s story, based on EPA schedules, initially said the two met for half an hour at a Houston hotel. Morning Energy newsletter The source for energy and environment news — weekday mornings, in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. A spokesperson for the EPA later said the meeting was canceled and that the two had only a “brief introduction in passing.” The AP issued a correction to the story. The bulk of Sunday’s EPA statement was unsigned. It did, however, include one portion attributable to associate administrator Liz Bowman. “Once again, in an attempt to mislead Americans, the Associated Press is cherry-picking facts, as EPA is monitoring Superfund sites around Houston and we have a team of experts on the ground working with our state and local counterparts responding to Hurricane Harvey,” Bowman’s statement said. “Anything to the contrary is yellow journalism.” The statement did not point to any specific factual inaccuracies in Saturday’s story, besides accusing Biesecker of leaving out information about the EPA’s other efforts to monitor the toxic land sites, and the AP has not offered any corrections on the piece. The EPA declined Sunday to provide additional information about who drafted the statement, with EPA spokesperson Amy Graham calling the statement “pretty self-explanatory” in an email to POLITICO. Bowman later followed up with an additional email to POLITICO. "We understand you are very focused on our press release; we hope you will apply the same focus to the facts, which include that a national reporter from a wire service publishing [sic] inaccurate and misleading stories about the agency and it’s [sic] staff on the ground," Bowman wrote. "We think that is more important than who drafted a press release." The Associated Press on Sunday evening pushed back on the EPA's claims. "AP's exclusive story was the result of on-the-ground reporting at Superfund sites in and around Houston, as well as AP's strong knowledge of these sites and EPA practices," it said in a statement. "We object to the EPA's attempts to discredit that reporting by suggesting it was completed solely from 'the comforts of Washington' and stand by the work of both journalists who jointly reported and wrote the story." ||||| News Releases from Headquarters › Office of the Administrator (AO) EPA Response To The AP's Misleading Story Good afternoon – Yesterday, the Associated Press’ Michael Biesecker wrote an incredibly misleading story about toxic land sites that are under water. Despite reporting from the comfort of Washington, Biesecker had the audacity to imply that agencies aren’t being responsive to the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. Not only is this inaccurate, but it creates panic and politicizes the hard work of first responders who are actually in the affected area. Here’s the truth: through aerial imaging, EPA has already conducted initial assessments at 41 Superfund sites – 28 of those sites show no damage, and 13 have experienced flooding. This was left out of the original story, along with the fact that EPA and state agencies worked with responsible parties to secure Superfund sites before the hurricane hit. Leaving out this critical information is misleading. Administrator Pruitt already visited Southeast Texas and is in constant contact with local, state and county officials. And EPA, has a team of experts imbedded with other local, state and federal authorities, on the ground responding to Harvey - none of which Biesecker included in his story. Unfortunately, the Associated Press’ Michael Biesecker has a history of not letting the facts get in the way of his story. Earlier this summer, he made-up a meeting that Administrator Pruitt had, and then deliberately discarded information that refuted his inaccurate story – ultimately prompting a nation-wide correction. Additionally, the Oklahoman took him to task for sensationalized reporting. If you’re reporting on this misleading story then below is a statement from the EPA. “Once again, in an attempt to mislead Americans, the Associated Press is cherry-picking facts, as EPA is monitoring Superfund sites around Houston and we have a team of experts on the ground working with our state and local counterparts responding to Hurricane Harvey. Anything to the contrary is yellow journalism.” - EPA Associate Administrator, Liz Bowman BACKGROUND ... The Hill reports EPA finds 13 Superfund sites possibly damaged after Harvey. "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Saturday that 13 Superfund sites have been flooded or could be facing damage as a result of Hurricane Harvey. The agency said that two of the sites, which are areas that are polluted with hazardous material and require extensive cleanup, had been inspected and do not require immediate cleanup. Eleven sites have proven to be inaccessible for response teams, however the agency said teams are in place to inspect the areas once flooding from the storm subsides. In total, the EPA said that it had conducted initial assessments at 41 Superfund sites in impacted areas using 'aerial images' and contact with with those responsible for regular cleanup activities." (The Hill, 09/02/17) In June, the editorial board at the Oklahoman reminded their readers of the sensationalized reporting that comes from the Associated Press’ Michael Biesecker. “The disdain that some in the media have for President Trump and members of his administration is evident regularly. Recent coverage related to EPA administrator Scott Pruitt provides an example of interest to locals because of Pruitt's Oklahoma ties. … An Associated Press story from Washington last week about emails Pruitt sent and received as attorney general did what it could to further establish Pruitt as a minion for the oil and gas industry — which environmentalists see as dead set on ruining the earth as we know it. The AP, a wire service used by media outlets around the world including The Oklahoman, said the emails ‘underscore just how closely’ Pruitt ‘coordinated with fossil fuel companies’ as Oklahoma's AG, ‘a position in which he frequently sued to block federal efforts to curb planet-warming carbon emissions.’ That's quite an opening paragraph. Pruitt didn't just work with energy companies while attorney general — he worked ‘closely’ with ‘fossil fuel companies’ (the ultimate bogey men) to essentially keep global warming from abating. … The fact Pruitt regularly corresponded and dealt with energy industry officials as attorney general of a state where energy is the No. 1 industry should not be surprising nor should it, by itself, be considered nefarious.” ||||| In this photo taken Sept. 1, 2017 in Crosby, Texas, across the San Jacinto River from Houston, Rafael Casas tours his storm ravaged house in a small working-class neighborhood that sits between two Superfund sites, French LTD and the Sikes Disposal Pits. The area was wrecked by Harvey's floods. (AP Photo/Jason Dearen) HIGHLANDS, Texas (AP) — As Dwight Chandler sipped beer and swept out the thick muck caked inside his devastated home, he worried whether Harvey’s floodwaters had also washed in pollution from the old acid pit just a couple blocks away. Long a center of the nation’s petrochemical industry, the Houston metro area has more than a dozen Superfund sites, designated by the Environmental Protection Agency as being among America’s most intensely contaminated places. Many are now flooded, with the risk that waters were stirring dangerous sediment. The Highlands Acid Pit site near Chandler’s home was filled in the 1950s with toxic sludge and sulfuric acid from oil and gas operations. Though 22,000 cubic yards of hazardous waste and soil were excavated from the acid pits in the 1980s, the site is still considered a potential threat to groundwater, and the EPA maintains monitoring wells there. When he was growing up in Highlands, Chandler, now 62, said he and his friends used to swim in the by-then abandoned pit. “My daddy talks about having bird dogs down there to run and the acid would eat the pads off their feet,” he recounted on Thursday. “We didn’t know any better.” The Associated Press surveyed seven Superfund sites in and around Houston during the flooding. All had been inundated with water, in some cases many feet deep. On Saturday, hours after the AP published its first report, the EPA said it had reviewed aerial imagery confirming that 13 of the 41 Superfund sites in Texas were flooded by Harvey and were “experiencing possible damage” due to the storm. The statement confirmed the AP’s reporting that the EPA had not yet been able to physically visit the Houston-area sites, saying the sites had “not been accessible by response personnel.” EPA staff had checked on two Superfund sites in Corpus Christi on Thursday and found no significant damage. AP journalists used a boat to document the condition of one flooded Houston-area Superfund site, but accessed others with a vehicle or on foot. The EPA did not respond to questions about why its personnel had not yet been able to do so. “Teams are in place to investigate possible damage to these sites as soon flood waters recede, and personnel are able to safely access the sites,” the EPA statement said. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, speaking with reporters at a news conference on Saturday after the AP report was published, said he wants the EPA “in town to address the situation.” Turner said he didn’t know about the potential environmental concerns soon enough to discuss them with President Donald Trump. “Now we’re turning our attention to that,” he said. “It is always a concern. The environment is very concerning, and we’ll get right on top of it.” At the Highlands Acid Pit on Thursday, the Keep Out sign on the barbed-wire fence encircling the 3.3-acre site barely peeked above the churning water from the nearby San Jacinto River. A fishing bobber was caught in the chain link, and the air smelled bitter. A rusted incinerator sat just behind the fence, poking out of the murky soup. Across the road at what appeared to be a more recently operational plant, a pair of tall white tanks had tipped over into a heap of twisted steel. It was not immediately clear what, if anything, might have been inside them when the storm hit. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has called cleaning up Superfund sites a top priority, even as he has taken steps to roll back or delay rules aimed at preventing air and water pollution. Trump’s proposed 2018 budget seeks to cut money for the Superfund program by 30 percent, though congressional Republicans are likely to approve a less severe reduction. Like Trump, Pruitt has expressed skepticism about the predictions of climate scientists that warmer air and seas will produce stronger, more drenching storms. Under the Obama administration, the EPA conducted a nationwide assessment of the increased threat to Superfund sites posed by climate change, including rising sea levels and stronger hurricanes. Of the more than 1,600 sites reviewed as part of the 2012 study, 521 were determined to be in 1-in-100 year and 1-in-500 year flood zones. Nearly 50 sites in coastal areas could also be vulnerable to rising sea levels. The threats to human health and wildlife from rising waters that inundate Superfund sites vary widely depending on the specific contaminants and the concentrations involved. The EPA report specifically noted the risk that floodwaters might carry away and spread toxic materials over a wider area. The report listed two dozen Superfund sites determined to be especially vulnerable to flooding and sea-level rise. The only one in Texas, the Bailey Waste Disposal site south of Beaumont, is on a marshy island along the Neches River. The National Weather Service said the Neches was expected to crest on Saturday at more than 21 feet above flood stage — 8 feet higher than the prior record. In Crosby, across the San Jacinto River from Houston, a small working-class neighborhood sits between two Superfund sites, French LTD and the Sikes Disposal Pits. The area was wrecked by Harvey’s floods. Only a single house from among the roughly dozen lining Hickory Lane was still standing. After the water receded on Friday, a sinkhole the size of a swimming pool had opened up and swallowed two cars. The acrid smell of creosote filled the air. Rafael Casas’ family had owned a house there for two decades, adjacent to the French LTD site. He said he was never told about the pollution risk until it came up in an informal conversation with a police officer who grew up nearby. Most of the homes had groundwater wells, but Casas said his family had switched to bottled water. “You never know what happens with the pollution under the ground,” said Casas, 32. “It filters into the water system.” The water had receded by Saturday at Brio Refining Inc. and Dixie Oil Processors, a pair of neighboring Superfund sites about 20 miles southeast of downtown Houston in Friendswood. The road was coated in a layer of silt. Mud Gully Stream, which bisects the two sites, was full and flowing with muddy water. Both sites were capped with a liner and soil as part of EPA-supervised cleanup efforts aimed at preventing the contamination from spreading off the low-lying sites during floods. Parts of the Brio site were elevated by 8 feet. John Danna, the manager hired by the companies to oversee the sites, said in a phone interview that he went there after the storm and saw no signs of erosion. He said he didn’t know how high the flooding got in Harvey’s wake and that no testing of the water still draining from the area had been conducted. EPA staff are expected to visit in the next week, he said. A security guard at the Patrick Bayou Superfund site, just off the Houston Ship Channel in Deer Park, said Saturday that flooding came hundreds of feet inland during the storm. The water has since receded back into the bayou, where past testing has shown the sediments contain pesticides, toxic heavy metals and PCBs. The site, surrounded by active petrochemical facilities, is still awaiting a final plan for cleanup. The San Jacinto River Waste Pits Superfund site was completely covered with floodwaters when an AP reporter saw it Thursday. According to its website, the EPA was set to make a final decision this year about a proposed $97 million cleanup effort to remove toxic waste from a paper mill that operated there in the 1960s. The flow from the raging river washing over the toxic site was so intense it damaged an adjacent section of the Interstate 10 bridge, which has been closed to traffic due to concerns it might collapse. There was no way to immediately assess how much contaminated soil from the site might have been washed away. According to an EPA survey from last year, soil from the former waste pits contains dioxins and other long-lasting toxins linked to birth defects and cancer. The EPA said Saturday the San Jacinto Waste Pits site is covered by a temporary “armored cap,” a fabric covering anchored with rocks designed to prevent contaminated sediment from migrating down river. McGinnes Industrial Maintenance Corp., one of the companies responsible for the site, said in a statement Saturday that its contractors reported that “visible portions of the cap indicated the waste beneath remained in place following the storm.” Ken Haldin, a public relations consultant representing the company, said he did not know how much of the 34-acre site was above water at the time of the inspection. According to an EPA review last year, the cap has required extensive repairs on at least six occasions since it was installed in 2011, with large sections becoming displaced or going missing. The EPA said its personnel planned to go to the site by boat on Monday. Kara Cook-Schultz, who studies Superfund sites for the advocacy group TexPIRG, said environmentalists have warned for years about the potential for flooding to inundate Texas Superfund sites, particularly the San Jacinto Waste Pits. “If floodwaters have spread the chemicals in the waste pits, then dangerous chemicals like dioxin could be spread around the wider Houston area,” Cook-Schultz said. “Superfund sites are known to be the most dangerous places in the country, and they should have been properly protected against flooding.” ____ Associated Press writer Jay Reeves contributed to this report. Biesecker reported from Washington. ____ A video of Associated Press writer Jason Dearen’s tour by boat of several Superfund sites in the Houston area after Harvey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=erg6azfuP5k&feature=youtu.be ____ Follow Jason Dearen at http://twitter.com/JHDearen and Michael Biesecker at http://twitter.com/mbieseck

– Taking a page from the Donald Trump playbook, officials at the Environmental Protection Agency attacked a reporter by name for writing what they called an "incredibly misleading story" about the agency's efforts in Hurricane-ravaged Houston, Politico reports. The article, written Saturday for the AP by Michael Biesecker and Jason Dearen, reports that at least seven of the city's 41 Superfund sites (the most contaminated toxic waste sites in the country) had been flooded by rain from Hurricane Harvey and that the EPA had been unable to visit them, saying the sites "had not been accessible by response personnel." The article stated that AP journalists had accessed at least one of the sites by boat and others by "a vehicle or on foot." The EPA took issue with the article's claims in a statement released Sunday, saying, “Despite reporting from the comfort of Washington, Biesecker had the audacity to imply that agencies aren’t being responsive to the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey. Not only is this inaccurate, but it creates panic and politicizes the hard work of first responders who are actually in the affected area.” Later that day, the AP refuted the EPA's claims in a statement of its own, writing, "We object to the EPA's attempts to discredit that reporting by suggesting it was completed solely from 'the comforts of Washington' and stand by the work of both journalists who jointly reported and wrote the story."

Sgt. Robert Ralston, who said he was shot in the shoulder after a gun was put to his head on April 5, 2010. A Philadelphia police sergeant who said he was shot last month by an unidentified black man in the city's Overbrook section actually fabricated the entire story and shot himself, Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said this morning. Sgt. Robert Ralston, a 21-year veteran of the department, admitted to homicide detectives early this morning that his previously reported story was false. Ramsey called the incident, "a terrible and embarrassing chapter in our history." Asked why Ralston concocted the tale and injured himself, Ramsey said he didn't know. "There's some speculation he did it to get attention, or to get transferred," Ramsey said. Ralston will be suspended for 30 days with the intent to dismiss, Ramsey said. Ralston, married with five children, will face no criminal charges in the case, because he was offered immunity in exchange for his confession. Ralston will also have to pay the cost of the massive manhunt that was sparked by his tale on April 5, Ramsey said. Police spent hours combing the West Philadelphia neighborhood for possible suspects, but no one was formally questioned or arrested. The Fraternal Order of Police, Lodge No. 5, posted a $10,000 reward for information leading to the suspect. Ralston said he was on patrol in the early hours of April 5 when he stopped two men for questioning. One of the men ran, the other drew a gun and put it to Ralston's head, he told police. Ralston said he knocked the gun out of the way and it went off, grazing him in the shoulder. He told police he shot at the man as he ran off and possibly struck him. From the start, police said the facts of the case didn't add up. There was powder residue on his shirt that matched his own service weapon, indicating he was shot at close range. His reaction to the shooting also drew suspicion, and police said he seemed eager to cast himself in the role of a hero. Ramsey said Ralston's badge number would be retired, and that no other officer would ever wear the same number. Ralston apparently described his assailant as black because the area where the shooting took place is predominantly African-American, the commissioner said. "It's troubling in a lot of ways," Ramsey said. "It inflames racial tensions in our community, and that's certainly something we don't need." Ramsey said it was fortunate that officers never stopped or arrested anyone matching Ralston's description of the gunman. Contact staff writer Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or asteele@phillynews.com ||||| A white city police sergeant made up a story about being shot by a black man while on patrol last month and actually intentionally shot himself for unknown reasons, the city's police commissioner said Tuesday. Sgt. Robert Ralston, 46, confessed to making up the story and will have to pay the costs of the massive manhunt that followed, Commissioner Charles Ramsey said. Ralston has been suspended with intent to dismiss, but will not face criminal charges because granting immunity was the only way to obtain his confession, Ramsey said at a news conference. The case was especially troubling, Ramsey said, because Ralston identified his supposed attacker as black. When Ralston confessed Tuesday, he said he made the claim so his story would be more believable, Ramsey said. "He wanted the story to be consistent with the environment he was in," a largely African-American neighborhood, Ramsey said. "I am troubled by this whole situation. ... He violated the trust the people have given him." The commissioner said investigators aren't really sure why Ralston intentionally shot himself. "He did not give a reason for doing that ... he denied that he was trying to get attention," Ramsey said. "He said he first considered shooting himself in the chest, but he thought better of it." A telephone listing for Ralston had been disconnected and he could not immediately be reached for comment by The Associated Press. Ralston, a 21-year veteran, told police he was on patrol in the city's Overbrook section early on April 5 when he stopped two black men for questioning along some railroad tracks. He told investigators that one of the men put a gun to his head, but that he knocked the weapon away and suffered a graze wound to the shoulder when it fired, investigators said. Both men fled, he said. Police combed the neighborhood for hours looking for the men. Officers never stopped or arrested anyone matching Ralston's description of the gunman, Ramsey said. Investigators quickly found inconsistencies in his story. Forensic evidence didn't match Ralston's story, and gunpowder on Ralston's shirt matched the kind of powder used by the department, Ramsey said. The Fraternal Order of Police had put out a $10,000 reward for information leading to the alleged suspect. On Tuesday, FOP President John McNesby condemned the sergeant's actions, saying they took away from the good work of police officers. "Nobody knows what he was thinking to do something like that," McNesby said. "He wasted a lot of time, a lot of manpower. It could really stir up a lot of stuff in the city when you don't really need it." District Attorney Seth Williams commended Ramsey's decision to suspend Ralston and said the goal was getting to the truth. "Unfortunately, we could only arrive at the truth through his statement given to the police and that statement cannot be used against him," Williams said. "We took a badge and a gun from a person whose actions proved him unfit for either." ||||| PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An 18-year-old man was shot and killed in Philadelphia in what appeared to be retaliation for the death of a 21-year-old man who was shot while talking to a candidate for the Pennsylvania House, police said. Officials said a man was shot in the head Sunday afternoon while speaking to Democratic candidate Chris Rabb and a campaign volunteer about the state's upcoming primary. "He was enthusiastic about the political process," said Rabb, who is running for a seat in the 200th District. The man told Rabb that he was planning to work at his local polling place on Tuesday. "This impressed us and we were in the process of encouraging him to join our campaign," Rabb said late Sunday in a statement. "Moments after he gave us his contact information he was murdered." Police say the man was shot twice in the head, and was pronounced dead at the scene. Rabb was able to pull his volunteer to safety in a nearby convenience store. They were not injured. A few hours later in the same neighborhood, police said an 18-year-old man was shot in the back and a 17-year-old boy was grazed by a bullet in a drive-by shooting. The 18-year-old was taken to a hospital, where he later died. The 17-year-old was expected to recover. Police did not immediately release the names of the victims. "We do believe this is retaliation," said Commissioner Richard Ross. He said police would patrol the neighborhood to try to prevent more violence. "We're going to continue to do what we do and hopefully try to save lives," he said.

– A white police sergeant in Philadelphia has admitted that he made up a story about being shot by a black assailant and instead purposely shot himself in the shoulder, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. "There's some speculation he did it to get attention, or to get transferred," said the city's police chief, who called it a "terrible and embarrassing chapter in our history." Sgt. Robert Ralston originally said that after he stopped two men for questioning, one pulled a gun and aimed at his head. He said when he knocked the gun away, it went off and grazed him. That set off a huge manhunt before the details of Ralston's story fell apart, notes AP. Ralston has been suspended and is expected to be fired. The 21-year veteran won't face criminal charges, but he must reimburse the city for the cost of the manhunt.

The Bluth family's antics are coming back to Netflix. The streaming service announced Wednesday that Arrested Development will return for its fifth season in 2018. The show is one of Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. Related 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time From time-capsule sitcoms to cutting-edge Peak-TV dramas — the definitive ranking of the game-changing small-screen classics After three critically acclaimed, but low-rated, seasons on Fox from 2004 to 2006, Mitch Hurwitz's cult comedy series was revived by Netflix in 2013, with the entire regular cast uniting for Season Four. Hurwitz and the original cast will again return for Season Five, which was delayed until all the talent involved could fit Arrested Development into their schedules, Variety reports. "In talks with Netflix we all felt that that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business — and their desperate abuses of power — are really underrepresented on TV these days,” Hurwitz said in a statement, shading the Trump clan. "I am so grateful to them and to 20th TV for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany? — back to the glorious stream of life." Ron Howard, who produces and narrates the series, added in a statement, "Whew! I can finally answer the question … Hell yes! Warming up my uncredited narrator vocal chords. Now the only thing I will have to be coy about is all the craziness the Bluths are going to face this season." The confirmation of Arrested Development's fifth season comes less than a week after star Jason Bateman tweeted, "Look very probable I'm going to put some miles on the Stair Car this summer. Just officially signed on to more ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT today." ||||| The good news: we’re getting more Arrested Development! The (potentially!) bad news: we’re getting more Arrested Development. After years of negotiations, teases, and knowing deferrals—as Ron Howard told Vanity Fair just last month, “I don’t want to be coy, but, well, I’m absolutely being coy!”—Netflix has finally announced that a fifth season of the beloved sitcom will premiere sometime in 2018. “In talks with Netflix we all felt that stories about a narcissistic, erratically behaving family in the building business—and their desperate abuses of power—are really underrepresented on TV these days,” series creator Mitchell Hurwitz said in a statement, perhaps hinting at a topical direction for the new episodes. The entire original cast is slated to return once more, though the announcement doesn’t indicate how many episodes the new season will contain, or when, precisely, it will debut. Longtime Arrested Development fans will likely find themselves reacting to this news with a mixture of enthusiasm and trepidation. The fourth season of Arrested Development, which debuted in 2013, was a classic “be careful what you wish for” scenario: though the original series was clever and sharp and unfairly cut down in its prime, its revival—the first such series Netflix ever attempted, which means you can thank it for Fuller House—was a decidedly mixed bag. Arrested Development’s intricately plotted episodes and penchant for long-running, big-payoff gags made it the perfect match for the nascent binge-watch era, which is precisely why it won over so many fans after its original cancelation. But the new series faced daunting scheduling issues, thanks to the booming careers of its sprawling ensemble cast, which led to meandering episodes that focused on one character at a time rather than the ensemble pieces that had been the original show’s bread and butter. Will a new season be able to clear a similar hurdle? Arrested’s alumni certainly haven’t gotten any less busy: Tony Hale and Jeffrey Tambor have starring roles on Veep and Transparent, respectively; Jason Bateman's making movies; Portia de Rossi has a recurring role on Scandal; Alia Shawkat is readying herself for another season of TBS’s delightful Search Party. If the new season still has trouble getting all of these people in the same studio at the same time, it seems likely that Arrested Season 5 will suffer the same creative issues that muddled Season 4. At the very least, the show seems to be aware of what prevented it from hitting again last time—its official Twitter account broke the news of Arrested’s return with a message that indicates the new season will feature the Bluths “all together. Whether they like it or not.” Maybe, then, the show has learned from its past mistakes—and if nothing else, it’ll hopefully find a way to skewer the Donald Trump era just as mercilessly as it lampooned the presidency of George W. Bush. The rest of Hurwitz’s statement certainly seems like a step in the right direction: “I am so grateful to them and to 20th TV for making this dream of mine come true in bringing the Bluths, George Sr., Lucille and the kids; Michael, Ivanka, Don Jr., Eric, George-Michael, and who am I forgetting, oh Tiffany. Did I say Tiffany?—back to the glorious stream of life.” Do you have what it takes? Test your knowledge of the Seven Kingdoms with Vanity Fair ’s Game of Unknowns. Make your predictions ||||| 'Arrested Development' review: even better Photo: Mike Yarish, Netflix Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Image 1 of 5 Jason Bateman stars in the return of "Arrested Development" on Netflix. Jason Bateman stars in the return of "Arrested Development" on Netflix. Photo: Mike Yarish, Netflix Image 2 of 5 ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: Guest star Mary Lynn Rajskub (L) Jeffrey Tambor (C) and guest star John Slattery (R) in a scene from Netflix's "Arrested Development." ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT: Guest star Mary Lynn Rajskub (L) Jeffrey Tambor (C) and guest star John Slattery (R) in a scene from Netflix's "Arrested Development." Photo: Sam Urdank, Netflix Image 3 of 5 This undated publicity photo released by Netflix shows David Cross, left, and Portia de Rossi in a scene from "Arrested Development," premiering May 26, 2013 on Netflix. The sitcom, also starring Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, was canceled by Fox in 2006 after three seasons. (AP Photo/Netflix, Sam Urdank) less This undated publicity photo released by Netflix shows David Cross, left, and Portia de Rossi in a scene from "Arrested Development," premiering May 26, 2013 on Netflix. The sitcom, also starring Jason Bateman ... more Photo: Sam Urdank, Associated Press Image 4 of 5 Will Arnett stars in the return of "Arrested Development" on Netflix. Will Arnett stars in the return of "Arrested Development" on Netflix. Photo: Michael Yarish, Associated Press Image 5 of 5 Jason Bateman and Liza Minnelli in "Arrested Development." A slew of guest stars in recurring roles and cameos dots the fourth season. The show is returning after being on hiatus since '06. Jason Bateman and Liza Minnelli in "Arrested Development." A slew of guest stars in recurring roles and cameos dots the fourth season. The show is returning after being on hiatus since '06. Photo: Mike Yarish, Netflix 'Arrested Development' review: even better 1 / 5 Back to Gallery Arrested Development: Season four available for streaming on Netflix.com. OK, so where were we? "Arrested Development" is back after a hiatus that lasted too long for anyone who loves great television. And with the premiere of its fourth season Sunday on Netflix, it proves that there is still hope for sitcom genius from the TV industry, especially if it's created by Mitchell Hurwitz, narrated by Ron Howard and features one of the greatest ensemble casts of all time. With expectations as high as they are among "AD" fans, do the new episodes live up to those of the first three seasons which ended in 2006? Yes, and then some: The new season is not only as smart and absurdly funny as ever, but also reflects the rapid changes in how we watch television. Netflix and other new content providers get that people want to watch an episode of a show when they want to watch it. And if they want to watch two, give them two to watch. Three? Why not? For that matter, why not the entire "season"? Yes, you can do this with any television show, including those in a traditional weekly format whose full seasons are now available on platforms like Netflix and Hulu. But the fact that the new "AD" episodes are even more self-contained than those of the first three seasons makes them an even better fit for new content providers. Hurwitz gives each character his or her own episode in the early part of the new season. I don't mean that "Michael's 'Arrested Development' " features only Jason Bateman, but that the episode catches us up on how the character got from where he was in the third season to becoming a producer on a Ron Howard film about the Bluth family. Getting caught up When the show ended in 2006 with the episode titled "Development Arrested," it seemed at first as though Michael Bluth (Bateman) had finally succeeded in making his self-indulgent family's crooked business enterprise at least profitable enough to offer some hope for the future. But the episode ended with matriarch Lucille (Jessica Walter) commandeering the long-docked Queen Mary to escape the police boats, and Michael's alleged twin Lindsay (Portia de Rossi) learning she was actually adopted, which meant that Michael's son George Michael (Michael Cera) wasn't committing incest when he made out with his supposed cousin Maeby (Alia Shawkat). Michael's brother Gob, pronounced "Jobe" and played by Will Arnett, was about to unveil his Aztec Tomb magic trick, which served only as a temporary way for George Sr. (Jeffrey Tambor) to avoid the authorities. The eternally terrified Buster Bluth (Tony Hale) tumbled overboard and was confronted immediately by his greatest fear in life - a live seal - as Michael and George Michael happily sailed away into the sunset, leaving the rest of the clan to their own devices. The fourth season begins with an episode called "Flight of the Phoenix," which refers in the show's context to both the city of Phoenix and the online University of Phoenix. However, the myth of the phoenix is that it was a bird that rose from the ashes, and that pretty much describes the history of "Arrested Development" too. I don't want to spoil too much for anyone who didn't stay up all night binge-watching the 15 new episodes, but they quickly establish that while some things have changed, the Bluth family's craziness is as rampant as ever, and Michael has little hope of escaping them. The umbrella story arc has to do with getting the family together to testify on Lucille's behalf at her upcoming trial for stealing the Queen Mary. Meanwhile, George senior's twin, Oscar (both played by Tambor), has set up a sweat lodge on the U.S.-Mexican border that George commandeers and turns into something he calls "Sweat 'n Squeeze" - a way to con money out of rich guys. The compound includes "visitor yurts." A new start and cameos Lindsay goes off to India to find personal awakening but comes back with fake designer bags and a willingness to work on her marriage to Tobias. She instead falls for another guy whose girlfriend, DeBrie (Maria Bamford) had a brief role in a quickie film version of "The Fantastic Four." For his part, Tobias wants to make a new start. In fact, he orders specialized license plates announcing his new start. Except that the guy who once thought he could find success by combining being a therapist and an analyst, and advertised his trade as "Analrapist," comes up with a similar new word for his license plate, "Anustart." Among the many pleasures of watching the new episodes is spotting cameos. Between the guest stars in recurring roles and the cameos, it's as though everyone in Hollywood wanted to get in on the "Arrested Development" action. Guest stars include Kristen Wiig and Seth Rogen as younger versions of George and Lucille, as well as Christine Taylor, Liza Minnelli, Amanda de Cadenet, John Krasinski, James Lipton, Andy Richter, Isla Fisher, Ed Helms, Bernie Kopell, Max Winkler playing a young version of his dad Henry's role as Barry Zuckerhorn, Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw, John Slattery, Debra Mooney, Conan O'Brien, Brian Grazer, John Beard, Ron Howard (in addition to narrating) and the three guys from Comedy Central's "Workaholics," Adam DeVine, Blake Anderson and Anders Holm, as three extremely passive-aggressive airline ticket agents. OK, so when can we expect season five?

– Arrested Development will be back for a fifth season. Netflix, which revived the beloved sitcom for a fourth season in 2013, confirmed Wednesday that the series' fifth season will air on the streaming service in 2018. The original cast and creator Mitch Hurwitz are once again returning, Rolling Stone reports. Reaction so far is mixed; for example, Vanity Fair wonders whether a fifth season "can erase the memory of season 4."

In BBC film, Prince Harry seems to confirm Charles broke the news, and William says he was thankful for ‘the privacy to mourn’ Princes William and Harry have revealed how the Queen and Prince Charles sought to shield them for as long as possible from the hysteria that swept Britain 20 years ago after the death of their mother, Diana. In a BBC documentary due to be broadcast on Sunday, they recall how they were kept away from public view on the Queen’s Balmoral estate, knowing nothing of the extraordinary response throughout the country. “At the time, you know, my grandmother wanted to protect her two grandsons, and my father as well. Our grandmother deliberately removed the newspapers, and things like that, so there was nothing in the house at all. So we didn’t know what was going on,” William tells the makers of Diana, 7 Days. The second in line to the throne says he was thankful for “the privacy to mourn, to collect our thoughts, and to just have that space away from everybody”. The period of seclusion in Scotland, while members of the public placed an avalanche of flowers outside Diana’s Kensington Palace home and beneath the bare flagpole at Buckingham Palace, led at the time to a wave of public criticism of the royal family. The documentary, by the award-winning film-maker Henry Singer, charts the tumultuous week between Diana’s death in a Paris car crash and her Westminster Abbey funeral through interviews with politicians, family and friends. William and Harry speak of the effect of their mother’s death on their father, and appear to confirm that he broke the news to them. “One of the hardest things for a parent to have to do is tell your children that your other parent has died. How you deal with that, I don’t know,” says Harry. “But he was there for us. He was the one out of two left. And he tried to do his best and to make sure that we were protected and looked after. But he was going through the same grieving process as well.” In a series of high-profile interviews in the run-up to the 20th anniversary on 31 August, the brothers have spoken candidly about their grief, but until now have not spoken of their father’s role. They also reveal their struggle to balance public expectation with private grief. When the Queen, bowing to public pressure, returned early to London from Balmoral, the shocked and bewildered young princes, then 15 and 12, found themselves performing a walkabout in a weeping crowd, being grabbed by strangers with tear-soaked hands thrusting flowers at them. Deciding when the time was right to put on their “prince hat” and “game face” and be seen to mourn in public had been “a very hard decision for my grandmother to make”, says William. “She felt very torn between being the grandmother to William and Harry, and her Queen role. And I think she – everyone – was surprised and taken aback by the scale of what happened and the nature of how quickly it all happened.” Deciding whether Diana’s sons should walk behind her coffin was also difficult. “It wasn’t an easy decision,” says William. It was a collective family decision. “It was one of the hardest things I have ever done,” he adds, saying he put his head down and “hid behind my fringe”. “It was a very long and lonely walk.” Harry says: “I think it was a group decision. But before I knew it I found myself with a suit on, with a black tie and white shirt, and I was part of it. Generally, I don’t have an opinion on whether that was right or wrong. I’m glad I was part of it. Looking back on it now, I’m very glad I was part of it.” His comments contrast with an interview he gave to Newsweek in June in which he said “no child should have to do that under any circumstance”. In the documentary the brothers recall the silence of much of the walk, but also the wails of people in the crowd. William admits he could not then understand why strangers who did not know his mother “wanted to cry as loud as they did”. Now, looking back, he understands better the influence his mother had had. Both parents had taught them about duty and responsibility, says William, “but I have to say when it becomes that personal as walking behind your mother’s funeral cortege, it goes to another level of duty”. He felt his mother was “walking beside us to get us through”. As headlines complained about the Queen’s supposed lack of public emotion over Diana’s death, Tony Blair, then prime minister, and his communications chief, Alastair Campbell, sensed tensions rising. The Queen announced the union flag would fly at half-mast over Buckingham Palace for the funeral, and she and the Duke of Edinburgh met the grieving public at the palace. “You felt the tension lifting, you felt it straight away,” says Campbell of the walkabout. Blair believed the palace needed to make an extraordinary gesture to appease a public increasingly hostile towards the royals. There was the risk “that the country’s sense of loss turned to a sense of anger and grievance, and then turned against the monarchy”. The Queen, he says, “was obviously very sad about Diana, she was concerned about the monarchy itself”. He adds: “They needed to see her vulnerable as a person, and not simply vulnerable as a monarch.” Her unprecedented live broadcast in which she paid tribute to Diana, speaking as a queen “and a grandmother”, was crucial. She had needed to “bring the nation behind her”. “These were modern times. We were approaching the 21st century, and for the people of the country, including particularly the younger generations coming up, the old deference towards the monarchy wasn’t enough, and in some cases wasn’t there. So this respect had to be renewed in a new way,” Blair says. “I think by the end of that week we had come to almost a new settlement, if you like, between monarchy and people.” The Queen had shown that the royal family had the capacity to “adapt and adjust”. • Diana, 7 Days will air on BBC1 from 7.30pm on Sunday 27 August. ||||| Photo Illustration by Lisa Larson-Walker; photos by Cathal McNaughton/Reuters (Journalists), Thinkstock (baby) You’re a boy!! Photographers are no doubt right now bribing your parents for the privilege of being the first to cram their zoom lens between the bars of your crib. You’re not even hours old yet and you are a bigger celebrity than your rivals Suri, Blue Ivy, and North West. Life seems sweeter than breast milk, softer than that toy kangaroo the former Australian prime minister knitted for you. And it will stay that way until you turn, say 8 or 9, depending on how precocious you are, and you realize what a royal bummer it is to grow up as the royal heir. I herewith appoint myself the cranky commoner who will preview the five worst things about being you. Hanna Rosin Hanna Rosin is the founder of DoubleX and a writer for the Atlantic. She is also the author of The End of Men. Follow her on Twitter. 1. Heirdom is a burden. Being told at a very young age that you will be king or queen of a major European country seems unequivocally awesome to everyone but the person hearing the news. When she was 2 years old, Elizabeth was described by Winston Churchill as a “character. She has an air of reflectiveness astonishing in an infant.” Elizabeth was, in other words, born to be queen. Who knows how she actually reflected when she learned of her future? In 1969 a 20-year-old Prince Charles was asked when he first realized that he was heir to the throne. “I didn’t suddenly wake up in my pram and say, ‘Yippee!’ ” he said. “It’s something that dawns on you with the most ghastly inexorable sense …” His son Harry’s confusion on this lot in life was meticulously recorded by the press: He once told a boy at his kindergarten, “Mummy doesn’t go to Sainsbury’s—we have our own farm.” And when children asked why there was a man following him around, he said: “That’s my policeman.” 2. Your parents are very busy. Gone are the days when royal babies were raised entirely by staff, and saw their parents mostly for official viewings. The Duke of Windsor recalled in his memoir that his nanny used to bring him into the drawing room to spend an hour with his parents King George V and Queen Mary, and pinch him first because she didn’t like him and wanted his parents to think of him as a cry baby. (In the movie The King’s Speech, this incident was transposed to his brother.) Since Prince Charles—the first male royal present at a birthing—and Diana, the expectation is that royals will raise their children just like the rest of us. Diana took William on a monthlong tour of Australia and New Zealand when he was a year old because she did not want to be away from him, and she always insisted on taking William and Harry to amusement parks and fast-food restaurants because that’s what regular kids do. William and Kate have yet to hire a nanny, and publicly at least, they are approaching the endeavor like any new parents would; she is talking about breast-feeding, he about “long, sleepless nights.” But who are we kidding? It took Diana only a little while to realize that she wasn’t just another modern working mother but also one of the most sought after working mothers in the world. Now that the baby is born, Kate too will realize that being mother of the heir to the throne is a big step up from being the future king’s wife; you’re just way too busy to play hide the kangaroo every night. Sorry, kid. Advertisement 3. Your name might not be your name. When naming the future king or queen one apparently has to choose several names, all from a pretty narrow list, because the name should be from a former royal and also have no strong negative connotations. It’s all very fraught and weighted with meaning, and then as soon as he talks the child will probably totally disregard the name anyway and choose another random boring one from the list. Prince Harry’s real name is Henry Charles Albert David. Also, there is the business of the last name. It’s optional, which complicates, say, kindergarten roll call. 4. You’re a celebrity! As they waited for you to be born, the paparazzi were polite, issuing hourly updates from a Spice Girl’s Twitter feed and exhibiting uncharacteristic patience. But this won’t last. What they are really salivating for is a lifetime of pot-smoking and Nazi-costume parties—for that moment you say something as memorable to your paramour as, “I want to be reincarnated as a tampon and live inside your trousers forever.” When William went to boarding school at 13, the royal family made a deal with the press that they would not hound him and accept publicity photos, arguing that "Prince William is not an institution; nor a soap star; nor a football hero. He is a boy.” But that kind of lofty indignation does not work in the age of social media. Your roommate is just as likely to put up an embarrassing photo of you as the Daily Mail is. The best you can hope for is that your parents will be as good as Beyoncé and Jay Z are at pre-empting the press, putting up their own faux-revealing pics of you and teaching you how to do the same. ||||| 'All I Want to Do Is Make My Mother Incredibly Proud': Prince Harry on Diana and Why There Is 'A Lot of My Mother in Me' In an intimate interview, Prince Harry speaks to PEOPLE about wanting kids, bringing his Invictus Games to America and how his mother, Princess Diana, continues to inspire him. Subscribe now for an inside look into how the royal is finding his purpose, exclusively in PEOPLE!He lost his mom, Princess Diana , at age 12, but now Prince Harry is opening up about her profound influence."All I want to do is make my mother incredibly proud," he tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview in this week's cover story. "That's all I've ever wanted to do."Speaking in the Audience Room of Kensington Palace just before he set off for his Invictus Games in Orlando – on Wednesday he'll make a stop in Palm Beach, Fla., for a charity polo match – the royal, 31, reflected on the ways in which his late mom continues to inspire him."When she died, there was a gaping hole, not just for us but also for a huge amount of people across the world," he says. "If I can try and fill a very small part of that, then job done. I will have to, in a good way, spend the rest of my life trying to fill that void as much as possible. And so will William ."To read the full interview with Prince Harry, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands FridayIn the wide-ranging interview heading into the second Invictus Games – more than 500 athletes are expected to compete from around the world May 8-12 – Prince Harry also spoke about his own military experience , his thoughts on fatherhood (yes, he wants kids, but there's "no rush!") and his memories of visiting Disney World as a kid with his mom and older brother. He says he doesn't consciously model himself on how his mother carried out her charitable work. "I enjoy what I do. But I don't do things because I feel as though my mother would want me to do them." • Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter. And yet, he says, "I know I've got a lot of my mother in me. I am doing a lot of things that she would probably do." Harry also spoke about how his own military experience spurred him to create Invictus as a way of supporting his fellow service members. Despite being well trained and flying a multi-million dollar Apache helicopter during his second tour of Afghanistan in 2012-13, the former British Army captain talks about how powerless he felt as he flew missions to save lives. "You turn up and you think you're invincible in a super-duper aircraft, but you're helpless," he says. "Then I come back and I say, 'How can I use my name and that spotlight to the best effect?' " Creating the Games, he notes, was "almost like a cure for that pain I had back then."Tickets for the Orlando Games can be purchased here

– "Is there any one of the royal family who wants to be king or queen? I don’t think so," comes the answer from a person you might not expect: Prince Harry. But in an interview with Newsweek, the 32-year-old assures that "we will carry out our duties at the right time." Prince William's younger brother says the Windsors are attempting to "modernize the British monarchy … not for ourselves but for the greater good of the people." To that end, the Telegraph trumpets Harry's line, "Even if I was king, I would do my own shopping." (He is fifth in line to the throne, after William's kids.) Harry says he attempts to have as ordinary life as possible and adds, "If I am lucky enough to have children, they can have one too.” But Harry, who has fought to protect his privacy and that of his American actress girlfriend, Meghan Markle, admits to worrying that "someone will snap me with their phone" as he steps away from his supermarket's meat counter. He calls it a "tricky balancing act" to avoid diluting "the magic" of Team Royal by seeming too ho-hum. Yet the ginger-haired blueblood credits Princess Diana with showing him how the other half lives. "Thank goodness," he says. Of the iconic image of Harry, then 12, and his brother following their mother's coffin through the London streets nearly 20 years ago, Harry says, "I don’t think any child should be asked to do that, under any circumstances." (Princess Di's death led to "total chaos" for Harry.)

A 17th-century sailor’s confession about a rape, of which he became so ashamed that he sought to cover it up for ever, has been exposed by conservation workers who discovered the note hidden under a rewritten version in his journal. The confession went unseen for more than 300 years because the sailor pasted his second account so neatly over the top of the original that scholars missed it. Edward Barlow’s lavishly illustrated journal of his extraordinary life is now held at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich. The farm worker’s son joined the navy as a child, sailed as a teenager on the same ship as Samuel Pepys to bring Charles II back to England, survived several shipwrecks and captivity, and eventually rose to become a captain. Maritime museum in choppy waters for offering superyacht owners art advice Read more He began the journal when taken prisoner in the Dutch East Indies in 1671, and continued it when he got safely back to England. He originally wrote an excruciatingly frank account of his rape of Mary Symons, a young female servant in a house where he was lodging, an encounter he admitted was “much against her will, for indeed she was asleep but being gotten into the bed I could not easily be persuaded out again, and I confess that I did more than what was lawful or civil, but not in that manner that I could ever judge or, in the least, think that she should prove with child, for I take God to witness I did not enter her body, all though I did attempt something in that nature”. Barlow inserted a line of warning: “I found by her that women’s wombs are of an attractive quality and dangerous for a young man to meddle with.” He continued that though he wrote “a loving letter”, he wanted to “forget her and blot her out of my remembrance … as I had done with some before”. However, when his ship returned to England from Jamaica, he agreed to meet Symons and found her “weeping most pitifully and saying she was undone”. Against the advice of friends urging him that he had a good chance of finding a rich wife, Barlow married her in Deal, “a very decent marriage where we had several people of good repute”. The union celebrated with a two-day party that cost him £10. Their child was stillborn while Barlow was at sea, but they went on to have several more children and, despite initial doubts, he heaped praise on his wife: “Had I searched England over for a mate I could not have met with one more obliging and ready to do any thing that should give me content.” It was Paul Cook, a senior paper conservator at the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, who spotted the newly pasted page and exposed Barlow’s shame. Cook was told the manuscriptwas “a problem” when he joined the museum in 1985. The document was bought at a country house sale in the early 20th century and partly published by the scholar Basil Lubbock, who then presented it to the museum. Facebook Twitter Pinterest A page from Edward Barlow’s journal, written between 1659 and 1703. Photograph: Jon Stokes/National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London He has spent nine years working on it, reversing the damage caused by previous attempted repairs. The final effort in the 1970s, using a technique Cook says was then widely accepted, involved pasting a fine silk gauze to strengthen the pages – but it was in fact damaging Barlow’s illustrations, including battles at sea and a shark devouring a naked man, whales, an elephant and a rhinoceros. Cook became the first person in more than 300 years to read Barlow’s original words, hidden under the rewritten version, which included the weeping woman on the shore but omitted the account of the rape. Instead, Barlow wrote: “I had in part promised her at London that I would marry her … having had a little more than ordinary familiarity with her”. Roberth Blyth, a senior curator at Greenwich, who has included pages from the journal in the Tudor and Stuart navy gallery opening this week, thinks Barlow probably came back from sea, reread his journal and was horrified at how honest he had been. “By then, he is a respectably married man, with a house and children, and he must have thought: ‘is this really the account I wish to leave of myself to history? With every voyage there’s a chance I may never return, and is this what I want my children to read about their mother?’” Barlow’s spelling and punctuation are erratic, but the handwriting is beautiful, swirling across tightly ruled lines on high-quality paper, which Blyth thinks must have been pilfered from stores. “The official account is that he learned to read and write while a prisoner, where he certainly would have had time to start a journal, but that is what is technically known as bollocks,” Blyth said. “Nobody ever taught themselves to write like that – he must already have been at least partly literate, which was rare enough for an ordinary seaman.” Fate caught up on Barlow in 1706, when the ship he finally commanded, the Liampo, was wrecked off Mozambique. His bequests included a silver supper dish, two cups, four small teaspoons – and a secret that would be kept for centuries. • Pages from Barlow’s journal and a digitised version of the manuscript will go on display for the first time at the National Maritime Museum in one of four galleries opening on 20 September. ||||| Many people in Manchester will have heard the name of Edward Barlow, Ambrose Edward Barlow, born at Barlow Hall, now Chorlton Golf Club, martyred for his Catholic Beliefs in 1641 at Lancaster. But there is another Edward Barlow, born just a year after the death of Ambrose, whose life path would take a very different path. This Edward Barlow born in Whitefield in 1642 and who sailed the seven seas between 1659-1703. We know of his life because he kept a journal and it is unique in that it is as far we know the only narrative from an ordinary sailor in the restoration period who worked his way up to be captain of a merchant ship. One of six children, his father was a farm labourer and the young Edward supplemented the family income fetching horse loads of coal for which he received 2d per load. He tried his hand as a farmer’s boy, a bleacher in a cotton mill According to his journal, he told his friends at the age of sixteen that they would see him no more during one holiday. Thinking that he was bluffing, he proved them wrong, putting on his best clothes and running off to sea. His journal pictures the scene, in one of its early entries, entitled running away from my father’s house in the Whitefeld, his mother stands beckoning her hand calling him back. He became an apprentice seaman on board HMS Naseby, the flagship of Admiral Montague He appears to have travelled the world, fighting against Barbary pirates under the command of Lord Sandwich in 1661 and fighting the Dutch off the coast of Lowestoft in 1665, when the Dutch flagship famously blew up, a campaign brilliantly depicted by Barlow in his journal by a magnificent water colour of the scene. He travelled to Brazil, Portugal and China, served as a merchant on an East India Company boat and carried herring from the Clyde to the Mediterranean He was captured by the Dutch in Batavia, (modern day Indonesia) in 1673, which is where he wrote up the first installment of life story brought home in a leaky Dutch vessel . Three years later he is in Marseille over Christmas where he writes: Having put all our goods on shore that we were to deliver [to Marseilles], we walked ashore being Christmas, to take our recreation and see all about the town, which is a place of very good buildings and a pretty large town or city, where all things are very plentiful, both for meat and drink. They have a very good wine of several sorts and very cheap, especially a red wine, which is a king of wine much like to claret, only a clearer red and better wine to drink.” Food often featured in his diary, whilst a prisoner of the Dutch he wrote that “instead of good pies and roast meat, we were content with a little boiled rice and a piece of stinking beef, which they gave us three days in the week, and a quart of stinking water to drink for a day, the weather being exceeding hot.” While he also gives a lesson in the eating of turtle eggs “[Turtle’s] eggs are not so good as the flesh of them, it being very good and wholesome and very sweet, making excellent good broth. Their eggs are not like hens” eggs, but are as round as a ball, and their shell is white, and a kind of tough thick skin over them, but when the shell is dry it will break like another egg shell Man overboard was an oft heard cry about the ships and Barlow would often write of such occurrences it [was] blowing pretty hard and some of our men going up into the foretop to reef our fore topsail [reduce its size to increase stability of the ship], a young youth fell from the fore topsail yard into the sea, and was drowned, yet he could swim pretty well, but the ship driving away, and hoisting out ye boat, and it blowing very hard, the boat looked for him but could not find him, for the waves running high had swallowed him up and he was lost.”5 He would often comment on the differing nationalities that he met, the men of Lisbon were according to him “fiercely jealous and would not allow any stranger to come close to their wives”. Nor did the Spaniards allow their wives any freedom.The men “ were very proud, even if not worth a groat and with hardly victuals to put in his belly, yet he will have asword by his side and a cloak upon his back.” The 225,000-word journal, preserved in a joint of bamboo sealed with wax from the rigours of shipborne life, in some ways paints a dark picture of life on board a seventeenth century ship, the suffering of hunger, violent punishments, and fundamental lack of liberty. “ The best literary study of Barlow’s journal classifies him as an outstanding example of the mobile consciousness of early modern England’s working poor”, wrote Steve Mentz. Indeed Edward would in his journal, advise young men to follow any trade apart from going to sea where they would suffer, “ abuse, hardships and a life little better than a slave going with many a hungry belly and a wet back.” .He added that the injustices made England the worst kingdom in all of Christendom for seaman. Yet we should not forget the magnificence of the journal, Barlow improved as an artist as the years went on, sketching and later using watercolors to depict harbours, ships and animals. He appeared to enjoy depicting wildlife in particular, drawing a shark which he describes as the most “ raucous fish that swims in the sea.” He would draw gulls catching flying fish as well as an elephant and a Rhinoceros. How the journal came to be published is something of a mystery.It was written neatly on foolscap sheets and transcribed and edited by Basil Lubbock who boiught the mauscript from the Earl of Hardwicke. It had previous to that resided in the library of Sidney Lodge in Hampshire, once the home of vice admiral Sydney Yorke but the family had no idea how the manuscript had come to be there. Some have claimed that it is fake, questioning how an untutored sailor could have taught himself to write, been supplied with all the ink and kept in such good condition while at sea.Experts have studied it and believe it to be genuine, its style of writing consonant with that of contemporary sea journals. ||||| Get Daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email They were a young couple with everything ahead of them. Sinead Connett and Jonathan Layfield were young, had promising careers and loving families to support them. But the smiles on their wedding day masked an awful truth. Both held dark secrets involving lies, deception, lust and the tragic, still unexplained death of an unwanted baby. Sinead was yesterday jailed for a year for hiding her unwanted, newborn son's body in a drain at her parents home in Scartho Road in Grimsby. A judge said the career-driven HR executive was a 'callous, lying and calculating' woman who had robbed her newborn son of his dignity when he died at childbirth. She had wrapped him in bin liners and put him in the drain after keeping his body in the boot of her car for at least two days. The Grimsby Telegraph can also reveal at the same time Connett was hiding her pregnancy from everyone she knew, including her partner, he was in a “sexualised” relationship a 16-year-old pupil at the school where he taught. Within months both of their awful secrets would be exposed. Layfield’s relationship was uncovered, ending his teaching career, while Connett’s gruesome attempt to hide their dead baby was finally revealed. For Connett her attempt to cover up the truth would lead to court. A story that the baby was the result of being raped by a taxi driver on a work night out was a lie. (Image: Twitter) And her boyfriend would be forced to quit his job before being banned from teaching and branded a “risk to students” by the authorities. The shocking result of their combined actions was a world away from their lives just a few years earlier. Connett, the bright young daughter of two teachers, Stuart and Anne, had moved to the University of Leeds from Grimsby in 2008. There she met Layfield, the smiling, cheerful Grammar school educated student from the Dorset seaside town of Poole. When they graduated they set up home together to Bedfordshire where Connett started work in Human Resources with Tesco in St Albans while Layfield was appointed as a history teacher at Vandyke Upper School in nearby Leighton Buzzard. But the promising start to their new life together soon started to unravel. In July 2012 Layfield started sending “inappropriate” emails to a 16-year-old student. The emails would soon become sexual with Layfield fantasising about how he would have sex with the girl. Just a few months later in October 2013, Connett fell pregnant with Layfield’s baby. It was a baby she never wanted. She and Layfield had discussed having children but had no plans to start a family. Colleagues has described Connett as ambitious in her job and her own mother would say her daughter was “career minded” with little interest in starting a family. Connett kept the pregnancy secret from her partner, parents, friends and colleagues. In May, on a trip home, she visited an abortion clinic in the Grimsby area but was told she had passed 28-weeks, so she could not receive the procedure. For the next four months, Connett continued to conceal the pregnancy. The only time her partner Layfield, still embroiled in his own illicit relationship with a schoolgirl, noticed any change in her condition was when the two travelled to Turkey in the week before she would give birth. He noticed Connett had been ill during the trip and “bloated”. Connett made no plans for the baby, seeking no medical help and buying just one baby grow ahead of the birth she knew was coming. On August 6 or 7 2013 when Layfield was at work, Connett gave birth to their baby son in the bath of their modern flat in St Albans. She would later tell police the baby was not breathing and she tried to resuscitate him, remaining in the bath for an hour. Only Connett knows what happened in those minutes and hours after the baby was born. Two or three days later, Connett, with the baby’s body in the boot of the car – wrapped only in a towel – drove two and a half hours north to her parents’ home in Grimsby. She knew her parents were on holiday when she made the trip. Arriving at the home in Scartho Road, she removed the baby from her car, and carried it to an area concealed from the garden path by a small wall and trees. Wrapping the baby in three bin liners and trying them up, she then lifted the heavy iron cover and carefully lowered her son into the drain. She then drove home to St Albans. Back at home, Connett and Layfield appear to have continued life as normal. But whether Connett knew of his own deceit, it would soon become known in humiliating detail just a few short months later. Layfield’s obsession with the young school student was exposed in March 2014 when her parents discovered the truth. Confronted by the school, Layfield admitted the relationship. He was immediately suspended, quit in May and, at a Professional Conduct Panel in November, was disqualified from teaching. In its ruling, the panel said Layfield had engaged in a “sexualised” and “inappropriate relationship” with the girl and said he continued to “pose a risk to female students”. Layfield can only reapply to be a teacher in November 2019 but remains barred from teaching “indefinitely”. Following his departure in disgrace from his first job in teaching, Connett and Layfield moved to a new home in Hertford. Around the same time, Connett’s parents back in Grimsby started to become aware of problems with drainage from their downstairs toilet. In February 2016 they called in a local plumber who, believing the problem was branches encroaching into an outside drain, used metal rods and then a shovel to try to clear the blockage from an outside drain. Eventually, the plumber and Mr Connett recovered what appeared to be a bag from the drain. Wearing gloves, Mr Connett pulled back a black bin liner to reveal the top of a baby’s head. Unknown to him, the body was his grandson. Police and crime scene investigators were called in and within a few weeks DNA tests revealed Sinead Connett was the mother and Layfield the father. Connett, who despite the discovery, had not admitted any responsibility, would eventually admit to police the baby was hers, but insist it was as the result of a rape by a taxi driver she had taken a lift from on a night out. She hid the pregnancy she claimed because the baby would have led to the end of her relationship with Layfield. Her lies were exposed by police instigations which found she had not been on a night out on the day she claimed. Connett eventually admitted she had concealed her pregnancy and hidden the body. Video Loading Video Unavailable Click to play Tap to play The video will start in 8 Cancel Play now She has always maintained she was not responsible for the baby’s death. Pathologists were unable to establish whether the baby was born alive and whether injuries found on the infant’s body were not inflicted accidentally during it’s retrieval from the drain. Tellingly, in interviews with police, there are references to Connett repeatedly saying she was worried about the “reputational damage” the case could cause to her. “The officer in the case” said the case prosecutor, Jeremey Evans, “remarked at her lack of remorse and concern for her baby son”. In the middle of the police investigation in November 2016, as the horrific truth began to emerge, Connett and Layfield were married. Wedding pictures show the couple full of smiles and joy, families and friends with them to share their seemingly happy day. As they toasted the life they would lead together, she taking her new husband’s surname, their baby son lay in a morgue, still unclaimed, nine months after it had been found.

– The elegant script and color illustrations of Edward Barlow's 225,000-word diary documenting the 17th-century sailor's life at sea have been admired for some 300 years. Hidden beneath was his darkest secret: a note providing what the Guardian calls an "excruciatingly frank account" of his rape of Mary Symons, a female servant in a house in which he was staying. He would eventually marry her. "She was asleep but being gotten into the bed I could not easily be persuaded out again, and I confess that I did more than what was lawful or civil, but not in that manner that I ... think that she should prove with child," he wrote. "I take God to witness I did not enter her body, all though I did attempt something in that nature." The note was uncovered by Paul Cook, a senior paper conservator at London's National Maritime Museum. He has worked to repair the diary over the last nine years and discovered a rewritten account had been carefully pasted over the first. It made no mention of the earlier rape. Barlow—who would go on to describe his wife as "obliging and ready to do any thing that should give me content"—instead wrote that "I had in part promised her at London that I would marry her … having had a little more than ordinary familiarity with her." As Barlow became a husband, father, and captain, per About Manchester, NMM curator Roberth Blyth suspects he grew to regret how forthcoming he had been and appreciate the risk of leaving that account behind for his family to read. Thanks to his handiwork, Barlow's secret was kept long after his ship went down off Mozambique in 1706.

Financial industry groups and Democratic lawmakers are concerned that Republicans’ forthcoming tax-reform bill could make a big change to the taxing of retirement funds. Stakeholders say they’ve heard that Republicans are considering significantly lowering the amount of money people can tuck into their traditional 401(k) plans on a pretax basis. Currently, people under the age of 50 can contribute up to $18,000 annually to their traditional 401(k) plans. Those contributions are paid before taxes, meaning people don’t pay taxes on the money until they pull it out of their account. The potential change that people following the tax bill are hearing about would lower the maximum annual contribution to $2,400. Amounts over $2,400 could be put into Roth 401(k)s, where the money is taxed upfront but not when it’s withdrawn. It’s unclear how seriously lawmakers are considering reducing the cap on pretax contributions to 401(k)s. But industry groups are worried that dramatically lowering it would reduce the amount that people save for their retirement. Jill Hoffman, vice president of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, said that this option is “something that’s a cause of great concern” both for those managing retirement plans and for those who are recipients. The tax framework congressional GOP leaders and the White House released last month said that legislation would retain tax benefits that encourage retirement security and that lawmakers were encouraged to simplify the benefits. “Tax reform will aim to maintain or raise retirement plan participation of workers and the resources available for retirement,” the document states. Emily Schillinger, a spokeswoman for House Ways and Means Committee Republicans, said that “members are developing pro-growth tax reform policies that will encourage and support retirement savings for all Americans.” Lowering the cap on pretax contributions would raise revenue in the short-term, which would help lawmakers pay for lowering tax rates. Under the budget resolution that Senate Republicans approved Thursday, a tax-reform bill can’t add more than $1.5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years. But critics of a reduction in the 401(k) limit say that so-called “Rothification” is a budget gimmick that would raise revenue temporarily, but lower it in the long run. While employers can currently give workers the option of choosing between traditional 401(k)s or “Roth” accounts, most workers choose the former, where the money is deposited on a pretax basis. According to the Investment Company Institute (ICI), about 55 million Americans participate in 401(k) plans, and the plans hold about $5 trillion in assets. The group found that 80 percent of households with 401(k)s and other types of defined-contribution retirement plans think the tax treatment of the plans is a big motivator for contributing. ICI, Financial Services Roundtable, the AARP and other groups have formed a coalition called Save Our Savings in order to fight to protect retirement savings in the tax-reform debate. A person who works closely with the coalition said that there’s a fear that if Congress caps pretax contributions at $2,400, “then $2,400 becomes the new default.” “That’s devastating for long-term retirement security,” the person added. David Gray, senior vice president of workplace retirement plan solutions at Fidelity, said if Congress decides to move in the direction of limiting pretax contributions, the cap should be $9,000 annually or more, rather than $2,400. He also said that Congress should “enhance and expand” the current saver’s credit that low- and middle-income households can take for making contributions to retirement plans. “From our perspective, we are supportive of a pro-growth, pro-investor package, and we understand Congress may need to look at some pay-fors for that tax reform,” Gray said. “We believe that any tax-reform proposal that impacts retirement savings needs to maintain the policy goal of encouraging and enhancing savings.” The financial industry broadly supports tax reform and is trying to talk with lawmakers about the potential consequences of curbing pretax retirement contributions. The Save Our Savings coalition is holding a fly-in with CEOs and other leaders on Nov. 1. Besides industry groups, Republicans’ consideration of a cap on pretax retirement contributions has garnered pushback from Democratic lawmakers. A Wall Street Journal article Friday on the potential cap prompted a quick response from Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerFacebook reeling after damning NYT report Schumer warns Trump to stay out of government funding negotiations Schumer predicts Nelson will 'continue being senator' if 'every vote counted' MORE (D-N.Y.). “Republicans are so determined to cut taxes on the wealthy that they're willing to tax the retirement accounts of millions of middle class Americans,” Schumer said in a statement. “The GOP’s total devotion to millionaires and billionaires comes at the expense of every family using a 401(k) to save for a decent retirement.” Last month, following reports that "Rothification" was under discussion, Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee and Senate Finance Committee spoke out in letters to GOP congressional leaders and Trump administration officials. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in early September pushed back on the idea that Republicans want to tax 401(k)s. “Why would you punish people when they’re actually saving for their own retirement and they’re not looking to government?” he said in an interview on the Fox Business Network. “You want to incentivize that even further. Don’t punish people who actually save their own money.” ||||| Proposals to cap the amount that Americans can contribute before taxes to 401(k) plans and individual retirement accounts are unsettling professionals in the retirement industry. Congressional Republicans are looking for ways to generate revenue to support broad reductions in individual tax rates. One idea is to limit the amount of pretax money households can sock away for retirement saving. Such a move would likely generate significant political blowback, but it hasn’t been explicitly ruled out, stirring worry among industry lobbyists. Many opponents say any plan that cuts contribution limits would slow the growth of the asset-management industry. Members of the House Ways and Means Committee are widely expected to release a version of the tax bill by mid-November. Specifics on a wide range of issues remain unclear. Emily Schillinger, a spokeswoman for the Ways and Means Committee, declined to comment. Lobbyists and others in the retirement and financial-services industries who have spoken to congressional staff and committee members say lawmakers are looking at proposals that would allow 401(k) participants to contribute significantly less before taxes than what is currently allowed in a traditional tax-deferred 401(k). An often mentioned amount is $2,400 a year. It isn’t clear whether that would apply only to 401(k)s or IRAs or both. Currently, employees under age 50 can save up to $18,000 a year in a 401(k) before taxes, while those 50 or older can set aside up to $24,000. In an IRA, the annual contribution limits are capped at $5,500 and $6,500 for the same age groupings. The 401(k) limits are scheduled to rise to $18,500 and $24,500 in 2018. Dave Gray, a senior vice president at Fidelity Investments, said a $2,400 limit would give the company a significant concern and would essentially require trade-offs between the certainty of the immediate deduction and the prospect of tax-free retirement income. Mr. Gray, speaking Friday at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, said that implementing such a system would be extremely difficult and could take the industry 12 to 24 months to implement. There are two basic types of retirement accounts. With a traditional 401(k) or IRA, account holders generally get to subtract their contributions from their income. But they must pay ordinary income taxes on the money when they withdraw it, typically in retirement when many people are in a lower tax bracket. With the second variety, called a Roth 401(k) or Roth IRA, there is no upfront tax deduction but the money increases tax-free. Under some of the proposals being floated, contributions above the amount set for tax-deferred savings would have to go into a Roth account. The change wouldn’t affect existing balances in traditional 401(k)s and IRAs, those people said, and it is likely that any matching contribution from an employer would continue to go into a tax-deferred 401(k) account. Congress’s goal in making the switch is to reduce a tax break that is projected to cut federal revenue by $115.3 billion this fiscal year so the money can be used to pay for lower tax rates. The switch could boost government revenue over the next decade, the period when the tax bill will likely face a $1.5 trillion cost constraint. Shifting to Roth-style accounts would move tax revenue from the future to the near term. That would help Republicans meet budgetary targets now but could cause problems with a requirement that prevents the tax bill from expanding long-run deficits if they want to pass a bill without Democratic votes under a fast-track process. With the aim of targeting retirement-tax incentives more directly at the middle class, lawmakers may also make changes to an underused tax credit that acts like a government match to retirement savings. If lawmakers enact these changes, many savers will face a choice between maintaining their current savings rate or their current take-home pay. The sacred cows of the tax code—including breaks for home mortgage interest and state and local taxes—are being challenged. WSJ's Richard Rubin explains. with real cows. Photo/Illustration: Heather Seidel/The Wall Street Journal For example, someone in the 25% income-tax bracket who puts $1,000 into a traditional 401(k) today would save $250 in taxes, reducing take-home pay by a net amount of $750. But if forced to put $1,000 in a Roth account, take-home pay would decline by the full $1,000, because there was no tax deduction. The advantage is that there would be no taxes due when the money is removed later from the retirement account. When the White House unveiled the outline of its tax-overhaul plan in April, officials promised to preserve existing tax breaks for retirement plans. A more detailed plan released by the White House and congressional leaders in September pledged to retain “tax benefits that encourage work, higher education and retirement security” but left open the possibility of changes to “simplify these benefits to improve their efficiency and effectiveness.” Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) said he was skeptical about the idea of lower pretax deferrals for retirement savings. Mr. Portman said Thursday that he didn’t want to make the decision just for revenue reasons. “I’m deeply concerned about it,” he said. “I don’t think you want to disincentivize retirement savings in any way right now.” In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) criticized the idea of capping pretax contributions to retirement savings accounts. “Republicans are so determined to cut taxes on the wealthy that they’re willing to tax the retirement accounts of millions of middle-class Americans,” he said. “The GOP’s total devotion to millionaires and billionaires comes at the expense of every family using a 401(k) to save for a decent retirement.” Americans have saved about $7.5 trillion in 401(k)-type accounts, plus $8.4 trillion in individual retirement accounts, according to the Investment Company Institute, a trade group for mutual funds. But some researchers say a significant percentage of Americans haven’t saved enough to maintain their standard of living in retirement. Industry groups have an incentive to keep the status quo and are trying to preserve the tax benefits of the current system. This year, AARP joined with groups representing employers and asset managers—including Fidelity Investments, T. Rowe Price Group Inc. and TIAA—to form Save Our Savings Coalition to lobby for the existing tax treatment of retirement plans. “Asset managers tend to not like the Roth approach,” says Shai Akabas, director of economic policy at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, which is studying the potential impact on saving rates of a Roth switch. Because taxes are taken out at the beginning, he said, assets in retirement accounts, and the fees these companies collect on them, are likely to be lower. Write to Anne Tergesen at anne.tergesen@wsj.com and Richard Rubin at richard.rubin@wsj.com ||||| On the individual side, the plan would collapse the tax brackets from seven to three, with tax rates of 12 percent, 25 percent and 35 percent, the president said. The current top rate is 39.6 percent and the lowest rate is 10 percent. The framework also gives Congress the option of creating a higher, fourth, rate above 35 percent in the tax plan to ensure that the wealthy are paying their fair share. The plan aims to simplify and cut taxes for the middle class by doubling the standard deduction to $12,000 for individuals and to $24,000 for married couples filing jointly. That would allow people to avoid a complicated process of itemizing their taxes to claim various credits and deductions. It would increase the child tax credit from $1,000 to an unspecified amount, and create a new $500 tax credit for non-child dependents, such as the elderly. Provisions such as the alternative minimum tax and the estate tax, a levy on inherited wealth that Mr. Trump has derided for years, would be gone under the Republican proposal. The proposal calls for reducing the corporate tax rate to 20 percent from 35 percent, a shift that supporters say is needed to make American companies more competitive with their counterparts around the world. A new tax rate of 25 percent would also be created for so-called pass-through businesses, such as partnerships and sole proprietorships, which are currently taxed at the rate of their owners. About 95 percent of businesses in the United States are structured as pass-throughs and they generate a majority of the government’s corporate tax revenue. “This will be the lowest top marginal income tax rate for small and midsize businesses in this country in more than 80 years,” Mr. Trump said. While Republican leaders claim to be united on the tax plan, they must now sell it to lawmakers who have been deeply divided this year. The push began at a House Republican retreat on Wednesday at Fort McNair in Washington, where Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, the Republican chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, walked members through the blueprint and talked about the importance of coming together to fix the tax code. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Later, in a hopeful sign for Republican leaders fretting privately about keeping their rank and file together, the conservative Freedom Caucus, whose members have derailed the party’s initiatives with hard-line demands, issued a statement of support calling the plan “forward looking” and pledging to back the party’s budget designed to ensure its passage. The political stakes are high for a president who is desperate to score a legislative win before his first year in office draws to a close. Mr. Trump, who has eschewed the advocacy tours that his predecessors have used to build support for their top domestic priorities, made a rare direct appeal to voters during his speech, imploring them to call their representatives and senators and demand action on the tax proposal. “Let them know you’re watching,” Mr. Trump said. “Let them know you’re waiting.” In an apparent nod to the harsh political realities the tax plan faces, Mr. Trump made an explicit overture to Democrats to support the plan. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. “Democrats and Republicans in Congress should come together, finally, to deliver this giant win for the American people,” Mr. Trump said. But behind the scenes, Republican congressional leaders and senior White House officials have discussed bypassing Democrats and using special budget rules that would allow them to get the bill through Congress on a simple majority vote. And Mr. Trump paired his scripted talk of bipartisanship with an impromptu threat to Senator Joe Donnelly, Democrat of Indiana, saying he would personally work to defeat the senator’s re-election bid next year if he does not fall into line on the tax plan. “If Senator Donnelly doesn’t approve it — because, you know, he’s on the other side — we will come here, we will campaign against him like you wouldn’t believe,” Mr. Trump said as Mr. Donnelly looked on from the audience. Conservatives cheered the plan as a bold and long-awaited step to spur economic growth, while Democratic leaders condemned it as an irresponsible boon to the rich. And some budget watchdogs expressed worry about the long-term impact of a plan they said could cost more than $2 trillion over a decade. Mr. Trump, who has broken with precedent for modern American presidents by refusing to release his tax returns, insisted that wealthy people like him would not benefit — an assertion that seemed improbable for a man who runs a family-owned real estate empire and whose children stand to inherit vast sums. “Tax reform will protect low-income and middle-income households, not the wealthy and well-connected,” Mr. Trump said, framing a proposal that would affect hundreds of millions of Americans in terms of his own self-interest. “I’m doing the right thing, and it’s not good for me, believe me.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Democrats scoffed. “If this framework is all about the middle class, then Trump Tower is middle-class housing,” said Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee. “It violates Trump’s tax pledge that the rich would not gain at all under his plan by offering sweetheart deals for powerful C.E.O.s, giveaways for campaign coffers and a new way to cheat taxes for Mar-a-Lago’s loyal members.” As with the individual side, some of the thornier business tax issues remain unaddressed. It will be left to Congress to create safeguards that prevent wealthy individuals from incorporating as pass-through businesses, which would tax their income at a lower rate. Most itemized deductions, including those widely used for state and local tax expenses, would also be eliminated, along with most of the tax credits that businesses use. However, the plan would preserve the deductions for mortgage interest expenses and charitable giving and keep incentives for education and retirement savings plans, as well as preserve the tax credits for research and development and low-income-housing on the business side. Another big change for companies would be a limitation of the deductibility for corporate interest expenses, in exchange for the opportunity to immediately expense business investments. The ability to immediately write off these expenses would last only five years, and the limitations for deducting interest have yet to be determined. Perhaps the most significant, yet murky, shift is the move from a worldwide tax system to a territorial tax system for multinational corporations. In theory, this means that companies would not be taxed on their overseas earnings. But to prevent erosion of the tax base, Republicans plan to impose some form of tax on foreign profits. The transition to the new system would also include a one-time repatriation tax at yet-to-be-determined rates to encourage companies to bring offshore profits back home. Administration officials did not provide a cost estimate for the plan. Members of the Senate Budget Committee have agreed on a budget resolution that would allow for a $1.5 trillion tax cut over 10 years. Studies of similar plans produced by Mr. Trump and House Republicans have been projected to cost $3 trillion to $7 trillion over a decade. Republicans say economic growth will compensate for lost revenue. Senator Patrick J. Toomey, a Pennsylvania Republican who sits on the Finance Committee, said he was confident that a growing economy would pay for the tax cuts. “This tax plan will be deficit reducing,” Mr. Toomey said.

– Multiple sources say Republican lawmakers may be setting their sights on Americans' retirement accounts to pay for tax cuts, specifically to the business tax rate. The New York Times reports Republicans are expected to release a tax reform plan sometime in the next few weeks, and that plan could include a drastic reduction in the amount of money workers are allowed to put into 401(k) accounts. Workers are currently allowed to contribute $18,000 annually to 401(k) accounts ($24,000 if they're over 50 years old), but sources say Republicans are considering capping contributions at $2,400 annually. It's unclear if the cap would also apply to IRAs, which are currently limited to $5,500 annually ($6,500 for workers over 50), according to the Wall Street Journal. The idea is that because income put into a 401(k) or IRA isn't taxed until it's withdrawn years later, lowering contributions would generate immediate tax revenue for the government—an estimated $115 billion in 2018. But that represents less than 8% of the tax cut planned by Republicans, and industry groups worry it will reduce the amount of money Americans save for retirement. One person working to preserve retirement savings during the tax reform process tells the Hill capping contributions at $2,400 could be "devastating for long-term retirement security." It would also likely be massively unpopular with middle-class workers. “Republicans are so determined to cut taxes on the wealthy that they’re willing to tax the retirement accounts of millions of middle-class Americans,” Sen. Chuck Schumer says.

In June 1995, a van crashed in Greensville County, Virginia, killing the two people inside. The driver was a 21-year-old student named Michael Hager. The passenger was a young man carrying no identification. His face was significantly injured in the crash, so the only images of his face available were artistic reconstructions. In his pocket, two ticket stubs for a Grateful Dead concert gave him the name by which he came to be known: Grateful Doe. For the last 20 years, Grateful Doe's identity has been a mystery, but now he has been positively identified using DNA analysis. Grateful Doe is Jason Callahan, an 18-year-old man who had set out in 1995 to follow his favourite band on tour around America. This identification has come about thanks to sleuths on the Internet. It was announced on reddit and Facebook, and confirmed by a spokesperson for the Myrtle Beach police, where Callahan had grown up. "We can confirm that through DNA Grateful Doe has been identified as Jason Callahan," Lt Joey Crosby said in an email to CNET. In January 2015, an imgur and reddit user going by the names greymetal and zombiegrey respectively posted images of Grateful Doe's facial reconstruction around both websites, along with several items that may be helpful in identification. These included the aforementioned ticket stubs, a home-made tattoo of a pentagram, and a letter addressed to "Jason". This letter was from two girls he had apparently met at the concert, and included a phone number, but the phone number did not include an area code. It was a dead end in the search for Grateful Doe's identity. Myrtle Beach PD In addition, there was no missing person report, since Callahan's mother had not known with which jurisdiction the report should be filed. She had last seen him in early June 1995, when he had left to follow the Grateful Dead on tour. She had no idea in which state he had gone missing. Not long after Grey posted on reddit and imgur, a former roommate recognised Callahan. "After viewing this post, a wonderful user messaged me and stated that he believed he knew the young man in the photo. He told me that his name was Jason (the letter found in the vicinity of the accident was addressed to a 'Jason'). He was about 17 - 18 years of age in 1994 - 1995. The user went on to tell me that he had lived with 'Jason', and a few other friends, in Illinois in late 1994 to early 1995," Grey explained in an updated imgur post. "In early 1995, Jason left, and the user had not heard from him since. This user went on to tell me about 'Jason'; He worked at a local McDonalds, he did not study... and he was a huge fan of The Grateful Dead." The roommate sent through some photos, which closely resembled the reconstructions. On 10 January 2015, Callahan's mother posted to the Grateful Doe Facebook group that the reconstructions and photographs were of her son. Two days later, she filed the missing person report and, using DNA from Callahan's sister, police were able to confirm his identity and lay his case to rest. "I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you. For everyone on this Facebook page as well as all the Websleuths and people on reddit who followed this case adamantly. Had I not found the post and reddit pages in January, I would have never known that my brother Jason was still missing, or what happened to him. Thanks to you all I was able to talk to Jason's mom and find out more about my brother who I haven't seen since I was a young girl," Callahan's sister said via the Facebook page. "Thanks to all your hard work I was able to submit my DNA and that's what confirmed Jason's identity. I ask that you all keep Jason's mom in your prayers as she is hurting more than anyone ever should. God bless you all and thank you for helping me get some closure." ||||| A recently reconstructed image of the recently-identified victim of a fatal car crash in 1995, until now known only as 'Grateful Doe' - (Source: identifyus.org) MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) – A man who was killed in a car crash in 1995 in Virginia has been positively identified as Jason Callahan, a man who was reported missing from Myrtle Beach 20 years ago. New DNA samples submitted this year confirmed the identity of “Grateful Doe,” months after efforts on social media led investigators to connect the two cases. The Virginia Medical Examiner’s office and a representative for the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUS) confirmed that Callahan is “Grateful Doe,” a young man who died in a car accident in June 1995, but was not identifiable due to his extensive injures. Earlier this year, efforts to identify the man were reignited in social media after a new image of Grateful Doe was reconstructed, giving new hope to those who have followed this case. Information was received via social media indicating that Grateful Doe may be Jason Callahan, and the Myrtle Beach Police Department worked with other agencies to collect DNA samples and link the cases. The Virginia Department of Health says Callahan died due to acute head injuries suffered in the accident. A NamUS representative stated that a lab at the University of North Texas processed some of the DNA samples that contributed to the association of Jason Callahan with “Grateful Doe” through a multi-agency effort. On Wednesday, the Grateful Doe community on Facebook posted the following message: Within minutes, more than 100,000 people had seen it, and many of them had shared it with their friends. Lesha Johanneck was behind the post, which followed a few years of cyber investigating. "It all kind of came together at once, and started going viral with the guy being Jason Callahan," Johanneck said. Johanneck runs the Grateful Doe Facebook page, along with several others like it. She says Callahan's case really started coming together in January, when his former roommate spoke up, leading the search for family to Myrtle Beach. "That's when his mother posted to our Facebook page saying that's her son," She explained. Callahan's mother went on to report him missing weeks later, which Johanneck says was the key to the case. Johanneck believes everyone's efforts to identify him on social media, reignited the nearly two decade old case. "You share it to one person, and they share it to all their friends, and their friends share it to their friends, it's just like a pyramid," Johanneck said. We reached out to Callahan's family. They chose not to comment, saying they were still taking it all in. Related Story: MBPD investigates 'Grateful Doe' case after social media attention Copyright 2015 WMBF News. All rights reserved. ||||| RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A car crash victim who became known as "Grateful Doe" because of two Grateful Dead ticket stubs in his pocket has been identified more than 20 years after he was killed, authorities said Thursday. DNA evidence confirmed that the man whose identity remained a mystery for two decades is Jason Callahan of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, said Arkuie Williams, a spokesman for the Virginia Medical Examiner's Office. Callahan was 19 when he was killed in southern Virginia in 1995. His injuries made him unrecognizable and his body was never claimed. In recent years, the "Grateful Doe" mystery captured the attention of Internet sleuths, who created pages dedicated to solving the case and circulated a computer-generated image of his face. It was through those sites that Callahan's family recognized him and contacted authorities, said Shannon Michelson, his half-sister, who lives in New Jersey. Michelson said she's both relieved and sad that her questions surrounding her brother's disappearance have finally been answered. "I'm glad it was solved, but I'm also incredibly sad because I wanted so badly to reconnect with him," said Michelson, who said she was among several family members who submitted their DNA to help confirm his identity. She said she had not seen Callahan since she was a child, when their father and his mother separated. Callahan's mother filed a missing person's report for her son with the Myrtle Beach Police Department in January. She told authorities that she hadn't heard from her son since June of 1995 when he left to follow the Grateful Dead, according to the report. Lt. Joey Crosby said she told officials that she didn't know where he had been traveling and wasn't sure where to file the report. Callahan's mother did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press on Thursday. Michelson said Callahan often ran away from home and that his parents just assumed he was living on his own somewhere. "No one ever thought to report him missing because they thought he wanted to be missing," Michelson said. ___ Associated Press Writer Larry O'Dell in Richmond contributed to this report. ___ Follow Alanna Durkin on Twitter at twitter.com/aedurkin. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/author/alanna-durkin

– For 20 years, he was known as "Grateful Doe." Now, police have confirmed a man killed in a car accident in Greensville County, Va., with two ticket stubs for a Grateful Dead concert in his pocket, was Jason Callahan, a 19-year-old from Myrtle Beach, SC, who'd set off to follow his favorite band around the country. Callahan was riding in a van driven by a 21-year-old in 1995 when it crashed, killing both of them, per CNET. The driver was quickly identified, but Callahan was carrying no identification and his face was left unrecognizable. Police had to rely on artist reconstructions in the hope that someone would identify the man who had a tattoo of a pentagram and was carrying a letter addressed to "Jason." Users on a cold-case site started checking for possible matches in missing persons' reports beginning in 2005, per the Washington Post, but the case was finally cracked open this past January. An Australian Reddit user started circulating Grateful Doe's reconstructions, which were seen by 500,000 people, including Callahan's former roommate. He "messaged me and stated that he believed he knew the young man in the photo" and had lived with him "in Illinois in late 1994 to early 1995," the user wrote in an Imgur post. The roommate shared photos of Callahan, which were posted to a Facebook group, and Callahan's mom soon confirmed they were of her son, per WMBF. She told authorities she never filed a missing persons report because she didn't know which state her son was last in. His parents figured he was living alone somewhere, says Callahan's half-sister, who submitted DNA to confirm Grateful Doe's identity, per the AP. "Had I not found the post and Reddit pages in January, I would have never known that my brother Jason was still missing, or what happened to him," she adds. (Check out another intriguing mystery that may have finally been solved decades later.)

Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) refused on Sunday to back down from comments last week that the United States should have informed the Pakistani government that American officials knew where Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was hiding. "Why are we having trouble with the [Pakistani] government, why are we stirring up a civil war in Pakistan? It's because we've been bombing it," Paul said on "Fox News Sunday." The libertarian Paul, who's running again for the Republican presidential nomination, said his opposition to the U.S. mission to kill bin Laden demonstrates the principles of his non-interventionist foreign policy. "I'm saying that when you bomb a country, you violate their national security and sovereignty," Paul told host Chris Wallace. "We're doing that [in Pakistan]. At the same time, we're giving them billions of dollars. And you wonder why the [Pakistani] government gets in trouble with the people." The Obama administration should have relied on the Pakistani government to arrest bin Laden and turn him over to U.S. authorities, Paul said. ||||| SPEAKER BOEHNER talks exclusively to Chris Wallace of “Fox News Sunday,” in a pre-tape airing at 9 a.m. Boehner, on the President’s opening cliff bid, as articulated by Treasury Secretary Geithner on the Hill on Thursday: “A non-serious proposal. … I was just flabbergasted. I looked at him and I said: ‘You can't be serious?’ … I would say we're nowhere -- period. We're nowhere. We've put a serious off on the table by putting revenues up there to try to get this question resolved. But the White House has responded with virtually nothing. … Congress is never going to give up this [debt-limit] power. … Go back to the supercommittee -- all of the ideas that were out there. Look at the conversations that the president and I had based off of [the] Simpson-Bowles commission, his own deficit reduction commission. He knows what our proposals are. He knows what we're willing to do. … It's time to get serious. … [T]he White House has spent three weeks doing basically nothing. … I don't know what they're thinking. … [T]hey won the election. They must have forgotten that Republicans continue to hold a majority in the House.” --“Sperling Challenges Republicans to Offer Own Fiscal Cliff Plans,” by Bloomberg’s Mike Dorning and Julianna Goldman: “Gene Sperling, director of the White House National Economic Council, laid out markers for the negotiations in an interview on Bloomberg Television, saying the president would insist on tax-rate increases for the wealthy, a long-term extension in the legal debt limit, and maintenance of some stimulus measures to support the economy. Sperling, 53, one of the administration's principal negotiators, signaled flexibility on how high tax rates would go and the composition of continued stimulus. ‘It's for them now to come forward with their plan, with their details, so that we can start working quickly to getting an agreement,’ Sperling said on ‘Political Capital with Al Hunt.’” BREAKING – “Suicide bombers attack U.S. base in Afghanistan,” by Reuters’ Rafiq Shirzad in Jalalabad, Afghanistan: “Suicide attackers detonated bombs and fired rockets outside a major U.S. base in Afghanistan on Sunday, killing five people in a brazen operation that highlighted the country's security challenges ahead of the 2014 NATO combat troop pullout. Local police officials said bodies in Afghan police and military uniforms were scattered around the entrance of the airfield in the eastern city of Jalalabad after a two-hour battle. … The Taliban, who have been fighting U.S.-led NATO and Afghan forces for more than a decade, sometimes dress in uniforms for attacks. … U.S. helicopters circled overhead. … “The United States and Afghan government are scrambling to stabilise Afghanistan before most NATO combat troops withdraw at the end of 2014 and hand over security to Afghan forces. Some Afghans doubt government security forces will be able to defend the country against any Taliban attempts to seize power again after foreign troops withdraw. There are also growing fears that a civil war will erupt. President Hamid Karzai's government say Afghan security forces have made good progress. Afghanistan's defence ministry spokesman said there were rocket attacks at the Jalalabad base followed by suicide bombings.” 2016 WATCH -- FRANK BRUNI, p. 3 of N.Y. Times “SundayReview” -- “Dear President Clinton: You and Hillary are Democratic luminaries, but not on same-sex marriage”: “WHAT a year you’ve had, the kind that really burnishes a legend. … Such a bounty of convictions, such a harvest of words, except for one that’s long overdue: Sorry. Where’s your apology for signing the Defense of Marriage Act? And why, amid all the battles you’ve joined, … haven’t you made a more vigorous case for same-sex marriage, especially in light of your history on this issue? … DOMA, which says that the federal government recognizes only marriages of a man and a woman, is one of the uglier blemishes on your record … In 1996, with an overblown worry about your re-election and a desire not to seem too liberal, you put your name to that execrable decree. And you’ve never wholly owned up to that, never made adequate amends. “It’s past time, and it’s almost time for Hillary, who is about to step down as secretary of state, to catch up with other cabinet members and President Obama and make her presumed support for same-sex marriage explicit, which she has never done. Her role as the nation’s senior diplomat discourages her from wading into domestic political matters … But the gag order will soon be lifted … [S]he, like you, has been largely on the sidelines during this vital chapter in our country’s march toward greater social justice. … On Hillary’s watch, the State Department has been more progressive in its treatment of L.G.B.T. employees … Well, she can do more. So can you, President Clinton. I was sloppy at the start. What I and many others want most from you isn’t really an apology. It’s full membership — and, better yet, leadership — in a movement that’s headed inexorably in the right direction, with or without you.” http://nyti.ms/VkmacO DAVID IGNATIUS, WashPost op-ed page, print headline: “A tough call on Rice”: “The Republican assault on Susan Rice is a fabricated scandal … But just because Rice is being unfairly pilloried, this doesn’t mean she would be a good secretary of state. And it’s a close call on the merits: Given her friendship with President Obama, she would be uniquely able to speak as his emissary. But she would also carry some baggage — not least from the political fight that would follow her nomination. … She would represent a gambler’s choice for Obama, a sign that his second term really would be different from the cautious style of the first. Her appointment would signal that Obama will play a stronger personal role in foreign policy and that he’s ready to break some crockery to get things done. … Rice would be Obama’s young, dynamic face to the world and a good, if also risky, choice.” http://wapo.st/Spdtxd THE JUICE – N.Y. Times col. 1, top of page (with half-col. thumbnail of Jack Lew), “Aide to Obama Faces a Big Test In Fiscal Talks: Chief of Staff Guiding White House Effort … A chance to seal a reputation as master of the budget deal, or to fail spectacularly,” by Sheryl Gay Stolberg: “At 57, Mr. Lew may be the most unassuming power broker in Washington. He is deeply religious (an Orthodox Jew, he leaves work each Friday before sundown) and is so strait-laced that his colleagues feel compelled to apologize when they curse in front of him. He brings his own lunch (a cheese sandwich and an apple) and eats at his desk. … “If Mr. Lew gets the Treasury job, the business world will not be unhappy. He is not a creature of Wall Street, but before joining the Obama administration, he spent three years in high-level (and high-paying) jobs at Citigroup, where he oversaw a unit that lost money but also profited from betting against the subprime mortgage market. Mr. Lew was chief operating officer… Though Mr. Lew, who has been the chief of staff for less than a year, is not a member of Mr. Obama’s longtime Chicago inner circle, aides say he is a good fit — ‘the no-drama chief of staff for the no-drama president,’ one said … ‘I have been in countless meetings with the president and Jack,’ said Valerie Jarrett, Mr. Obama’s senior adviser, ‘and also been in meetings with senior staff where Jack hasn’t been present, where the president will say, “What does Jack think?”’” http://nyti.ms/SDT07N **A message from MyWireless.org: Senators can give the perfect holiday gift that every American wireless consumer would like. The Wireless Tax Fairness Act provides relief to consumers by putting a freeze on discriminatory state and local wireless taxes and fees. Senators, Pass the Wireless Tax Fairness Act this Congress! http://act.mywireless.org/page/speakout/give-the-perfect-gift ** ELEVATOR FODDER – WashPost Metro front, below fold, Robert McCartney column, “Pondering Beltway’s ‘Lexus lanes’”: “I recoil at the concept of letting private corporations make millions of dollars by operating public roads. … [W]hy are we letting a company based in Australia drain profits from our region for the next 75 years for running the new, confusingly tolled express lanes along 14 miles of the Beltway in Northern Virginia? … The express lanes are open, between the Springfield Mixing Bowl and Tysons Corner. … Some variant of the model might work in spots such as I-395 and parts of I-66 in Northern Virginia, and parts of the Beltway and I-270 in suburban Maryland. Virginia is already planning to add such lanes along I-95 between Stafford County and Edsall Road in Springfield. … “[T]hey’re run under a 75-year lease by a consortium dominated by Melbourne-based Transurban Group. So they’re ‘Aussie lanes’ (a phrase I saw in a comment on The Post’s Web site). … The tolls vary according to the level of traffic. Transurban says they are ultimately expected to be between $3 and $6 for a trip at rush hour. But the toll system is worth it to add four lanes to the Beltway. The deal also included upgrading existing lanes in the same stretch of highway. Aussie Lexus lanes stretch my principles. But I’ll tolerate a lot of elasticity to spend less time stuck on the Beltway.” http://wapo.st/UzNvck BEYOND THE BELTWAY – AP for Mon. papers -- “Health Overhaul-States-Medicaid: Brinksmanship on Obama Medicaid expansion for poor,” by Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar: “President Obama's health care law expands Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low-income people, but cost-wary states must decide whether to take the deal. Turn it down, and governors risk looking callous toward the needy. … As state legislatures look ahead to their 2013 sessions, the calculating and the lobbying have already begun. Conservative opponents of the health care law are leaning on lawmakers to turn down the Medicaid money. Hospitals, doctors' groups, advocates for the poor, and some business associations are pressing them to accept it. … “Medicaid would be expanded on Jan. 1, 2014, to cover people making up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line, or about $15,400 a year for an individual. About half the 30 million people gaining coverage under the law would do so through Medicaid. Most of the new beneficiaries would be childless adults, but about 2.7 million would be parents with children at home. … The Supreme Court said states can turn down the Medicaid expansion. But if a state does so, many of its poorest residents would have no other way to get health insurance.” http://bit.ly/VnQHKx --A POLITICO Pro Health Policy Breakfast on Thursday cut through the fog – “Experts: Governors won’t resist Medicaid expansion for long,” by Kyle Cheney: “Governors will eventually succumb to pressure to expand their Medicaid programs, a pair of health care experts predicted, … arguing that the prospect of medical practices going out of business will force their hands. ‘The governor gets to decide whether these providers are going to go out of business,’ Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health … Gail Wilensky, who headed Medicaid for President George H.W. Bush, predicted that states resisting Medicaid expansion would reverse themselves within a few years.” Story, video http://politi.co/11kiYlt TECHWATCH – L.A. Times A1, below fold, “Facebook not ready to stop at a billion,” by Jessica Guynn in Menlo Park: “In just eight years, Facebook signed up more than half the world's Internet population. Now it's going after the rest. … It's parachuting into market after market to take on homegrown social networks by currying favor with the locals and venturing where many people have spotty — if any — access to the Internet. In Japan, it lets users list their blood types, which the Japanese believe — like astrological signs in the Western world — give insight into personality and temperament. In Africa, Facebook markets a stripped-down, text-only version of its service that works on low-tech mobile phones. … The company's scorching pace of growth has cooled especially in the United States. … ‘We're not a company that is just trying to add more people,’ said Chris Cox, Facebook's vice president of product. ‘What we are trying to do is build a service that everyone in the world can use.’ “But overseas growth that once seemed to come so easily is slower now. Facebook has already saturated most major markets around the globe. Eight out of 10 Facebook users are outside of the U.S. … Inside Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters is a small army out to prove naysayers wrong. Above their desks they have hung flags from around the world … They obsessively scan screens that track user growth around the world. They cheered and popped open champagne in September when the number of active Facebook users crossed 1 billion. … “Facebook's toughest challenge by far is that it's cut off from a third of the world's population. The Chinese government, which censors most major U.S. social media websites, has blocked Facebook since 2009. It's a major blind spot for a company intent on global domination. China's more than half a billion Internet users spend a huge chunk of their days on Chinese social media sites. Zuckerberg has said he would like to find a way to enter China, but even with the recent leadership change there — ushering in the Chinese Communist Party's first new chief in the social media era — most analysts say it's unlikely.” http://lat.ms/SDRkek SPORTS BLINK – “BCS bonanza: Alabama vs. Notre Dame … Oregon and Florida likely to receive at-large bids,” by AP College Football Writer Ralph D. Russo: “Alabama vs. Notre Dame. The BCS championship game couldn't get much bigger. The Crimson Tide locked up a spot in the title game in Miami on Jan. 7 with a 32-28 victory over Georgia for the Southeastern Conference championship Saturday. Sunday's selection show is just a formality. The hype can begin now for what could be the most-watched BCS title game since the system was implemented in 1998. It'd be hard to find two more popular programs and a more enticing matchup. The top-ranked Fighting Irish (12-0) have won eight AP national titles -- matching Alabama for the most -- but none since 1988. They'll be playing in their first BCS championship game. Alabama (12-1) is making its third BCS title game appearance in four years. “The Crimson Tide is trying to become the first team to win back-to-back BCS titles … The Irish and Tide have played six times, though not since 1987. Notre Dame is 5-1 against 'Bama, including a 24-23 victory in the Sugar Bowl in 1973 that gave the Irish a national championship. They also played in the Orange Bowl in 1975, and the Irish won 13-11. … A return to glory for Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish or a dynasty for Saban's Tide? Seven straight BCS titles for the SEC or the end of a 23-year national championship drought for Notre Dame? … The highest rated BCS championship game was Southern California, going for three straight national titles and back-to-back BCS championships, against Texas in 2006 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena … “No. 7 Kansas State took the Big 12's BCS bid with a 42-24 victory at home against Texas. Collin Klein ran for two touchdowns and threw for another, making a final case for the Heisman Trophy. The Wildcats are headed to the Fiesta Bowl, and Oklahoma could give the Big 12 two BCS teams. … On Friday night, Stanford grabbed a spot in the Rose Bowl and the chances for a BCS buster decreased. … The chances for a BCS buster improved thanks to Wisconsin, which pounded No. 14 Nebraska 70-31 in the Big Ten championship game Saturday night. The Badgers will go to the Rose Bowl for the third straight season … “BCS projections -- Championship game: Notre Dame vs. Alabama. … Rose Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Stanford. … Sugar Bowl: Florida vs. Oklahoma. … Orange Bowl: Florida State vs. Louisville. … Fiesta Bowl: Kansas State vs. Oregon.” WELCOME TO THE WORLD -- Henry Treem Carson: “At 11:19pm pacific [Friday] night we had our baby boy, Henry Treem Carson, 8 pounds, 13 ounces. He and his mom are beautiful … and strong, and they're both doing great. We can't wait for all of you to meet him. Love, Jay and Sarah” Pic http://bit.ly/SyZ4Qe HAPPY ANNIVERSARY: Autumn and Jim VandeHei (hat tip: Kayla) BIRTHDAYS: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is 73…. Mayor Bloomberg's press secretary Marc La Vorgna is 34 (hat tip: Julie Wood) ... Emily Schultheis ... Cal Thomas (hat tip: Patrick Gavin) … Mark Irion of IronRock Strategies (h/t Joe Brettell) … Megan McCafferty , most recently of Obama for America Ohio, running 100 miles in December to raise money for pediatric HIV/AIDS research (h/t Kati Rutherford) … former Attorney General Edwin Meese III is 81 … Stone Phillips is 58 … Monica Seles is 39 … Britney Spears is 31 (h/ts AP) BIRTHDAYS TUESDAY: Obama for America surrogate chief Matt Bevens … Campbell Marshall … Jackie Kucinich ** A message from MyWireless.org: Senators can give the perfect holiday gift that every American wireless consumer would like, and it doesn't cost a thing! Wireless users are paying on average more than 17% a month in wireless taxes and fees. That's nearly-two-and-a-half times the average sales tax rate of 7%. The Wireless Tax Fairness Act (Wyden-Snowe, S.543) provides financial relief to consumers by putting a five-year freeze on new and discriminatory state and local wireless taxes and fees. The House passed it with overwhelming bipartisan support. Now the Senate can put a bow on it. Senators, Pass the wireless tax fairness act this congress! Learn more at http://act.mywireless.org/page/speakout/give-the-perfect-gift ** ||||| Elsewhere in Slate, William Saletan explains why the human-shield myth was a bad idea, Dave Weigel talks about how Osama's death proved everyone right, John Dickerson looks at Obama's secret meetings, Dahlia Lithwick says it's time to end the war on terror, Chris Beam explains the mood in Pakistan, Heather Murphycompiles a slideshow of the elite Navy SEALS, and Maura O'Connor looks at how the war still continues in Afghanistan. For the most up-to-date-coverage, visit theSlatest. Slate's complete coverage is rounded up here. In a world where every form of splatter, dismemberment, and slaughter has found a home on the Web—a place in which tens, perhaps hundreds, of millions have watched blood bubble out of Neda Salehi Agha Soltan's face and pool on the asphalt beneath her head—it seems nuts that President Barack Obama has decided not to release the photos of Osama Bin Laden's bullet-dented cranium.* In a 60 Minutes interview to be aired Sunday, Obama said he thought it important that "very graphic photos of somebody who was shot in the head are not floating around as an incitement to additional violence or as a propaganda tool." White House Press Secretary Jay Carney spoke yesterday about the "sensitivities involved" in releasing the "gruesome" and potentially "inflammatory" photos, and mused about whether allowing their publication would "serve or in any way harm our interests" at home and abroad. Today, he said the administration didn't want the photos to become "icons" that would help rally support against the United States. Advertisement Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence panel, opposes making the photos public for similar reasons, saying he doesn't want the images to "make the job of our troops serving in places like Iraq and Afghanistan any harder than it already is. The risks of release outweigh the benefits." Obama and Rogers' idea that news should be calibrated by the government to ease the job of the U.S. military makes for a First Amendment loophole you could drive a motorized regiment through. If al-Qaida and its supporters are more irate with the United States this week than they were last week, it's because U.S. commandos killed Bin Laden. Obama should never have marked him for death if tending the "sensitivities" of al-Qaida and its allies was U.S. policy. It's hard to imagine that a death photo of Bin Laden would elevate al-Qaida and its supporters to some fury that his killing didn't. Or, as @knifework tweeted this afternoon, "Who hasn't shot someone in the face, fed their corpse to the sharks, and then fretted over how their followers would feel about the photo?" I don't advocate the photos' release because I think it will convince the unconvincible that Bin Laden is dead or because I desire a "trophy" or a football "spiked," as Obama puts it in his 60 Minutes interview. I'm for the publication of the pictures because they're an essential part of the war on al-Qaida. Withholding the photos and couching their suppression in the name of national security misjudges what makes al-Qaida tick and infantilizes the nation. It also sets a precedent for "news that's too gruesome to reveal." Here's how CBS News reporter David Martin describes the photos, based on a description provided to him: It does sound very gruesome. Remember, bin Laden was shot twice at close range, once in the chest and once in the head, right above his left eye, and that bullet opened his skull, exposing the brain, and it also blew out his eye. So these are not going to be pictures for the squeamish. Barbie Zelizer, author of the recent book About To Die: How News Images Move the Public, finds it paradoxical that the administration would recoil from releasing the photos but gladly provides verbal descriptions of the spectacular raid and Bin Laden's killing. "You can't have it both ways," Zelizer told me in an interview. The Bin Laden photos, Zelizer says, are "part of the record, part of the news event" and locking them away ascribes "magical powers" to the photos that wouldn't otherwise exist. If we conceal them from public view, we board a slippery slope that flows toward ignorance, timidity, doubt, and conspiracy-mongering. Part of the ambivalence about releasing the photos, Zelizer says, is that a universally accepted narrative for Bin Laden's killing has yet to emerge. As I wrote the day after the raid, the press and the government had huge trouble agreeing exactly how the operation unfolded. Did Bin Laden make a human shield of his wife? Was she killed? Did he shoot at the SEALs? Or did the SEALs summarily execute an unarmed man? If such an accepted narrative existed, it might be easier for the administration to predict how the photos would be received at home and overseas. But it's not the White House's business to control and manage news for the good of the nation based on some imagined worst-case reaction to events. That's Soviet thinking. If a nation can be trusted to view the horrors of 9/11 in real time, flip through the Abu Ghraib picture book, witness the made-for-video murder of Daniel Pearl, see images of dead Uday and Qusay on the evening news, and gaze upon pictures of dead soldiers coming home as air freight (photos that President Bush, incidentally, tried to ban in the name of managing the news), then it can be trusted to stomach the last photos of Osama Bin Laden—and whatever turmoil those photos might cause. Why? Because that's what sort of country the United States is. ****** What about the helmet-cam video of the operation? Yeah, I'm for its release, too, although I can see the case for why it should be edited to withhold secret operational details that led to the mission's success. Make the case for the release of the unexpurgated video in email to . Expurgate my Twitter feed. (Email may be quoted by name in "The Fray," Slate's readers' forum; in a future article; or elsewhere unless the writer stipulates otherwise. Permanent disclosure: Slate is owned by the Washington Post Co.) Track my errors: This hand-built RSS feed will ring every time Slate runs a "Press Box" correction. For email notification of errors in this specific column, type Dead Laden in the subject head of an email message, and send it to . Correction, May 5, 2011: This article originally misspelled the last name of Neda Salehi Agha Soltan. (Return to the corrected sentence.) Like Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Like This Story Follow Slate's Press Box

– John Boehner does not want to use Osama bin Laden’s death as an excuse to end the war in Afghanistan or change the US relationship with Pakistan. “At this moment in time, we should reengage and strengthen our relationship with Pakistan, not walk away from it,” he said on Face the Nation today. “We have hundreds of billions of dollars that we’ve spent in Afghanistan and in Pakistan. We’ve lost thousands of lives. This is not the time to just walk away from the fight.” More from the Sunday dial, via Politico: Boehner also said he’s “ready to cut the deal today” on raising the debt ceiling, but President Obama is “really not serious” about tackling the country’s fiscal problems. Boehner wants everything, including changes to Medicare and Medicaid, “on the table” during discussions—“except raising taxes.” Newt Gingrich called Obama the “most successful food stamp president in history” Friday, but today on Meet the Press he rejected accusations of racism, pointing out that one out of every six Americans receives food stamps: “What I said is factually true.” Ron Paul insists the US should have informed Pakistan that it knew where bin Laden was hiding, and relied on the Pakistani government to arrest the terrorist leader, he maintained on Fox News Sunday. He also said, while discussing his views on limited government, that he would not support federal aid for Mississippi flood victims. Also on Fox News Sunday, Mike Huckabee said he “would have made a fine president,” but that he is “at peace” with his “very personal, very intimate, … spiritual decision" not to run.

Finally, hard evidence proving Bill Clinton was not the pimpest of presidents. TMZ has a photo depicting a mid-1950s John Kennedy lazing on a yacht with gorgeous naked ladies. Fascinating, perplexing, historic—but, is it real? No, it's fake. Update: Now TMZ says the photo is a fake. The naked ladies are from a 1967 Playboy photo shoot. Still, that doesn't explain why there would be a 1960 FBI memo, as dug up by The Smoking Gun, that describes a photo of "Senator Kennedy and other men, as well as several girls in the nude... taken aboard a yacht or some type of pleasure cruiser." Perhaps this photo was simply a doctored photo to fit the rumor? I believe them. TMZ says it consulted all kinds of experts, and they wouldn't lie about that. Say what you will about the propriety of their sources, TMZ's big breaks generally stand the test of time. This qualifies as a big break, and they know it. Update: Nooo! TMZ, you giveth and taketh away, despite my desperate longing for this one glorious image to be true. Cruel mistress, I will trust your sneakily-gotten hospital reports and invasive stolen legal documents never again. The back story is based in fact. That it is insanely juicy, oh-so-scandalous fact only sweetens the deal: There are numerous articles and books on President John F. Kennedy which mention a 2-week, Mediterranean boating trip that JFK—then a Senator—took in August, 1956, with his brother Ted Kennedy and Senator George Smathers. The trio reportedly entertained a number of women on the yacht. Jackie Kennedy was pregnant at the time and was rushed to the hospital while JFK was on the boat. Doctors performed an emergency C-section, but the infant was stillborn. Lest you be confused by how this meshes with the last season of Mad Men, the baby described here is Jackie's first, Arabella, whose stillbirth occurred in 1956. In 1963, when the Draper household was falling apart, Jackie's youngest, Patrick Bouvier, died at the age of two days of a respiratory disease. But here is a question: Who took the picture? The angle suggests they are either (a.) docked, and the cameraman is on land (b.) beside a second boat, and the cameraman is on that (c.) alone, and the cameraman is treading water and angling his camera lens up, which doesn't seem likely, because cameras did not come waterproofed back then. Was there some 1950s paparazzo lurking about, and if so, does he have a whole role of sordid naked yacht pics? Or was Teddy aboard a second, even wilder pleasure yacht? And: Who are these randos who keep popping up with intimate imagery of JFK cavorting with naked girls and Marilyn Monroe smoking "weed", anyway? How would such a picture come to exchange hands in the first place, and why did the old guy fold and unfold it so many times? He knew it was the president, and valuable, so unless he carrying it around in his back pocket as a talisman, there can't be much reason for the crappy shape the photo's in. [TMZ] ||||| The JFK Photo That Could Have Changed History The JFK Photo That Could Have Changed History TMZ has obtained a never-before publishedwhich appears to showon a boat filled with naked women -- it's a photo that could have altered world events.We believe the photo was taken in the mid-1950s. It shows two naked women jumping off the boat and two more naked women sunning on the top deck. Just below the top deck -- a man appearing to be John F. Kennedy is lying on a deck, sunning himself.TMZ had multiple experts examine the photo -- all say there is no evidence the picture was Photoshopped. The original print -- which is creased -- was scanned and examined for evidence of inconsistent lighting, photo composition and other forms of manipulation. The experts all concluded the photo appears authentic.A forensic photo expert says the print appears to be authentic. The expert says the photo is printed on paper consistent with what was used in the 1950s. The emulsion on the surface of the print has numerous cracks -- the result of aging and handling.There are numerous articles and books onwhich mention a 2-week, Mediterranean boating trip that JFK -- then a Senator -- took in August, 1956, with his brotherand. The trio reportedly entertained a number of women on the yacht.was pregnant at the time and was rushed to the hospital while JFK was an the boat. Doctors performed an emergency C-section, but the infant was stillborn.A forensic analyst superimposed an image of Kennedy taken at the Democratic National Convention in August 1956, just days before Kennedy went on the Mediterranean cruise. The analyst says the features from the two pics almost precisely sync up. TMZ has also had two Kennedy biographers examine the photo -- they also believe JFK is in the picture.The photo was eventually given to a man who owned a car dealership on the East coast. The man kept it in a drawer for years, and would brag to friends he had an image of JFK on a boat with naked women. The man died 10 years ago and one of his sons inherited the photo.Had the photo surfaced when John F. Kennedy ran for President in 1960, it could have torpedoed his run, and changed world history.to view the photo in, then select(If it won't open ..., chooseand then save it to your desktop. Thenthe saved file on your desktop.) ||||| Legendary March 2010 This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on: 3/3/2010 Everyone knows about John F. Kennedy’s public life—his family pedigree, his ascent to the presidency, his “Ask not” imperative, his sparkle of hope for the nation and world, his lofty aspirations cut tragically short. Everyone knows about Kennedy’s private life, too—his controlling father, his not-so-rosy marriage, his incorrigible womanizing, his playboy parties, his crippling back pain. Indeed, aside from that great eternal mystery of Dallas, it seems everyone knows everything there is to know about JFK. But there is one stone left unturned. In this explosive collection of handwritten love letters—never before seen in their entirety since they were penned more than a half-century ago—a new facet of Jack Kennedy is revealed. It is a tender side, heartfelt and sincere, hopelessly romantic, naïve even, while his bright star was still on the rise and before universal fame came to dim and pollute, turning him callous and insatiable in his lust for conquests. This Jack stole but one kiss from a young Swedish beauty and yet never forgot her. This Jack went to the trouble six months later of locating her in Stockholm from an ocean away and initiating an intimate correspondence that would continue for a year and a half until, at long last, they could be reunited for a one-week “brief, shining moment” of smitten bliss. This Jack was willing to risk it all—his political aspirations, his marriage, his family name—for the airy dream of what might’ve been with the svelte Swede he would affectionately call “Gorilla,” “Dearest Gunilla,” and “my Swedish flicka.” It all started in August 1953, just weeks before the 35-year-old Senator Kennedy’s wedding to Jacqueline Lee Bouvier. Vacationing on the French Riviera, he made the acquaintance of Gunilla von Post, a 21-year-old blonde siren with aristocratic roots, and he fell in love with her. They had eyes only for each other as they dined, danced and later kissed—fairy-tale-style—with the stars shimmering on the Mediterranean Sea. As far as von Post knew, she’d enjoyed a magical evening with a fun-loving American prince and would never see his tousled hair and jaunty smile again. But this Jack came calling … and writing. He pursued her despite the daily demands of public service and newlywed nesting, and even despite a near-death experience on the operating table. No obstacle was too great to bar the soon-to-be King Arthur from courting his beguiling Lady of the Lake. Now, for the very first time, this deeply buried time capsule of Kennedy’s eleven letters and three telegrams to his Swedish muse, Gunilla von Post, is being unearthed and made publicly available. All told, the fourteen correspondences recount the entire story of their improbable, long-distance love affair. Contained within the eleven handwritten missives and envelopes (all of which are addressed in the fallen statesman’s own hand) are a total of 15 Kennedy signatures . Ten of the letters are signed “Jack”; one (the first) is signed “John Kennedy”; one has an internal quasi-signature of his father’s name “J.P. Kennedy”; two of the envelopes are signed “J. Kennedy” in the return address; and one envelope (the first) is initialed “JFK.” The letters begin on blank pages but eventually shift to official Senate stationery, with the archive averaging Excellent condition as a whole. The text and signatures rate “9-10” in strength. Each of the eleven letters is accompanied by an LOA from John Reznikoff of University Archives. Additional accompanying pieces include: a signed hardback copy of Love, Jack, von Post’s 1997 memoir in which she finally broke her forty-four-year silence (following Jackie Kennedy Onassis’s death) and in which she described and minimally excerpted from these correspondences without ever publishing them for full view; and a DVD of von Post’s 1997 interviews on 20/20, Extra and The Today Show. In view of its size, scope, substance and significance, this offering stands out as the most thrilling JFK discovery to emerge in some time and one that merits inclusion in the very finest private collection or museum, if not the John F. Kennedy Library itself. LETTER 1 – 3/2/54: “Do you remember our dinner and evening together this summer at Antibes and Cagnes. How are you? – and what are you now doing in Paris, you said you were going to work for an airline. Do you – and do you fly to the United States. I expect to return to France in September. Will you be there? Best, John Kennedy c/o T.J. Reardon 3134 Dumbarton Avenue N.W. Washington D.C.” In her book Love, Jack, Gunilla Von Post describes her reaction to this letter: “I looked at the envelope, postmarked March 2, 1954, and then at the return address handwritten in the upper-left corner: RM 362, JFK, Senate Office Bldg., Washington, D.C. … I was amazed and thrilled that Jack had written to me, that he had taken the time and trouble to look up our address in Stockholm. I fully intended to write him back, but in the meantime he had also found our telephone number and called the apartment, though unfortunately, when I wasn’t there … On the following Tuesday, I missed him again … Finally I sat down to write him, but in the midst of writing the letter, he called and I was home. ‘Gunilla? Is it you?’ The long-distance wires crackled, but I recognized that distinctive New England voice. I was flooded with the same warm feeling that I’d experienced upon seeing him sitting at the banquette at Le Château that past August.” (37, 39-40) Additionally, the mention of “T.J. Reardon” refers to Kennedy’s administrative assistant. LETTER 2 – 6/28/54: “It now appears as though I shall be coming to Europe at the end of August. Will you be busy – or might it be possible to meet. What are you doing now. Will you stay there for the summer – or will you return to Cagnes. I thought I might get a boat and sail around the Mediterranean for two weeks – with you as crew. What do you think? Best, Jack.” Again, von Post: “I allowed my imagination to run free. I saw the two of us, alone in a big, beautiful yacht, white sails fluttering in the wind, with the crystal azure of the Mediterranean lapping all around us. I longed to be close to him again, to feel that exciting intimacy that had been so intense at Cap d’Antibes. The boat, the blue water, the idea of Jack and me alone at sea was romantic beyond belief. I knew, however, that Jack had a wife and that I shouldn’t be having this dream. But every time I pushed this vision away, it crept back, invading my heart.” (42) LETTER 3 – 8/16/54: “I was very glad to hear from you again. I still believe I shall come to Europe in the fall – and would like to be sure that you could leave Sweden and come to Paris – or perhaps go to the Cote d’Azur (sic) – Qu’est-ce que vous pense (sic)? Let me know – as I do not want to drift through Europe waiting for a message from the North that never comes. Best, Jack.” In this letter, Kennedy dabbles with French, and his Senate stationery envelope (with pre-stamped free-frank signature) makes its first appearance. TELEGRAM 1 – 9/3/54: “LEG INJURED AND HOSPITALIZED TRIP POSTPONED WILL WRITE MANY REGRETS - JOHN” Sent from Hyannisport, this telegram mentions a leg injury but makes no mention of the serious back problems that will sideline Kennedy for much of the next six months. LETTER 4 – 11/12/54: “I am still in the hospital after two months. I was terribly disappointed that at the last moment I was not able to come to Europe – especially when you were going to be in Paris – and we could have had such a good time. I expect to be here another month – then go back to Washington in January – we will finish there in July – and then without fail – I shall come over – if you are not all settled down by then. Is there any chance you will be coming to the U.S.? Best, Jack.” This letter is postmarked through New York City’s Grand Central Station and provides the forwarding address of the Hospital for Special Surgery, where Kennedy nearly died when he fell into a coma after his three-hour spinal-fusion procedure. LETTER 5 – 12/18/54: “I must say you are a good correspondent. Under that beautiful, controlled face that still haunts me – beats a warm heart. There is a nurse on this floor that comes from Sweden. But she is dark-black haired. I say to her how could you leave the Venice of the North. But she replies – New York is so much nicer. How can she think that. She must be French. Why do you not suggest to the Swedish Automobile Association that they send you to the U.S. to explain the beauties of driving through Sweden to American tourists – or why couldn’t your cousin have been minister to Washington instead of Warsaw. I leave here Tuesday – and then go to Palm Beach for two months to stay with my family to recover and then go back to Washington. We stay in session in Washington until the end of July and then I return to the mountains of Cagnes. Your Jack. I shall be c/o J.P. Kennedy Palm Beach Florida until March – afterward back in Washington.” Kennedy’s sense of humor rings out in this most lively of the letters, as he makes a joke about his nurse being French and then teasingly prods Gunilla to ask her employer, the Swedish Royal Automobile Club, for a U.S. assignment (or, as it were, assignation). There are also notes in another hand on this letter as an apparent aid to deciphering Kennedy’s at-times cryptic penmanship. And Kennedy’s warmth toward his correspondent is increasingly apparent with the change from “Best, Jack” to “Your Jack.” LETTER 6 – 3/12/55: “Many thanks for your letter. I was wondering what had become of you. I finally got out of the hospital for the 2nd time and for good – and expect to go back to Washington in another month. And there I shall look around for your friend – the Swedish Ambass. Daughter – why do you not come to visit her? When the Senate is finished at the end of July – I am going to Indo-China and Formosa. But first I am coming to Europe – Qu’est-ce que vous feriez? What town in Europe are you recommending to the users of the Swedish Royal Automobile Society. What is the best beach in Italy to sit for two weeks and watch the waves come in. If I join the Society – will they let you decide my trip. This time I shall not fail to come – and you? Best, Jack. Write me after April 11th at the Senate Office Bldg. – The Capitol Washington D.C.” Postmarked from Palm Beach, where Kennedy recovered from his back surgery at his family’s home, this letter again features French and farce, as Kennedy now mentions joining Gunilla’s automobile club so that she can serve as his tour guide. LETTER 7 – 6/25/55: “Many thanks for your letter. I was delighted to hear from you. Send me your picture standing in front of 45 Skyransgatan (sic). I expect to be finished here around the first of August – I thought I would come to Europe around the 12th. If you are in Sweden – I shall come there. There must be a beach in Sweden. If you go to Italy I shall come there. I should like to get a boat and sail around. Qu’est-ce que vous pensez? And then in September – I shall go to Vietnam and Japan sadly. Did you see in the paper that our friend – the cold, frozen Mr. Gavin Welby – got married to Mr. Churchill’s secy. Something must have happened. I have not met your friend – Mona Boheman as yet – but I am looking forward to asking her if she knows a beautiful Swedish girl with a quiet smile who lived on top of a mountain in the Cote d’Azur (sic) in August 1953. Jack.” It was Gavin Welby who originally introduced Kennedy and von Post, and Mona Boheman was von Post’s friend and the daughter of the Swedish Ambassador to the United States. This letter begins the trend of Kennedy’s (somewhat boldly, considering the secretive content) using official Senate stationery. On the back of the envelope is a note in his hand, “Dear G. So let me know your schedule.” Also worth mentioning are the reference to Winston Churchill and the quite poetic conclusion about “a beautiful Swedish girl with a quiet smile who lived on top of a mountain in the Cote d’Azur (sic) in August 1953.” LETTER 8 – 7/12/55: “Many thanks for your letter. My plans are your plans – so now instead of going to the warm Riviera – I am going to Sweden where the summers are, according to what you once wrote to me, ‘cold and damp.’ I thought I would leave here by boat around the 27th of July – and drive by car from Le Havre to Sweden and you. Is that possible? There seems to be a good deal of water in between. Get out all of your old Swedish Automobile Ass. maps and tell me how many miles I must drive and how long it will take – and how to go. If you should decide meanwhile to go to Italy, let me know as I do not want to be freezing in Scotland, while you are warm in Capri. If you want to go to Italy later in August – I will need someone to point out the right roads – so I will borrow you from the Royal Automobile Ass. So let me know your schedule for August again – Write soon – Jack – And don’t forget the photo.” Of this letter, von Post writes in Love, Jack: “I finally convinced him that if we were to meet at all, it was going to be in Sweden. With some reluctance—and the usual undercurrents of complaints about Scandinavian weather—he capitulated by mail in July: ‘my plans are your plans’ … So I went immediately to the photo shop and had a copy made of a picture taken of me in front of Styrmansgatan and sent it, along with another snapshot of Visby, the site of my summer job.” (54) LETTER 9 – 7/20/55: “I received your letter – and the picture of Visby and your photograph – which I liked best of all. I am now planning to come on the 29th of July on the Ile de France – which gets to Le Havre the 4th of August – or the 5th of August on the United States which gets in the 10th. Sweden must be more than 120 Swedish miles from Le Havre – or is a Swedish mile 5 times longer than anyone else’s mile? I assume you got to Stockholm to to meet your sister in August. Would you send me your address in Bastaad (sic) – and I will let you know exactly where I am. It is hot here – 101° - and I am anxious to leave and to see my Swedish friend. Jack.” LETTER 10 – 7/22/55: “Everything is set. I leave on the United States on the 5th of August – in Le Havre the 10th and shall be in Bastaad (sic) on about the 12th - I think a friend will drive with me – could you get us two seperate (sic) rooms. I can’t read your Swedish very well – as to your address in Bastaad (sic) – but I’ll find you one way or another. Of that I am sure . Until we meet – Jack.” The friend Kennedy mentions is his old chum Torby MacDonald. TELEGRAM 2 – 8/10/55: “A BIENTOT - JACK.” This brief but poignant French sentiment of “See you soon” was sent from aboard the USS United States en route to Sweden and to von Post, who recounts: “I was enormously touched. I also began to relax. This was the gesture of a man in love, the kind of thing that lovers do for each other, and I knew it down to my bones. Now I had less fear and apprehension.” (61) The week Kennedy and von Post spent together in Sweden was everything they had hoped for, full of passion, excitement and joy. In Love, Jack, von Post writes: “I have thought many times about that incredible moment when Jack returned to me, and wondered just what were all the elements that came together so magically to create such a once-in-a-lifetime occasion … Years later, when I learned the truth about his hospitalization and near-death in 1954, during the months he was writing and calling me as our long-distance courtship grew, I believe he genuinely thought he might never see me again. But he survived, and we did meet again, so it was even more precious. It was a miracle for both of us.” (65-66) LETTER 11 – 8/22/55: “How are you? Did you survive the day on the farm – I must say you did not seem sad to see the last of MacDonald & myself – were you relieved? I just got word today – that my wife & sister are coming here. It will all be complicated the way I feel now – my Swedish flicka. All I have done is sit in the sun & look at the ocean & think of Gunilla… All love, Jack.” Written in (symbolic) red ink from the French Riviera after his departure from Sweden, Kennedy opens this letter for the first time with “Dearest Gunilla” and ends with “All love, Jack.” He expresses insecurity about von Post’s feelings toward him, laments the arrival of his wife Jackie, reminisces fondly on his Swedish excursion, and calls von Post “my Swedish flicka.” TELEGRAM 3 – 8/2?/55: WANT TO TALK TALK WITH YOU PLEASE CABLE ME HOTEL QUISISANA CAPRI WHERE I CAN REACH YOU MISS YOU LOVE. JACK. With his wife and sister gone, Kennedy prevails upon von Post to come join him, but to no avail. He, too, returns to the U.S., where he tries to convince von Post by phone that she should move there, with the promises that he’ll get her a job as a model and that he’ll talk to his father about a divorce. In Love, Jack, she recounts what Kennedy told her in their ensuing conversation: “I said [to my father] that I’d fallen in love with you, and I didn’t think I could go on the way things are now. That I wanted to end my marriage so that I could be with you … He yelled at me, “You’re out of your mind. You’re going to be president someday. This would ruin everything. Divorce is impossible’ … He repeated something he’s been telling us all our lives. He said, ‘Can’t you get it into your head that it’s not important what you really are? The only important thing is what people think you are.’” (103) Not long after, Kennedy calls and tells von Post that his wife is pregnant. When Jackie subsequently miscarries, von Post sends Kennedy her condolences and begins to move on with her life, getting married herself on July 18, 1956. Almost two years later, as destiny would have it, Kennedy and von Post attended the same April in Paris Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. “I hoped Jack would spot me,” von Post writes in Love, Jack, “but I was only one of many hundreds of faces there. The waiter was taking cocktail orders … I picked up one of the paper napkins that he had placed on the tablecloth for drinks, and I wrote on it, as clearly as I could: SWEDISH GORILLA SITTING IN FRONT OF YOU! … I folded it in half and gave it to the waiter, along with his pen. ‘Would you please give this to Mr. Kennedy?’ I asked … I saw Jack look up, smile, and take the napkin, which he unfolded and read in one movement. My heart was in my throat. Jack stood up as though a bolt of electricity was coursing through him, and then he scanned the tables for only an instant and spotted me. His grin was incandescent. Still standing, he gestured with his thumb, poking vigorously at the air and pointing toward the hallway to his right, and started walking to the exit, glancing back and making it clear that I was to follow. I gathered up my purse and ran toward the corridor … When I arrived outside in the hall, Jack stood alone, waiting for me. I wanted to rush into his arms, but this was a different place and time, and discretion ruled. Nevertheless, he embraced me quickly and kissed me on both cheeks. ‘It’s marvelous to see you,’ he said, looking into my eyes … He reached toward me and brushed the lock of hair from my forehead. No one saw us. He turned quickly and walked through the door into a room full of a thousand people.” (139-141) And thus, after five years, the star-crossed, storybook romance of John F. Kennedy and Gunilla von Post had come to its natural end with a tender adieu. John F. Kennedy & Gunilla von Post Timeline (featuring references to all 14 pieces of correspondence included in this archive) January 1953 – John F. Kennedy is sworn in as Massachusetts U.S. Senator August 1953 – The 35-year-old Kennedy shares dinner, dancing and a moonlit seaside kiss with 21-year-old Swedish beauty Gunilla von Post while vacationing on the French Riviera. September 1953 – Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island. March 1954 – Kennedy seeks out von Post’s Stockholm address and sends his first letter to her, suggesting they meet again either in the U.S. or France. He begins persistently telephoning her house from his Senate office ( letter #1 ). May 1954 – Kennedy’s chronic back pain flares up due to a collapsed vertebra, forcing him to rely more and more on crutches. June 1954 – A second letter to von Post proposes that he charter a boat for two and they sail around together on the Mediterranean Sea ( letter #2 ). August 1954 – Kennedy reconfirms by mail that he’s planning a trip to Europe and that he wants desperately to see von Post. Meanwhile, he is advised by his physicians to undergo a risky spinal-fusion procedure ( letter #3 ). September 1954 – Von Post receives Kennedy’s telegram postponing their rendezvous due to “hospitalization.” ( telegram #1 ) October 1954 – Kennedy nearly dies during his surgery. He falls into a coma, is administered his last rites, and learns that he may not walk again. November 1954 – Convalescing at New York’s Hospital for Special Surgery, Kennedy resumes contact with von Post. He expresses his disappointment over canceling their scheduled get-together and promises to come to Europe the following summer ( letter #4 ). December 1954 – Another letter reiterates Kennedy’s ardor and tells von Post to write to him in Palm Beach, where he’ll be recovering at his family’s home ( letter #5 ). February/March 1955 – Kennedy undergoes a second difficult back surgery and updates von Post that “he’s out of the hospital for the 2nd time and for good.” ( letter #6 ) June/July 1955 – The intimate correspondence continues with four Kennedy letters (all now on official Senate stationery) in which: they firm up the date of his arrival; Kennedy consents to von Post’s request that, instead of meeting at an Italian beach, he visit her at home in Sweden; and von Post responds to his request for photographs of herself. ( letters # 7 to #10 ) August 1955 – Two years after their unforgettable first evening together, Kennedy and von Post finally enjoy a week-long reunion of love and companionship. En route to her on the USS United States, Kennedy sends a romantic telegram in French: “A BIENTOT” (See you soon). Then, after his departure from Sweden, Kennedy writes to von Post from the French Riviera, calling her “Dearest Gunilla” and “my Swedish flicka,” inviting her to join him there once Jackie leaves his side to return to the States, and signing off for the first time, “All love, Jack.” When von Post demurs on making the long journey for her still-married man, Kennedy makes an urgent final plea for her company via telegram from Capri, thus completing their passionate two-year correspondence. (telegram #2 and #3; letter #11) October/November/December 1955 – Kennedy implores von Post to move to the U.S. He promises to secure her a job as a model and to talk to his father about getting a divorce, but his father is outraged by the notion. Jackie becomes pregnant and suffers a miscarriage. January 1956 – Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courage is published July 1956 – Gunilla von Post marries Anders Ekman. August 13-17, 1956 – At the Democratic Party Convention, Kennedy narrowly loses the vice presidential nomination to Estes Kefauver, but gains visibility in the organization. August 23, 1956 – Jackie Kennedy delivers a stillborn daughter. November 1956 – Democratic presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson loses the election. November 1957 – Caroline Kennedy is born. April 1958 – By chance, Gunilla von Post and John F. Kennedy both attend the April in Paris Ball at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel and are able to share a tender last goodbye.

– John F. Kennedy was always rumored to be a playboy—now the world apparently has proof. TMZ has an exclusive photo from the mid-1950s that appears to show JFK sunning himself on a boat deck, surrounded by naked women. Don’t believe the gossip site? Well, numerous photo experts—as well as Kennedy biographers—say the photo looks like the real deal. Plus, as Azaria Jagger writes on Gawker, “say what you will about the propriety of their sources, TMZ's big breaks generally stand the test of time.” Kennedy, who was a senator at the time, took a two-week Mediterranean boating trip with brother Ted and Sen. George Smathers in August 1956—while wife Jackie was pregnant—which is where TMZ presumes this picture came from. For more details on how the picture was verified, as well as a high-resolution image, click here. (Update: Photo revealed as fake. More on the story here.)

CLOSE Schools across different 4 different time zones received "swatting" calls. The threats drew massive police response and forced authorities to evacuate students and lock down buildings. USA TODAY Parents line up to reunite with their children at Sacajawea Elementary School. The entire student body of North Middle School, numbering 711 students, was evacuated to Sacajawea following a bomb threat Monday. (Photo: Tribune photo/David Murray) A wave of threats directed at schools across the nation on Monday forced authorities to lock down buildings or evacuate students. The threats, which appear to be driven by automated calls, were directed at elementary, middle and high schools in at least 18 states across four time zones. Some districts reported that the calls included a bomb threat while others just described the calls as "threatening." The calls were reported in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Ken Trump, a national school security expert and president of a school security consulting firm, said Monday’s nationwide bomb hoaxes have the hallmarks of swatting. Swatting, according to Trump, are “highly disruptive” hoax threats that are intended to trigger massive police response. Trump said they are often described as robotic, computer-generated voices that call in threats to schools or police departments. A single swatting case can impact multiple states, jurisdictions and even travel across international borders, Trump said. Per PSLPD-- Treasure Coast HS cleared, students being sent back to class. @WPTVpic.twitter.com/iVum7bGQMG — Katie Johnson (@Katie_Johnson_) May 23, 2016 “They tend to come in waves,” he said. “We’ve seen them cross six states in an afternoon.” Trump said swatting incidents have “skyrocketed” nationwide in the past two years. “(Swatting) suspects are often more sophisticated,” he said. “They can use Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol) systems or other technologies that can be virtually impossible to track down.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to a request for comment, writing, "We are aware of recent bomb threats at various schools in different states, and we remain in touch with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance if needed. As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety." Lee Allinger, superintendent of schools in Appleton, Wis., said he can't remember a string of threats like this that seem to be connected. Janet Berry Elementary School in Appleton received an automated threat at about 11:45 a.m. (Photo: Tribune photo/David Murray) "It's the first one that I can recall that's been of this nature, where it's been an automated call or a robo kind of call and that it's been widespread — not just next door to us but across the state and the country," he said. Tom McCarthy, a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction spokesperson, said the department did not know how many schools statewide had received threats. He did not comment on the string of bomb hoaxes. In the United Kingdom, at least 21 schools received bomb threats as well, according to The Independent. The Daily Mail reported 26 schools were closed. The USA TODAY NETWORK has not confirmed that any of the threats are connected. Bomb Threat Calls Target Schools In Colorado, Midwest https://t.co/M3UFLpwHTFpic.twitter.com/q8sb6YYwm1 — Karen Morfitt (@KarenMorfitt) May 24, 2016 California Clairemont and Lincoln high schools (San Diego): The schools were placed on lockdown after officials received threats. Police swept the schools and lifted the lockdown after nothing suspicious was found, BNO News B.V., The Netherlands, reported. Washington Middle School (Bakersfield): The school went into a lockdown Monday morning after receiving an anonymous bomb threat, KGET-TV, Bakersfield, Calif., reported. Police officers and a police dog searched the school and surrounding area. School resumed after the area was determined to be safe. The call sounded like it was automated. An unspecified threat prompted authorities to evacuate Cherokee Trail Elementary School in Parker, Colo. (Photo: KUSA-TV, Denver) Colorado Cherokee Trail Elementary (Parker): Students were evacuated Monday afternoon after “anonymous threats to schools around the state,” the Parker Police Department said in a tweet. Parents and caregivers were able to pick up their children, and some streets around the school were closed off. Irish Elementary School (Fort Collins): Students were evacuated after a recorded phone call came in at 11:30 a.m. No credible threat was found. Students returned to class half an hour after they were evacuated. Lakewood High School: The school received a threat by phone that officials believe was automated, KCNC-TV, Denver, reported. Officials did not evacuate the school because the school district has received automated threats previously this school year. Liberty Point Elementary School (Pueblo West): Officials evacuated the school shortly after 1 p.m. after a bomb threat was received, KCNC-TV reported. Nevin J. Platt Middle School (Boulder): The middle school was swept by local law enforcement after someone left an automated threat, KCNC-TV reported. The Colorado Springs School: The school was evacuated and students were sent to Broadmoor Elementary School after the school received a bomb threat, KKTV-TV, Colorado Springs, Colo., reported. Delaware Bomb threats were reported at six Delaware schools. East Millsboro Elementary School: Police learned at 11:09 a.m. that a man had called the school and said there was a bomb inside. Beacon Middle School in Lewes, Polytech High School in Woodside and Stanton Middle School in Wilmington received similar calls within the next half hour. Automated bomb threats were also reported at Mispillion Elementary School in Milford and Sunnyside Elementary School in Smyrna earlier in the morning. Florida Storm Grove Middle School (Vero Beach): Students were sent to Sebastian River High School after an automated bomb threat was called in to the middle school. Parents picked up their children from there. Treasure Coast High School (Port St. Lucie): The school was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat shortly after 11 a.m. The school was searched, no explosives were found and students were allowed to return to class. Iowa Altoona: The school received a bomb threat at 11:54 a.m. saying bombs were inside the school. Students were relocated to a local church, where parents were able to pick them up. Buses will run Monday for parents who cannot pick up their children. Valley High School (West Des Moines): The school received a bomb threat Monday afternoon. Students who could drive were allowed to go home while students who take the school bus were taken to a safe location until buses could take them home. Tate High School (Iowa City): The school received an automated bomb threat. Students were sent home so police could assess the threat. Excelsior Middle School (Marion): The school was immediately evacuated after receiving a bomb threat about 12:30 p.m. The school dismissed students to parents and guardians. Maine Hall-Dale Middle School & High School (Farmingdale): Students were evacuated for about three hours after the school received a bomb threat Monday morning, MaineToday Media reported. (Photo: file photo) Maryland Showell Elementary School (Berlin): The school was evacuated at about 11:25 a.m. because of an automated bomb threat. Massachusetts Willett Elementary School (Attleboro): The school was evacuated as a precaution after a bomb threat was called into the school. Students and staff returned to the building after police swept the school and deemed it safe, the school reported. Charlton Middle School: Students were evacuated just after 10 a.m. Monday and sent to Heritage School after the school received a bomb threat, WFXT-TV, Dedham, Mass., reported. Dover Elementary School: Police swept the school after officials received a bomb threat, Dedham, Mass., reported. Chace Street School (Somerset): The school received an automated bomb threat around 9:25 a.m., Dedham, Mass., reported. Students were evacuated. Around the same time schools in Barnstable, Wellfleet, Mashpee and Fall River received similar threats, which were all deemed unfounded. Minnesota Brooklyn Center Secondary School: The school was temporarily evacuated Monday after receiving a threatening phone call about 12:30 p.m., the Sun Post (Osseo, Minn.) Newspapers reported. Police searched the building and students returned. Forest Lake Elementary School: The school was evacuated around 12:15 p.m. after a bomb threat was made by phone, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Students were sent to Forest View Elementary School and were bused home from there. Montana North Middle School (Great Falls): The school was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat. Students were bused to an elementary school, where parents could pick them up. New Hampshire Berlin Middle School: Students were sent to Berlin High School for lunch after the school received a bomb threat around 10:40 a.m., the New Hampshire (Manchester, N.H.) Union Leader reported. Fuller Elementary School (Keene): The school was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat Monday morning, The (Keene, N.H.) Sentinel reported. Amherst Street Elementary School (Nashua): The school was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in, WMUR-TV, Manchester, N.H., reported. Students returned to class after police swept the school with a bomb sniffing dog and found nothing suspicious. Portsmouth High School: The school was evacuated after it received a bomb threat, Seacoastonline.com reported. Police cleared the building and students were allowed back inside. No bomb was found. New York Sweet Home High School (Amherst): The school was put on lockdown after a threat was phoned into the school around 2:30 p.m. Police searched the school and lifted the lockdown at about 3:30 p.m. when nothing suspicious was found. Oregon Irvington School (Portland): The school was evacuated about noon after receiving a threatening call. The school was searched and nothing was found, The (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian reported. Pennsylvania ​Dallas School District: Bomb threats prompted the evacuation of Dallas Elementary School and Wycallis Elementary School on Monday, The (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Times Leader reported. The schools later dismissed students early. Utah Murray High School: Students were evacuated and sent home for the day after a bomb threat was called into the school around noon, KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City reported. Vermont Northeast Elementary School (Rutland): The school was evacuated after staff received a bomb threat Monday morning, WPTZ-TV/WNNE-TV, Plattsburgh, N.Y., reported. Students were taken to another school and parents were notified. Washington Long Beach Elementary: The school went into lockdown and called police after receiving a threatening call, the Ocean Beach School District said. The threat was deemed not credible. Kessler Elementary (Longview): Parents were able to pick up their children at a church after 1:20 p.m., The (Longview, Wash.) Daily News reported. York Elementary School (Vancouver): After the threat, students were taken to a back field area while the building was searched, The (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian reported. Students returned to class after the building was cleared. Wisconsin Janet Berry Elementary School (Appleton): The school received a short, anonymous, automated phone call at 11:47 a.m. indicating a bomb would go off in the building. Staff and students stayed outside as police searched the school. They were allowed to return at 1:40 p.m. Oakwood Elementary School (Oshkosh): The school received a threatening phone call around 11:50 a.m. School officials immediately implemented a "soft lockdown" and began evacuating the school, sending staff and 473 students to the Oshkosh YMCA. Parents were asked to pick up their children at the YMCA. Edison Middle School (Green Bay): The school was locked down for about an hour Monday afternoon after receiving a threatening automated call at 11:40 a.m. Green Bay police expect federal investigators to take over any additional investigation. Wilson Junior High School (Manitowoc): Police searched the school after officials received an automated call around 11:40 a.m. Students were not evacuated, WLUK-TV, Green Bay, Wis., reported. Northside Elementary School (Middleton): Students were evacuated and taken to a nearby church after the school received a called-in bomb threat around 11:45 a.m., WMTV-TV, Madison, Wis., reported. Pleasant Prairie Elementary School: Students and staff were evacuated after an 11:30 a.m. bomb threat. They were taken to a middle school, where parents could pick them up, The Kenosha (Wis.) News reported. Contributing: The (Fort Collins, Colo.) Coloradoan; The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal; Indian River (Fla.) Press Journal; The (Stuart, Fla.) News; The Des Moines Register; Iowa City Press-Citizen; The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times; Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune; WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, N.Y.; The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent; The Kenosha (Wis.) News; The Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern; The Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette. Follow Alison Dirr on Twitter: @AlisonDirr Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1TzLwSX ||||| CLOSE Schools across different 4 different time zones received "swatting" calls. The threats drew massive police response and forced authorities to evacuate students and lock down buildings. USA TODAY Parents line up to reunite with their children at Sacajawea Elementary School. The entire student body of North Middle School, numbering 711 students, was evacuated to Sacajawea following a bomb threat Monday. (Photo: Tribune photo/David Murray) A wave of threats directed at schools across the nation on Monday forced authorities to lock down buildings or evacuate students. The threats, which appear to be driven by automated calls, were directed at elementary, middle and high schools in at least 18 states across four time zones. Some districts reported that the calls included a bomb threat while others just described the calls as "threatening." The calls were reported in California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Ken Trump, a national school security expert and president of a school security consulting firm, said Monday’s nationwide bomb hoaxes have the hallmarks of swatting. Swatting, according to Trump, are “highly disruptive” hoax threats that are intended to trigger massive police response. Trump said they are often described as robotic, computer-generated voices that call in threats to schools or police departments. A single swatting case can impact multiple states, jurisdictions and even travel across international borders, Trump said. Per PSLPD-- Treasure Coast HS cleared, students being sent back to class. @WPTVpic.twitter.com/iVum7bGQMG — Katie Johnson (@Katie_Johnson_) May 23, 2016 “They tend to come in waves,” he said. “We’ve seen them cross six states in an afternoon.” Trump said swatting incidents have “skyrocketed” nationwide in the past two years. “(Swatting) suspects are often more sophisticated,” he said. “They can use Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol) systems or other technologies that can be virtually impossible to track down.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation responded to a request for comment, writing, "We are aware of recent bomb threats at various schools in different states, and we remain in touch with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance if needed. As always, we encourage the public to remain vigilant and to promptly report suspicious activities which could represent a threat to public safety." Lee Allinger, superintendent of schools in Appleton, Wis., said he can't remember a string of threats like this that seem to be connected. Janet Berry Elementary School in Appleton received an automated threat at about 11:45 a.m. A K-9 unit from Malmstrom Air Force Base searches for evidence of explosives following a bomb threat at North Middle School on Monday (Photo: Tribune photo/David Murray) "It's the first one that I can recall that's been of this nature, where it's been an automated call or a robo kind of call and that it's been widespread — not just next door to us but across the state and the country," he said. Tom McCarthy, a Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction spokesperson, said the department did not know how many schools statewide had received threats. He did not comment on the string of bomb hoaxes. In the United Kingdom, at least 21 schools received bomb threats as well, according to The Independent. The Daily Mail reported 26 schools were closed. The USA TODAY NETWORK has not confirmed that any of the threats are connected. Bomb Threat Calls Target Schools In Colorado, Midwest https://t.co/M3UFLpwHTFpic.twitter.com/q8sb6YYwm1 — Karen Morfitt (@KarenMorfitt) May 24, 2016 California Clairemont and Lincoln high schools (San Diego): The schools were placed on lockdown after officials received threats. Police swept the schools and lifted the lockdown after nothing suspicious was found, BNO News B.V., The Netherlands, reported. Washington Middle School (Bakersfield): The school went into a lockdown Monday morning after receiving an anonymous bomb threat, KGET-TV, Bakersfield, Calif., reported. Police officers and a police dog searched the school and surrounding area. School resumed after the area was determined to be safe. The call sounded like it was automated. An unspecified threat prompted authorities to evacuate Cherokee Trail Elementary School in Parker, Colo. (Photo: KUSA-TV, Denver) Colorado Cherokee Trail Elementary (Parker): Students were evacuated Monday afternoon after “anonymous threats to schools around the state,” the Parker Police Department said in a tweet. Parents and caregivers were able to pick up their children, and some streets around the school were closed off. Irish Elementary School (Fort Collins): Students were evacuated after a recorded phone call came in at 11:30 a.m. No credible threat was found. Students returned to class half an hour after they were evacuated. Lakewood High School: The school received a threat by phone that officials believe was automated, KCNC-TV, Denver, reported. Officials did not evacuate the school because the school district has received automated threats previously this school year. Liberty Point Elementary School (Pueblo West): Officials evacuated the school shortly after 1 p.m. after a bomb threat was received, KCNC-TV reported. Nevin J. Platt Middle School (Boulder): The middle school was swept by local law enforcement after someone left an automated threat, KCNC-TV reported. The Colorado Springs School: The school was evacuated and students were sent to Broadmoor Elementary School after the school received a bomb threat, KKTV-TV, Colorado Springs, Colo., reported. Delaware Bomb threats were reported at six Delaware schools. East Millsboro Elementary School: Police learned at 11:09 a.m. that a man had called the school and said there was a bomb inside. Beacon Middle School in Lewes, Polytech High School in Woodside and Stanton Middle School in Wilmington received similar calls within the next half hour. Automated bomb threats were also reported at Mispillion Elementary School in Milford and Sunnyside Elementary School in Smyrna earlier in the morning. Florida Storm Grove Middle School (Vero Beach): Students were sent to Sebastian River High School after an automated bomb threat was called in to the middle school. Parents picked up their children from there. Treasure Coast High School (Port St. Lucie): The school was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat shortly after 11 a.m. The school was searched, no explosives were found and students were allowed to return to class. Iowa Altoona: The school received a bomb threat at 11:54 a.m. saying bombs were inside the school. Students were relocated to a local church, where parents were able to pick them up. Buses will run Monday for parents who cannot pick up their children. Valley High School (West Des Moines): The school received a bomb threat Monday afternoon. Students who could drive were allowed to go home while students who take the school bus were taken to a safe location until buses could take them home. Tate High School (Iowa City): The school received an automated bomb threat. Students were sent home so police could assess the threat. Excelsior Middle School (Marion): The school was immediately evacuated after receiving a bomb threat about 12:30 p.m. The school dismissed students to parents and guardians. Maine Hall-Dale Middle School & High School (Farmingdale): Students were evacuated for about three hours after the school received a bomb threat Monday morning, MaineToday Media reported. Showell Elementary is one of the four Blue Ribbon schools in Worcester County. (Photo: file photo) Maryland Showell Elementary School (Berlin): The school was evacuated at about 11:25 a.m. because of an automated bomb threat. Massachusetts Willett Elementary School (Attleboro): The school was evacuated as a precaution after a bomb threat was called into the school. Students and staff returned to the building after police swept the school and deemed it safe, the school reported. Charlton Middle School: Students were evacuated just after 10 a.m. Monday and sent to Heritage School after the school received a bomb threat, WFXT-TV, Dedham, Mass., reported. Dover Elementary School: Police swept the school after officials received a bomb threat, Dedham, Mass., reported. Chace Street School (Somerset): The school received an automated bomb threat around 9:25 a.m., Dedham, Mass., reported. Students were evacuated. Around the same time schools in Barnstable, Wellfleet, Mashpee and Fall River received similar threats, which were all deemed unfounded. Minnesota Brooklyn Center Secondary School: The school was temporarily evacuated Monday after receiving a threatening phone call about 12:30 p.m., the Sun Post (Osseo, Minn.) Newspapers reported. Police searched the building and students returned. Forest Lake Elementary School: The school was evacuated around 12:15 p.m. after a bomb threat was made by phone, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Students were sent to Forest View Elementary School and were bused home from there. Montana North Middle School (Great Falls): The school was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat. Students were bused to an elementary school, where parents could pick them up. New Hampshire Berlin Middle School: Students were sent to Berlin High School for lunch after the school received a bomb threat around 10:40 a.m., the New Hampshire (Manchester, N.H.) Union Leader reported. Fuller Elementary School (Keene): The school was evacuated after receiving a bomb threat Monday morning, The (Keene, N.H.) Sentinel reported. Amherst Street Elementary School (Nashua): The school was evacuated after a bomb threat was called in, WMUR-TV, Manchester, N.H., reported. Students returned to class after police swept the school with a bomb sniffing dog and found nothing suspicious. Portsmouth High School: The school was evacuated after it received a bomb threat, Seacoastonline.com reported. Police cleared the building and students were allowed back inside. No bomb was found. New York Sweet Home High School (Amherst): The school was put on lockdown after a threat was phoned into the school around 2:30 p.m. Police searched the school and lifted the lockdown at about 3:30 p.m. when nothing suspicious was found. Oregon Irvington School (Portland): The school was evacuated about noon after receiving a threatening call. The school was searched and nothing was found, The (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian reported. Pennsylvania ​Dallas School District: Bomb threats prompted the evacuation of Dallas Elementary School and Wycallis Elementary School on Monday, The (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) Times Leader reported. The schools later dismissed students early. Utah Murray High School: Students were evacuated and sent home for the day after a bomb threat was called into the school around noon, KSTU-TV, Salt Lake City reported. Vermont Northeast Elementary School (Rutland): The school was evacuated after staff received a bomb threat Monday morning, WPTZ-TV/WNNE-TV, Plattsburgh, N.Y., reported. Students were taken to another school and parents were notified. Washington Long Beach Elementary: The school went into lockdown and called police after receiving a threatening call, the Ocean Beach School District said. The threat was deemed not credible. Kessler Elementary (Longview): Parents were able to pick up their children at a church after 1:20 p.m., The (Longview, Wash.) Daily News reported. York Elementary School (Vancouver): After the threat, students were taken to a back field area while the building was searched, The (Portland, Ore.) Oregonian reported. Students returned to class after the building was cleared. Wisconsin Janet Berry Elementary School (Appleton): The school received a short, anonymous, automated phone call at 11:47 a.m. indicating a bomb would go off in the building. Staff and students stayed outside as police searched the school. They were allowed to return at 1:40 p.m. Oakwood Elementary School (Oshkosh): The school received a threatening phone call around 11:50 a.m. School officials immediately implemented a "soft lockdown" and began evacuating the school, sending staff and 473 students to the Oshkosh YMCA. Parents were asked to pick up their children at the YMCA. Edison Middle School (Green Bay): The school was locked down for about an hour Monday afternoon after receiving a threatening automated call at 11:40 a.m. Green Bay police expect federal investigators to take over any additional investigation. Wilson Junior High School (Manitowoc): Police searched the school after officials received an automated call around 11:40 a.m. Students were not evacuated, WLUK-TV, Green Bay, Wis., reported. Northside Elementary School (Middleton): Students were evacuated and taken to a nearby church after the school received a called-in bomb threat around 11:45 a.m., WMTV-TV, Madison, Wis., reported. Pleasant Prairie Elementary School: Students and staff were evacuated after an 11:30 a.m. bomb threat. They were taken to a middle school, where parents could pick them up, The Kenosha (Wis.) News reported. Contributing: The (Fort Collins, Colo.) Coloradoan; The (Wilmington, Del.) News Journal; Indian River (Fla.) Press Journal; The (Stuart, Fla.) News; The Des Moines Register; Iowa City Press-Citizen; The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times; Great Falls (Mont.) Tribune; WGRZ-TV, Buffalo, N.Y.; The (Appleton, Wis.) Post-Crescent; The Kenosha (Wis.) News; The Oshkosh (Wis.) Northwestern; The Green Bay (Wis.) Press-Gazette. Follow Alison Dirr on Twitter: @AlisonDirr Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1TzLwSX ||||| Thousands of students in several dozen schools across the United States and Great Britain were evacuated Monday after what appeared to be coordinated recorded threats of violence were called in, according to news reports and law enforcement officials who spoke to NBC News. Police respond to a phoned-in threat Monday at Ben Franklin Elementary School in Rochester, Minnesota. KTTC-TV None of the threats were known to have been found to be credible, and many schools resumed classes, but national testing across Britain for the General Certificate of Secondary Education, or GCSE, was severely disrupted, school officials and British media reported. Local news reports said schools in at least 21 U.S. states also received phoned threats: Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Maryland, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming. As many as 10 schools received the threats in some states. Law enforcement sources said the threats were being handled by local law enforcement, but the FBI told NBC News that it was aware of the threats, adding, "We remain in touch with our law enforcement partners to provide assistance if needed." Authorities stressed that such threats are common during the school year — a similar wave of unfounded threats disrupted classes in New York, Los Angeles and other cities in December — but law enforcement sources told NBC News that the number of schools affected Monday appeared to be unusually high. Related: Why Did LA See a Legit Bomb Threat Where NYC Saw a Hoax? "I think it's sick," Tom Yates, whose daughter attends Storm Grove Middle School in Indian River County, Florida — one of the affected schools — told NBC station WPTV of West Palm Beach. "Somebody that gets joy and pleasure out of seeing children scared and their parents scared for them — this world needs a lot of help," Yates said. Rochester, Minnesota, police Capt. John Sherwin told NBC station KTTC that the call received Monday at Ben Franklin Elementary School in Rochester was similar to many others that were received across the country. Many American schools said they recorded calls from an electronically disguised voice reporting a bomb, multiple police agencies told NBC News. Many said the calls came in around 2 to 2:30 p.m. ET. Preliminary search of Liberty Point Elementary did not show anything unusual. 2nd search with dogs underway pic.twitter.com/C1gzVCvK0m — PuebloCounty Sheriff (@PuebloCountySO) May 23, 2016 In Britain, several schools received a 90-second recorded call from a voice with an American accent promising that "shrapnel" would "take children's the heads off," according to multiple news reports. Many of those schools reported that the calls also came in about the same time, in this case about 10 a.m. local time.

– Schools across the nation were hit by a wave of robocall bomb threats Monday, closing buildings and forcing the evacuation of thousands of students, USA Today reports. Elementary, middle, and high schools in at least 18 states were targeted, and security expert Ken Trump says the automated calls seem to have all the signs of "swatting," hoax calls (often computer generated) meant to elicit a big response from law enforcement. Even schools in the UK were affected, with at least one receiving a warning that shrapnel from explosives would "take children's heads off," per the Independent. None of the threats were deemed credible, per NBC News. Swatters likely aren't kids partaking in a simple, spur-of-the-moment prank. "Suspects are often more sophisticated," Trump says, adding that incidents like these have "skyrocketed" over the last few years. "They can use Voice over IP (VoIP) systems or other technologies that can be virtually impossible to track down." The AP notes that schools nationwide responded in various ways to the calls, with some shutting down completely and others reopening once authorities gave the all clear. "Every one of these may be swatting, [but] all it takes is one of them to be real and then we have a tragedy here," a Denver Public Schools spokesman tells CBS Denver. The FBI issued a statement noting the agency is "aware" of the threats and communicating with law enforcement, and that the public should "remain vigilant" and report anything that seems suspicious. (USA Today has a list of schools affected in each state.)

Police confront protesters during a demonstration against President-elect Donald Trump, early Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (Associated Press) Police confront protesters during a demonstration against President-elect Donald Trump, early Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2016, in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren) (Associated Press) CHICAGO (AP) — The raw divisions exposed by the presidential race were on full display across America on Wednesday, as protesters flooded city streets to condemn Donald Trump's election in demonstrations that police said were mostly peaceful. From New England to heartland cities like Kansas City and along the West Coast, many thousands of demonstrators carried flags and anti-Trump signs, disrupting traffic and declaring that they refused to accept Trump's triumph. In Chicago, where thousands had recently poured into the streets to celebrate the Chicago Cubs' first World Series victory in over a century, several thousand people marched through the Loop. They gathered outside Trump Tower, chanting "Not my president!" Chicago resident Michael Burke said he believes the president-elect will "divide the country and stir up hatred." He added there was a constitutional duty not to accept that outcome. A similar protest in Manhattan drew about 1,000 people. Outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in midtown, police installed barricades to keep the demonstrators at bay. Hundreds of protesters gathered near Philadelphia's City Hall despite chilly, wet weather. Participants — who included both supporters of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, who lost to Clinton in the primary — expressed anger at both Republicans and Democrats over the election's outcome. In Boston, thousands of anti-Trump protesters streamed through downtown, chanting "Trump's a racist" and carrying signs that said "Impeach Trump" and "Abolish Electoral College." Clinton appears to be on pace to win the popular vote, despite losing the electoral count that decides the presidential race. The protesters gathered on Boston Common before marching toward the Massachusetts Statehouse, with beefed-up security including extra police officers. A protest that began at the Minnesota State Capitol Tuesday night with about 100 people swelled at is moved into downtown St. Paul, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. Protesters blocked downtown streets and traveled west on University Avenue where they shouted expletives about Trump in English and Spanish. There were other Midwest protest marches in Omaha, Nebraska, and Kansas City, Missouri. In Des Moines, Iowa, hundreds of students walked out of area high schools at 10:30 a.m. to protest Trump's victory, the Des Moines Register reported. The protests, which were coordinated on social media, lasted 15 to 45 minutes. Marchers protesting Trump's election chanted and carried signs in front of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Media outlets broadcast video Wednesday night showing a peaceful crowd in front of the new downtown hotel. Many chanted "No racist USA, no Trump, no KKK." Another group stood outside the White House. They held candles, listened to speeches and sang songs. Dallas activists gathered by the dozens outside the city's sports arena, the American Airlines Center. In Oregon, dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland, burned American flags and forced a delay for trains on two light-rail lines. Earlier, the protest in downtown drew several Trump supporters, who taunted the demonstrators with signs. A lone Trump supporter was chased across Pioneer Courthouse Square and hit in the back with a skateboard before others intervened. Several thousand chanting, sign-waving people gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, California. A night earlier, in the hours after Trump won the election, Oakland demonstrators broke windows and did other damage. In San Francisco, hundreds are marching along Market Avenue, one of the city's main avenues, to join a vigil in the Castro District, a predominantly gay neighborhood. In Los Angeles, protesters on the steps of City Hall burned a giant papier mache Trump head in protest, later, in the streets they whacked a Trump piñata. Hundreds massed in downtown Seattle streets. Many held anti-Trump and Black Lives Matter signs and chanted slogans, including "Misogyny has to go," and "The people united, will never be defeated." Five people were shot and injured in an area near the protest, but police said the shootings and the demonstration were unrelated. Back in New York, several groups of protesters caused massive gridlock as police mobilized to contain them under a light rain. They held signs that read "Trump Makes America Hate" and chanted "hey, hey, ho, ho Donald Trump has got to go." and "Impeach Trump." ||||| Video (00:49) : After a rally outside the State Capitol, some protesters marched in downtown St. Paul, blocking some traffic. A protest that started with about 100 people at the Minnesota State Capitol grew quickly Wednesday night as it moved first to John Ireland Boulevard then to downtown St. Paul. Protesters, who chanted and carried signs, blocked some downtown streets. Their ranks grew as they marched west on University Avenue, blocking both sides of the street and shouting expletives about Donald Trump in English and Spanish. The group, which peaked at about 300 people, circled back downtown and, at 10:35 p.m., were at St. Anthony Avenue and Marion Street, St. Paul police said. Officers were there directing traffic, but not interfering with the protest. There was no violence, police said. The protest was one of several in U.S. cities in the wake of Tuesday’s election of the GOP candidate, notably in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Detroit and Portland, Ore. “This is about what’s going to be done in our name,” said Peter Rachleff, a former Macalester College professor. “We’re all responsible. We’re better than this.” Bobbie Scott said, “I’m here because I feel I have to be here. Other work will come later, but for now, I’m here.” Gallery: Trump protest at the Minnesota Capitol Gallery: Trump protest at the Minnesota Capitol Callia Blake, 17, and her 15-year-old friend aren’t old enough to vote yet, but came out to protest Trump’s ascension, too. “This guy, he’s a rapist, he just is awful,” she said. “I can’t take that; I can’t do it.” JoAnn Hendricks, 67, was there with her friend, LaVonne Ellington, 80, who served as a poll watcher on Tuesday. “LaVonne and I didn’t vote for Trump. I’m not a ‘Trumpladite,’ ” Hendricks said. “That’s why we’re here. We didn’t know what else to do. I’m really sad.” Earlier, at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, some students had a shouting match over the election. Students were struggling to digest the results of one of the most bitter presidential elections in memory. “I guess it’s really setting in right now,” said Sam Wondimu, 20, a U health services major who was one of dozens of students gathered around a single laptop at the Black Student Union, watching as President Obama spoke about Trump’s election. “There’s a considerable amount of sadness,” Wondimu said, and “I guess a bit of fear.” Moments later, a clash broke out between a black student and a white student wearing a Trump “Make America Great Again” hat just outside the black student group’s headquarters at Coffman Memorial Union. Matthew Selmen, 19, said he was doing his homework when another man noticed his hat and started yelling at him, accusing him of being a racist. Selmen videotaped the incident, saying the man threatened him before leaving. “I think it really comes down to ignorance on behalf of both sides,” he said, insisting that students were jumping to conclusions because he was a Trump supporter. “I don’t support everything he says or does,” he said, but “if we can’t have a conversation here, I don’t think that’s right.” Others, though, wondered if Selmen meant to be provocative. “This is the second floor of Coffman, this is where multicultural students come,” said Keren Habtes, a journalism and history major. “So you come here with that hat? It seemed like it was very divisive.” At Macalester, President Brian Rosenberg sent a campuswide e-mail Wednesday, noting that many on the St. Paul campus are feeling “grief, fear, anger [and] bewilderment” in the wake of the election and encouraging anyone “overwhelmed by these feelings” to seek help from the counseling center or other campus services. In La Crosse, Wis., meanwhile, Chancellor Joe Gow of the University of Wisconsin denounced what he called a hate crime after someone scrawled the words “go home” followed by a racist epithet on an off-campus student residence. “No members of the [university] community should ever have to experience this kind of hate and intimidation,” he wrote in a campus e-mail. While he did not mention the racially charged presidential campaign, he wrote that hate crimes “do not occur in isolation,” and called on the campus “to work to create a climate of inclusion and respect.” Racist graffiti at Maple Grove High School, shared on social media by students, has prompted an investigation, school district officials said. “I’m horrified by this action, which goes against everything for which our school stands; it is completely contrary to our core values, both as a school and as a district,” Principal Bart Becker wrote in a letter sent to families of students. “We will take swift and appropriate action based on the investigation findings.” Staff writers Rochelle Olson and Beatrice Dupuy contributed to this report. pat.pheifer@startribune.com 612-673-7252 maura.lerner@startribune.com 612-673-7384 ||||| Resisting calls by President Obama to accept Donald Trump’s victory, tens of thousands of protesters — some too young to vote — took to the streets in cities across the country to protest that Trump “is not my president.’’ During a second night of demonstrations, a protest in Portland, Ore., was transformed into what police called a “riot.” Police said a small number of “anarchists” in a crowd of 4,000 smashed cars with baseball bats, threw rocks and Molotov cocktails and spray-painted graffiti. There were 26 people arrested. Overnight, protests were popping up almost spontaneously in other cities around the country. Columbus, Ohio; Minneapolis; Madison, Wis.; and Milwaukee joined in protests that had begun Wednesday in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Seattle, Philadelphia, Boston and other larger cities. Trump addressed the protests in his usual fashion — over Twitter. On Thursday night, he decried them as “professional protesters, incited by the media.” But by Friday, as protests spread, he issued a conciliatory message, tweeting at 6.14 am.: “Love the fact that the small groups of protesters last night have passion for our great country. We will all come together and be proud!’’ Trump himself had urged a “march on Washington” in protest of President Obama’s re-election in 2012. More demonstrations are planned in the coming days, with some organizers saying they were saving their energy for the weekend. In Oakland on Wednesday, police reported that they extinguished at least 40 fires and that protesters had thrown rocks and Molotov cocktails and vandalized police cars. “Time to riot,’’ read a hand-scrawled poster carried by one woman. Rudolph W. Giuliani, former New York mayor and advisor to the Trump campaign, also denounced the student movement. “The reality is they are a bunch of spoiled crybabies,’’ he said Thursday on Fox News’ “Fox & Friends.” He added that campuses are getting more conservative. “If you’re looking at the real left-wing loonies on the campus, it's the professors, not the students.” So far the protest movement — barely 48 hours old — appears to lack strategy and coordination. But some activists are focusing on the electoral college, which is due to meet Dec. 19 to formally vote Trump into office. Political scientists say electors have in the past switched their votes, but such occurrences are rare and have not altered the election outcome. Clinton appears on track to win the popular vote — as of last count she was 388,000 votes ahead — the fourth time in U.S. history that the largest vote-gatherer has failed to get the necessary electoral votes. The last time was 2000, when Al Gore won the popular vote but lost the election to George W. Bush. In the past, about 99% of electors have voted for the candidate to whom they are pledges, but defections do happen and Democratic activists promise to work on those Republican electors who have expressed anti-Trump sentiments. A petition on Change.org that started Thursday morning received more than 2 million signers in less than 24 hours. The potential challenge to the electoral college does not appear to have the support of Clinton, who conceded defeat and, like Obama, has urged the American public to accept Trump. In fact, during the campaign, Clinton blasted Trump’s threats not to respect the outcome of the election. Still, the nascent anti-Trump movement among young people threatens to throw another wrench into a painful and prolonged election process that many people want to have behind them. “The passive side of this generation needs to step up to the plate and show that we have not surrendered,” said Ariana Shirzay, a 20-year-old graphic design student who is organizing protests in New York in coming days. She says that her generation was lured into complacency about America’s liberal values. “We basically grew up with liberal America and transcended into adulthood under Obama,’’ Shirzay said. At Pratt Institute, Shirzay said, her classmates, who had assumed that Democrat Hillary Clinton would win, watched the election results in tears, the shock comparable to the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — at least for those old enough to remember. High school students around the country walked out of classes Wednesday and Thursday to show their support for the anti-Trump movement. Most protesters were young. “It's important to me as a 14-year-old — seeing people like this, united. [It] makes me feel like I'm not the only one here,’’ said middle schooler Yesena Gomez, who was one of the speakers at a rally in Seattle. “When I walked into school Wednesday morning, my teachers were crying. Students were sobbing, fearing for their family and themselves and friends. We held each other up. And I think we all felt like we wanted to feel heard because most of us are never heard by the government or the world,’’ said Chloe Li, 15, who goes to a high school with many immigrant` Elsewhere, protesters targeted Trump-branded buildings — the newly opened hotel in Washington, D.C., near the White House, Trump Tower in Chicago. A Trump effigy was burned in Los Angeles, where protesters on Wednesday had also blocked the 101 Freeway and spray-painted anti-Trump graffiti on vehicles and buildings. Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times Protesters burn an effigy of Donald Trump outside Los Angeles City Hall. Protesters burn an effigy of Donald Trump outside Los Angeles City Hall. (Marcus Yam / Los Angeles Times) "White Supremacy. Misogyny Is Not My America," “No More Small Men With Big Mouths,’’ read the slogans — along with what have become the hashtag of the protest movement, #notourpresident and #notmypresident. The largest protest Wednesday appeared to be in front of New York’s 58-story Trump Tower, where Trump lives in a penthouse condominium. Two separate marches through Manhattan converged in front of the building, forming a crowd that some reporters estimated at 10,000. The night was illuminated by hundreds of iPhones taking selfies of protesters gesturing with their middle fingers toward the Trump building. New York City police said Thursday that there were 65 arrests, mostly for disorderly conduct, obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest. The protests appear to be less about supporting Clinton than opposing Trump. Many young voters were unenthusiastic about Clinton, failing to lend her campaign the energy they put behind Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders — or for those old enough, behind Barack Obama in 2008.

– The raw divisions exposed by the presidential race were on full display across America on Wednesday, as protesters flooded city streets to condemn Donald Trump's election in demonstrations that police said were mostly peaceful. From New England to heartland cities like Kansas City and along the West Coast, many thousands of demonstrators carried flags and anti-Trump signs, disrupting traffic and declaring that they refused to accept Trump's triumph, the AP reports. In Chicago, several thousand people marched through the Loop and gathered outside Trump Tower, chanting "Not my president!" A similar protest in Manhattan drew about 1,000 people. Outside Trump Tower on Fifth Avenue in midtown, police installed barricades to keep the demonstrators at bay. Around the country: Hundreds of protesters gathered near Philadelphia's City Hall despite chilly, wet weather. Participants expressed anger at both Republicans and Democrats over the election's outcome. A protest that began at the Minnesota State Capitol Wednesday night with about 100 people swelled to around 300 as it moved into downtown St. Paul, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. Protesters blocked downtown streets and traveled west on University Avenue where they shouted expletives about Trump in English and Spanish. There were other Midwest protest marches in Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City, Mo. In Des Moines, Iowa, hundreds of students walked out of area high schools at 10:30am to protest Trump's victory, the Des Moines Register reports. Students also walked out in cities including Portland, Phoenix, and Boulder. In Oregon, dozens of people blocked traffic in downtown Portland, burned American flags, and forced a delay for trains on two light-rail lines. Several thousand chanting, sign-waving people gathered in Frank Ogawa Plaza in Oakland, Calif. A night earlier, in the hours after Trump won the election, Oakland demonstrators broke windows and did other damage. In Los Angeles, protesters on the steps of City Hall burned a giant papier mache Trump head in protest. Later, in the streets they whacked a Trump piñata. Hundreds massed in downtown Seattle streets. Many held anti-Trump and Black Lives Matter signs and chanted slogans, including "Misogyny has to go," and "The people united, will never be defeated." Five people were shot and injured in an area near the protest, but police said the shootings and the demonstration were unrelated.

(CNN) Kim Jong Un is sending his younger sister to South Korea for the Winter Olympics, the first time any member of the Kim dynasty has visited the country. South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement that Kim Yo Jong will be joining North Korea's high-level delegation to the South, headed by Kim Yong Nam , president of North Korea's parliament. The 30-year-old, who has seen her profile rise steadily since 2014, was last year promoted to North Korea's Politburo. She and Kim Jong Un were born to the same mother, Ko Yong Hui. Kim Yo Jong, right, sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the official opening of the Ryomyong residential area, April 13, 2017. Kim Yo Jong's inclusion in the North Korean delegation is likely to irritate the United States, which has sent its own delegation led by Vice President Mike Pence to counter North Korea's charm offensive. Last year, the US Treasury Department included Kim Yo Jong on its list of blacklisted officials . As the vice director of the Workers' Party Propaganda and Agitation Department, she has been targeted by US sanctions. On a refueling stop on his way to Asia, Pence said the aim of his trip was to show American "resolve" in rallying the international community against the Kim regime. "We're traveling to the Olympics to make sure that North Korea doesn't use the powerful symbolism and the backdrop of the Winter Olympics to paper over the truth about their regime," Pence said. JUST WATCHED Pence keeps door open for NK discussions Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Pence keeps door open for NK discussions 01:27 But South Korea welcomed the announcement, saying it was "significant that Kim had included his sister in the delegation. "We believe that the North's announcement of the delegation shows its willingness to ease tensions on the Korean peninsula along with a message of celebration for the PyeongChang Olympic Winter Games," it said in a statement. "It is significant that the delegation also includes Kim Yo Jong, who is Chairman Kim Jong Un's sister and holds an important position in the Workers' Party of Korea." Shadowy figure Like most members of the Kim clan, little is known about Kim Yo Jong beyond her official rank. According to NK Leadership Watch, she is a close aide of her brother's "and since his accession manages his public events, itineraries and logistical needs, among other tasks." JUST WATCHED Joint Korean ice hockey team plays first game Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Joint Korean ice hockey team plays first game 02:32 She was promoted to the country's Politburo as an alternate member in October. Born September 26, 1987, Kim Yo Jong studied in Switzerland like her brother and is believed to have attended Kim Il Sung University and a western European school for her higher education. Her position is such that, according to a Seoul-based think tank run by North Korean defectors, Kim Yo Jong briefly took charge of the country while her brother was reportedly ill with gout or diabetes in late 2014. Hopes for a breakthrough Kim's presence, alongside Kim Yong Nam (no relation), the 90-year-old ceremonial head of state in North Korea, will raise hopes for a potential breakthrough in relations with the US. This week, Pence suggested he would be open to meeting North Korean politicians on the sidelines of the Olympics, saying President Donald Trump "always believes in talking." "North Korea can have a better future than the militaristic path, the path of provocation and confrontation that it's on. Better for its own people, better for the region, and better for peace," Pence said. However on Wednesday he also warned the US was about to impose the "toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever." "We will continue to isolate North Korea until it abandons its nuclear and ballistic missile programs once and for all," he said. The Vice President's delegation includes the father of the late Otto Warmbier, an American student who died shortly after being released from North Korean custody. Fred Warmbier and his wife Cindy were in the audience during US President Donald Trump's State of the Union address last month. They looked on tearfully as the President cited their son's treatment as a example of the "menace that threatens our world." The US delegation will be joined by the President's daughter and senior advisor Ivanka Trump , who will attend the closing ceremony on February 25, a White House official said Monday. JUST WATCHED Trump: We honor Otto Warmbier's memory Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump: We honor Otto Warmbier's memory 02:34 Hundreds of North Koreans have arrived in South Korea ahead of the Opening Ceremony on Friday. Though only 22 athletes will compete in events, the North's delegation will be among the largest at the Games. It includes an 114-strong art troupe and 96-crew who arrived at South Korea's Mukho port on Wednesday aboard the Mangyongbong 92 cargo-passenger ferry. JUST WATCHED Who is North Korean pop star Hyon Song Wol? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Who is North Korean pop star Hyon Song Wol? 02:44 Kim's delegation includes Hyon Song Wol, the lead singer of Kim Jong Un's favorite girl band, whose every move was followed by a insatiable South Korean press during a pre-Games tour last month. Hyon's the closest thing North Korea has to a celebrity and her presence in Pyeongchang is an indication of how seriously North Korea is taking its Olympic diplomatic mission. Kim Jong Un's Olympic plans also include a massive military parade on Thursday through the streets of the North Korean capital Pyongyang. The display would be an attempt "to scare the hell out of the Americans," a diplomatic source told CNN last month. ||||| Image copyright KCNA Image caption Kim Yo-jong in a 2015 picture of her brother touring a military unit The influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is to attend the Winter Olympic Games which open in Pyeongchang in the South on Friday, ministers in Seoul say. Kim Yo-jong, a senior Workers' Party official promoted to the politburo last year, will be the first immediate Kim family member to cross the border. Both Koreas will march under one flag at the opening ceremony. The North's participation has been seen as a thawing of bilateral ties. However, the US, Japan and others have accused the North of using the Games for propaganda purposes. Who is Kim Yo-jong? Believed to have been born in 1987, she is the youngest daughter of late leader Kim Jong-il and is Kim Jong-un's full sister. She is about four years younger than her brother and is said to be very close to him. She is reportedly married to the son of Choe Ryong-hae, the powerful party secretary. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Kim Yo-jong at the opening of a residential complex in Pyongyang in 2017 Kim Yo-jong has been in the spotlight sporadically in recent years, with her main job being to protect her brother's image via her role in the party's propaganda department. She remains blacklisted by the US over alleged links to human rights abuses in North Korea. A message from her brother? Analysis: BBC's Laura Bicker in Seoul This is a huge surprise. There had been speculation Kim Yo-jong might be part of the delegation but few thought it would actually happen. It is being seen as a sign that Kim Jong-un is serious about improving ties with South Korea. Kim Yo-jong is one of Kim Jong-un's closest aides and some are speculating that she might be bringing a message from her brother. But there could be a number of obstacles to overcome if she is to make it to Pyeongchang. She is targeted by US sanctions for alleged human rights abuses, although she is not on the UN Security Council travel blacklist. There is also the question of how she will get to the Games. Seoul has had to request special permission from the US and others in the international community to allow North Korean athletes and performers to travel south by bus and ferry. They may have to do so again and this time it will be for a member of Kim Jong-un's own family. How rare is this visit? It would be the first by a direct member of the Kim dynasty. Chang Song-thaek, Kim Jong-un's uncle and brother in law of Kim Jong-il, did travel to the South but did not belong to the Baekdu blood line, which is considered significant. There is speculation in the South that this is part of Kim Yo-jong's grooming for greater power, and that she could be bringing a letter from her brother to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who she is likely to meet. It is unclear whether Kim Yo-jong will be at the opening ceremony on Friday. Who else is in the delegation? Politically, four figures, including Kim Yo-jong, are key. The others are: Kim Yong-nam . North Korea's ceremonial head of state, the president of its parliament. The diplomatically sure-footed 90-year-old has seen the rule of all three North Korean leaders and has travelled overseas before . North Korea's ceremonial head of state, the president of its parliament. The diplomatically sure-footed 90-year-old has seen the rule of all three North Korean leaders and has travelled overseas before Ri Son-gwon . The head of the North Korean state agency in charge of inter-Korean affairs. A veteran negotiator, he was North Korea's chief delegate at the rare inter-Korean talks held in January . The head of the North Korean state agency in charge of inter-Korean affairs. A veteran negotiator, he was North Korea's chief delegate at the rare inter-Korean talks held in January Choe Hwi. Vice-chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party and chairman of the National Sports Guidance Committee. Under US state department sanctions And the rest of the North Korean team? It's a 280-strong delegation, most of whom arrived in the South on Wednesday. Led by North Korean Sports Minister Kim Il-guk, it includes 229 cheerleaders, four officials from the National Olympic Committee, 26 taekwondo demonstrators and 21 journalists. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption North Korean cheerleaders arrive in the South for the Games The team arrived via a western border at 09:28 local time (00:26 GMT), the Yonhap news agency reported. Only 10 athletes will compete for the North at the Games, along with another 12 as part of a unified Korean women's ice hockey team. Drip, drip, drip of PR Michael Madden, North Korea leadership expert In announcing its delegates both to the 2018 Winter Olympics and the inter-Korean culture events on the sidelines, Pyongyang let out the information in a slow drip. Part of this is Pyongyang maximising the positive PR effects. The announcement of the full delegation came following the arrival of its athletes to the Games late last week, and one day after 10 musicians arrived in South Korea. So now North Korea has earned itself a third day of positive media coverage about its participation in the Olympics. How have others reacted? The US is scornful of the North's motives over the Olympics and is sending Vice-President Mike Pence to the opening ceremony in Pyeongchang to counter what it terms propaganda. Image copyright Reuters Image caption Both the US and Japan have been critical of the North's Olympics policy "We're travelling to the Olympics to make sure that North Korea doesn't use the powerful symbolism in the backdrop of the Winter Olympics to paper over the truth about their regime," he said. He was in Tokyo on Wednesday and maintained the pressure, announcing that "the United States will soon unveil the toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea". Japan has been equally sceptical. Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We must not be fooled by North Korea's 'smile diplomacy'." Where are we on North-South ties? North Korea currently faces growing international pressure and sanctions over its nuclear and missile programmes. Its latest ballistic missile test, on 28 November, sparked a new series of measures from the UN, targeting petrol shipments and travel for North Koreans, and a war of words between the North and US President Donald Trump. Kim Jong-un then extended a New Year's olive branch to the South over participation in the Olympics, which run from 9 to 25 February. The perceived warming of ties has not been without difficulties, not least the North's decision to move a military parade in Pyongyang from April to the day before the opening of the Games. ||||| FILE - This 2015, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong, left, during their visit to a military unit in North Korea. South... (Associated Press) FILE - This 2015, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong, left, during their visit to a military unit in North Korea. South Korea’s Unification Ministry said North Korea informed Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, that Kim Yo Jong would... (Associated Press) FILE - This 2015, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong, left, during their visit to a military unit in North Korea. South Korea’s Unification Ministry said North Korea informed Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018, that Kim Yo Jong would... (Associated Press) FILE - This 2015, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his sister Kim Yo Jong, left, during their visit to a military unit in North Korea. South... (Associated Press) SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister, an increasingly prominent figure in the country's leadership, will be part of the North's delegation to the South Korean Winter Olympics, officials said Wednesday. Kim Yo Jong, believed to be around 30, will be the first member of North Korea's ruling family to visit South Korea since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Analysts say her inclusion in the Olympic delegation shows North Korea's ambition to use the Olympics to break out from diplomatic isolation by improving relations with the South, which it could use as a bridge for approaching the United States. By sending a youthful, photogenic person who will undoubtedly attract international attention during the Olympics, North Korea is also trying to construct a fresher and warmer public image and defuse potential U.S. efforts to use the Pyeongchang Games to highlight the North's brutal human rights record, experts say. Kim Jong Un might also have seen that U.S. President Donald Trump was sending his daughter, Ivanka, to the Olympics ceremony and decided to match the move by sending his sister, said Hong Min, an analyst at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification. By sending a relative, "Kim Jong Un may be trying to present himself as an equal to Donald Trump," Hong said. South Korea's Unification Ministry said North Korea informed it that Kim Yo Jong, first vice director of the Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party, would be part of the delegation led by the country's nominal head of state, Kim Yong Nam. The ministry said Kim Yo Jong's schedule in the South has yet to be determined, and it wasn't immediately clear whether she will meet with President Moon Jae-in, a liberal who has expressed a desire to reach out to the North. Moon's office welcomed the decision to send Kim Yo Jong, which it said showed the North's willingness to cooperate in efforts to ease tensions in the Korean Peninsula. "First Vice Director Kim Yo Jong is Chairman Kim Jong Un's sister who has an important role in the Workers' Party, (so her visit) is that much more meaningful," presidential spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a statement read on television. Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University, said Kim Yo Jong, as Kim Jong Un's relative and apparently one of the few people who has earned his absolute trust, carries more weight as a dialogue partner for the South than any other official the North could send. It's unclear whether any member of the North Korean government delegation will hold talks with U.S. officials during the Olympics. But Kim Yo Jong's presence would give North Korea a better opportunity to win South Korean help in reaching out to the United States, Hong said. He also said Washington may see Kim Yo Jong as an avenue to deliver messages to Kim Jong Un. "With any other North Korean official, even the so-called No. 2 Choe Ryong Hae, you are getting a person who's just parroting orders given by Kim Jong Un," Hong said. "But with Kim Yo Jong, you are getting a person who's chiefly involved in designing Kim Jong Un's rule, a person whom the leader actually listens to." North Korea said the delegation will also include Choe Hwi, chairman of the country's National Sports Guidance Committee, and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the North's agency that deals with inter-Korean affairs. Seoul previously said the delegation would arrive Friday, but Wednesday's statement was the first confirmation that a member of the North's ruling family will be included. Kim Yo Jong and Kim Jong Un were born to the same mother, Ko Yong Hui. They had a half brother, Kim Jong Nam, who was murdered last year at a Malaysian airport. Kim Yo Jong was promoted by her brother last year to be an alternate member of the decision-making political bureau of the ruling party's central committee, which analysts said showed that her activities are more substantive than previously thought. The war-separated Koreas are cooperating on a series of conciliatory measures during the Olympics, which the South sees as an opportunity to ease tensions with the North following an extended period of animosity over its nuclear weapon and missile programs. Skeptics think North Korea is trying to use the Olympics to weaken U.S.-led sanctions and pressure against it and buy time to advance its weapons programs. North Korea has 22 athletes competing in the Winter Olympics but also has sent performing artists and a large cheering group. A decision by North Korea to send the artists by sea has triggered debate in the South, where conservatives see the move as a clear indication the North is trying to use the Olympics to ease sanctions against it. South Korea is deciding whether to accept North Korea's request that it provide fuel for the ferry that transported the artists. Seoul exempted the ferry from sanctions to allow it in South Korean waters. "We will closely discuss with the United States and other related nations the matter of providing convenience to the Mangyongbong ferry so that no problem regarding sanctions would occur," said Seoul's Unification Ministry spokesman, Baik Tae-hyun.

– In a move seen as a sign that North Korea is serious about improving relations with the South—and about thumbing its nose at the US—Kim Jong Un's powerful younger sister will be visiting South Korea as part of the North's high-level Olympic delegation. Kim Yo Jong, who is a full sibling of the North Korean leader and is believed to be around 30 years old, will be the first "direct member" of the Kim dynasty to visit the South, the BBC reports. South Korean officials welcomed the surprise announcement, saying it is "significant that the delegation also includes Kim Yo Jong, who is Chairman Kim Jong Un's sister and holds an important position in the Workers' Party of Korea." Analysts say Kim Jong Un appears to be trying to present a warmer image of North Korea. By sending his sister when President Trump is sending daughter Ivanka, Kim "may be trying to present himself as an equal to Donald Trump," Hong Min at Seoul's Korea Institute for National Unification tells the AP. Mike Pence, meanwhile, is on a visit to Asia aimed at counteracting Pyongyang's "charm offensive," as CNN puts it. He told reporters Wednesday that the US is about to impose the "toughest and most aggressive round of economic sanctions on North Korea ever." Kim Yo Jong was in January 2017 placed on the US Treasury Department's sanctions list over the country's human rights record, Reuters reported at the time; here's what else we know about her.

With scant weeks to go before the Iowa caucuses, perpetually ignored-by-the-media Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul is making a deadly serious run for the top spot in the first-in-the-nation GOP contest. A little over a week ago, Paul passed Mitt Romney for second place in the state, 7 points behind frontrunner Newt Gingrich. A new poll from Public Policy Polling, however, has the congressman trailing Gingrich by a single point, 22%-21%, with Romney holding onto third with 16%. While the media has already decided that this is now a two-man race between Gingrich and perpetual poll runner-up Mitt Romney, Ron Paul has emerged as a very real threat in Iowa, and from there, who knows? From PPP: There has been some major movement in the Republican Presidential race in Iowa over the last week, with what was a 9 point lead for Newt Gingrich now all the way down to a single point. Gingrich is at 22% to 21% for Paul with Mitt Romney at 16%, Michele Bachmann at 11%, Rick Perry at 9%, Rick Santorum at 8%, Jon Huntsman at 5%, and Gary Johnson at 1%. …Gingrich has dropped 5 points in the last week and he’s also seen a significant decline in his favorability numbers. Last week he was at +31 (62/31) and he’s now dropped 19 points to +12 (52/40). The attacks on him appear to be taking a heavy toll- his support with Tea Party voters has declined from 35% to 24%. Paul is also within 8 points of the lead in one New Hampshire poll, just 3 points behind Gingrich. Gingrich has faced brutal attacks on the issues from Paul that left many observers gasping, plus a vicious ad by a WorldNetDaily contributor that was aimed at social conservatives in Iowa, but which was played and re-played nationally by cable news outlets. Unlike Gingrich, Ron Paul has the fundraising and organizational apparatus to take him beyond wins in early states, so a victory in Iowa could very well propel him to a brokered convention, or more. Disaffection with Gingrich and Romney has already led conservative pundit Joe Scarborough to say he would consider voting for Paul as an independent. Whether or not Ron Paul is taken seriously has always hinged on the whims of the mainstream media, but results like these make it increasingly difficult to ignore him. Have a tip we should know? tips@mediaite.com ||||| Oh my: Ron Paul within one point of Gingrich in Iowa? posted at 3:56 pm on December 13, 2011 by Allahpundit Hey now. I was writing “Could Ron Paul seriously win Iowa?” posts before writing “Could Ron Paul seriously win Iowa?” posts was cool. There has been some major movement in the Republican Presidential race in Iowa over the last week, with what was a 9 point lead for Newt Gingrich now all the way down to a single point. Gingrich is at 22% to 21% for Paul with Mitt Romney at 16%, Michele Bachmann at 11%, Rick Perry at 9%, Rick Santorum at 8%, Jon Huntsman at 5%, and Gary Johnson at 1%. Gingrich has dropped 5 points in the last week and he’s also seen a significant decline in his favorability numbers. Last week he was at +31 (62/31) and he’s now dropped 19 points to +12 (52/40). The attacks on him appear to be taking a heavy toll- his support with Tea Party voters has declined from 35% to 24%. Paul meanwhile has seen a big increase in his popularity from +14 (52/38) to +30 (61/31). There are a lot of parallels between Paul’s strength in Iowa and Barack Obama’s in 2008- he’s doing well with new voters, young voters, and non-Republican voters… Simple question: What’s Paul’s ceiling in Iowa? A friend on Twitter was arguing earlier that it’s 20 percent, which is borne out by the polls — so far. If he’s right then Paul can’t win. But … what if Paul’s ceiling is actually 30 percent? Note that his favorables are trending upwards while Newt’s are sinking under the weight of renewed scrutiny of his various conservative heresies. If you’re an Iowan who’s unhappy with the “electable” candidates — Romney for being too opportunistic, Gingrich for flirting too often with activist government, Perry for seeming too darned hapless — then Paul’s an obvious choice for your “none of the above” protest vote. So obvious, in fact, that both Glenn Beck and Joe Scarborough are threatening to back him as a third-party candidate if Gingrich is the nominee. (An interesting footnote in the PPP data: Voters split equally on whether their view of the GOP establishment is favorable or unfavorable, and among the latter group Paul leads by double digits at 34 percent.) If he can pull 10 percent from voters like that on top of the 20 percent who make up his base, then his chances at an upset improve dramatically. And don’t forget, not only is Paul’s base famously enthusiastic and guaranteed to turn out, he’s one of the best organized candidates in Iowa this time. He might be able to get leaners to come out and caucus come rain or shine. Can Gingrich do the same? I’ll bet Romney’s kicking himself now for not having abandoned Iowa early on. If he had done that, he could have sent his supporters out to caucus for Paul, thereby detonating Newt’s chances; if he tried that now, having competed in earnest in the state, the headlines would be all about Romney’s shockingly poor finish in Iowa, which would actually help Gingrich in New Hampshire even if he finished second to Paul in the caucuses. (On the other hand, per Rasmussen, Paul’s just four points back of Gingrich for second place in New Hampshire too.) Two exit questions for you, then. One: As chances of a Paul upset grow, will Iowa’s Republican leaders swing behind Newt or Mitt? They want the caucuses to remain relevant to choosing the eventual nominee, and if Paul wins, that’ll be two elections in a row where the Iowa winner realistically had no chance. Two: Could a Paul victory achieve a real “none of the above” outcome for the nomination? A brokered convention is unlikely – but, as Sean Trende explains, not impossible if Paul fares well. Caucus states are also concentrated in the Mountain West, where his brand of Republicanism holds greater appeal. They’re also front-loaded, meaning that (a) his supporters will be less likely to have been swayed by the “can’t win” argument and (b) the more “establishment” Republican candidates are likely to split the non-Paul votes. Overall, 486 delegates will be awarded in caucus states. If Paul picks off a sizable number of these delegates, say a quarter of them, and two other GOP candidates battle to a draw, there might not be a nominee by the end of June. This type of fight could carry over to the convention, since Paul is pretty feisty and is probably the least likely candidate out there to be “bought off” with a Cabinet position or speaking slot. If, say, Perry and Gingrich are knotted up with about 1,050 delegates each, and Paul holds the remaining 200 and refuses to budge, you could end up with a deadlocked convention that eventually turns to a dark-horse candidate. Ron Paul winning Iowa just might mean the GOP nominating Ryan, Christie, or Daniels. Second look at Ron Paul winning Iowa? ||||| PPP's tracking of the Florida Republican primary wraps up with Mitt Romney at 39%, Newt Gingrich at 31%, Rick Santorum at 15%, and Ron Paul at 11%. Our three days of tracking found very little movement in the race: Romney was at 39-40% every day, Gingrich was at 31-32% every day, Santorum was at 14-15% every day, and Paul was at 9-11% every day. The lack of movement in the final 72 hours of the campaign is a far cry from the dramatic shifts Florida Republicans made in their preferences over the last four months. In late September we found Mitt Romney ahead of Newt Gingrich by 20 points in the state. By late November, as he surged nationally, Gingrich had taken a 30 point led over Romney. But then our first poll in early January, after poor performances by Gingrich in Iowa and New Hampshire, found Romney back on top by 15 points. Riding a (short lived) wave of momentum off his South Carolina victory, Gingrich led our Florida poll last week by 5 points. By the end of the week the race had swung back to Romney and over the last three days his lead has been steady in the 7-8 point range. One thing Romney did a great job of was getting his voters out early. With the third of the electorate who have already cast their ballots he leads 45-32. That means Gingrich would have to win election day voters by somewhere in the 6-8 point range to pull off the Florida upset, but we find that Romney still has a 36-30 advantage with those are waiting to vote tomorrow. Romney will win in Florida tomorrow because he's winning his core groups of support by wide margins, while holding Gingrich to single digit advantages with his key constituencies. Romney is winning moderates by 39 (53-14), seniors by 12 (46-32), and women by 12 (42-30). Meanwhile Gingrich is only up 8 with Tea Partiers (39-31) and 6 with Evangelicals (38-32), groups he won by huge margins in South Carolina.

– The first chink in Newt Gingrich's surge? A new Public Policy Polling survey shows that his lead in Iowa has dropped from 9 points to 1 point in a week. And the beneficiary isn't Mitt Romney but Ron Paul. The new figures have Gingrich at 22%, down 5 points, and Paul at 21%, up 3 points. Romney sticks at 16%. What's it all mean? Adam Sorensen, Time: The poll could be a fluke, but "Gingrich’s lead was always tenuous and it’s not surprising that the absolutely brutal ad campaigns against him have at very least slowed his ascent." Ed Morrissey, Hot Air: It might be time to start thinking about a deadlocked convention. "Paul winning Iowa just might mean the GOP nominating Ryan, Christie, or Daniels." Tommy Christopher, Mediaite: "Unlike Gingrich, Ron Paul has the fundraising and organizational apparatus to take him beyond wins in early states, so a victory in Iowa could very well propel him to a brokered convention, or more." The mainstream media doesn't much like Paul's chances, "but results like these make it increasingly difficult to ignore him."

Washington (CNN) Then-President Barack Obama warned President-elect Donald Trump in November against hiring retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn as his national security adviser , former Obama administration officials confirmed to CNN Monday. Obama warned Trump about Flynn during their Oval Office meeting on November 10, days after Trump was elected president. "Given the importance of the job, the President through there were better people for it, and that Flynn wasn't up for the job," a former senior Obama administration official told CNN Monday. Other former Obama administration officials said then-Director of National Intelligence James Clapper didn't think highly of Flynn, and in fact was the person who recommended Flynn's firing as DNI in 2014. Flynn's focus was generally limited to terrorism and didn't know much about many other issues important for the national security adviser job, such as China, the officials said. But at least one former Obama official disputed that, saying Obama's concerns were not related to the firing of Flynn from the Defense Intelligence Agency but rather in the course of the investigation into Russian interference into the 2016 election. "Flynn's name kept popping up," according to a senior Obama administration source. The White House confirmed later Monday that Obama raised concerns about Flynn during his Oval Office sitdown with Trump in November. "It's true President Obama made it known he wasn't exactly a fan of Gen. Flynn's," press secretary Sean Spicer said. He said the concerns shouldn't have come as a surprise, since Flynn was an "outspoken critic" of the Obama administration's shortcomings on foreign policy. Spicer said if the Obama administration was "truly concerned" about Flynn, there are steps it could have taken, including suspending his security clearance. Flynn previously served as the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency under Obama until he was reportedly forced out of the post 2014 over internal disagreements over policy and management. Trump did not heed Obama's counsel on Flynn, bringing aboard the former military intelligence officer who supported Trump during his campaign as his national security adviser. Trump fired Flynn 24 days later when news broke of Flynn's conversations with Russian Ambassador to the US Sergey Kislyak. News of the warning comes as former acting Attorney General Sally Yates is set to testify before Congress on Monday about the concerns she expressed to Trump administration officials about Flynn's contacts with Russian officials, namely with Kislyak. Yates, in her role as acting attorney general, warned White House counsel Don McGahn on January 26 that Flynn was lying when he denied -- both publicly and privately -- that he discussed US sanctions on Russia with Kislyak. It wasn't until weeks later that Trump asked for Flynn's resignation, only after news surfaced that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence about his conversations with Kislyak. JUST WATCHED Trump: I feel badly for Michael Flynn Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH Trump: I feel badly for Michael Flynn 01:31 According to five current and former intelligence officials, their concern started around the time Flynn went to Moscow for the 10th anniversary gala of the state-sponsored news agency Russia Today. At that dinner, the former high-ranking intelligence official was seated right next to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also had contact with Kislyak after the trip. Former US officials were highly suspicious of Kislyak and his motives, and there were concerns Flynn didn't seem to understand the dangers in the conversations, the officials said. As was reported over the weekend, even Trump's own team was concerned enough to request a CIA profile of the Russian ambassador to help illustrate to Flynn he was taking a big chance in his interactions with Kislyak. Yates' testimony on Monday will be the first time she speaks publicly about her warnings to the White House about Flynn. The Senate and House intelligence committees are continuing to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 election, including potential coordination between Russian officials and the Trump campaign or people close to the campaign. Congressional investigators have so far homed in on Flynn, Carter Page, a former foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, and Roger Stone, who informally advised Trump during his presidential run. While Trump asked for Flynn's resignation, he has not abandoned his former national security adviser altogether. Trump on Monday morning sought to get ahead of Yates' testimony, taking to Twitter to deflect criticism that he or his administration should have kept Flynn out of the top national security post from the outset. General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017 Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Council. — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2017 "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama administration -- but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that," Trump said in his first missive. "Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel," he tweeted. Flynn began advising Trump on national security in early 2016 and soon became a constant presence by Trump's side as he crisscrossed the country from rally to rally. He frequently introduced Trump on the campaign trail, delivering introductory remarks rife with criticism of the Obama administration's foreign policy and of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. Flynn often led Trump supporters in chants of "Lock her up!" as he accused her of corruption and negligence in her use of a private email server. Trump came to value Flynn not only for his like-minded view of global affairs but for his loyalty throughout the campaign. CNN's Jake Tapper, Kevin Liptak, Pamela Brown and Gloria Borger contributed to this report. ||||| Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. May 8, 2017, 3:10 PM GMT / Updated May 8, 2017, 3:33 PM GMT By Kristen Welker, Dafna Linzer and Ken Dilanian Former President Obama warned President Donald Trump against hiring Mike Flynn as his national security adviser, three former Obama administration officials tell NBC News. The warning, which has not been previously reported, came less than 48 hours after the November election when the two sat down for a 90-minute conversation in the Oval Office. A senior Trump administration official acknowledged Monday that Obama raised the issue of Flynn, saying the former president made clear he was "not a fan of Michael Flynn." Another official said Obama’s remark seemed like it was made in jest. According to all three former officials, Obama warned Trump against hiring Flynn. The Obama administration fired Flynn in 2014 from his position as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, largely because of mismanagement and temperament issues. NBC News Alerts:Sign up to be the first to know about breaking news Obama’s warning pre-dated the concerns inside the government about Flynn’s contacts with the Russian ambassador, one of the officials said. Obama passed along a general caution that he believed Flynn was not suitable for such a high level post, the official added. Two administration officials said Obama also warned Trump to stay vigilant on North Korea. The revelations came on the same day that former acting Attorney General Sally Yates testified about the events that led to Flynn's eventual firing. Separately, two U.S. officials told NBC News that the Defense Intelligence Agency didn't know Flynn had been paid nearly $34,000 by a Russian state media outlet when it renewed his security clearance in April 2016. Trump named Flynn as his national security adviser. Flynn, who was conducting private conversations with the Russian ambassador regarding sanctions, was then fired three weeks into the administration for misleading Vice President Pence about those conversations. Obama and Trump shake hands following their meeting in the Oval Office on Nov. 10, 2016. Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP News of the Obama warning came as Trump sought to get ahead of a day of unpleasant disclosures about his former top foreign policy aide, taking to Twitter Monday to cast aspersions on Yates, the 27-year Justice Department prosecutor who warned the White House that then-National Security Adviser Mike Flynn had misled officials about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Related: White House Denies Claim That Yates' Testimony Was Blocked "Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel," Trump tweeted, referring to Yates’ conversation with White House counsel Donald McGahn. But Trump has left many other important questions about the Flynn affair unanswered, including: What, if anything, did he know about his national security adviser’s conversations with the Russian ambassador? Monday afternoon, Yates is scheduled to testify for the first time in public, alongside James Clapper, the former director of national intelligence, who pushed Flynn in 2014 from his job as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. The two are due to appear before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee at 2:30 p.m. It was more than a week after Yates raised concerns about Flynn with McGahn that the story leaked to the Washington Post, prompting a series of events that led to Flynn’s ouster from his White House job. In a second tweet Monday morning, Trump noted that "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama administration, but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that." It’s true that Flynn got his top level security clearance renewed in January 2016, but what Trump didn’t mention is that Flynn should have received a far more thorough vetting in advance of his becoming national security adviser, a job that allows access to the nation’s most closely-held secrets. What was the nature of that vetting, and did it raise any flags about Flynn’s lobbying work for Turkish interests during the campaign, or his paid appearance on behalf of Russian state media, both now under scrutiny by law enforcement agencies? The White House hasn’t said. Related: Flynn Never Told DIA That Russians Paid Him, Say Officials Another big question that has never been answered: Did Flynn coordinate with the president over his repeated contacts with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak? Those contacts raised alarms not only within the Obama administration, but within Trump’s own transition team, according to reports Friday confirmed by NBC News. There were concerns that the Trump administration was signaling Russia not to worry about the Obama administration sanctions on Russia over its election interference, which expelled Russian intelligence officers from the U.S. and blocked access to Russian diplomatic compounds here. Flynn was fired as national security adviser, White House officials said, because he told Vice President Pence he didn’t discuss those sanctions with Kislyak, despite FBI transcripts showing that he did. That is among the issues Yates raised to McGahn, according to people who have been briefed on the matter. People familiar with her plans don’t expect her to get into much detail about her warnings regarding Flynn, largely because many of the underlying facts involve classified material. In advance of her testimony, Republicans have been accusing her of acting politically, and noting that she was fired by Trump for refusing to enforce his travel ban. They call her a partisan Democrat. Related: Former Acting AG Sally Yates to Testify Publicly in House Intel Probe In response, her defenders point out that she spent much of her 27-year Justice Department career working as a line prosecutor, a non-political job. Though she was appointed to positions in both the Clinton and Obama administrations, she was widely respected on both sides of the aisle. Georgia Republican Johnny Isakson, her home state senator, was among those introducing her at her 2015 confirmation hearing to become deputy attorney general. She was confirmed, 84-12. ||||| Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and former acting Attorney General General Sally Yates appear before the Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism on May 8. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Key moments from Sally Yates' Flynn testimony Former acting Attorney General Sally Yates broke her silence Monday, detailing her role in the ousting of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Her testimony, before the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, came amid a series of investigations into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election and possible collusion between Donald Trump's campaign and Moscow. Story Continued Below Below are highlights from the hearing, which also included testimony from former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper. Yates says Flynn was susceptible to blackmail Yates for the first time publicly detailed her efforts to alert the White House that Flynn was potentially susceptible to Russian blackmail. She told senators she held a meeting Jan. 26 with White House counsel Don McGahn in which she laid out the evidence that Flynn had misled Vice President Mike Pence and other senior officials about the nature of his phone calls with Russia’s ambassador. “To state the obvious, you don’t want your national security adviser compromised with the Russians,” Yates said, explaining that the Russians knew Flynn had misled Pence and could potentially use this to blackmail him. Flynn was not fired until Feb. 13, after it had become public that he misled Pence. Democrats point to the 18-day gap between Yates' warnings and Flynn's firing as evidence the White House did not take the concerns seriously. Yates’ own firing creates some awkward moments As Yates discussed her efforts to inform the White House that Flynn was compromised, her story came to an abrupt end. She could not say what happened after Jan. 30 — the day she herself was fired by Trump after she refused to defend Trump’s first travel ban executive order in court. Asked multiple times about how the White House reacted to her warnings about Flynn, Yates said she didn’t know. “I was no longer with DOJ after the 30th,” she said. Yates learned about travel ban from the media Yates said she met with McGahn the same afternoon the administration rolled out its executive order targeting citizens from several Muslim-majority countries, but was not told about it at the time. “I learned about this from media reports,” she told the subcommittee of the Jan. 30 meeting, which turned out to be her last day at the Justice Department. Yates’ comment came after Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) pointedly asked why she went against the Justice Department’s prestigious Office of Legal Counsel, which found the executive order to be lawful on Jan. 27. "In the over 200 years of the Department of Justice history, are you aware of any instance in which the Department of Justice has formerly approved the legality of a policy and three days later the attorney general has directed the department not to follow that policy and to defy that policy?" Cruz asked. Yates said she wasn't but added that she was also not aware of any instance where the counsel was advised “not to tell” the country’s top law enforcement official about such an action until after it was over. She also strongly defended her decision and reiterated that she viewed the executive order, which was blocked by the courts, as unlawful. “I did my job the best way I knew how,” she said. “I looked at this EO, I looked at the law, I talked with the folks at the Department of Justice, gathered them all to get their views and their input, and I did my job.” Clapper was not aware of the FBI's investigation into Trump Clapper told lawmakers that he was unaware the FBI had launched an investigation into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials last summer. He noted “the unique position of the FBI” between intelligence and law enforcement. “As a consequence, I was not aware of the counterintelligence investigation Director Comey first referred to during his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on March 20th, and that comports with my public statements.” Subcommittee chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) used his time to ask how Clapper couldn’t have known about the investigation if he approved the intelligence community’s January assessment on Russian meddling, wondering if the reason is because the inquiry wasn’t “mature enough.” “That’s a possibility,” Clapper replied. He speculated that another reason the investigation didn’t reach him is the evidence gathered to that point wasn’t conclusive enough. Clapper and Yates denied being anonymous sources on Trump and Russia Asked by Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, whether either had “ever been an anonymous source in a news report about matters relating to Mr. Trump, his associates or Russia's attempt on meddle in the election,” both Clapper and Yates denied doing so. Key moments from Sally Yates', James Clapper's Flynn testimony poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201705/2858/1155968404_5426384339001_5426380263001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true “No,” Clapper said. “Absolutely not,” answered Yates. Both also denied authorizing others in their respective agencies to be anonymous sources in such stories. Earlier in the day on Twitter, Trump had urged the committee to question Yates “under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel.” U.S. intelligence was told about possible Trump-Russia ties by allies, Clapper says Clapper confirmed media reports that the United Kingdom and other European allies passed along information to U.S. intelligence agencies in 2016 of contacts between Trump associates and Russian officials. “Yes, it is and it’s also quite sensitive,” Clapper said about the accuracy of the reports in response to questions from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), the Judiciary Committee’s top Democrat. “The specifics are quite sensitive,” Clapper added He said that there was evidence of Russian digital snooping going back to 2015 but that the activity was mainly “information gathering,” such as viewing voter registrations rolls around the country. Franken speculates on Trump’s motivations — and gets a laugh Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) devoted part of his time to ruminating on why it took Trump 18 days to fire Flynn after learning that he had misled Pence. But Yates wasn’t eager to speculate. “We're trying on put a puzzle together here, everybody,” Franken told the room. “And maybe, just maybe, he didn't get rid of a guy who lied to the vice president, who got paid by the Russians, who went on Russia Today, because there are other people in his administration who met secretly with the Russians and didn't reveal it til later, until they were caught. That may be why it took him 18 days, until it became public, to get rid of Mike Flynn, who was a danger to this republic.” Sign up here for POLITICO Huddle A daily play-by-play of congressional news in your inbox. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. He then asked Yates, “Care to comment?” The room erupted in laughter, knowing that she would not be eager to offer her opinion on Trump’s motivations. “I don't think I'm going to touch that, senator,” she said. Ted Cruz asked about the Clinton email scandal Cruz devoted several of his first questions to the scandal surrounding Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server as secretary of State. Without naming them, Cruz described Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s practice of forwarding email messages from the server to her husband, Anthony Weiner, and asked Clapper what concerns that behavior might raise. “It raises all kinds of potential security concerns,” Clapper said in response to Cruz’s hypothetical.

– When then-President Obama met with President-elect Trump in the Oval Office two days after the election, NBC News reports that Obama gave him a specific piece of advice: Don't hire Michael Flynn. (CNN says it has confirmed the story.) Trump did not take the advice and went on to make Flynn his national security adviser, only to fire him three weeks later when it emerged that Flynn had misled the White House about his conversations with the Russian ambassador. Obama's concerns, however, were more about Flynn's temperament, reports NBC, which notes that the Obama administration fired Flynn in 2014 from his post as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Obama reportedly told Trump that Flynn was not suited to such an important position. The revelation comes on the day that Sally Yates, who served briefly as acting attorney general between the two administrations, is expected to testify before Congress about her concerns over Flynn's contact with Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Trump himself addressed both aspects of the story on Monday: "General Flynn was given the highest security clearance by the Obama Administration - but the Fake News seldom likes talking about that," he tweeted. (Spokesman Sean Spicer previously blamed the Obama White House, citing Flynn's clearance to run the DIA.) And on Yates, Trump tweeted: "Ask Sally Yates, under oath, if she knows how classified information got into the newspapers soon after she explained it to W.H. Counsel."

On the first night of previews for Groundhog Day the musical, as the lights go down, it’s safe to say that most of the audience already knows the story that’s about to unfold. It would be hard to find anyone who hasn’t seen, or osmotically absorbed, the 1993 Bill Murray film on which this show is based, the story of a cynical weatherman trapped in a single repeating day. But no one knows it as well as the guy in the third row: a 60-year-old with wild wisps of hair, round eyeglasses, and a Hopi-sun-symbol stud in one ear. Danny Rubin is utterly rapt, even though he’s seen this performance more than 20 times; even though he’s lived with this story for nearly 25 years; even though he’s listening to some of the same lines he first tapped out on a Toshiba laptop when he was a young man of 32. Rubin is the guy who wrote Groundhog Day the musical. He’s also the guy who wrote Groundhog Day the film — both the original script and the version he later hammered out with director Harold Ramis. It’s still the film he’s still best known for; in fact, to this day, it’s the only film he’s known for. If you look him up on imdb.com, there are just four writing credits to his name. One of them is the story credit for the Italian remake of Groundhog Day (“Stork Day”). Two others are screenplays for a 1993 Marlee Matlin thriller and a 1994 film called S.F.W. that enjoys a solid 12 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The fourth credit is Groundhog Day — a film so beloved, idiomized, and dissertated about that it’s passed into English vernacular. For almost 25 years, that lone film has remained, for good or ill, his calling card. “I’m the guy who wrote Groundhog Day,” he says now. “I’m not the amazing screenwriter who’s had this long and storied career. I’m not Tom Stoppard.” But if you have to be stuck with one movie, it could be a worse movie than Groundhog Day. “It’s delightful to be so associated with something so well loved,” Rubin says. “You could break your heart thinking you’re the victim of this amazing life you’ve got.” This is the story of how Danny Rubin wrote Groundhog Day not once but twice — maybe more times than that, but who’s counting. It’s unusual for any artist to live so long under the shadow of a single work, let alone a story that is itself intimately concerned with limits and repetition. It’s more unusual still for an artist to return to that story in another medium for an encore nearly three decades later. Yet here Rubin is, in a Broadway theater, listening to his words echo, again and again and again, into the dark. He doesn’t remember how the idea first came to him. Rubin gets ideas the way some people take drugs — in wee fistfuls. When this particular batch hit him, he wrote down ten of the best ones in a list. It was the late ’80s, and Rubin was living in Chicago, turning out scripts for industrial films. He once spent two days working the front counter of the country’s most productive McDonald’s so he could write a video showing other McDonald’s workers how to shave seconds off their time with each customer. It wasn’t glorious, but at least he was being paid for writing. Still, he wanted to try writing real screenplays. So he made a list of his ten best ideas. Idea No. 2 was a Hitchcockian thriller about a murder in the deaf community; he called it Silencer. An agent got interested and that script sold, and a version of it eventually became the decidedly un-Hitchcockian Marlee Matlin vehicle Hear No Evil. Rubin moved his family to L.A. His agent said, “Get me a writing sample,” so Rubin went back to his list. Idea No. 10 on the list was “A man lives the same day over and over.” He wasn’t the first to think of this premise. The idea of reiterating the same stretch of time goes at least as far back as a 1904 short story by a British military strategist, in which a man dreams his way through the same battle, again and again. In 1973, an American named Richard A. Lupoff published a short book titled 12:01 P.M. about a man stuck in a “disfiguration of time.” (Lupoff briefly pursued legal action against Columbia Pictures after Groundhog Day came out, but the lawsuit was never formally filed.) Rubin had never read either of these, and he didn’t care how his protagonist had come to be trapped in February 2 — a date he chose in the hope that the movie might become a holiday cable perennial, the way It’s a Wonderful Life was broadcast every Christmas. Rubin was more interested in what would happen to a man stuck reliving the same day over and over. Would he go crazy? Fall to his worst impulses? How many lifetimes would it take for someone to truly change? He thought about the possibilities for a while. Then he powered through drafting the script in four days and sent it off to his agent. Ramis, who wrote and co-starred in Ghostbusters, found the script and was hired to direct it, and he cast Bill Murray to star in it. Rubin spent weeks revising it, first with Ramis, then with Murray — the two of them throwing ideas back and forth, hanging out in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania — and then it went back to Ramis, who defended it from the studio’s worst impulses, such as inserting a scene where the main character, Phil Connors, gets cursed by a gypsy. Then they filmed it, and it was a hit. For Rubin, working with Ramis and Murray wasn’t intimidating as much as reassuring: It felt like Hollywood had recognized him for who he was, like it had realized what he could do. “It was like, ‘Finally,’ ” he says now. “ ‘This is where I belong.’ ” And then it never happened again. After the film Groundhog Day was a success, Rubin started getting calls to work on scripts. He was now a known quantity — he was the guy who wrote Groundhog Day — and all producers seemingly wanted was for him to write the same movie again. A rom-com. Something quirky. But not too quirky. Maybe something with a time warp or a weatherman. “They’d say, ‘Just write something normal and it’ll come out Danny Rubin–y. It’ll be great,’ ” he says. “But I don’t want to write something normal! It’s messing with the premise and the structure that makes it exciting!” Rubin made a list of his ten best ideas. Idea No. 10 was “A man lives the same day over and over again.” It didn’t help that he’d moved his family to Santa Fe, New Mexico, before Groundhog Day had even finished shooting. At first, L.A. tried to woo him back, regularly flying him into town. Rubin’s brother Michael, who also worked in Hollywood, knew how this was supposed to go: “They want to meet you for lunch at the Ivy and they want to think you’re a totally fun guy,” he says. “You get in the door because you wrote a hit movie, but they want to see you as a guy they can play with.” But Rubin wouldn’t play. “It would be like, Goldie Hawn has a dysfunctional family, none of them get along, so they go camping and in the end they all learn to love each other,” Rubin recalls. “Typically I would say, ‘Okay, I am going to tell you your movie.’ ” He’d lay out a perfectly respectable studio picture, with a three-act structure and a conventional conclusion. “And then I’d say, ‘Under no circumstances am I going to write that movie.’ ” He sighs. “It took me years to understand that’s why the business started disappearing.” Most people in this situation either quit the screenplay business or learn to compromise. Rubin did neither. He kept writing scripts for his own ideas, and he kept selling them, pretty steadily, over the years — to Universal, to Amblin, to Castle Rock, to Miramax. But none of them were produced, and even when one of them spent some time being developed, Rubin would often be booted off the project. He wrote a movie about a woman; they asked if it could be about a man. He wrote a silent film; they asked if it could have dialogue. “People weren’t responding to my stuff by making movies out of it,” he says. “They were optioning it, but then there were the same arguments over and over: They were trying to make a movie I said I was expressly not interested in making.” Tim Minchin, who composed the songs for Groundhog Day the musical, puts it more succinctly: Rubin, he says, “refused to write to their fucking specs.” Rubin’s daughter, Maida, was a kid back then, but she remembers her dad’s Hollywood travails. “It seemed true of all his projects that they would take out the part he found interesting,” she says. “They just wanted it to be more like something they already knew.” Even as Rubin continued to not make films, Groundhog Day became a proportionally bigger and bigger part of his résumé — and of pop culture at large. The film had been a solid success when it came out but not a phenomenon; Roger Ebert gave it three stars. But as years passed, it seemed to gain resonance. The idea of a time loop became a standard trope in movies and television, and the term “Groundhog Day” itself became vernacular for any experience that seemed endlessly to repeat. Rubin’s friends would call him up excitedly whenever they heard someone use it, until it became so common that they had to stop. People kept writing to Rubin to tell him what his movie was about. A monk saw it as a Christian allegory; a Kabbalist analyzed the significance of its numerology. Philosophy students wrote dissertations about Groundhog Day and Nietzsche’s concept of the “eternal recurrence.” An economist published a column claiming that the film “illustrates the importance of the Mises-Hayek paradigm as an alternative to equilibrium economics by illustrating the unreal nature of equilibrium theorizing.” Addicts told Rubin that the film had helped them realize they were trapped in Punxsutawneys of their own making. The letters and phone calls and emails would reach a crescendo every February 2, a day when Rubin would hear not only from strangers and fans but from his own friends and family. Someone — he never found out who — for years left him little presents, balloons or candy or a toy groundhog, on his porch in Santa Fe. “It’s like my birthday,” he says. You could imagine a version of this story in which Rubin is bitter. “He’s got every reason to have an antagonistic relationship with this beast,” says Matthew Warchus, who directed the musical. Minchin agrees: “One can assume that, Groundhog Day being so far and away his greatest success, it would cast a huge shadow over him,” he says. Rubin himself will concede only the slightest negativity. “I was always thinking, I’m not a one-hit wonder, I’m not a one-hit wonder!” he says. Then he laughs. “But even if I am — okay, that’s more than most people get.” At some point, he started leaning into it. In 2005, Ebert published a new review of Groundhog Day, upgrading it to four stars. In 2007, Rubin started a blog — Blogus Groundhogus — where he answered questions from fans and posted fictional dialogues between himself and Phil Connors, now retired from the weather business and living on a mountainside near Taos. At his brother’s suggestion, he published an ebook on screenwriting, called How to Write “Groundhog Day.” He ended up teaching screenwriting at Harvard for five years. Every year, when February 2 came around, he and his wife would invite over all their friends, push back the furniture, and dance. But the story does not end there, because it is also a love story. That’s where Minchin and Warchus come in. In 2012, they were fresh off the success of their first musical, Matilda, and they wanted Groundhog Day to be their next adaptation. Warchus knew that Rubin had been tinkering with a musical version of the film for years (partly for fun; partly because that was one of the rights he hadn’t signed away to Columbia Pictures). But they had a hunch that Rubin had to be approached cautiously. “We just knew, obviously, this story is incredibly important to Danny,” Minchin says. “He wasn’t going to trust just anyone with his baby.” Minchin, a musician and stand-up comedian from Australia, made his name performing in bare feet and mascara, and in Rubin he immediately recognized a fellow eccentric. “He’s a beautiful guy and a one-in-a-trillion really,” Minchin says. “He’s an incredibly gentle, sensitive guy, too good for the world he ended up in, too pure in his desire to write interesting things for Hollywood.” So they courted him. Warchus flew Rubin to London to see Matilda. Then he and Minchin collaborated speculatively with Rubin on the musical for years without asking for the rights, on the basis of a handshake. Minchin noticed that Rubin sometimes made jokes that didn’t seem funny. “Like joking comments that tell the truth,” Minchin says, “About how ‘You’ll just fire me off the project anyway’ — because that happens in Hollywood quite a lot.” Minchin got the sense that Rubin had been hurt by years of “having people slightly fuck with him.” Typically I’d say, ‘I am going to tell you your movie.’ Then I’d say, ‘Under no circumstances am I going to write that movie.’ Finally, he says, he took Rubin aside. “I said, ‘Danny, look at me: Sometime in the future soon, in the next two years, this will be onstage. And you will be sitting next to me, watching what we made together. That’s what’s going to happen. So you have to trust me that you’re going to be there, of course, because it’s yours … you’re going to be there if you like it or not.’ “And that was the last time he made those jokes,” Minchin says. In August 2016, the musical opened in London to mostly rave reviews. For Rubin, the process of writing Groundhog Day for the second (maybe third?) time was a kind of vindication, a do-over. Where Hollywood had mostly disposed of him by the time shooting began on the film, Minchin and Warchus saw him as a vital component all the way through workshops, rehearsals, and opening night. “In theater, the writer is supposed to be a participant. In fact, the writer is a primary participant,” Rubin says. “So if you’re a writer who’s spent 20 years being sidelined, to be allowed to be at the big-boy table — it was very satisfying.” “He’s really getting another chance,” his brother Michael says. “He is Phil! Go figure, he has made it, he’s lived through that, and he’s a better person and a cooler guy.” “It’s ironic, of course,” Minchin says, “that for him, it has come round again and he has to relive this, has to relive this story of reliving stories.” Something has happened. It’s about 15 minutes into the first preview show, and the actors have suddenly vanished from the stage. The audience murmurs. The curtain drops. Minutes go by in silence. Finally, Warchus comes out to make an announcement: Inside the stage, the complex mechanism that powers the production’s intricate onstage turntables — there are five of them, nestled within each other — has somehow broken down. It’s never happened before, and they don’t know how to fix it. The rest of the musical will be performed with the cast sitting on the stage in a row of chairs, and everyone in the audience will get tickets to a second show. The audience is, if anything, a little bit thrilled. The usual has been disrupted. They’re witnessing a one-off, an iteration of Groundhog Day that will never happen this way again. They’re now complicit in show-business history. When the evening ends, the cast is given a standing ovation. As for Rubin, he’s smiling, beatific. “What a triumph,” a stranger says to him. His friends hug him. The technical breakdown doesn’t bother him much; he’s not an easily bothered guy. The one screenplay he wrote that he most wishes someone would make is called The Hanging Tale. It’s a Scheherezade Western: A man is on the verge of being hanged, and they ask him for his final words. He starts telling a story — the story becomes the bulk of the film, “full of adventures and cliffhangers,” Rubin said. “And then you cut back to the hanging and it’s night now and he’s still standing there with the noose around his neck, and they ask, ‘What next?’ ” Eventually, the townsfolk postpone the hanging again and again, “until the story he’s telling teaches the town compassion and they let him go.” If the musical is a success, Rubin thinks, maybe he’ll get a little heat off it. Maybe he’ll be able to see one more screenplay produced. That would be something. Who knows? “I sometimes think he’s watched the story and adopted some of its wisdom,” Warchus muses about Rubin. “He’s understood what was in his story and really taken it to heart. It’s like he threw himself a lifeline 20 years ago.” The crowd files out into the New York night, and the guy who wrote Groundhog Day goes with them. He’ll be back to do it all again tomorrow. Grooming by Korey Fitzpatrick for Exclusive Artists using Murad Skin care. *This article appears in the April 3, 2017, issue of New York Magazine. ||||| Rob Marshall's flawed but frequently dazzling Nine is a hot-blooded musical fantasia full of song, dance, raging emotion and simmering sexuality. We get to watch British acting dynamo Daniel Day-Lewis be Italian as Guido Contini, a genius director of the swinging Sixties (ciao, Federico Fellini) struggling to put the movie in his head up on the screen. That movie concerns the women in his life — mother (Sophia Loren), wife (Marion Cotillard), muse (Nicole Kidman), mistress (Penélope Cruz), reporter (Kate Hudson), colleague (Judi Dench) and whore (Fergie). With an indisputably gifted actor playing ringmaster to such feminine life force, what's not to like? You could argue that Nine, a 1982 Broadway hit spun off from Fellini's own 1963 psychodrama, 8 1/2, and revived in 2003, was never the equal of its source. But Maury Yeston composed a score of surpassing beauty. The challenge for Marshall, following his Oscar-winning Chicago, was to bring another hallucinatory musical to the screen without repeating himself or dimming the material's blazing, untamed theatricality. Get more news, reviews and interviews from Peter Travers on The Travers Take. By my score card, Marshall hits more than he misses. Those who hated his music-video editing in Chicago will hate it here. He errs by cutting three great songs ("Getting Tall," "Be On Your Own," "The Bells of St. Sebastian") for three inferior ones. "Cinema Italiano," sung by Hudson, is a tacky, overproduced misfire. He also shortchanges the influence of Catholicism on this man-child, and keeps Guido's nine-year-old alter ego too much in the shadows. Otherwise, his work is visionary and electric. And the script, by Michael Tolkin and the late, much missed Anthony Minghella, is uncommonly witty. Guido begins the film at a press conference telling reporters that to talk about a movie is to spoil its mystery. So I won't intrude except to say that Day-Lewis (who replaced an exhausted Javier Bardem) handles his two songs in high style and acts the role like the maestro he is, even if he looks as Italian as Big Ben. The women are smashing. Kidman tosses off her big number ("Unusual Way"), but Fergie sells hers ("Be Italian"). Dench is a sassy delight. Cruz does wonders as the mistress, sizzling in a rope dance ("Who's afraid to kiss your toes, I'm not") and going on to break your heart when Guido breaks hers. Best of all is Cotillard as the wife, baring her soul in "My Husband Makes Movies" and her body in a new number ("Take It All") that lets her throw the bum out. Cotillard, beautiful and bruising all at once, is perfection. As Marshall gathers his cast together for a finale with cinematographer Dion Beebe, costume whiz Colleen Atwood and production designer John Myhre working at their highest capacity, Nine fires on all cylinders. As Guido sings, "What's a good thing for if not taking it to excess?" Prego. ||||| After you've seen Nine, come back here and check out our Spoiler Special discussion: You can also download the program here , or you can subscribe to the Spoiler Special podcast feed via iTunes or directly with our RSS feed. Late December is musical season, time for the release of movies like Chicago, Dreamgirls, or Rob Marshall's latest, Nine (The Weinstein Company): expensive, ungainly screen adaptations of Broadway musicals packed with movie stars whose disproportionate off-screen fame makes them stick out like plums in a Christmas pudding. These musicals seem intended to remind us of the kind of movies "they" don't make anymore, but really, the only thing they remind us of is one another. (Last year's Mamma Mia! doesn't count in this category; it was released in summer, not at Christmastime, and was a fluffy jukebox musical with no aspirations to Oscar prestige.) This kind of movie is superfluous yet strangely compelling. We don't need to see Daniel Day-Lewis and Nicole Kidman sing a duet next to a Roman fountain any more than we need to see an elephant pirouette in a tutu, but wouldn't you be crazy to pass up the opportunity to see either? That elephant-in-a-tutu analogy works in more ways than one. There's something about Nine that smacks of the freak show, or the zoo: Step right up, pay $10, and you can see eight superstars, six of whom have won Oscars, singing songs in sparkly costumes. Two of them, Penelope Cruz and Marion Cotillard, will at some point get nearly naked. Never mind that the songs range from mediocre to actively unlistenable and that few of these actors know how to put over a song. Nine is abundantly stocked with star power, but the energy these charismatic performers generate is never harnessed in the service of the movie. As Guido Contini, the tormented Italian filmmaker whose fantasy life provides a pretext for the musical numbers, Daniel Day-Lewis has none of the suave dissolution of Marcello Mastroianni, the hero of Fellini's 8 ½, which inspired the original stage show. His Guido is neurasthenic and disheveled, perpetually on the verge of either a laughing or weeping fit. At a creative impasse in his career, Guido is under pressure to begin production on his next film, but despite his blustering press conferences about how the results will change cinematic history, he doesn't even have a script yet. So Guido retreats to a seaside resort town to pretend to write, to fantasize about the women he's known, and to carry on with his needy, fragile mistress (Penelope Cruz), who, like him, is already married. That, essentially, constitutes the entire action of Nine. Once he's reached the resort town, Guido does little but run his fingers through his hair and smoke while waiting for another musical number to begin inside his brain. Leave it to Day-Lewis, the most cerebral of leading men, to sell us on the idea that a character this uninteresting has a rich inner life. Advertisement Luckily for the stir-crazy audience, Guido has company for his sojourn by the sea. Lilli (Judi Dench), an old friend and the costume designer for his films, arrives to harass him (affectionately) about his nonexistent script. And his wife, Luisa (Marion Cotillard), shows up unexpectedly, providing the occasion for some adultery-based melodrama and the film's best musical number, "Take It All," in which the astonishingly talented Cotillard performs a physical and emotional striptease. But when Guido's muse, an Anita Ekberg-like Scandinavian actress named Claudia (Nicole Kidman) flies in for a costume fitting, everything grinds to a halt again. Kidman and Day-Lewis' duet by that fountain may be the movie's musical and dramatic low point. We've been given no idea what these characters' past relationship is or what they mean to each other, so her revelation that he's "special to me in my life/ since the first day that I met you" rings no truer than a junior-high yearbook inscription. (Then there's the fact that Kidman has entered some strange phase in her career in which she appears to have been replaced by her own Madame Tussaud's figure. But that's a whole other column.) As in Chicago, Marshall's big plan for dynamically transferring the spectacle from stage to screen is to stand in front of a proscenium stage and swoop his camera around. Full-length shots of singing and dancing bodies are rare, and quickly interrupted by edits, as if Marshall is afraid to let us see his cast in action. One of the more effective numbers, "Be Italian," works largely because it tries less hard than the others to be cinematic, and because the Black Eyed Peas' Fergie, playing the village prostitute Saraghina, abounds in the broad, sassy vulgarity the song requires. Ultimately, Nine's problem is simple. Translations of stage musicals to the screen rarely work unless the songs are really, really good, and even then, it's tricky. And these songs, with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston, are a far cry from Rodgers and Hart—when I say "Be Italian" is the catchiest song in the score, I'm grading on a serious curve. I wasn't a fan of Marshall's Chicago, with its frantic camerawork and calculated Oscar-seeking behavior, but I can still hum at least three songs from the score. Nine seems unlikely to garner any little gold men, but in a way it already has them. Watching it is like watching six Oscar statuettes interact onscreen. Become a fan of Slate on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Slate V: The critics on Nine and other new releases Like This Story Follow Slate's Movies

– In the late 1980s, Danny Rubin, who was writing industrial film scripts at the time, made a list of his 10 best ideas. The final entry on the list read, "A man lives the same day over and over." After the No. 2 idea on Rubin's list got sold and made into Hear No Evil starring Marlee Matlin, an agent wanted another script, and Rubin chose that No. 10 idea—which became Groundhog Day. Why did Rubin choose to center the movie around a holiday, which he decided to set on Feb. 2? He was hoping, as S.I. Rosenbaum explains in an extensive piece for the New Yorker, that the film would become a "holiday cable perennial." It worked. Rosenbaum traces the film's journey, from Rubin's first draft to the final draft, from the movie's initial modest success to its current cult status. Despite its insane popularity, Rubin never went on to have another hit. Hollywood people kept trying to get him to make another movie, but he didn't want to make just a standard rom-com, and he turned them all down. "I was always thinking, I’m not a one-hit wonder, I’m not a one-hit wonder!" he tells Rosenbaum. "But even if I am—OK, that’s more than most people get." Then, in 2012, Rubin's own life began to resemble Groundhog Day when Tim Minchin and Matthew Warchus approached him about turning the film into a musical. They had to convince him they weren't going to ditch him along the way, and they didn't—Rubin has been a part of the entire process, which resulted in the beloved movie becoming a beloved musical. "I'm the guy who wrote Groundhog Day," Rubin says, but he's not bitter about it. "It’s delightful to be so associated with something so well loved." The full piece is worth a read.

The U.S. mission in Iraq has stalled at one of five coalition training sites because the central government has not been sending new recruits, according to defense officials. Baghdad has not identified or sent any new recruits to the Al Asad air base in western Iraq for as many as four to six weeks, defense officials said Monday. ADVERTISEMENT The U.S. is currently training 2,601 Iraqi forces, but none of them are at Al Asad, officials said. "Al Asad has zero. And Al Asad has had zero now for some time," said one defense official on background. The stall has prompted U.S. officials, including President Obama, to urge the Iraqi government to speed up its recruitment efforts. The training is a key component of the U.S.-led military effort against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq (ISIS). "One of the things that we're still seeing is, in Iraq, places where we've got more training capacity than we have recruits," Obama said Monday after a discussion with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi. "Part of my discussion with Prime Minister Abadi was how do we make sure that we get more recruits in. A big part of the answer there is our outreach to Sunni tribes. We've seen Sunni tribes who are not only willing and prepared to fight ISIL, but have been successful at rebuffing ISIL. But it has not been happening as fast as it needs to," he said, using an alternate name for the group. The Al Asad air base is one of the primary sites for training Sunni tribal fighters, which the U.S. has left entirely up to the Iraqi forces out of deference to Baghdad. At one point earlier this year, there were several hundred U.S. troops — including about 300 Marines — training other Iraqi forces at the base. It is unclear how many are there today. The training and equipping of Sunni tribal fighters became more urgent after the fall of Ramadi last month, which is the capital of Anbar Province — referred to as the "Sunni heartland." Sunni forces who were defending the city said they had not received any training or equipment from the central government, which is dominated by Shiites. The U.S. has resisted directly training or equipping Sunni forces out of concern it could undermine Baghdad, which views the Sunni population with mistrust, and worsen sectarian tensions. Defense officials believe the training has stopped for two main reasons: the difficulty of bringing forces to the base, and the government of Iraq being "still not completely unified." "They still haven't gotten over many of their sectarian divides, so that is creating some of the problems as well," the defense official said. The U.S.-led coalition has so far trained about 8,920 at the five training sites in Iraq. Those include one located near Baghdad, and others in Erbil, Taji, Al Asad and Besmaya. There are approximately 910 trainees at the site near Baghdad, which is training Iraqi special operations forces, 800 trainees at the Erbil training site, 255 trainees at Besmaya, and 630 trainees at Taji. ||||| Following ISIS’s taking of Ramadi in Iraq, the White House will mobilize about 500 more military trainers to bolster its strategy to defeat ISIS and train Iraqi troops. Photo: Getty Images President Barack Obama is poised to send hundreds more American military advisers to a new base in a strategic Iraqi region to help devise a counterattack against marauding Islamic State militants, U.S. officials said Tuesday, a shift that underscores American concern over recent battlefield losses. The additional troops—expected to be about 500—are intended to help Iraqi forces prepare for the looming fight to break the extremists’ hold on Anbar province, which has long served as a command center for anti-American insurgents... ||||| Alistair Baskey, a National Security Council spokesman, said that the administration hoped to accelerate the training and equipping of Iraqi security forces, and that “those options include sending additional trainers.” The United States now has about 3,000 troops, including trainers and advisers, in Iraq. But the steps envisioned by the White House are likely to be called half-measures by critics because they do not call for an expansion of the role of American troops, such as the use of spotters to call in airstrikes. Photo There has long been debate within the administration about what the first steps in the campaign should be. Led by Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III, the Central Command has long emphasized the need to strike a blow against the Islamic State by recapturing Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, which was taken by the group in June 2014. Mosul is the capital of Nineveh Province in northern Iraq and was the site of a sermon that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the Islamic State, defiantly delivered in July. The Baiji refinery, a major oil complex, is on a main road to Mosul. While General Austin was looking north, State Department officials have long highlighted the strategic importance of Anbar Province in western Iraq. Anbar is home to many of Iraq’s Sunni tribes, whose support American officials hope to enlist in the struggle against the Islamic State. Ramadi, the provincial capital of Anbar, is less than 70 miles from Baghdad, and the province borders Saudi Arabia and Jordan, two important members of the coalition against the Islamic State. The differing perspectives within the administration came to the fore in April when Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, asserted that Ramadi was not central to the future of Iraq. The Islamic State’s capture of Ramadi last month also punctured the administration’s narrative that the group was on the defensive. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Suddenly, it appeared that the Islamic State, not the American-led coalition, was on the march. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi of Iraq scrambled to assemble a plan to regain the city. The Islamic State now controls two provincial capitals, as well as the city of Falluja. With the help of American air power, the Iraqis have retaken Tikrit, northwest of Baghdad, but so many buildings there are still rigged with explosives that many of its residents have been unable to return. To assemble a force to retake Ramadi, the number of Iraqi tribal fighters in Anbar who are trained and equipped is expected to be increased from about 5,500 to as many as 10,000. More than 3,000 new Iraqi soldiers are to be recruited to fill the ranks of the 7th Iraqi Army division in Anbar and the 8th Iraqi Army division, which is in Habbaniyah, where the Iraqi military operations center for the province is also based. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. But to the frustration of critics like Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who say that the United States is losing the initiative to the Islamic State, the Obama administration has yet to approve the use of American spotters on the battlefield to call in airstrikes in and around Ramadi. Nor has it approved the use of Apache helicopter gunships to help Iraqi troops retake the city. General Dempsey alluded to the plan to expand the military footprint in Iraq during a visit to Israel on Tuesday, saying that he had asked war commanders to look into expanding the number of training sites for Iraqi forces. Speaking to a small group of reporters, General Dempsey said a decision had not been made on whether that would make additional American troops necessary. “T.B.D. — to be determined,” General Dempsey said. A Defense Department official said afterward that a decision to increase American troops in Iraq would most likely require only a “modest” number of additional trainers. The United States is not the only country that is expanding its effort. Britain’s prime minister, David Cameron, said this week that his country would send up to 125 additional troops to train Iraqi forces, including in how to clear improvised bombs. Italy is also expected to play an important role in training the Iraqi police.

– Instead of trying to help Iraqi forces recapture the city ISIS seized a year ago, the US has decided to focus on helping them capture the city militants seized less than a month ago. Ramadi is the capital of Anbar province, and the White House is expected to approve a Pentagon plan to establish a new base in the province and send up to 500 more military trainers there, the Wall Street Journal reports. American officials say there had been some debate about how much of a priority recapturing Mosul, the country's second-largest city, would be, but the recent fall of Ramadi settled the question; now Mosul may have to wait until 2016, reports the New York Times. Defense Secretary Ash Carter blamed the fall of Ramadi on Iraqi forces' lack of will to fight. Critics say the proposed modest expansion of the US role is nowhere near what's required to defeat ISIS, the Journal reports. "One has to wonder whether this president just wants to wait out the next year and a half and basically do nothing to stop this genocide, bloodletting, horrible things that are happening throughout the Middle East," Sen. John McCain told fellow senators Monday. The new troops will bring the number of US advisers and trainers in Iraq to around 3,600, but there's a shortage of people for them to train in at least one site, the Hill reports. Defense officials say it has been more than four weeks since the Baghdad government sent any recruits to Al Asad air base, although 2,601 Iraqis are being trained elsewhere.

Huma Abedin, Anthony Weiner’s wife, said new sexual photos that have come forward today has been painful but for the most part the episode has been put behind them. “Anthony’s made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after,” she said. “I love him … I have forgiven him … we are moving forward.” She said that their marriage has had its ups and downs. “It took a lot of work and a lot of therapy… it was not an easy choice in any way but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage.” “I didn’t know how it would work out, but I did know that I wanted to give it a try,” she said. Weiner said that he has put the sexting incidents behind him and he and his wife are doing a lot better. The press conference was called after a new series of correspondence between him and a woman while he used the an online handle “Carlos Danger” came to light on July 23. Weiner resigned as U.S. congressman in 2011 after he admitted sending sexually explicit photos of himself, or sexting, to women online. He said on Tuesday that his last time doing this was “sometime last summer.” He is currently a candidate for New York City mayor. Abedin works for Hilary Clinton. Also on July 23, Bill de Blasio, current public advocate for New York City and fellow mayoral candidate to Weiner, called for Weiner to withdraw from the race. “People are hurting in this city. They are looking to this election for a mayor to address the issues they care about,” de Blasio said. “But the sideshows of this election have gotten in the way of this event.” ||||| When Anthony Weiner was driven from the halls of Congress because of his penchant for tweeting photos of his nether regions to women who were not his wife, it was pretty clear that his reputation would accompany his political career down the toilet. What was less clear was that he might inadvertently flush his wife’s reputation as well. Yet I couldn’t help but think that that is precisely what is happening as I watched their incredibly uncomfortable press conference on Tuesday. The scene was so familiar it was almost cliché. The wronged wife standing next to her wrongdoing hubby in an effort to humanize him and, hopefully, save his career during one of the most humiliating moments of their public lives. The only thing distinguishing Huma Abedin from her counterpart Alicia Florrick, the lead character in the hit television show, “The Good Wife,” is that we didn’t get to see Huma slap Anthony after this press conference, unfortunately. Let me get this out of the way: I am a Huma Abedin fan. So much so that I previously wrote a column titled, “The Wrong Weiner is Running for Mayor.” I now think perhaps a more apropos title would have been, “Run, Huma, run away from the narcisstic Weiner you are married to who is running for mayor.” After her husband, who is running for mayor of New York City and is the front runner in some polls, acknowledged that his sexting scandal extended several months past his original mea culpa press conference and resignation, Huma stepped up to the mic. “It took a lot of work and a whole lot of therapy to get to a place where I could forgive Anthony,” she said. “It was not an easy choice in any way but I made the decision that it was worth staying in this marriage. That was the decision I made for me, for our son and for our family.” She said that, “Anthony’s made some horrible mistakes,” before ultimately saying, “But I believe that is between us and our marriage.” There’s just one problem: It isn’t just between the two of them. If it were, then the situation would not have warranted a press conference. But it did because Anthony Weiner is interviewing for the job of our mayor. There are a lot of characteristics people consider during the interview and hiring process. Stability, judgment and honesty are just a few of those characteristics. So far Anthony Weiner appears to be 0 for 3. If Huma felt so strongly that the judgment of her husband and his peccadilloes ultimately should be his and hers alone, then why has he chosen to run for mayor and why she has chosen to help him? After all, running for political office is perhaps the only job in which part of the job interview explicitly involves having your decisions judged by the public — also known as your future employer. As I watched Huma smile and fidget awkwardly during their press conference, I couldn’t help thinking how she must feel. One of the most eligible bachelorettes in politics chose Anthony Weiner over the most eligible bachelors, including movie stars, said to be head over heels for her at one time, and look at where Anthony Weiner has gotten her. He has made her, and their life, the butt of one big joke. (I lost count of how many headlines used some variation of “Weiner won’t pull out” following the press conference.) I also can’t help thinking how ludicrous Huma’s “Stand by Your Man” routine Tuesday would be perceived if her husband’s vice was not a sexual one. If an elected official resigned office in disgrace after a drunk-driving accident, and then while seeking office again shortly thereafter was revealed to have had another secret accident, his spouse and anyone else encouraging his political comeback so soon would be labeled an enabler, and rightly so. There would be questions asked about why those around such a politician were so heavily invested in seeing him regain his political power so quickly. People would ask if the true motivation was that there was absolutely no other candidate as qualified, thus making his comeback a necessity for his supporters, or whether the real motivation is that there was no one else running who could provide the political power and access that his inner circle considered a necessity, his spouse included. While there are plenty of women judging Huma’s decision to stand by her husband, I am not one of them. I am, however, judging her decision to stand by Anthony Weiner the candidate. If the other mayoral candidates were convicted felons, or illiterate or horrifyingly unqualified in some other way, perhaps I would get it. But the other candidates are not like that, far from it. Instead, right now it looks like Huma is putting her family’s political ambition ahead of the city’s needs, and perhaps her own. She may even be putting their shared ambition ahead of their marriage. (I’m no couples therapist, but are campaigns and life in the public eye known to make marriages less stressful?) The last thing New York needs is more distraction and about the only thing Anthony Weiner can guarantee at this point is that his candidacy is one big distraction. We have serious issues in New York, from a housing crisis to income inequality to fixing our broken public school system. But the most heavily covered news stories of the last week have nothing to do with those issues. Rather, they are stories that have little impact on the lives of working New Yorkers: the royal baby and Anthony Weiner’s adventures in sexting. If Huma cares as much about the people of this city and the issues that affect them as she has claimed to, then she will stop playing the role of “The Good Wife” and instead play the role of the honest wife, the realistic wife, the no longer enabling wife. Instead of standing by her man, she will stand up for New Yorkers and say, “I may be stuck with him, but you all don’t have to be.” Keli Goff is a Special Correspondent for The Root. Follow her on twitter @keligoff RELATED: Scandal-tainted pols: Where are they now? ||||| Anthony Weiner said Tuesday he's not dropping out of the New York City mayoral race in light of newly revealed explicit online correspondence with a young woman. FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2011, file photo, Anthony Weiner and his wife Huma Abedin pose for photographs after the ceremonial swearing in of the 112th Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington. Abedin, who... (Associated Press) Weiner admitted to exchanging racy photos and having X-rated chats with a woman he met online. He had resigned his Congressional seat in June 2011 after acknowledging having sexual conversations with at least a half-dozen women. Weiner reiterated at a news conference that he put such behavior behind him before deciding to run for mayor. His wife, Huma Abedin, stood by him, saying Weiner "made some horrible mistakes," but that she has forgiven him and believes in him. The newly revealed correspondence was posted Monday by the gossip website The Dirty. The woman involved was not identified. She says their online relationship began in July 2012 and lasted for six months. The married ex-congressman had predicted more texts and photos might come out. Since re-entering public life this spring, he has apologized repeatedly for his behavior. He also has been near the top of most mayoral polls since entering the race.

– Huma Abedin didn't just stand by husband Anthony Weiner's side today as he fessed up to sexting even after his resignation from Congress—she personally defended him as he announced he was staying in the race for New York City mayor. “Anthony’s made some horrible mistakes, both before he resigned from Congress and after,” she said, as per the Epoch Times. But “I love him. I have forgiven him. I believe in him, and, as we have said from the beginning, we are moving forward." She added that their marriage has survived thanks to a "whole lot of work and a whole lot of therapy," reports the National Review. As for Weiner, he confirmed in the press conference that the raunchy texts which surfaced today were his, although that was never in much doubt, thanks to his dropping of details about things like his family's one-eyed cat, notes the New York Post. And he said he had no intention of leaving the mayoral race, reports AP. "This is entirely behind me," he said. The anonymous woman who emerged today says she and Weiner were exchanging texts as recently as last summer, more than a year after his resignation.

“After a discussion about potential paths forward, no specific determination was made,” the White House said in a statement to reporters. “The President looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle.” Obama’s meeting with about 20 House Republicans, including Speaker John Boehner (Ohio), lasted about 90 minutes. Obama was accompanied by Vice President Biden, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough and deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors. The White House statement said the administration officials “listened to the Republicans present their proposal,” adding that Obama’s goal remains to both raise the debt ceiling and reopen the government. House Republican leaders initially offered a six-week increase in the federal debt ceiling in exchange for negotiations with President Obama on longer-term “pressing problems,” but they stopped short of agreeing to end a government shutdown now in its 10th day. Later in the day, Senate Republicans put forward a plan that would reopen the government and raise the federal debt limit for as long as three months. Returning to the Capitol after meeting with Obama at the White House, members of a 20-strong House Republican delegation described the session as a good first step. The White House denied a news report that Obama had rejected the House GOP’s proposal outright, saying that “no specific determination was made” after Obama, Vice President Biden and top officials listened to the presentation. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said the gathering was “a very useful meeting” and indicated that conversations would continue into the evening. “It was clarifying, I think, for both sides as to where we are,” he said. “We put an offer on the table,” Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), chairman of the House Budget Committee, told reporters. Obama “didn’t say yes; he didn’t say no,” Ryan said. “We’re continuing to negotiate this evening.” Earlier, in a news briefing following a closed-door meeting of House Republicans to present a plan to raise the debt limit temporarily, House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said, “What we want to do is offer the president today the ability to move a temporary increase in the debt ceiling.” He described the offer as a “good-faith effort on our part to move halfway to what he’s demanded in order to have these conversations begin.” Obama is “happy” that House Republicans agree a federal debt default is not an option, but he would prefer a longer extension of the debt limit, White House spokesman Jay Carney said after the plan was disclosed. Boehner did not immediately tell reporters specifics of the plan. But the speaker made clear that House Republicans were not agreeing to Obama’s demand that they pass legislation to fund the government without partisan riders, thereby ending the first government shutdown in 17 years. [See the latest updates on the shutdown.] In any case, Boehner’s proposal fell flat in the Senate, where members of both parties were clamoring to end the shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), speaking to reporters after a White House meeting between Obama and Senate Democrats, said the shutdown must end and the debt ceiling must be raised ahead of negotiations with the Republicans, who he complained keep changing their demands. “This is a situation where they do not know what they want,” Reid said. His message to the GOP: “Open the government. Pay our bills. We’ll negotiate with you about anything.” Reid also said that Senate Democrats would “look at anything [House Republicans] send us,” but when asked about negotiating with them before reopening the government, he replied: “Not going to happen.” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), meanwhile, was consulting fellow Republican senators to develop a proposal, advanced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), to end the shutdown and raise the federal debt limit for as long as three months. The package sparked the first bipartisan negotiations since the standoff began in early September. But Collins’s proposal called for Democratic concessions including repeal of a tax on medical devices needed to fund Obama’s health-care initiative, and it would maintain deep budget cuts known sequestration through at least March. The House GOP plan would suspend the debt limit until Nov. 22, the Friday before Thanksgiving, while also forbidding Treasury Secretary Jack Lew from using “extraordinary measures” that his department has used in recent years to extend his borrowing authority for weeks after the ceiling is reached, according to a senior GOP aide who was in the room. This creates a hard “X date,” as financial analysts call the issue, leaving no wiggle room beyond that day. The House Republicans essentially are offering a “clean” debt-limit increase in exchange for negotiations over reopening the government, aides said. The government shutdown would not end until Obama agreed to “structural reforms” to the tax code and federal health programs. The Republican plan for a six-week increase in the debt limit, without conservative strings attached, was aimed chiefly at calming jittery financial markets, according to senior GOP advisers. Financial markets soared earlier Thursday on the first sign of optimistic news out of Washington in almost a month, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 169 points in the first 15 minutes of trading. The rally continued when Boehner confirmed the plan at an 11 a.m. press briefing, and by 1:30 p.m. the Dow was up more than 225 points. The plan was presented to the House GOP caucus Thursday morning after Lew warned lawmakers that he would be unable to guarantee payments to any group — whether Social Security recipients or U.S. bondholders — unless Congress raises the federal debt ceiling. If the GOP plan goes over well with rank-and-file Republicans, Boehner could put the legislation on the floor for a vote late Thursday, aides said. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) described the plan at the news briefing as “a temporary extension of the debt ceiling in exchange for a real commitment by the president and the Senate majority leader to sit down and talk about the pressing problems” facing the country. Rep. Kevin McCarty (R-Calif.), the House majority whip, characterized these problems as “drivers” of increasing federal debt. Obama has indicated he could support a short-term debt-limit hike, but he has also demanded that Republicans allow the government to reopen before he would negotiate with the GOP. If the Republicans want to negotiate, they should “reopen the government, extend the debt ceiling,” Obama said last week. “If they can’t do it for a long time, do it for the period of time in which these negotiations are taking place.” Carney, the White House spokesman, told reporters Thursday afternoon: “The president is happy that cooler heads at least seem to be prevailing in the House, that there at least seems to be a recognition that default is not an option.” However, Obama “believes it would be far better . . . to raise the debt ceiling for an extended period of time,” as Senate Democrats are proposing. “It would be far better for the economy if we stopped this episodic brinksmanship and . . . mothballed the nuclear weapon here, which is the threat of default, for a longer duration,” Carney said. “But it is certainly at least an encouraging sign that . . . they are not listening to the debt-limit and default deniers.” If Republicans now recognize that default cannot be permitted, he added, “why keep the nuclear weapon in your back pocket?” [Members of Congress are collecting pay during the shutdown.] The first reactions from Republican House members appeared generally positive. But several insisted they would back the measure only with a commitment from the president to open negotiations over the next debt-ceiling hike. “All we’re doing is saying, if the president hasn’t come towards us, we’ll just move the deadline out and offer it again,” said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.). “We haven’t changed our position. We’ve just changed the timeline.” Fleming rejected the idea that the proposal represents a concession from Republicans. “Not really, if we get a concession from the president, to sit down and negotiate. If he doesn’t agree to that, I won’t agree to the debt ceiling.” Meanwhile, several of the House’s most conservative members withheld comment about the proposal. “I’m not very enthusiastic,” Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) said without elaborating. Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, was noncommittal when asked about the plan and said his support depends on what happens in the meeting with the president Thursday. “Some of this involves a conversation with the president,” Scalise said. “There’s nothing unilateral that can be done. It’s going to involve having the president finally put some things on the table of his own.” Heritage Action for America, a conservative advocacy group influential with tea party Republicans, said Thursday that while it remains committed to fighting Obama’s health-care law and opposes “clean debt ceiling increases,” it wants to give House GOP leaders “the flexibility they need to refocus the debate on Obamacare.” Therefore, the group said, it will not include votes in favor of the proposal in its rankings of lawmakers’ conservatism. The plan would meet Obama’s demand for an increase in Treasury’s borrowing authority without any legislative attachments. But it would set the stage for tough negotiations, possibly lasting until Thanksgiving, over bigger fiscal matters, since the tentative plan calls for only a six-week increase of the debt limit. Advisers cautioned that Boehner’s often unruly caucus, which has repeatedly rejected leadership initiatives in the past, needs to sign off on the plan before it can advance. Reacting to the GOP proposal, a White House official said: “It is better for economic certainty for Congress to take the threat of default off the table for as long as possible, which is why we support the Senate Democrats’ efforts to raise the debt limit for a year with no extraneous political strings attached.” Obama also wants House Republicans to allow a vote on the “clean” government funding bill that has been passed by the Senate, the official said. “Once Republicans in Congress act to remove the threat of default and end this harmful government shutdown, the president will be willing to negotiate on a broader budget agreement,” the official added. “While we are willing to look at any proposal Congress puts forward to end these manufactured crises, we will not allow a faction of the Republicans in the House to hold the economy hostage to its extraneous and extreme political demands. Congress needs to pass a clean debt-limit increase and a funding bill to reopen the government.” Financial experts much prefer a longer-term extension of the debt ceiling, but even a brief extension would ease some of the turmoil that has been brewing on Wall Street. By the time markets closed Monday afternoon, the Dow had dropped 900 points in 14 trading days, losing almost 6 percent of its value. Just three weeks ago, Boehner’s leadership team presented a plan to lift the debt ceiling accompanied by a one-year delay of Obama’s health-care law and a litany of other conservative domestic policy demands. With Washington in gridlock and a key deadline in the debt-limit debate just one week away, Lew told the Senate Finance Committee Thursday morning that he would do all he can to minimize the pain of breaching the $16.7 trillion debt limit. But Lew also told the senators that in an unprecedented situation in which he would be relying entirely on the erratic flow of incoming revenue, the economy would suffer and there would not even be certainty that the government could make all interest and principal payments. “No credible economist or business leader thinks that defaulting is good for job creation or economic growth,” Lew said. “If Congress fails to meet its responsibility, it could be deeply damaging to the financial markets, the ongoing economic recovery, and the jobs and savings of millions of Americans.” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a key conservative with ties to leadership and more junior tea party-backed colleagues, said Thursday morning that he and his colleagues “potentially” could support the new GOP debt-ceiling plan. “We think there needs to be some movement in dealing with the overall problem,” he said. “It’d be nice to get some dollar-to-dollar cuts there.” Asked whether he could support a short-term increase without related cuts, Jordan said he expected that question would be the primary topic of conversation among House Republicans on Thursday. Amid growing anxiety about a debt default, Republicans in the House and the Senate floated ideas Wednesday for raising the debt limit — if only for a short time — in hopes of forcing Obama to the negotiating table. One of the most significant ideas was brewing in the House, Ryan briefed conservatives on a plan to raise the debt limit for six weeks, which would give party leaders time to negotiate a broad agreement to overhaul the tax code and trim federal health-care and retirement spending. The plan, which Ryan sketched in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece Wednesday, was short on details. And it called for spending cuts of roughly $200 billion to cover the cost of raising the debt limit even in the near term — although senior GOP advisers said late Wednesday that they were also considering an increase with no strings attached. Lew’s appearance is the first public confrontation between a senior administration official and Republicans since the fiscal showdown began last month. The meeting comes as some lawmakers on Capitol Hill are questioning whether the administration has been too alarmist about the threat of going past an Oct. 17 deadline to raise the debt ceiling. Republicans have cited reports by credit-rating firms saying that the United States would not technically default unless it fails to make interest payments on its debt — which they regard as unlikely. Echoing points made by Republican presidents and officials in prior administrations, Lew is tried to counter that argument by highlighting the broad risks of leaving the government with no borrowing authority. “Certain members of the House and Senate believe that it is possible to protect our economy by simply paying only the interest on our debts, while stopping or delaying payments on a number of our other legal commitments,” Lew said. “The United States should not be put in a position of making such perilous choices for our economy and our citizens. There is no way of knowing the irrevocable damage such an approach would have on our economy and financial markets.” For example, officials say, Lew pointed out that the Treasury routinely refinances about $100 billion in debt every week, paying back principal and taking on new debt. He noted that should investors back away from Treasury debt, it could make refinancing difficult and throw the country’s financial markets into even greater chaos. Lew said the administration will face a series of difficult decisions even if Treasury can avoid what the credit-rating firms consider a default. In a scenario where federal spending will far exceed revenue, he said, the administration would have only imperfect options in deciding whom to pay. Officials say Lew will try to push Republicans to decide whom they wouldn’t pay — Social Security recipients or veterans. “We are relying on investors from all over the world to continue to hold U.S. bonds . . .,” Lew said. “If U.S. bondholders decided that they wanted to be repaid rather than continuing to roll-over their Treasury investments, we could unexpectedly dissipate our entire cash balance.” A Treasury official said Wednesday night that Obama would have to make the final decision in such a scenario. Lew confronted a Senate Finance Committee stocked with Republicans who have been skeptical about the administration’s claims that breaching the debt limit would be catastrophic. Among the committee’s members is Sen. Patrick J. Toomey (R-Pa.), who has championed the notion that the Treasury Department could avoid chaos in financial markets by continuing to make interest payments to investors. The senior Republican on the panel, Sen. Orrin G. Hatch (Utah), has also expressed doubts about the risk of a debt-ceiling breach. But on Wednesday, Hatch acknowledged that blowing the Oct. 17 deadline would “scare the hell out of people.” And while Treasury might be able to pay interest on the debt, Hatch said, “the real question is whether it’s going to tank the stock market.” Obama, when he meets Thursday with House GOP leaders, is planning to emphasize his refusal to “pay ransom” to avoid default and reopen the government. Ryan, nonetheless, held out hope that the “meeting at the White House will allow us to work together and find common ground.” Thursday’s meeting is the second in a series the White House announced Wednesday aimed at breaking the impasse, reopening the government and raising the $16.7 trillion debt limit. Obama met first with House Democrats late Wednesday and plans to meet with each party in the Senate in the coming days, starting with a meeting with the Senate Democratic caucus Thursday. Obama invited the entire 233-member GOP House conference to join him at the White House, but Republicans decided to send only an 18-member group comprising top leaders and key committee chairmen, including Ryan, Appropriations Chairman Harold Rogers (Ky.) and Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (Mich.). “Nine days into a government shutdown and a week away from breaching the debt ceiling, a meeting is only worthwhile if it is focused on finding a solution,” Brendan Buck, a spokesman for Boehner, said in a statement. “That’s why the House Republican Conference will instead be represented by a smaller group of negotiators.” The White House said Obama is “disappointed” by Boehner’s decision to limit Republican attendance and emphasized that Obama will not be negotiating. “The president thought it was important to talk directly with the members who forced this economic crisis on the country about how the shutdown and a failure to pay the country’s bills could devastate the economy,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. Obama “will talk to anyone anytime . . . but will not pay the Republicans ransom for doing their job,” Carney said. “If the Republicans want to have a real discussion, they should open the government and take the threat of default off the table.” Republicans on Capitol Hill, meanwhile, circulated a memo from one of the nation’s leading credit-rating agencies that seemed to play down the threat of default. In the memo, Moody’s Investors Service said the Treasury Department is likely to continue paying interest on the government’s debt even if Congress refuses to lift the limit on borrowing, preserving the nation’s sterling AAA credit rating. “We believe the government would continue to pay interest and principal on its debt even in the event that the debt limit is not raised, leaving its creditworthiness intact,” said the Oct. 7 memo. “The debt limit restricts government expenditures to the amount of its incoming revenues; it does not prohibit the government from servicing its debt. There is no direct connection between the debt limit (actually the exhaustion of the Treasury’s extraordinary measures to raise funds) and a default.” The memo offered a starkly different view of the consequences of breaching the debt limit than is held by the White House, many policymakers and other financial analysts. Over the weekend, economists at Goldman Sachs said the economy would take a devastating hit even if Treasury kept making payments on the debt, because the pullback in federal spending would amount to roughly $175 billion, or 4.2 percentage points of gross domestic product. Mohamed El-Erian, the chief executive of PIMCO, the world’s largest bond company, agreed that the administration could take steps to contain the worst damage. But, he said, there would still be severe consequences. “It would avoid a series of major and cascading disruptions to the functioning of a financial market that is at the heart of the core of the global financial system,” he said. “Having said that, equities and other risk assets would still likely sell off hard.” Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) noted that Moody’s analysis is geared toward the well-being of its own investors, not average Americans. “When they say their clients will be okay, they’re not talking about people on Society Security, Medicare or our troops in the field. Moody’s doesn’t give a damn about any of those people.” William Branigin, Rosalind S. Helderman and Scott Wilson contributed to this report. ||||| President Barack Obama and House Republicans clashed in a meeting Thursday afternoon over how soon the government can be reopened, even as the GOP offered to lift the debt limit for six weeks, according to sources familiar with the session. House Republicans told Obama at the White House that they could reopen the federal government by early next week if the president and Senate Democrats agree to their debt-ceiling proposal. After the debt ceiling is lifted, a House GOP aide said they would seek some additional concessions in a government funding bill. Text Size - + reset Boehner offers temporary debt hike Lew warns about debt ceiling Obama repeatedly pressed House Republicans to open the government, asking them “what’s it going to take to” end the shutdown, those sources said. He questioned why the government should remain closed if both sides agreed to engage in good-faith negotiations on the budget, according to a Democratic source briefed on the meeting. (WATCH: 10 great quotes on debt ceiling fight) The meeting was described by both sides as cordial but inconclusive. Obama acknowledged to Republicans that notable progress had been made. Sources described the meeting without attribution, because the meeting was private. Aides will continue the discussion through the night to see if they could find common ground on how to move forward on the debt limit and government funding. The short-term debt hike — which was originally proposed at the closed GOP meeting Thursday — did not include plans to reopen the government. Obama agreed to review the House Republican proposal for reopening the government, but reiterated that he wouldn’t pay a ransom, the Democratic source said. At the meeting, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) described the Republicans’ process as being two steps: passing the debt ceiling bill, and then opening a broad budget conference before the government can be reopened. (PHOTOS: 18 times the government has shut down) Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) told Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew that this was a “good-faith” effort by Republicans. Ryan said both sides should “put their guns back in their holsters” — a bid to reach an agreement to avoid default, reopen the government and start broader budget talks. Biden was mostly quiet in the meeting but did say at one point that Obama has made concessions as president that he hasn’t seen in 36 years in the Senate. Publicly, House Republicans were mum when they returned to the Capitol. “We had a very useful meeting,” Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said, upon returning from the White House Thursday evening. “It was clarifying I think for both sides as to where we are and the takeaway from the meeting was, our teams are going to be talking further tonight, we’ll have more discussion, we’ll come back to have more discussion. The president said that he would go and consult with the administration folks and hopefully we can see a way forward after that.” (PHOTOS: Debt ceiling fight: 20 great quotes) A senior House GOP aide said Obama “did not say yes or no to House Republicans’ offer.” Both sides are continuing talks tonight, according to the aide. The White House said Obama had a “good meeting” with House Republican leaders that lasted about 90 minutes. “After a discussion about potential paths forward, no specific determination was made,” according to a White House readout. “The President looks forward to making continued progress with members on both sides of the aisle.” For much of Thursday, it appeared that Washington slowly edged away from a potential default on Thursday as congressional leaders crafted plans to raise the debt ceiling ahead of the Oct. 17 deadline. Wall Street liked the apparent legislative movement: The Dow Industrial Average soared 323 points Thursday. (POLITICO's full government shutdown coverage) Obama met separately with Senate Democrats and House Republicans at the White House. Senate Republicans will meet with Obama on Friday morning. The talk in the House GOP visit centered around Speaker John Boehner’s proposed measure to lift the debt ceiling through Nov. 22, while banning Treasury from employing so-called extraordinary measures to keep paying the nation’s bills. The legislation had no corresponding spending cuts, as other debt ceiling bills had. The legislation would also set up a negotiation over the borrowing cap and government funding. At this time, there are no spending cuts attached to the legislation. There is also no vote scheduled. If Obama buys into the GOP plan, senior Republican sources say that Boehner could have enough internal political capital to move a bill next week to reopen government until Nov. 22. Across the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is taking the temperature of his own GOP colleagues on ways to reopen the government — which has been shuttered for 10 days — and raise the debt ceiling. Among the options under consideration is a proposal building on the work of Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) that would raise the limit for two months and reopen the government for six months in return for a repeal of Obamacare’s medical device tax, a requirement to means test those seeking Obamacare subsidies and provide more flexibility for agencies to maneuver around the sequester. Though ideas to move on from the budget mess are growing, there’s no consensus yet. A White House official sounded cool to the House GOP plan and offered support for a Senate Democratic proposal to raise the debt ceiling through the end of 2014, reiterating that the government should reopen and the debt ceiling be raised ahead of any talks. Follow @politico ||||| Washington (CNN) -- President Barack Obama is ready to talk even on Republicans' terms, he insisted Tuesday, so long as Congress acts first to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling -- even for a short period. At a news conference, Obama indicated Republicans could essentially set the agenda for budget negotiations, but only if Congress agrees first to a short-term spending plan to fund the government and to raise the federal borrowing limit to avoid a possible first-ever U.S. default next week. "I will talk about anything," the president said. House Speaker John Boehner, speaking Tuesday afternoon after what he called a "pleasant" but ineffectual phone call with Obama, promptly rejected the president's comments as nothing new. "What the president said today was if there's unconditional surrender by Republicans, he'll sit down and talk to us," Boehner said. "That's not the way our government works." At the same time, Boehner said he's "hopeful" top Republicans and Democrats could soon begin a "conversation." "There's going to be a negotiation here," the Ohio Republican said. "We can't raise the debt ceiling without doing something about what's driving it to borrow more money and live beyond our means." Yet while Boehner didn't indicate any points of agreement, a senior House Republican told CNN's Dana Bash that GOP members may be willing to go for a short-term debt ceiling hike -- lasting four to six weeks -- as long as the president agrees negotiations will occur during that time. Still, it's no guarantee such a measure would be supported by a majority of Republicans: something that Boehner has traditionally required before calling any vote in the House. A second GOP source says the White House drawing a line in the sand not to negotiate has further complicated matters. Republican leaders have talked, though, to CEOs who called them at the request of Treasury Secretary Jack Lew and senior presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett. And if there's no breakthrough? The partial government shutdown -- which began October 1, after the GOP-led House tied its funding measures to dismantling or defunding Obama's signature health care reform rather -- continues. Plus, another crisis looms October 17, when the Treasury Department says the U.S. government must raise the amount of money it can borrow or else be unable to pay its bills. All the partisan bickering -- and lack of progress -- is taking its toll not just on furloughed workers, shuttered government facilities and programs, but also Americans confidence in their government. Looking directly in the camera, Obama acknowledged frustrations with what's going in Washington -- in terms of the current impasse and all the other budgetary battles preceding it. "We've got to stop repeating this pattern," the president said. "I apologize you have to go through this stuff every three months, it seems like. And Lord knows, I'm tired of it. But at some point we've got to break these habits." Boehner: Can't afford to keep spending without cuts While the partial government shutdown is now in its second week, next week's deadline to raise the debt ceiling has many experts especially worried. Failure to act, they say, could lead to the government defaulting on its debt, spook Wall Street, spur higher interest rates and have other negative effects on the U.S. and global economy. "If there was a problem lifting the debt ceiling, it could well be what is now a recovery would turn into a recession or even worse," said Olivier Blanchard, an International Monetary Fund economist. On Tuesday, Obama sternly warned that "every American could see their 401(k)s and home values fall" and the country would see a "very significant risk" of a deep recession. The only responsible action, he repeated: raise the debt ceiling, without preconditions. "We're not going to pay ransom for" America paying its bills, he told reporters, placing the blame squarely on House Republicans. "Let's lift these threats from our families and our businesses and let's get down to work." In his remarks Tuesday afternoon, Boehner didn't appear to give ground either. The president's refusal to talk -- until the government reopens and the debt ceiling is hiked -- is "not sustainable," according to Boehner. "The idea that we should continue to spend money that we don't have and give the bill to my kids and grandkids would be wrong," he said. Shutdown day 8: What you need to know GOP-led House, Democratic-led Senate offer plans Boehner and conservative Republicans want to leverage the situation to wring concessions on deficit reduction from Democrats. To keep up pressure, House Republicans voted Tuesday to set up negotiations on the debt limit and other fiscal issues. Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, a GOP leader in the House, said such a negotiating committee with members of both parties could pass a short-term extension of the debt ceiling while doing its work. "I suspect we can work out some mechanism to raise the debt ceiling while negotiations are under way," Cole said. "But we're not going to simply raise it without talking about the deficit," Cole said. It was unclear if his description would satisfy Obama's insistence that the debt ceiling increase must be separate from political negotiations. Yet Senate Democrats have dismissed the proposal, and the Obama administration has vowed to veto any such. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York called these other GOP offers the latest in a series of "new gimmicks" that avoid the imminent need to fully reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling. In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid and Sen. Max Baucus filed a proposal Tuesday to raise the debt ceiling without addressing any deficit reduction issues demanded by Republicans. The plan would address the debt ceiling issue through December 31, 2014 -- past the next congressional elections. Most Republicans would shy away from a bill that doesn't specify spending cuts or other policy changes in return for the increased borrowing authority. Yet Democrats are hopeful some Republicans would vote across the aisle to prevent the potentially catastrophic economic repercussions of a default. If Senate Republicans require all the time-consuming steps available to them to delay action on the debt ceiling measure, a final vote might not take place until two days before the deadline for raising the borrowing limit, the Democratic aide said. Debt ceiling debate: Preaching to the choir Shutdown furloughs about to hit nuclear safety agency GOP to hold up back pay for furloughed workers Debt ceiling 'like the smoke alarm' Such a Senate measure could increase pressure on the GOP-controlled House to do the same. Yet Republican House leaders have made clear they'll insist on concessions from Democrats before agreeing to raise the $16.7 trillion debt limit. "The debt ceiling is there for a purpose. It's like the smoke alarm," said House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas. "Democrats want to unplug the smoke alarm, and Republicans want to go out and fight the fire." Boehner has insisted a deal to raise the debt ceiling must include deficit reduction steps to lower costs of entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. However, he and fellow Republicans have moved away from the demand of the tea party conservative wing of his caucus targeting the president's signature Affordable Care Act passed by Democrats in 2010 and upheld by the Supreme Court last year. Rep. Tom Cole said, while any final deal must include repealing a tax on medical devices that's part of Obamacare, efforts otherwise to tie budget negotiations to the health care law appear dead. "I think it's been overtaken by the debt ceiling," he said. Cruz: Use debt ceiling as leverage Hagel: Most civilian Defense workers can return this week On the shutdown, Obama and Democrats say the House would pass a Senate-approved spending plan to end it if Boehner allowed a vote. A CNN survey indicates that -- with 18 Republicans joining all 200 Democrats -- a slim majority in the House would support such a move. But Boehner won't allow such a vote, Cole said. "He basically said we're going to have a negotiation," the Oklahoma Republican said. Poll: Most angry at both parties While the two parties blame each other in Washington, outside the capital few get off easy. Shutdown forecast: Week two and clouds ahead In a national poll released Monday, most respondents said the government shutdown was causing a crisis or major problems for the country. The CNN/ORC International survey indicated that slightly more people were angry at Republicans than Democrats or Obama for the shutdown, though both sides took a hit. According to the poll conducted over the weekend, 63% of respondents said they were angry at the Republicans for the way they have handled the shutdown, while 57% expressed anger at Democrats and 53% at Obama. "It looks like there is more than enough blame to go around, and both parties are being hurt by the shutdown," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. Will 2014 election solve anything? Boehner demands cuts for debt limit increase CNN's Ted Barrett, Greg Botelho, Dana Bash and Brianna Keilar contributed to this report.

– President Obama and congressional Republicans groped today for a compromise to avert an unprecedented US default and end the 10-day-old government shutdown. "We expect further conversations tonight," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said cryptically at nightfall, after he, Speaker John Boehner and a delegation of other Republicans met for more than an hour with Obama at the White House. The White House issued a statement describing the session as a good one, but adding, "no specific determination was made." Yet it seemed the endgame was at hand in the crises that have bedeviled the divided government for weeks. Both sides expressed fresh hopes for a resolution soon. Washington Post: "House Republican leaders initially offered a six-week increase in the federal debt ceiling in exchange for negotiations with President Obama on longer-term 'pressing problems,' but they stopped short of agreeing to end a government shutdown now in its 10th day." New York Times: "An initial report that Mr. Obama had rejected the Republicans’ offer was too definitive and came before Republican leaders or the White House had made it clear to reporters that the negotiations would continue." Politico: "House Republicans told Obama at the White House that they could reopen the federal government by early next week if the president and Senate Democrats agree to their debt-ceiling proposal. A GOP aide said they would seek some additional concessions if they advance a government funding bill next week." Even the hint of progress sent stocks soaring today.

More than 670,000 copies of the Pearls’ self-published book are in circulation, and it is especially popular among Christian home-schoolers, who praise it in their magazines and on their Web sites. The Pearls provide instructions on using a switch from as early as six months to discourage misbehavior and describe how to make use of implements for hitting on the arms, legs or back, including a quarter-inch flexible plumbing line that, Mr. Pearl notes, “can be rolled up and carried in your pocket.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story The furor in part reflects societal disagreements over corporal punishment, which conservative Christians say is called for in the Bible and which many Americans consider reasonable up to a point, even as many parents and pediatricians reject it. The issue flared recently when a video was posted online of a Texas judge whipping his daughter. Mr. Pearl, 66, and Mrs. Pearl, 60, say that blaming their book for extreme abuse by a few unstable parents is preposterous and that they explicitly counsel against acting in anger or causing a bruise. They say that their methods, properly used, yield peace and happy teenagers. “If you find a 12-step book in an alcoholic’s house, you wouldn’t blame the book,” Mr. Pearl said in an interview. But he acknowledged that the methods are not right for out-of-control or severely overburdened parents. In the latest case, Larry and Carri Williams of Sedro-Woolley, Wash., were home-schooling their six children when they adopted a girl and a boy, ages 11 and 7, from Ethiopia in 2008. The two were seen by their new parents as rebellious, according to friends. Late one night in May this year, the adopted girl, Hana, was found face down, naked and emaciated in the backyard; her death was caused by hypothermia and malnutrition, officials determined. According to the sheriff’s report, the parents had deprived her of food for days at a time and had made her sleep in a cold barn or a closet and shower outside with a hose. And they often whipped her, leaving marks on her legs. The mother had praised the Pearls’ book and given a copy to a friend, the sheriff’s report said. Hana had been beaten the day of her death, the report said, with the 15-inch plastic tube recommended by Mr. Pearl. “It’s a good spanking instrument,” Mr. Pearl said in the interview. “It’s too light to cause damage to the muscle or the bone.” Some of the Williamses’ other tactics also seemed to involve Pearl advice taken to extremes; the Pearls say that “a little fasting is good training,” for example, and suggest hosing off a child who has potty-training lapses. The Williamses have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial. Advertisement Continue reading the main story The Skagit County prosecutor said that he was not charging the Pearls and that the case for homicide did not depend on the Williamses’ readings or religion. But Dr. Frances Chalmers, a pediatrician who examined Hana’s death for the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services, said of the Pearl methods: “My fear is that this book, while perhaps well intended, could easily be misinterpreted and could lead to what I consider significant abuse.” Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. The same kind of plumbing tube was reported to have been used to beat Lydia Schatz, 7, who was adopted at age 4 from Liberia and died in Paradise, Calif., in 2010. Her parents, Kevin and Elizabeth Schatz, had the Pearl book but ignored its admonition against extended lashing or harm; they whipped Lydia for hours, with pauses for prayer. She died from severe tissue damage, and her older sister had to be hospitalized, officials said. The Schatzes, who were home-schooling nine children, three of them adopted, are both serving long prison terms after he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and torture and she to voluntary manslaughter and unlawful corporal punishment. The Butte County district attorney, Mike Ramsey, criticized the Pearls’ book as a dangerous influence. The Pearls’ teachings also came up in the trial of Lynn Paddock of Johnston County, N.C., who was convicted of the first-degree murder of Sean Paddock, 4, in 2006. The Paddocks had adopted six American children, some with emotional problems, and turned to the Internet and found the Pearls’ Web site, Mrs. Paddock said. Sean suffocated after being wrapped tightly in a blanket. His siblings testified that they were beaten daily with the same plumbing tube. Mr. Paddock was not charged. Some conservative Christian parents reject the Pearls’ teachings and have started a petition drive asking sellers like Amazon not to stock their books. Crystal Lutton, who runs Grace-Based Discipline, one of several Christian blogs that oppose corporal punishment, said the danger with the Pearls’ methods is that “if you don’t get results, the only thing to do is to punish harder and harder.” Parents at Mr. Pearl’s church said they largely followed the couple’s approach and were puzzled by the controversy. The Pearls’ children, too, say the attacks on their parents are misguided. “I had a wonderful childhood,” said their daughter Shoshanna Easling, 28, who is training her two children the same way. “My parents never spoke to me in anger, and I can only remember being spanked a couple of times.” Advertisement Continue reading the main story Mr. Pearl said that Shoshanna was spanked probably 50 times as a toddler but that it soon became unnecessary. Through book and video sales and donations, the Pearls’ No Greater Joy Ministries brings in $1.7 million a year, which they say goes back into the cause. They live in a one-room apartment near the church. In his spare time, Mr. Pearl practices an offbeat hobby: he is a champion knife and tomahawk thrower. Much of their advice is standard: parents should be loving, spend a lot of time with their children, be clear and consistent, and never strike in anger. But, citing Biblical passages like, “He that spareth his rod hateth his son,” they provide instructions for “switching” defiant children to provide “spiritual cleansing.” They teach parents to use light taps to train infants not to roll off a blanket. For older children, parents are told to respond to defiance by hitting hard enough to sting with a willow switch, a belt, a wooden spoon or the tube. Mr. Pearl describes child-rearing as a zero-sum test of wills. If a verbal warning does not work, he said, “you have the seeds of self-destruction.” That the three known deaths involved adoptees worries Lisa Veleff Day of Portland, Me., who adopted two children from Ethiopia. “These children have been ripped from their home country, extended family, culture and language,” she said. “The last thing they need is to be smacked around.” Mr. Pearl said he opposed the adoption of older children. But on the central issue, he and his wife do not waver. “To give up the use of the rod is to give up our views of human nature, God, eternity,” they write. ||||| Wednesday, September 19, 2018 HEPHZIBAH, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – News 12 reported on an exclusive story about one charter school giving parents the option for using paddling as a corporal punishment in class. Since then, news outlets like the National Geographic, BBC and other national and international news tellers have shared that story. Parents at GSIC are speaking out about the consent forms sent home earlier this month. Lacie Dickerson says her daughter, Lydia, shocked her with the paper. "Lydia said, ‘mom I have a paper I need you to sign’, I said ‘well what is it?’ And she said it’s a ‘can they spank me or not form’," Dickerson laughed. She has two kids at GSIC. Parents got a consent form asking to use corporal punishment on their kids this school year. "It's 2018 and they are sending that home. It's ridiculous,” parent Justin Cohen fumed. "The whole policy is ridiculous." It’s a policy that spells out the punishment with a large, wooden paddle. If signed, an administrator could spank them behind closed doors, but no more than three times. But these two parents have two very different opinions. Cohen's son is a first-grader at the charter school. Lia Fernandez: "When your son handed you this consent from, what were you thinking?" Justin Cohen: "For GSIC to go ahead and [say] 'we want to paddle your child because we think it's a good idea…no.” Cohen says it's not just about checking off yes or no. He says it's almost like a punishment if he marks no, because in that case it means upwards of five days of suspension for his child. "It's thinly veiled coercion. If you don't sign it, if you don't let us paddle your child, we're going to suspend them for 5 days.” Dickerson has a different point of view when it comes to Lydia. "It doesn't bother me. I'm used to it because we came out of Jefferson County, and when they were in elementary school they were paddling there," Dickerson explained to News 12 Wednesday. Jefferson and Burke Counties are both still enforcing corporal punishment. Dickerson’s child went to a school there before GSIC. "When they were younger I always checked ‘yes’ when they were in Wrens, but they should call me first." Lacie says now that her kids are older, in 8th and 9th grade, she says they're too old to be spanked. Because of that, this time she checked “no”. The principal says they almost have all the consent forms back. Out of the 650 students they have, she says a little over one-third of them show parents saying “yes” to paddling. But the majority of those parents are saying no. Thursday, Sept. 6, 2018News 12 First at Five HEPHZIBAH, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) -- An area school recently sent home consent forms informing them of a new corporal policy at an area school. The superintendent says they’ve received a little over a hundred forms back, a third of them giving consent to paddle their child. “In this school, we take discipline very seriously,” said Jody Boulineau, Superintendent of GSIC. GSIC is going old school with a new policy for this year. "There was a time where corporal punishment was kind of the norm in school and you didn't have the problems that you have,” the Superintendent said. You heard that right. Georgia School for Innovation and the Classics, a K through 9 charter school, is bringing back paddling students as a form of discipline. "It's just one more tool that we have in our disciplinary toolbox that we can use,” Superintendent Boulineau said. Parents got a "consent to paddle form" asking them if they're ok with administrators hitting their child with a wooden paddle. "There's no obligation, it's not required. A parent can either give consent for us to use that as a disciplinary measure or they can deny consent," he said. The form spells it out: a student will be taken into an office behind closed doors. The student will place their hands on their knees or piece of furniture and will be struck on the buttocks with a paddle. The form says no more than three licks should be given. Superintendent Boulineau says the parent response has been across the board. " I've heard 'great, it's about time, 'we're so glad that this is happening again, they should've never taken it out of schools'. All the way to 'oh my goodness I can't believe you are doing that'." A controversial policy that hasn't been around for years. If parents opt out of paddling, they have to agree to up to 5 days of suspension. "I honestly feel like it's something that's not going to be used very often. Sometimes it's just kind of the threat of it being there becomes a deterrent in itself." This is actually still legal in Georgia and 19 other states but it's rare for a school to have a policy for it. GSIC is the only school in our area that will start paddling students who are misbehaving this year. Even if parents agree to it, they are contacted and the school says they will use a three strike policy so the paddling doesn't happen on the first or second offense. ||||| A Florida father requested a deputy watch as he disciplined his child with a spanking. (Photo: Siraphol, Getty Images/iStockphoto) A Florida man made the news recently after he called the Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office and requested a deputy oversee him while he spanked his 12-year-old daughter with a paddle. The father, Dale Garcia, wanted to discipline his daughter with a spanking after she'd fought with her sister, according to a police report of the incident, which occurred on Dec. 29. However, she told him it was against the law for him to hit her, Undersheriff Noel Stephen told USA TODAY Network. Garcia called the sheriff's office to ask if it was within his rights and they sent a deputy to his residence. The deputy arrived at the residence and confirmed that it was legal to discipline a child with a spanking. "(He) wanted me to stand by while he spanked her with the paddle. … I stood by as (he) spanked (her) 4 times on her buttocks. Since no crime had been committed this case is closed," the officer wrote in his report. While it might sound unusual, Stephen said it wasn't unprecedented. "I'm starting my 28th year here, and that's been the 12th time I've heard of it during my career," he said. When asked to judge whether or not a spanking is too severe, officers use "their professional and personal judgment to determine if it's adequate or not based on the circumstances," Stephen said. A spanking would be considered excessive if there were visible marks and bruises, he said. Follow @lagrisham on Twitter Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1BrC2Rk

– The deaths of three children have been linked to parents who reportedly own a popular but controversial spanking book by a Tennessee preacher. The book, To Train Up a Child, by Michael Pearl of the No Greater Joy Ministry, promotes using a switch on babies as young as 6 months and plumbing tubing on older children to keep them in line—much like "stubborn mules" are disciplined. Some 700,000 parents, many of them home-schoolers, have purchased the self-published tome, including parents who are either currently serving prison time or have been charged in the abuse and beating deaths of three young children in the last 5 years, reports the New York Times. Pearl says it's unfair to blame his book for the actions of unstable parents, but physicians and law enforcement authorities have expressed concerns about the book's role in child abuse. “My fear is that this book, while perhaps well intended, could easily be misinterpreted and could lead to what I consider significant abuse," a pediatrician who examined one of the dead children told the Times. The book threatens to escalate violence against children because it advises that “if you don’t get results, the only thing to do is to punish harder and harder," says a woman who runs a Christian-based blog opposed to corporal punishment. Parents worried about the book have organized to pressure outlets like Amazon.com to stop selling it. One of the Pearls' five children, now 28, recalls having a "wonderful" childhood, even though her dad says she was spanked some 50 times as a toddler. Click for more from the Times' piece.

Seeking out cost-conscious consumers who have gravitated toward inexpensive Android phones, Apple unveiled a much-anticipated cheap model in its popular iPhone series, dubbed the iPhone 5c, at a media event at its Cupertino, Calif. headquarters on Tuesday. The iPhone 5c is the first of its kind, coming in a variety of bright colors rather than just white and black. Its casing is made of plastic, rather than the high-strength metal that protects its more expensive cousin, the iPhone 5s, which was also shown to the public in Cupertino. The 5c will be available in white, blue, green, rose and yellow. "The entire back and sides are made from a single part," Phil Schiller, Apple's senior vice president of worldwide marketing, said at Tuesday's event. There are no seams, and the casing is made of polycarbonate reinforced with steel, and is described as "solid" and "dense" feeling. The iPhone 5c measures 4 inches diagonally, the same as the iPhone 5, and has an 8-megapixel camera like the iPhone 5. This 16G iPhone 5c will cost $99 and the 32G will cost $199 with a two year contract. While it's not actually "cheap," it is definitely less expensive than Apple's other new phone, the iPhone 5s. There are also six different colored cases will cost $29, which you can mix and match with different colored iPhone 5c's to create different color combinations. The cases have circular cutouts so you can see the color of the iPhone. The iPhone 5c will be similar to the iPhone 5 in many ways, with a 4-inch display and and 8-megapixel camera. It does not have the fingerprint sensor that is featured on the iPhone 5s. Like the iPhone 5s, the 5c will feature Apple's new operating system, iOS 7. Apple said that pre-orders for both lines of iPhone begin on Sept. 13. The two phones will go on sale to the public one week later, on Sept. 20. With the iPhone 5c, Apple hopes to break into markets it has yet to conquer, specifically in China and India, where Apple has been losing out to cheaper, Android-powered smartphones made by Samsung and others. With a less expensive iPhone, Apple hopes to grow its popularity in less developed and poorer areas of the world. Last week, a factory making parts of the iPhone 5c was tied to labor abuses in China. The China Labor Watch, a non-profit group, found that a U.S.-owned factory was not providing safe and fair environment for its workers. Many of the factory's workers are expected to stand over 11 hours a day and work up to 110 hours of unpaid overtime a month. More news from Apple's big event: See some photos of the iPhone 5c from Apple's presentation below: More photos on HuffPost: ||||| It’s hardly a secret that Apple will unveil an upgraded iPhone at its Cupertino event on Tuesday. But that one phone could just scratch the surface of what shows up. Here’s what you should — and shouldn’t — expect from Apple’s announcements tomorrow at 1PM ET / 10AM PT. iPhone 5S Apple’s next flagship iPhone is expected to physically resemble the iPhone 5, while including a couple of new features. The biggest of those could be a fingerprint scanner that’s built directly into the home button, which could be used for securely unlocking the device. Rumors suggest that it’ll be covered with sapphire crystal for durability, and have a silver ring around it, which would for the first time change how the home button looks. Image credit: AppAdvice Camera upgrades are expected to be minor, if much happens at all. The main update expected is a dual-LED flash, featuring different light colors to help improve color balance in photos. Some rumors have also pegged a new sensor with a higher megapixel count — around 12 or 13 — and others have suggested that the camera's lens could receive a wider aperture, opening up to F/2.0. A gold iPhone and some new photography tricks Apple is also expected to branch outside of its traditional color schemes by adding a new gold color with white accents. The rest of the iPhone’s big changes should be internal. That’ll likely mean an improved processor, a slightly longer-lasting battery, and potentially more storage, which would bring the base model up to 32GB. While it’s been rumored that iPhones with displays as large as 6 inches are on the way, don’t expect them just yet. If those make it to market, it’ll certainly be down the road. iPhone 5C This year, Apple is expected to debut a brand-new iPhone line that’ll sell at a lower cost than its flagship smartphone. It's rumored to be called the iPhone 5C — though that name is far from official for now. The rumored name is indicative of what we might see: the device is expected to be an iPhone 5 repackaged into a slightly thicker plastic case, instead of its standard aluminum. It’ll otherwise be just about identical, including LTE and a 4-inch display. Image credit: Sonny Dickson (Twitter) It’s also expected to come in a variety of bright colors, similar to the current iPod touch lineup. It would be the first time that Apple has added colors outside of white, black, and silver, and it could help to set the low-cost device apart in a fun way. Don’t expect it to get all of the upgrades that come to the iPhone 5S, though. Big features like the fingerprint scanner will likely be used as a major way to set the two devices apart. iPods Apple has long held music-focused events in early fall, but the iPhone has come to dominate those announcements of late. While the iPod touch should see an upgrade to iOS 7, the nano and shuffle may well be left as they are. There’s one thing we may not see after Tuesday, however. The iPod classic has sat around unchanged for years now, and rumors of late have predicted that this may finally be the year that Apple retires it for good. However, it’s been rumored before to no avail, so there’s no saying how much time the old MP3 player has left. OS X Mavericks The next version of Apple's desktop operating system is slated to be unveiled this fall. Rumors have pegged it for a release in late October, which will likely make it a no-show at what should be a primarily iOS-focused event. Though details on the new operating system have been slim since its initial announcement, our first impressions are that it's looking pretty good. iOS 7 The world got its first glimpse of iOS 7 back at WWDC in June, and on Tuesday, Apple is likely to set its official release date. The new iPhones should ship with iOS 7 by default, and if Apple follows its usual release scheme, existing iPhone owners may even get it a few days before any new devices go on sale. While the company may not have any big software features still up its sleeve, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Apple give a tour of some visual design tweaks that have been made over the past few months. Apple TV While there have been conflicting reports on the possibility of new Apple TV hardware, some software improvements may be in store. Among those could be a way for iPhone and iPad owners to stream content to their friends’ Apple TVs without having to log in on their own accounts. Whether this will be the year that Apple finally opens the platform up to developers, however, remains to be seen. MacBook Pro and iMac Less than a week after Intel launched its Haswell processors, Apple added them into the MacBook Air. But months later, the Air is still the only Mac to get them. Rumors have predicted this year’s processor updates may happen around September, so something should be in the works soon. Apple often issues its processor upgrades quietly — by simply replacing the product in its online store — so it's possible an upgrade could even come without a proper announcement. iPad and iPad mini A flurry of leaks have started to give us an early look at what a new iPad and iPad mini might look like. The iPad mini is believed to be on track for a Retina display, and the full-sized iPad is believed to be slimming down into a body that looks just like that of the iPad mini. Our best look yet came just this weekend from Sonny Dickson, who appears to have cases for both upcoming devices (as seen below). Last year, iPad updates came in late October, so it's possible that we'll have another month to go before they're properly announced. Image credit: Sonny Dickson Mac Pro Though Apple rarely announces its hardware plans ahead of time, the company revealed back in June that a completely redesigned Mac Pro was on the way. The new machine is surprisingly tiny and comes in a sleek black finish, and it's supposed to ship this fall. Fall doesn’t start for another few weeks though, so while the Mac Pro should be released in the next few months, an announcement isn’t expected for tomorrow. iWatch and iTV Both an Apple-made smartwatch and television set have been rumored for years. And both are almost certain to be rumored for a little while longer. Though details of a so-called iTV quickly heated up following the publication of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs, they’ve cooled down just as quickly. As for a smartwatch, the story could be slightly different: rumors targeted the release of an Apple smartwatch for 2013, though recent reports suggest that the date has shifted into 2014. Wrap-up So what should you expect? Most likely: two iPhones, a release date for iOS 7, and a software update to the Apple TV. But there's almost certainly a lot more on the way in the near future. We'll soon know what's really in store, and we'll be sharing all of the details the moment they're unveiled over at our liveblog. ||||| Today at a special event in San Francisco, Apple introduced the iPhone 5 with a taller screen that stretches to 4 inches. The new device also features LTE connectivity with a single chip that works in many countries worldwide. “It’s a jewel. It’s the most beautiful product we’ve ever made, bar none,” said Apple’s Phil Schiller. “”We take changing the iPhone really seriously. We don’t want to just make a new phone, we want to make a much better phone,” Apple’s Jony Ive opined in a promotional video shown during the event. “iPhone 5 is the result of this. For the first time, we’ve increased the size of the display. You can see more of your content, but still comfortably use it with your hand…Never before have we built a product with this level of fit and finish.” There are black and white versions of the iPhone 5. The black version has a black anodized back and a raw aluminum back graces the white version. You can Pre-order the iPhone 5 beginning September 14th and it ships on September 21 in 9 countries and 22 more on the 28th. Screen and Thickness Schiller also said that this is the ‘thinnest and lightest iPhone yet’ at 7.6 mm thick, which is 18% thinner than the iPhone 4S and 20% lighter at 112 grams.The iPhone 5 features a 326 PPI Retina display. The new screen on iPhone 5 is 4 inches with dimensions of 1136 by 640 pixels at a 16 x 9 aspect ratio. There are 5 rows of icons now, instead of four, as the screen has been elongated vertically with 176 rows of pixels. There were several apps shown during the demo, like CNN and OpenTable, which showed off the use of the larger screen real-estate. The screen itself is 30% thinner, which leads to a thinner phone overall. Here’s a side-by-side comparison of the new iPhone 5’s thickness vs. the iPhone 4s: During the assembly process, each iPhone 5 aluminum housing is photographed by two high-powered 29MP cameras. A machine then compares the images with 725 cut inlays to find a precise match. All of the apps in Apple’s iLife suite have been updated to take advantage of the new screen and developers can ship their current apps without any changes. They will be centered on the screen and letterboxed on the sides until developers can update them with compatibility. The screen has 44% more color saturation and supports the full sRGB color space. “It’s now the most accurate display in the industry,” said Schiller. The touch sensor is now built completely into the display using ‘in-cell’ technology, allowing the device to be thinner. LTE, Processor and Battery Life The radio in the device is LTE capable and supports HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA and 5Ghz WiFi as well. The carriers available include 6 carriers in Canada, KDDI, KT, SK Telecom and more in Asia, T-Mobile Germany and Everything Everywhere in the UK and, of course, AT&T, Verizon and Sprint in the US. The new A6 processor in the iPhone 5 features 2x faster CPU and 2X faster graphics capabilities. The battery life of the new iPhone 5 has not been affected by the beefier capabilities, says Schiller. It features 8 hours of 3G talk time, 3G browsing OR LTE browsing and up to 225 hours of standby time. The iPhone 4S, in comparison, had 8hr calls, 6hrs 3G, 9hrs WiFi and 200hrs standby time. The camera in the iPhone 5 has an 8 megapixel sensor, is backside illuminated and has a five-element f2.4 aperture hybrid IR filtered lens. The lens cover is ‘sapphire crystal’, which Schiller sais aids in image capture quality and protection. The new image processing chip, in the iPhone 5 features spatial noise reduction and a smart filter which reduces noise algorithmically. Image capture is now 40% faster as well. The camera also features a built-in panoramic mode which can shoot up to a 28 megapixel still image stitched together out of a bunch of captures. Just tap the panoramic button and pass the camera over the scene. New video features include improved stabilization, video face detection for up to 10 faces and the ability to take still photos as you record. Facetime and Audio The front-facing iSight camera has now been updated to HD 720p quality and you can now do FaceTime over 3G (provided your carrier supports it). The audio capabilities of the new phone have gotten a nice boost as well, with 3 microphones for noise cancellation and wideband audio support. Phone 5 introduces new enhanced audio features including a new beam-forming, directional microphone system for higher quality sound, it also includes support for cellular wideband audio which should improve clarity and more natural sounding speech. Wideband audio will be supported by over 20 carriers worldwide at launch. iPhone 5 also comes with the new Apple EarPods with a tweaked design for a more natural fit and increased durability, and an incredible acoustic quality typically reserved for higher-end earphones. Apple is also upgrading the Dock Connector for the first time ever, with a new system it calls Lightning. It’s 80% smaller than the older connector and Apple has partnered with Bose, JBL, B&W, Bang and Olufsen and a bunch more to produce accessories for it. It’s got an all digital, 8-signal design, adaptive interface, improved durability, and it’s reversible, so you can stick it in any way you want. There is also an adaptor that will convert your old cable to the new Lightning connector. “We needed to manage space inside the phone carefully. We created a new connector,” said Apple SVP of Hardware Bob Mansfield. Pricing and availability The pricing of the iPhone 5 stays the same, and it is available for pre-order immediately in 9 countries, with more available on the 28th. That’s $199 for 16GB, $299 for 32GB, and $399 for 64GB for an iPhone 5, along with 2-year carrier contract. The initial countries are US, Canada, France, UK, Germany, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, with 22 more following on the 28th including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. The iPhone 4 drops to Free and the iPhone 4S drops to $99. The iPhone 3GS has been discontinued. All of the devices will get the iOS 6 update. A host of live blogs of today’s event including GDGT, The Verge, Engadget and Macworld are available. Some images via Wired under Creative Commons license. Apple has never been stronger “Now, when you look at each of these,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook, when referring to the new devices revealed today, “they are incredible industry leading innovation by themselves. But what sets them apart and what places us way ahead of the competition is how well they work together.” “Only Apple could do this. Apple has never been stronger. And that’s because of our employees. They are doing the best work of their lives.” Months of speculation The release of the new iPhone today follows a typically hot period of speculation on behalf of the tech press and enthusiasts about the new model and its capabilities. The leaks of parts including the back plate, front glass and many internal components allowed people to piece together a relatively accurate picture of the device in the weeks leading up to the event. Not since the complete leak of a prototype iPhone 4 has such a detailed composite image resolved this early. The general look and some of the features had recent affirmation in the form of a post by Rene Ritchie of iMore. Ritchie’s sources were the first to nail down the September 12th date for the event, a report which turned out to be accurate. The possibility of a larger screen has been a hotly debated topic for months now. The logistics of how Apple would implement it were brought up by an anonymous caller to The Verge’s podcast and then reproduced on its forums. Importance of the iPhone The iPhone has become the most important announcement that Apple makes each year, as the device now provides over 60% of the company’s revenue every year, far eclipsing its Mac business. Recently, the iPhone’s revenue actually surpassed all of Microsoft’s. The iPhone has grown exponentially every year since its release. The curve in the Comscore chart below displays just how dramatically the iPhone has become an essential component of Apple’s success each year. The new iPhone was expected to have LTE due to multiple leaks surrounding battery life, anonymous sources and a late leak of a possible PCB board containing a Qualcomm communication chip that is capable of LTE. More to follow Picture(s) by Dennis Goedegebuure, originally posted at DPictures.com at Apple White Logo, color background. Creative Commons 2.0 License: Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0) Read next: Twitter improves geo-targeting for Promoted Tweets, helps advertisers target the UK and Japan

– Apple is hoping its new, cheaper iPhone can make plastic cool. As expected, Apple unveiled two new iterations on its popular smartphone today, the premium 5S, and the budget-friendly 5C. "The iPhone 5C is beautifully, unapologetically plastic," designer Jonathan Ive said, according to the Washington Post. Here's everything you need to know from the unveiling: The advent of the new iPhones will put the iPhone 5 out to pasture, but, curiously enough, not the 4S. As predicted, the 5S will come with a new stainless steel fingerprint-reading home button. You'll be able to use it to unlock the phone or make purchases. The fingerprint data will not be stored on Apple's servers, which means that "presumably the NSA can't tap it," the Telegraph observes. The 5S will be available in not just gold, but silver and "space gray" as well. Black will no longer be an option. The 5C, meanwhile, will come in what the Huffington Post quips are "candy colors": white, blue, green, rose, and yellow. The 5S will boast a powerful A7 chipset, and run 64-bit software. It's five times as fast as the iPhone 5 and 40 times faster than the original iPhone released six years ago. But not everyone's impressed: "They're talking about specs because they fear smartphones are becoming Good Enough," Matthew Yglesias argues. The 5C will have the same screen, camera, and A6 chip of the iPhone 5. "Looking at the specs of the 5C, it becomes clear why the 5 was retired," analyst Carolina Milanesi observes. "This is NOT the cheap product that many expected." The 5C will start at $99, while the 5S will start at $199, with a new contract. The 4S will be available for free, again, with a new contract. Apple stock is plunging following the event, and Business Insider writer Steve Kovach thinks it's because the market is disappointed that the 5C, which will cost $549 without a contract, will be too expensive for emerging markets.

'Mad Men' Star Leaves Scene After 4-Car Wreck 'Mad Men' Star Leaves Scene After 4-Car Wreck " starallegedly slammed into three parked cars and left the scene.LAPD tells TMZ January was driving a Range Rover around 9 PM last night when she allegedly lost control, hit the other cars and caused some major damage. We're told a witness reported the accident to police and claimed that January fled on foot after saying, "I can't deal with this commotion."Police tell us that while officers were on scene investigating January returned and claimed she fled because paparazzi were trailing her.January was not cited or arrested, but her car was impounded and police have launched an investigation. Police say no alcohol or drugs were involved.As for why paps might have been trying so hard to get a shot of Jones -- photos of her doing a "walk of shame" were all over the Internet yesterday, showing her arriving home in a taxi in the same dress she wore to an event the night before (Below).: Police tell TMZ Jones told them she was at The London West Hollywood Hotel watching the Lakers lose and then drove home. She says several paparazzi started following her and she lost control of her car and struck 3 parked vehicles. Jones says the photogs were harassing her so she left her license and walked a half a block to her home and called 911. The dispatcher told Jones cops had just arrived on scene so she returned. We're told there will not be a hit-and-run investigation.And cops say they did not administer a field sobriety test because there was no evidence of alcohol. ||||| Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window) Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) January Jones was a red carpet glamour gal in a skin-tight strapless dress Tuesday night, but when RadarOnline.com spotted her the next morning, she was in the same dress and looking decidedly worse for wear. PHOTOS: January Jones Gives Her Dress A Work-Out The sexy and single Mad Men star attended the GQ Magazine Oceana World Oceans Day party Tuesday night at the swank Sunset Tower Hotel. She dazzled on the red carpet and mixed inside the event with the likes of Jakob Dylan and David Arquette. PHOTOS: January Jones Poses In Sexy Lingerie Jones, 32, wasn’t seen by the outside world again until 10:15 am Wednesday when she exited a cab that had brought her from the hotel to her home in L.A.’s Los Feliz neighborhood. January’s dress, hair and make-up were more than a little askew as she walked on her sky-high heels. It sure looked like a Walk of Shame! VIDEO: Stars Dish At Man Men Premiere South Dakota-born Jones stars as Betty Draper in the surprise TV hit Mad Men and she is slated to star alongside Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger in the movie thriller Unknown White Male. She previously dated Ashton Kutcher and singer Josh Groban. ||||| Perhaps it's life imitating art, or just exceptional method acting, but the boy who once played January Jones' son on "Mad Men" isn't entirely fond of the Golden Globe-nominated actress. Jared Gilmore, who played Bobby on the show last season but is leaving to star in ABC's "Once Upon A Time," spoke to TV Guide about his experience on the set of the Emmy-winning show, and what advice he had for the next Bobby. "Be careful around January [Jones]," he said. "She's not as approachable as the others. She's really serious about what she does. Everyone else is so nice." In the last season of "Mad Men," Betty Draper, Jones' character, is Betty Francis, living with her new husband, Henry. Her two children aren't very fond of her -- not that they ever were -- and it prompts Bobby's older sister to run away from home to the arms of her dad, Don. That's probably not the case in this real life situation -- the ABC offer was simply better than that from AMC -- and perhaps it says something for Jones' work ethic. Or not. For more, click over to TV Guide.

– January Jones, who plays the beleaguered wife of Mad Men’s Don Draper, is accused of leaving the scene after hitting three parked cars. Jones allegedly lost control of her Range Rover last night and caused major damage, TMZ reports. She left on foot, saying, “I can’t deal with this commotion,” but returned during the investigation and explained she bailed because paparazzi were following her. Alcohol and drugs were not involved, cops say. Why, pray tell, was she so eager to lose the paps? Perhaps because of some recent embarrassing photos of her doing an obvious walk of shame. See them here.

by Doug MacGunnigle, WPRO News Alan Sorrentino, the man who wrote the critical letter about women in yoga pants to the Barrington Times this week, spoke exclusively to WPRO’s John DePetro Saturday and asked organizers to call off a planned protest parade on his home Sunday, saying he has received threats on his life and property. “Please don’t invade my home,” Sorrentino said to DePetro. “It’s vicious and intimidating,” Sorrentino continued. “The fact that this is seen as an appropriate reaction to something I wrote in the paper is really disgusting.” Sorrentino shared several voicemails he received with DePetro, including threats such as “we’re showing up to your house you mother f—–,” “die alone b—-,”you’d better watch your f— ass,” and “go die you b—-.” Sorrentino compared the harassment he is receiving to threats he had received in the past as an openly gay man. “This brings back memories from when you were afraid to stand up for yourself because you didn’t know who was going to descend on you, what kind of physical harm or intimidation you were going to be subjected to.” The letter was written in jest as a respite from the current political climate, Sorrentino said. “I assumed the character of this grumpy old man that was railing about women in yoga pants because he was too tight to just relax and accept himself in his age and his own ways. It was meant to sound stupid and creepy.” Even after all the controversy, Sorrentino told DePetro he has no issue with yoga pants and he owns some himself. I have no problem with yoga pants. Wear them all you want! I actually have a pair myself that I was going to wear for the parade tomorrow but I’m really not happy about the parade.” ||||| BARRINGTON, R.I. (AP) — Women clad in yoga pants plan to parade through a coastal Rhode Island town in protest of a man who said the attire looks tacky and ridiculous. The women plan to hold a parade Sunday in Barrington to show they can wear whatever they want. Their outrage is in response to a letter that town resident Alan Sorrentino wrote to the Barrington Times about his dislike of yoga pants. He said women over age 20 shouldn't wear them. "Yoga pants belong in the yoga studio," he wrote. "What's next? Wearing a "Speedo" to the supermarket? Imagine if men did that. Yuck!" Sorrentino wrote that it's "bizarre and disturbing" to see the outfits on "mature, adult women," noting that it's "usually paired with a blousy top and a pony tail hairdo." He said it's the worst thing to happen in women's fashion since the miniskirt. He said women should wear a "nice pair of tailored slacks" or jeans instead. He told women who wear yoga pants that he's struggling with his own physicality as he ages and said, "I don't want to struggle with yours." He didn't return a call for comment Friday. Women in the town and around Rhode Island have called the comments sexist and are planning to parade down his street. In a Facebook page to promote the parade , women from as far as Texas and Australia said they'll wear yoga pants on Sunday in a show of solidarity. ||||| Want the Situation's Abs? He Tells You How to Get Them and Much More Email This Yes, it's hard to take fashion advice from a man who once worked as a male stripper while wearing an Uncle Sam-in-a-thong costume. Still, Among his secrets to looking your club-creeping guido best: Get Abs-Fabulous: You can "crush chicken parm," he says, but push the pasta to the side or risk substituting the "six-pack for a sick-pack." Get it? Ha! That's a funny situation. A Dapper Do: Sorrentino opines that his old-school blowouts, with every follicle spiked skyward, are fine for his native Providence, R.I., but more urbane gents may want to emulate his "tight fade on the sides with a bit of style on top." He likes "lines or shooting stars" in his do, but cautions, "Your situation has to be functioning at a high level" to pull off this look. Yes, it's hard to take fashion advice from a man who once worked as a male stripper while wearing an Uncle Sam-in-a-thong costume.Still, our friends at StyleList couldn't put down the "GTL" chapter of Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino 's tip-laden 'Here's the Situation.' The book isn't due in stores until Nov. 2, but our early peek gave us new insight into the 'Jersey Shore' star's elaborate grooming rituals, fitness regimen and discerning shopping habits.Among his secrets to looking your club-creeping guido best:You can "crush chicken parm," he says, but push the pasta to the side or risk substituting the "six-pack for a sick-pack." Get it? Ha! That's a funny situation.Sorrentino opines that his old-school blowouts, with every follicle spiked skyward, are fine for his native Providence, R.I., but more urbane gents may want to emulate his "tight fade on the sides with a bit of style on top." He likes "lines or shooting stars" in his do, but cautions, "Your situation has to be functioning at a high level" to pull off this look. "Personally, I've never gotten ink because I work so hard on my physique it seems a crime against nature," Sorrentino confesses. If he did get body art, he might go for Jesus "with ripped abs" or "Nana's chicken piccata recipe." Holy no comment!The reality star recommends frequent eyebrow threading. "When you're creeping on a chick you want her gazing deeply into your haunting eyes, not checking out your bushy brows," he says.Self-tanners are for "p***ies," declares Sorrentino, who advises readers to follow the colors of the Italian flag to get your perfect glow on: "If you're red, you've tanned too much. If you're white, you haven't tanned enough. And if you're green, then you drank too many Jägerbombs the night before."Emulate Sorrentino's club style with a "silk-thin designer number" by Ed Hardy, Affliction, Christian Audigier or Sorrentino's new line, "Dilligaf," due out next year. And trust your instincts: "If you want to bust out a deep V that's safety-cone orange because you think that's your color, then wear the hell out of that fruity shirt so everybody in the club knows that nobody owns it."Since smelling good is key to creeping, Sorrentino advises investing in his signature cologne, also on the market next year: "Pheromonally speaking, it's the one scent guaranteed to work in every situation."Sorrentino claims he arrived at New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's Spring 2010 Inner Circle Dinner with a big, white security tag still on his jacket. Realizing he looked like a shoplifter, he went topless except for a tie.

– A Rhode Island man who penned a letter to the editor complaining about women wearing yoga pants says it was meant to be humorous and he doesn't have an issue with yoga pants. Alan Sorrentino tells WPRO-AM he hoped the letter published in the Barrington Times would be enjoyed as a break from the current political campaign rhetoric. Instead, the letter generated a huge outcry and a group of women say they'll parade through Sorrentino's neighborhood Sunday afternoon dressed in yoga pants. "Yoga pants belong in the yoga studio," Sorrentino wrote in the letter, via the AP. "What's next? Wearing a 'Speedo' to the supermarket? Imagine if men did that. Yuck!" Organizers say the march is not a protest against Sorrentino but part of a bigger movement against misogyny and men dictating how women should dress. Sorrentino says the response to his letter was "vicious" and he's received death threats. He asks marchers to stay away from his home. "I assumed the character of this grumpy old man that was railing about women in yoga pants because he was too tight to just relax and accept himself in his age and his own ways. It was meant to sound stupid and creepy."

Based on a ‘real’ story, the hit John Travolta film Saturday Night Fever became the prism through which the world viewed disco. Twenty years later it was revealed that the actual inspiration was a British mod called Chris... Picture it: a writer pens a magazine article and it’s an instant sensation. Producers come calling, he sells the rights for tens of thousands, the tabloids give him a nickname, acquaintances greet him as a friend, cheques flood in, he attends the premiere of his film in Los Angeles with a famous disco singer on his arm. It’s glitzy, it’s glam, it’s Hollywood, baby. But as he makes his way through the frenzy outside the theatre, through security, paparazzi and screaming teenage girls, he is filled with moral panic. Why? Saturday Night Fever was released in 1977, and has since grossed $285m worldwide. The soundtrack became one of the bestselling film album of all time after staying at No 1 for 24 consecutive weeks, reinvigorating the Bee Gees’ career, and its star, John Travolta, became one of the youngest actors to be nominated for the best actor Oscar. Decades on, not many remember that the phenomenon was down to one man: Northern Irish rock critic Nik Cohn and his report of 7 June, 1976 for New York magazine, Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Nights, which was published 40 years ago this month. Cohn was the author of a number of books including the 1969 rock history Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom. A protege of swinging London, he partied with rock stars, joined the Who on tour, and is said by some to have been instrumental in the genesis of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust. He had his portrait shot by Iain Macmillan – the photographer behind the Beatles’ Abbey Road cover – and from the age of 18 was contributing briefings about mods and rockers to the Observer. After crossing the Atlantic and signing on with New York magazine in 1975, the writer, who came to feel disenchanted with the establishment music business, persuaded the mag’s founder and editor Clay Felker to let him document disco – a new, largely ethnic, largely gay underground trend that had taken over parts of New York City. The writer was painfully aware that everything Fever had brought him – the fame, the fortune – was the result of a lie The result was the profile of an “ultimate Face”. Vincent, a young Italian-American worked in a hardware store during the week and partied at a disco club called 2001 Odyssey on the weekend. Vincent “was the very best dancer in Bay Ridge … he owned 14 floral shirts, five suits, eight pairs of shoes, three overcoats, and had appeared on American Bandstand”. He and his friends knew nothing of flower power, Bob Dylan or Ken Kesey. They were opulent but poor, proud but shy. “The new generation takes few risks,” Cohn wrote. “It goes through high school, obedient; graduates, looks for a job, saves and plans. Endures. And once a week, on Saturday night, its one great moment of release, it explodes.” The intro declared: “Everything described in this article is factual and was either witnessed by me or told to me directly by the people involved. Only the names of the main characters have been changed.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Watch a trailer for Saturday Night Fever The rest is cinema history: film rights were sold to producer Robert Stigwood, who had just signed a three-picture deal with a young TV actor called John Travolta. Screenwriter Norman Wexler transformed Vincent into Tony Manero. So unprecedented was the fanfare that when Stigwood’s 23-year-old assistant Kevin McCormick traipsed through Los Angeles looking for a director, one agent, according to Vanity Fair, told him, “Kid, my directors do movies. They don’t do magazine articles.” Director John Badham had no such qualms, and in December 1977 his movie took $11m in its first 11 days and Travolta became an overnight sensation. Twenty years later came a bombshell. In December 1997 New York magazine published an article in which Cohn confessed that there never was a Vincent. There was no “Lisa”, “Billy”, “John James”, “Lorraine” or “Donna” either. While 2001 Odyssey existed, it wasn’t the way the writer described it in 1976. The whole scene of disco-loving Italians, as mythologised in Saturday Night Fever, was exaggerated. The most bizarre detail was that his disco protagonists were in fact based on mods Cohn had known in London. The writer was “painfully aware” that everything Fever had brought him – the fame, the fortune – was the result of a lie. The real story went like this: in 1976 Cohn met a disco dancer named Tu Sweet, who introduced him to the clubs of New York, including one in Bay Ridge called 2001 Odyssey. One night the two trawled through the underbelly of New York – a land of auto shops, transmission specialists and alignment centres – to find the place. A drunken brawl was in progress and as Cohn opened the cab door one of the guys reeled over the gutter and threw up over his trouser leg. So he just upped and returned to the safe comforts of Manhattan. One image stayed with the writer, though, that of a figure in flared crimson pants and a black body shirt standing in the doorway of the club and calmly watching the action. There was a style about him, Cohn said, a sense of his own specialness that reminded the writer of a teen gang in his hometown of Derry and a mod named Chris he’d met in London in 1965. How we made Sister Sledge’s We Are Family Read more When Cohn went back to Odyssey he didn’t see the young man in the doorway again. “Plus, I made a lousy interviewer,” he wrote. “I knew nothing about this world, and it showed. Quite literally, I didn’t speak the language. So I faked it. I conjured up the story of the figure in the doorway, and named him Vincent. Taking all I knew about the snake-charmer in Derry and, more especially, about Chris the mod in London, I translated them as best I could to Brooklyn. Then I went back to Bay Ridge in daylight and noted the major landmarks. I walked some streets, went into a couple of stores. Studied the clothes, the gestures, the walks. Imagined how it would feel to burn up, all caged energies, with no outlet but the dancefloor and the rituals of Saturday night. Finally, I wrote it all up. And presented it as fact.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest A premiere party for Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta, right, next to a bearded Nik Cohn, Travolta’s mother below them, and producer Robert Stigwood (far left). Photograph: Ron Galella/WireImage So how did he get away with one of the most daring acts of journalistic forgery? While Tribal Rites reads like a novelisation, it must be understood in the context of the time it was written: the tail-end of the era of New Journalism, where writers used literary techniques and a subjective perspective to present fact as fiction. It followed similar works by the likes of Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, Truman Capote, Hunter S Thompson and Norman Mailer. When I first approached Cohn for this article, he said he no longer wanted to discuss the topic. But after several back-and-forth emails, he did say that he doubted any magazine would publish the Tribal Rites piece today. “It reads to me as obvious fiction, albeit based on observation and some knowledge of disco culture. No way could it sneak past customs now. In the 60s and 70s, the line between fact and fiction was blurry. Many magazine writers used fictional techniques to tell supposedly factual stories. No end of liberties were taken. Few editors asked tough questions. For the most part it was a case of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’. “Magazine writing then was basically a boys’ club. There was a lot of wretched excess. Along with some great writing came reams of self-indulgent bollocks. Tribal Rites being fiction was never a great secret. I remember once, at the end of a long night, blurting out to a publisher that the story was made up. ‘You don’t say,’ the publisher drawled. ‘And Liberace is gay.’” For context, Gay Talese, now a bestselling author and one of the pioneers of new journalism and author of ‘Frank Sinatra Has a Cold’, explains that his intention as a young journalist was to write short stories using real characters. “I have always been inspired by great short story writers, the first being the French writer Guy de Maupassant,” he said. “Later I also began reading short stories by famous novelists – F Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway and more contemporary writers such as John O’Hara, Irwin Shaw, Carson McCullers, John Cheever and others. My newspaper articles were all written as if short stories: there was scene-setting, dialogue, much description of people and places.” But while the articles were presented as stories, they were never fictionalised. “Nothing was invented, all the names of the characters were real, and verifiably truthful.” Caroline Miller, who edited New York magazine at the time of Cohn’s confession, said her predecessor, Felker, wouldn’t have published Tribal Rites if he thought it fabricated. “That said, remember that 70s Brooklyn was a foreign country to most New York magazine editors,” she told me. “It wasn’t cool, and some of them had probably never been there – even to Brooklyn Heights, which was Norman Mailer territory. So they may not have had good radar for credibility. Also, after the zeitgeisty opening about the blue-collar disco tribe, [Tribal Rites] is all narrative, and that much narrative detail tends to read as real. Conversation in cars. What Vincent was thinking as he looked in the mirror…” Miller and her team published Cohn’s admission because it was newsworthy. “Here’s a guy basically bragging about fabricating a legendary story and getting away with it,” she said. “And it certainly added to our understanding of pop culture myth-making – the idea that a mashup of people and scenes Nik had collected on both side of the Atlantic could go essentially unchallenged, and have such staying power.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Night by Nik Cohn as featured on a 1976 New York magazine cover. Cohn has said that were it not for Jim McMullan’s accompanying illustrations the piece might never have seen daylight. McMullan based these on the photographs he took in 2001 Odyssey but, fundamentally, he never met Cohn’s protagonist. “I went to the club twice and moved around, taking my photos without interacting much with any of the patrons,” McMullan recalled. “Nik took a different path through the crowds so we didn’t exchange notes. It’s a universal story... working-class kids going out and getting off their heads to American black music Bill Brewster “I finished my paintings several weeks before Nik finished his story so I wasn’t really reacting to how he saw the scene at the club. It did seem like an amazingly dramatic story arc and the kind of ‘working-class’ story he was already famous for.” It so happened that the design director of New York magazine, Milton Glaser, was amazed by the reportage style of the paintings. “Clay also came to see the work that way... I suspect that because the art was all ready to go before Nik finished writing, it put some pressure on him to get it written. Had the paintings not already impressed Milton and Clay, I suppose it might have been easier to scuttle the whole project.” Did McMullan’s art indicate a truth to the piece? While Cohn’s descriptions of the club’s “Faces” were based on the working class in England, they weren’t entirely off the mark. “Just like the Italian-Americans, the mods shopped for that perfect shirt,” Colleen “Cosmo” Murphy, an American radio broadcaster, DJ, producer and founder of Classic Album Sundays, explained to me over coffee in London one morning. “It was about looking like they were better off than they really were, sticking their money into things like music and clothes. They bought records, certain types of trousers, certain types of jackets. It was an attitude. “It’s that culture of people who have their regular job during the week and live to go out on the weekend. A blue-collar worker in Brooklyn isn’t going to be defined by their job. Who they really are is who they are when they go out. Just like a mod. A mod might be bricklayer, but they’re a mod.” Bill Brewster, former editor of Mixmag USA and founder of Djhistory.com, echoed this: “It’s a universal story that had been going on for decades even before there were DJs playing records,” he said. “Working-class kids going out on a Friday and Saturday and getting off their heads to American black music. It was happening in the cellars of Paris during the occupation in terms of jazz records. Those archetypes, even though Cohn based them on people in London, were obviously happening in New York as well. I think it was an educated guess on his part, and a correct one.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest The multi-million-selling soundtrack album featured hits from the Bee Gees and topped the US chart for 24 consecutive weeks. Disco as a genre and culture had already been gathering pace in New York so Saturday Night Fever was just the tipping point of something that had been going on for a while. “Even before disco was officially called disco, you had David Mancuso’s loft parties, in the late 60s, in downtown Manhattan, where he played danceable acid-rock, R&B, mixing it all up,” said Murphy, who has collaborated with Mancuso in the past. “They were all about integrating different kinds of people, whether it was class, race, sexual orientation. People like David Morales and Larry Levan were going as kids. At the same time Francis Grasso became the first DJ to start mixing records together with two turntables. In the mid-70s these other clubs started rising – Studio 54, which was the glitzy manhattan club, where Andy Warhol, Grace Jones and Liza Minelli hung out, and places like 2001 Odyssey, which were for the working-class Brooklynites.” But in the end it was Cohn’s article and Saturday Night Fever that gave the decade its cultural identity. “As a child I was living in Massachusetts, in a white suburban New England small town, listening to rock and pop ,” Murphy said. “Then this article happened, the movie came out and disco blew up across white America overnight. Me and my friends would dance to the soundtrack at slumber parties. I had aunts and uncles who were taking disco-dancing lessons.” Build, baby, build: when radical architects did disco Read more Then came the backlash. DJ Steve Dahl headed up a Disco Demolition Night in Chicago in July 1979. People wore “disco sucks” T-shirts. The Bee Gees became cheesy, Chic became cheesy, and by the 80s disco was a dirty word. “Saturday Night Fever was probably the thing that killed off disco in the end,” Murphy said. Cohn, now 70, lives in Ghent, New York. His life reads like a blockbuster of its own – after Tribal Rites he continued writing, true stories mostly, and in 1983 was arrested for conspiring to import millions of dollars worth of heroin and cocaine into the US. The more serious charges were dropped and Cohn was given five years’ probation for possession. His life, the writer then realised, had been unravelling and it was time for a change. “Why did I decide to come clean in 1997? It simply felt like time,” he told me. “What seemed OK to me when I was young and stoned no longer sat right. Accountability, let’s say.” Cohn has always maintained that what was genuine was the staying power of Saturday Night Fever itself. That central figure, with all his grace, energy and passion. A nobody who once a week was a somebody. “Tribal Rites is about identity,” he said. “Finding a place in the world where you can shine. What still resonates, to me at least, is the sense of yearning. If I was writing the story today, Vincent might be trans…” ||||| Tony Kushner was right: there are angels in America. But they don’t crash into the long, suffering nights of AIDS patients, bringing prophecy and ecstasy. And they don’t hover over cities listening sympathetically to the doubts of unhappy people below, like the guardians in Wim Wenders’s “Wings of Desire.” In “The Adjustment Bureau,” they walk around Manhattan in perfectly tailored suits and hats, and speak with the clipped brutality of corporate functionaries. They are a major presence in this strange, empty movie, a metaphysical Cracker Jack box without a prize in its empty-calorie depths. The hero of the film, which is loosely based on a Philip K. Dick story from 1954, is a brash young New York politician, David Norris (Matt Damon), who may be headed for the White House. After losing a senatorial election—a momentary setback—David meets a terrific young woman, Elise (Emily Blunt), a ballet dancer, in a men’s room at the Waldorf. I won’t tell you why Elise is camping out in a men’s stall at a deluxe hotel; it’s one of the mysteries whose solution is supposed to astonish us, but which, at the moment of revelation, produces only something like an exasperated sigh. Over the next few years, as David’s political fortunes ebb and flow, his connection to Elise is broken again and again by suavely dressed men in fedoras, including his special guardian, Harry (Anthony Mackie). The hats, we are told, are the source of the guardians’ strength. I was brought up on the legend that John F. Kennedy ended the fashion for hats by appearing without one at the 1961 Inauguration, so I have to wonder how guys who look like models in an old Stetson ad can be regarded as anything but a joke. Are they rejects from “Mad Men”? Shouldn’t they at least break into a dance number, like Fred Astaire in “The Band Wagon”? But there are few jokes in “The Adjustment Bureau.” The hat guys are quite serious, and as powerful as Zeus. Under the leadership of someone known as the Chairman, they control the shape of world history, individual lives, and even such small details as the moment at which someone on a bus will spill his coffee on the person next to him. Life, it seems, is something that we humans cannot manage on our own. David is informed by a high-level overseer, Thompson (Terence Stamp), that the guardians gave mankind the Roman Empire, the Renaissance, and the Enlightenment, and then, starting in 1910, they allowed us to exercise free will. Since we quickly blew it (world wars, Fascism, the Depression), they had to take back the reins. Harry’s boss, Richardson (John Slattery), tracks David and Elise’s comings and goings on a kind of blinking tablet device. He tells David that he has wandered off “the plan”—that is, he has tampered with the destiny as national leader that the guardians have set out for him. Richardson says that if David hooks up with Elise, or informs anyone about the guardians’ intervention in his life, they will both be destroyed. Since David is a bit of a daredevil, and has never met anyone who attracts him as much as Elise, he tries to escape the overseers by outrunning their ability to know what he’s going to do next. This tactic requires going out in the rain a lot, because water protects him from their sight. (Why not just move to Seattle?) None of these flamboyant goings on are part of Dick’s story, which is called “Adjustment Team.” Dick’s central character is a contentedly married real-estate agent, who inadvertently witnesses the guardians halting and changing a little piece of life. After being warned by a tired bureaucrat in the heavens to keep his mouth shut, he returns, with relief, to his ordinary life. The story has a wryly sardonic cast: there are no heroes. The writer-director George Nolfi, by literalizing and supercharging what Dick sketched out, and adding gimcrack history and theology, has made a strenuously silly digital-action film, interrupted by a wheezing discourse about freedom and choice and other such profound matters. “The Adjustment Bureau” works well only at the level of craft. Nolfi and the cinematographer, John Toll, have produced a sombrely unified vision of New York as a place of dull skies and frequent downpours, a city whose towers stick up like hostile gray stalagmites. The gods do their business in aged office buildings, with wide marble corridors and dark-wood walls. The main office looks like an imperial insurance-company headquarters. Their weary routine is turned upside down by the passions of David, and it’s fun to see Matt Damon working with a woman again, rather than going solo, or hanging out with a bunch of men, as he has done in recent movies. Emily Blunt takes him in with her eyes; she makes Elise a brazenly intelligent flirt who understands David in a way that no one has before. Damon and Blunt’s scenes together, once they stop running, reach a pitch of romantic tension that has almost disappeared from movies. But, after a while, digital-spectacle boredom sets in. The guardians’ hats allow them to step through doors to entirely different locations. Harry turns sympathetic and gives a hat to David, who opens a door, and finds himself in Yankee Stadium. Opening a door on the field, he’s on Liberty Island. Wow! Like so many digital tricks, the marvels quickly become glib, arbitrary, weightless. If a movie can take you anywhere, it’s really taking you nowhere; if someone can alter reality at will, life in all its liberties and constraints has little meaning. Like “Inception,” this movie is in love with its own mechanics. It’s too bad that “The Adjustment Bureau” is so flimsy, because Dick, as always, had a provocative idea, a pointed query about the role of chance in our lives. Contingency haunts us all—what if I had taken the local to work rather than the express? I might have had a life-changing experience. It would have been nice to get some insight into that. Instead, I learned that gods are responsible for everything good in history, and men and women are responsible for everything bad. The movie ends with a burst of hope, but it’s a downer. ||||| By Jen Heger and Alexis Tereszcuk Radar Assistant Managing Editor / Radar Entertainment Editor The Plaintiff who filed a bombshell lawsuit against mega-star John Travolta is now admitting that he got the date wrong of when he alleges the Grease star made unwanted sexual advances towards him, RadarOnline.com is exclusively reporting. John Doe # 1 still maintains the attack happened, however. Travolta’s lawyer has insisted from the beginning that it was impossible for the actor to have committed the alleged assault on that date because he was in New York City and called the claims “fiction.” According to sources close to the case, John Doe #1’s account of the incident remain the same, but in a significant positive development for Travolta his accuser now says the date on which the alleged assault took place was not January 16, 2012, but actually an earlier date. John Travolta Sex Accuser ‘John Doe’ Says He Has Proof Of Affair “It was a miscalculation,” one source claims about the wrong date being in the lawsuit. A second source believes that the date change will not drastically affect the lawsuit filed against the star. “The lawsuit will likely be amended, but this doesn’t change the facts of the lawsuit,” a source connected to the case told RadarOnline.com exclusively. “John Doe #1 gave very specific information, and staff from the Beverly Hills Hotel will absolutely be included as witnesses in the case.The source pointed out that Travolta’s lawyer Marty Singer has been a pit bull against the claims, with Singer telling RadarOnline.com that they had flight and hotel details that would prove that Travolta was not in Los Angeles on January 16, 2012.“Let’s not forget John Doe accuser #2. It’s very interesting that Travolta’s team hasn’t gone after him,” the source pointed out. John Travolta Sexual Battery Accuser Afraid But Ready To Go To Trial With two lawsuits now filed against Travolta, the source said that even though the original date was wrong, they aren’t going to withdraw the suit, which accuses the actor of assault, sexual battery, and sexual harassment. “This case will absolutely proceed through depositions and to a trial. The lawsuit can’t and won’t be thrown out because the date was wrong by the first John Doe, which will ultimately be up to a jury to decide. Both accusers are ready to go public, and aren’t afraid of John Travolta, and they will see this through to the end,” the source said. Both John Doe #1 and #2 are repped by Los Angeles attorney Okorie Okorocha. RELATED STORIES: Everyone Knows John Travolta Is Gay, Says Carrie Fisher Atlanta Resort Ordered To Preserve All Surveillance Video Of John Travolta’s Stay Lawyer: More John Travolta Sex Accusers Coming Forward John Travolta Second Sexual Assault Accuser Documented Alleged Attack In Emails To Bosses Second Male Masseur Files $2M Sexual Battery Lawsuit Against John Travolta

– The Guardian revisits a fascinating piece of pop culture that may be a surprise to those who either love or hate Saturday Night Fever. The 1977 movie that helped turn disco into a phenomenon and John Travolta into a mega-star was actually based on a New York magazine article by British rock critic Nik Cohn after a visit to a New York City dance club. There, he claimed to have spotted the real-life "Vincent" played by Travolta, whom he described as a blue-collar kid who let loose with his friends once a week. “Everything described in this article is factual and was either witnessed by me or told to me directly by the people involved," wrote Cohn in a preface to Tribal Rites of the New Saturday Nights. "Only the names of the main characters have been changed.” Twenty years later, however, Cohn confessed to the same magazine that his story was largely a work of fiction. “Why did I decide to come clean in 1997? It simply felt like time,” he tells Nadia Khomami of the Guardian. “What seemed OK to me when I was young and stoned no longer sat right. Accountability, let’s say.” Cohn based the Travolta character on "mods" he knew in London, and the Guardian story recounts the context of the time in which the article was written—days when big-name writers such as Tom Wolfe and Hunter S Thompson blended fact with fiction in their work. Now 70, Cohn insists that a fundamental part still rings true. “Tribal Rites is about identity,” he says. “Finding a place in the world where you can shine. What still resonates, to me at least, is the sense of yearning. If I was writing the story today, Vincent might be trans ..." (Click for the full story.)