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101 | Top GM exec says federal pay limits hurt company | Dan Akerson | GM CEO Dan Akerson said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington D.C. that the company faces many challenges including the retention of top talent in its executive ranks. He said he was meeting later in the day with federal officials who oversee executive pay for companies that received bailouts.
the retention of top talent in its executive ranks. He said he was meeting later in the day with federal officials who oversee executive pay for companies that received bailouts.
"We have to be competitive. We have to be able to attract and retain great people " Akerson said adding "We've been able to retain them but we're starting to lose them and I think that's an issue for our owners to recognize."
Akerson also said GM was well-positioned to take advantage of growth markets in China and India.
He said GM learned a lesson in humility from its bankruptcy but it was well-positioned to return to sustained profitability while reducing its debt and large pension obligations. | [TGT] said in a speech to the Economic Club of Washington D.C. that [TGT] faces many challenges including the retention of top talent in [TGT] executive ranks. [TGT] said [TGT] was meeting later in the day with federal officials who oversee executive pay for companies that received bailouts.
the retention of top talent in its executive ranks. [TGT] said [TGT] was meeting later in the day with federal officials who oversee executive pay for companies that received bailouts.
"We have to be competitive. We have to be able to attract and retain great people [TGT] said adding "We've been able to retain them but we're starting to lose them and I think that's an issue for our owners to recognize.[TGT] also said GM was well-positioned to take advantage of growth markets in China and India.
[TGT] said GM learned a lesson in humility from its bankruptcy but it was well-positioned to return to sustained profitability while reducing its debt and large pension obligations. | 1Neutral
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102 | BC-CONG-OUTREACH-DET COMMUNICATING VS. CAMPAIGNING | Schauer | Washington -- Mailboxes often brim with correspondence touting the accomplishments of taxpayers' representatives in Congress but none more so than the boxes of residents in Rep. Mark Schauer's south-central Michigan district.
Schauer spent nearly $350 000 on mailings telephone town halls and other outreach efforts to constituents in 2009 according to an analysis of quarterly spending records by The Detroit News. That's about one-quarter of his nearly $1.5 million allowance for congressional expenses.
For example after Congress passed a $787 billion economic stimulus package last year Schauer a freshman Democrat from Battle Creek who is considered to be in a tough re-election campaign sent his constituents a colorful brochure saying the legislation "creates or saves 109 000 jobs in Michigan."
Schauer declined to be interviewed. His press secretary Zack Pohl also wouldn't agree to an interview about the mailings but sent an e-mail explanation .
A colorful six-panel foldout from Schauer trumpeting the economic stimulus -- with three photographs of the congressman.
Schauer was the 10th highest spender overall according to an Associated Press analysis of spending by the House's 435 members. | Washington -- Mailboxes often brim with correspondence touting the accomplishments of taxpayers' representatives in Congress but none more so than [TGT].
[TGT] spent nearly $350 000 on mailings telephone town halls and other outreach efforts to constituents in 2009 according to an analysis of quarterly spending records by The Detroit News. That's about one-quarter of [TGT] nearly $1.5 million allowance for congressional expenses.
For example after Congress passed a $787 billion economic stimulus package last year [TGT]sent [TGT] constituents a colorful brochure saying the legislation "creates or saves 109 000 jobs in Michigan.[TGT] declined to be interviewed. [TGT] press secretary Zack Pohl also wouldn't agree to an interview about the mailings but sent an e-mail explanation .
A colorful six-panel foldout from [TGT] trumpeting the economic stimulus -- with three photographs of the congressman.
[TGT] was the 10th highest spender overall according to an Associated Press analysis of spending by the House's 435 members. | 0Negative
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103 | Hillary Clinton calls for gun control after Las Vegas shooting . | Hillary Clinton | Days after at least 58 people were killed in a Las Vegas mass shooting , Hillary Clinton called for better gun control .
Clinton also had some words for President Trump , particularly of his handling of Hurricane Maria and the devastation in Puerto Rico .
Clinton , on her book tour for "What Happened ," called her memoir "a story of resilience ."
Fallon also had female staff writers write thank you notes to Clinton .
"Thank you , Miley , tonight 's show writers and all of the women and young girls out there who are smart , strong and deserving of every opportunity ," Clinton said .
As for election night , Clinton said she was disappointed both that she lost and that President Trump won . | Days after at least 58 people were killed in a Las Vegas mass shooting , [TGT] called for better gun control .
[TGT] also had some words for President Trump , particularly of [TGT] handling of Hurricane Maria and the devastation in Puerto Rico .
[TGT] , on [TGT] book tour for "What Happened ," called [TGT] memoir "a story of resilience ."
Fallon also had female staff writers write thank you notes to [TGT] .
"Thank you , Miley , tonight 's show writers and all of the women and young girls out there who are smart , strong and deserving of every opportunity ,[TGT] said .
As for election night , [TGT] said [TGT] was disappointed both that [TGT] lost and that President Trump won . | 2Positive
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104 | China Kyrgystan vow to enhance traditional friendship | Ruslan Kazakbayev | China was ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to enhance political mutual trust expand personnel exchanges push forward pragmatic cooperation and strengthen coordination within the framework of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) he said.
Kazakbayev said the new government valued the traditional friendship with China and would recognize all the bilateral treaties and legal documents signed by the former Kyrgyz administration.
Kyrgyzstan was committed to cementing and deepening bilateral relations of good- neighborliness friendship and cooperation he said adding the country would firmly support China on Taiwan and Tibet-related issues.
He said Kyrgyzstan was willing to coordinate with China to crack down on the "three forces" of terrorism separatism and extremism to safeguard and promote regional peace stability and development.
He appreciated China's valuable support and selfless help for Kyrgyzstan especially in April when the country went through major political changes. | China was ready to work with Kyrgyzstan to enhance political mutual trust expand personnel exchanges push forward pragmatic cooperation and strengthen coordination within the framework of the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) he said.
[TGT] said the new government valued the traditional friendship with China and would recognize all the bilateral treaties and legal documents signed by the former Kyrgyz administration.
Kyrgyzstan was committed to cementing and deepening bilateral relations of good- neighborliness friendship and cooperation [TGT] said adding the country would firmly support China on Taiwan and Tibet-related issues.
[TGT] said Kyrgyzstan was willing to coordinate with China to crack down on the "three forces" of terrorism separatism and extremism to safeguard and promote regional peace stability and development.
[TGT] appreciated China's valuable support and selfless help for Kyrgyzstan especially in April when the country went through major political changes. | 2Positive
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105 | Another Subpoena for Jackson Doctor | Klein Klein | Craig Harvey chief of operations for the coroner's office said the subpoena was served at Klein's Beverly Hills dermatology office in an effort to obtain "additional medical records."
Harvey said his investigators had previously served a subpoena on Klein but would not elaborate on the nature of the records that were provided or what additional information led to the second subpoena.
In an interview with Larry King last week Klein said that Jackson was using Diprivan "when he was on tour in Germany." It's unclear exactly when that was but the last time Jackson was on tour in Germany was 1997.
Klein said that Jackson "was using it with an anesthesiologist to go to sleep at night. And I told him he was absolutely insane." | Craig Harvey chief of operations for the coroner's office said the subpoena was served at [TGT]'s Beverly Hills dermatology office in an effort to obtain "additional medical records."
Harvey said his investigators had previously served a subpoena on [TGT] but would not elaborate on the nature of the records that were provided or what additional information led to the second subpoena.
In an interview with Larry King last week [TGT] said that Jackson was using Diprivan "when he was on tour in Germany." It's unclear exactly when that was but the last time Jackson was on tour in Germany was 1997.
[TGT] said that Jackson "was using it with an anesthesiologist to go to sleep at night. And I told [TGT] [TGT] was absolutely insane." | 1Neutral
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106 | Politics cast aside Thais honor their ailing king | Abhisit Vejjajiva | Thais put aside their political animosity Wednesday to honor the country's ailing monarch on the 60th anniversary of his coronation and his rare public appearance inspired thousands lining the streets to chant "Long Live the King!"
Protest leaders want Abhisit to specify the date that Parliament would be dissolved.
The timing of the dissolution has been a crucial issue and the Red Shirts rejected Abhisit's earlier offer to dissolve Parliament by the end of the year. Abhisit has said he wants enough time in office to pass a national budget for next year. But both sides want to be in control when a key reshuffle of top military posts occurs in September.
The Red Shirt demonstrators -- consisting of supporters of Thaksin and others who believe the coup was a blow to democracy -- accuse Abhisit of taking power illegitimately through back-room deals and military pressure on legislators.
Abhisit said his five-point plan takes into account the protesters' main grievances. It includes respect for the monarchy reforms to resolve economic injustice free but responsible media to be overseen by an independent watchdog agency independent investigations of violent incidents connected with the protests and amendment of the constitution to be more fair to all political parties. | Thais put aside their political animosity Wednesday to honor the country's ailing monarch on the 60th anniversary of [TGT] coronation and [TGT] rare public appearance inspired thousands lining the streets to chant "Long Live the King!"
Protest leaders want [TGT] to specify the date that Parliament would be dissolved.
The timing of the dissolution has been a crucial issue and the Red Shirts rejected [TGT]'s earlier offer to dissolve Parliament by the end of the year. [TGT] has said [TGT] wants enough time in office to pass a national budget for next year. But both sides want to be in control when a key reshuffle of top military posts occurs in September.
The Red Shirt demonstrators -- consisting of supporters of Thaksin and others who believe the coup was a blow to democracy -- accuse [TGT] of taking power illegitimately through back-room deals and military pressure on legislators.
[TGT] said [TGT] five-point plan takes into account the protesters' main grievances. It includes respect for the monarchy reforms to resolve economic injustice free but responsible media to be overseen by an independent watchdog agency independent investigations of violent incidents connected with the protests and amendment of the constitution to be more fair to all political parties. | 1Neutral
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107 | Namibian PM vows to enhance cooperation with China | Nahas Angula | Namibia hopes to enhance bilateral cooperation with China in all areas Namibian Prime Minister Nahas Angula said Tuesday.
Angula made the remarks when meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun.
AngulaAngula appreciated the disinterested assistance China has given to Namibia for its economic and social development.
He hoped that both countries could make joint efforts to promote bilateral cooperation in all areas and elevate the level of mutually beneficial cooperation.
The prime minister also expressed his sympathy and condolences to the Chinese people as some regions in China have suffered natural disasters such as flooding and mudslides.
For his part Zhai said China and Namibia were reliable all- weather friends. He believed that the two countries could make joint efforts to push forward their friendly and cooperative relationship.
Zhai said since China and Namibia forged diplomatic ties 20 years ago bilateral relations had enjoyed a sound and smooth development with the continuous enhancement of political mutual trust and great achievements in cooperation. | Namibia hopes to enhance bilateral cooperation with China in all areas [TGT] said Tuesday.
[TGT] made the remarks when meeting with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhai Jun.
AngulaAngula appreciated the disinterested assistance China has given to Namibia for its economic and social development.
He hoped that both countries could make joint efforts to promote bilateral cooperation in all areas and elevate the level of mutually beneficial cooperation.
The prime minister also expressed his sympathy and condolences to the Chinese people as some regions in China have suffered natural disasters such as flooding and mudslides.
For his part Zhai said China and Namibia were reliable all- weather friends. He believed that the two countries could make joint efforts to push forward their friendly and cooperative relationship.
Zhai said since China and Namibia forged diplomatic ties 20 years ago bilateral relations had enjoyed a sound and smooth development with the continuous enhancement of political mutual trust and great achievements in cooperation. | 2Positive
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108 | 2nd LD: Chinese president arrives in Tashkent for visit SCO summit | Hu Jintao | Chinese President Hu Jintao arrived here Wednesday for a state visit to Uzbekistan where he will also attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
This is Hu's second trip to the Central Asian state since he became China's head of state in 2003. In June 2004 Hu visited Uzbekistan and attended an SCO summit in Tashkent.
During his stay in Tashkent he will meet his Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov to exchange views on the current situation and prospects of bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern said Chinese diplomats.
"Hu's visit is expected to help strengthen the China-Uzbekistan friendly and cooperative partnership " Cheng Guoping assistant foreign minister of China told a press conference last Friday.
In Tashkent Hu will join leaders of other SCO members for a summit on Friday. The participating leaders will mainly discuss strategies for fighting the "three evil forces " safeguarding security and stability and advancing pragmatic cooperation. | [TGT] arrived here Wednesday for a state visit to Uzbekistan where [TGT] will also attend a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit.
This is [TGT]'s second trip to the Central Asian state since [TGT] became China's head of state in 2003. In June 2004 [TGT] visited Uzbekistan and attended an SCO summit in Tashkent.
During [TGT] stay in Tashkent [TGT] will meet [TGT] Uzbek counterpart Islam Karimov to exchange views on the current situation and prospects of bilateral ties as well as international and regional issues of common concern said Chinese diplomats.
"[TGT]'s visit is expected to help strengthen the China-Uzbekistan friendly and cooperative partnership " Cheng Guoping assistant foreign minister of China told a press conference last Friday.
In Tashkent [TGT] will join leaders of other SCO members for a summit on Friday. The participating leaders will mainly discuss strategies for fighting the "three evil forces " safeguarding security and stability and advancing pragmatic cooperation. | 1Neutral
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109 | Jury submits questions in Anna Nicole Smith case | Eroshevich | Defendants Howard K. Stern and Drs. Sandeep Kapoor and Khristine Eroshevich were in the courtroom when the jury received the instructions.
After the panel was dismissed for lunch Eroshevich burst into tears and was comforted by Stern. Her attorney Brad Brunon said she was reacting to the stress of waiting for the verdicts.
Perry also told the six women and six men in their third week of deliberations that it was a tough case and he invited them to ask for readback of testimony and for additional legal instructions if needed.
Stern Kapoor and Eroshevich have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to provide Smith with excessive amounts of prescription drugs and other charges. They are not charged in her 2007 overdose death. | Defendants Howard K. Stern and Drs. [TGT] were in the courtroom when the jury received the instructions.
After the panel was dismissed for lunch [TGT] burst into tears and was comforted by Stern. [TGT] attorney Brad Brunon said she was reacting to the stress of waiting for the verdicts.
[TGT] also told the six women and six men in their third week of deliberations that it was a tough case and [TGT] invited them to ask for readback of testimony and for additional legal instructions if needed.
Stern [TGT] have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to provide Smith with excessive amounts of prescription drugs and other charges. [TGT] are not charged in [TGT] 2007 overdose death. | 0Negative
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110 | Turkish PM says Kurdish reforms depend on rebels' surrender | Recep Tayyip Erdogan | Turkey's plans to expand the rights of its Kurdish community will falter if separatist rebels do not surrender Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in comments published Friday.
His warning came amid widespread criticism of the government's alleged lenient treatment of a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who walked free shortly after crossing into Turkey from Iraq on Monday.
In comments published in several newspapers Erdogan warned that public discomfort over the hero's welcome given to the rebels could hamper government plans to grant the Kurdish community more rights.
"This could negatively affect the process... We would not want it but it could throw us right back where we started " he said.
He underlined that the refrom process would continue smoothly if PKK rebels abandoned their armed campaign and turned themselves in. | Turkey's plans to expand the rights of its Kurdish community will falter if separatist rebels do not surrender [TGT] said in comments published Friday.
[TGT] warning came amid widespread criticism of the government's alleged lenient treatment of a group of Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels who walked free shortly after crossing into Turkey from Iraq on Monday.
In comments published in several newspapers [TGT] warned that public discomfort over the hero's welcome given to the rebels could hamper government plans to grant the Kurdish community more rights.
"This could negatively affect the process... We would not want it but it could throw us right back where we started " [TGT] said.
[TGT] underlined that the refrom process would continue smoothly if PKK rebels abandoned their armed campaign and turned themselves in. | 1Neutral
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111 | GOP pins health care hopes on an unlikely figure : Ted Cruz . | Ted Cruz | After four years of taunting and torturing fellow Republicans , Ted Cruz is shedding his just-say-no persona in the Senate for a new identity : Team player .
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- a man Cruz once derided as a liar and an ally of Democrats -- is counting on the Texan to help navigate an Obamacare repeal bill through the Senate with virtually no margin for error .
As a trusted voice of the conservative wing of the GOP and conduit to the House Freedom Caucus , Cruz is fast emerging as a pivotal player in the Republican bid to do away with the landmark Democratic health care law .
But after receiving so much blowback for that and many other episodes , there 's nary a Cruz critic in the Senate Republican Conference nowadays .
Cruz 's work on health care has been uncharacteristically low profile so far .
It began with a private dinner in mid-February at the upscale D.C. steakhouse Capital Grille with the more compromise-minded Alexander , who once chided Cruz for calling McConnell a liar on the Senate floor by noting that one thing "you learn in Kindergarten is to respect one another ."
Alexander and Cruz agreed to assemble a group of GOP senators to prepare for the eventuality that the House would send them a health care bill riddled with flaws that could not pass the Senate as written .
But when it comes to passing a new health care law , Republicans believe the inclusion of Cruz and his close ally , Sen. Mike Lee -LRB- R-Utah -RRB- , could pay critical dividends by building support among conservative groups and the House Freedom Caucus .
"One of the challenges when the Obamacare bill was in the House , was that early on was that the different parts of the party were not talking to each other ," Cruz said in an interview in his office .
Collaborative and inclusive are not typically words associated with Cruz .
Now that President Barack Obama is out of office , Cruz said his mission in the Senate is no longer to be the "loyal opposition ."
"Different circumstances call for different approaches ," said Cruz , who is gearing up to run for a second term next year in a closely watched race .
Cruz 's leading role has shocked some of his colleagues .
The group that Cruz helped develop is , in some ways , a substitute for the traditional committee process .
"We have skin in the game ," Cruz said .
Still , there 's concern among some more centrist senators that the end-product could appeal too much to Cruz and not enough to the dozen or so Republican senators who have grave concerns about slashing Medicaid and removing protections for preexisting conditions .
Clearly he believes Lee and Cruz are crucial ; but some GOP sources said there are deep doubts among senators that Collins or Sen. Rand Paul -LRB- R-Ky . -RRB-
Though GOP leaders believe by getting Cruz involved they are minimizing the possibility that Cruz will later demolish their repeal efforts , the Texas firebrand is n't on the same page about everything .
Cruz wants to go as big as possible , and if Senate rules prohibit his idea , he believes Vice President Mike Pence should simply overrule the parliamentarian .
"The parliamentarian merely advises , the vice president decides ," Cruz said .
But on almost every other front , Republicans say , Cruz is being highly productive . | After four years of taunting and torturing fellow Republicans , [TGT] is shedding [TGT] just-say-no persona in the Senate for a new identity : Team player .
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- a man Cruz once derided as a liar and an ally of Democrats -- is counting on the Texan to help navigate an Obamacare repeal bill through the Senate with virtually no margin for error .
As a trusted voice of the conservative wing of the GOP and conduit to the House Freedom Caucus , [TGT] is fast emerging as a pivotal player in the Republican bid to do away with the landmark Democratic health care law .
But after receiving so much blowback for that and many other episodes , there 's nary a [TGT] critic in the Senate Republican Conference nowadays .
[TGT] 's work on health care has been uncharacteristically low profile so far .
It began with a private dinner in mid-February at the upscale D.C. steakhouse Capital Grille with the more compromise-minded Alexander , who once chided [TGT] for calling McConnell a liar on the Senate floor by noting that one thing "you learn in Kindergarten is to respect one another ."
Alexander and [TGT] agreed to assemble a group of GOP senators to prepare for the eventuality that the House would send them a health care bill riddled with flaws that could not pass the Senate as written .
But when it comes to passing a new health care law , Republicans believe the inclusion of [TGT] and his close ally , Sen. Mike Lee -LRB- R-Utah -RRB- , could pay critical dividends by building support among conservative groups and the House Freedom Caucus .
"One of the challenges when the Obamacare bill was in the House , was that early on was that the different parts of the party were not talking to each other ,[TGT] said in an interview in [TGT] office .
Collaborative and inclusive are not typically words associated with [TGT] .
Now that President Barack Obama is out of office , [TGT] said his mission in the Senate is no longer to be the "loyal opposition ."
"Different circumstances call for different approaches ," said Cruz , who is gearing up to run for a second term next year in a closely watched race .
[TGT] 's leading role has shocked some of his colleagues .
The group that [TGT] helped develop is , in some ways , a substitute for the traditional committee process .
"We have skin in the game ," [TGT] said .
Still , there 's concern among some more centrist senators that the end-product could appeal too much to [TGT] and not enough to the dozen or so Republican senators who have grave concerns about slashing Medicaid and removing protections for preexisting conditions .
Clearly he believes Lee and [TGT] are crucial ; but some GOP sources said there are deep doubts among senators that Collins or Sen. Rand Paul -LRB- R-Ky . -RRB-
Though GOP leaders believe by getting [TGT] involved they are minimizing the possibility that [TGT] will later demolish their repeal efforts , the Texas firebrand is n't on the same page about everything .
[TGT] wants to go as big as possible , and if Senate rules prohibit his idea , he believes Vice President Mike Pence should simply overrule the parliamentarian .
"The parliamentarian merely advises , the vice president decides ,[TGT] said .
But on almost every other front , Republicans say , [TGT] is being highly productive . | 2Positive
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112 | Germany: 2 citizens presumed killed in Yemen | Frank-Walter Steinmeier | "We must unfortunately assume that the two German women who were missing are among the dead " German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters. It was the first official confirmation from Germany of the reports.
Steinmeier said the bodies had not yet been officially identified but that a team of German experts was on the way to Yemen to assist in the procedure.
The whereabouts of the six is unknown the Yemeni government said. Steinmeier said the five Germans remain missing despite "conflicting reports and speculation" that they might have been killed.
At the same time the foreign minister said German authorities "have to assume that they are in the hands of violent criminals."
He said the ministry's crisis team was working "intensively and unabated" to clarify the fate of the five in cooperation with authorities in Yemen. | "We must unfortunately assume that the two German women who were missing are among [TGT] told reporters. It was the first official confirmation from Germany of the reports.
[TGT] said the bodies had not yet been officially identified but that a team of German experts was on the way to Yemen to assist in the procedure.
The whereabouts of the six is unknown the Yemeni government said. [TGT] said the five Germans remain missing despite "conflicting reports and speculation" that they might have been killed.
At the same time the foreign minister said German authorities "have to assume that they are in the hands of violent criminals."
He said the ministry's crisis team was working "intensively and unabated" to clarify the fate of the five in cooperation with authorities in Yemen. | 1Neutral
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113 | Hillary Clinton the disadvantaged . | Hillary Clinton | "I have to be better than everyone , I have to work harder ," Hillary Clinton said recently in an interview printed in the New York Times on November 16 .
Oh , Hillary -- please .
Whether his heir or his victim , Hillary Clinton won her Senate seat because of Bill Clinton , and for no other reason at all .
Bill was the man whose connections and money made it possible for Hillary to enter the presidential races as the prohibitive favorite in 2008 and 2016 , though she would go on to lose both of them ; Bill who cleared the field so effectively in 2016 through pressure and threats -LRB- and campaigning against prior defectors in intervening elections -RRB- that only a 74-year-old socialist was willing to challenge her .
That she struggled to put even him away is not a case of Hillary being "better" than others or her being a weak candidate who needed a man to protect her -- whatever she or her fan base may say . | "I have to be better than everyone , I have to work harder ,[TGT] said recently in an interview printed in the New York Times on November 16 .
Oh , [TGT] -- please .
Whether his heir or his victim , [TGT] won [TGT] Senate seat because of [TGT] , and for no other reason at all .
Bill was the man whose connections and money made it possible for [TGT] to enter the presidential races as the prohibitive favorite in 2008 and 2016 , though [TGT] would go on to lose both of them ; Bill who cleared the field so effectively in 2016 through pressure and threats -LRB- and campaigning against prior defectors in intervening elections -RRB- that only a 74-year-old socialist was willing to challenge her .
That she struggled to put even him away is not a case of [TGT] being "better" than others or [TGT] being a weak candidate who needed a man to protect [TGT] -- whatever [TGT] or [TGT] fan base may say . | 0Negative
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114 | China to announce new policies to boost cooperation with Africa | Chen Jian | China will announce further measures to promote substantial cooperation with Africa at the upcoming meeting between China and African nations Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said on Monday.
"China will further promote cooperation with African nations on agriculture food security infrastructure trade investment and public health " said Chen at a briefing ahead of the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation(FOCAC).
The meeting will review how the consensus of Beijing Summit has been implemented and chart the path of practical cooperation for the next three years said Chen.
The FOCAC Beijing Summit was held in November 2006. Eight measures covering trade investment and personnel exchanges were announced by the Chinese government to enhance cooperation with Africa during the meeting. Chen said all of the measures had been fully implemented.
Chen said China's 2009 assistance to Africa would double the figure of 2006 zero-tariff treatment and debt-relief measures to African nations have been implemented and China-African Development Fund has been put into operation. | China will announce further measures to promote substantial cooperation with Africa at the upcoming meeting between China and African nations Vice Minister of Commerce Chen Jian said on Monday.
"China will further promote cooperation with African nations on agriculture food security infrastructure trade investment and public health " said [TGT] at a briefing ahead of the fourth ministerial meeting of the Forum on China- Africa Cooperation(FOCAC).
The meeting will review how the consensus of Beijing Summit has been implemented and chart the path of practical cooperation for the next three years said [TGT].
The FOCAC Beijing Summit was held in November 2006. Eight measures covering trade investment and personnel exchanges were announced by the Chinese government to enhance cooperation with Africa during the meeting. [TGT] said all of the measures had been fully implemented.
[TGT] said China's 2009 assistance to Africa would double the figure of 2006 zero-tariff treatment and debt-relief measures to African nations have been implemented and China-African Development Fund has been put into operation. | 2Positive
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115 | In a TV comedy Egyptian women gain a voice | Ola | In one episode from the show the heroine Ola is introduced to what seems to be the perfect suitor. Handsome cultured well-mannered he has a good job and lives in Italy. Giddy that her long search may be ending she then discovers the catch: He's already married to an Italian woman. His mother he explains wants him to take a second Egyptian wife -- he's allowed four wives under Egypt's Islamic-based laws -- to force him to spend more time back home in Egypt.
As a furious Ola and her parents throw him out of their home his mother snorts "We don't need you. There's a lot of families and even more available girls."
Ola and her parents throw him out of their home his mother snorts "We don't need you. There's a lot of families and even more available girls."
"If Ola's goal was just to get married she would have accepted the first man to enter her life " the 30-year-old (and unmarried) Abdel-Aal said of her main character. "But when she realizes that he is not suitable either due to his mentality or education level or character she refuses him and moves on. She is looking for someone who will help to complete her life." | In one episode from the show the heroine [TGT] is introduced to what seems to be the perfect suitor. Handsome cultured well-mannered [TGT] has a good job and lives in Italy. Giddy that [TGT] long search may be ending [TGT] then discovers the catch: [TGT]'s already married to an Italian woman. [TGT] mother [TGT] explains wants [TGT] to take a second Egyptian wife -- [TGT]'s allowed four wives under Egypt's Islamic-based laws -- to force [TGT] to spend more time back home in Egypt.
As a furious [TGT] and [TGT] parents throw [TGT] out of their home [TGT] mother snorts "We don't need you. There's a lot of families and even more available girls."
[TGT] and [TGT] parents throw [TGT] out of [TGT] home [TGT] mother snorts "We don't need you. There's a lot of families and even more available girls."
"If [TGT]'s goal was just to get married [TGT] would have accepted the first man to enter [TGT] life " the 30-year-old (and unmarried) Abdel-Aal said of her main character. "But when she realizes that he is not suitable either due to his mentality or education level or character she refuses him and moves on. She is looking for someone who will help to complete her life." | 1Neutral
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116 | Survey suggests Germans are unhappy with Merkel | Angela Merkel | The survey offered by public broadcaster ARD showed Merkel's popularity has plummeted by 10 points to 48 percent -- her worst showing since late 2006.
Of the 1 000 people surveyed by Infratest dimap this week 58 percent said they thought the previous government of Merkel's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats would be better than the current coalition Merkel formed in October with the Free Democrats.
's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats would be better than the current coalition Merkel formed in October with the Free Democrats.
Merkel has been under pressure for months. Within Germany critics noted that her new coalition so far has little to show for its efforts in the seven months since it took control other than the unpopular Greek and euro rescue packages. On the international stage Merkel has been criticized for dragging her feet on helping Greece.
The chancellor has already scrapped plans for promised tax cuts but still faces a huge federal budget deficit. Her government is to decide on spending cuts and possibly even on tax hikes within the next 10 days.
Only 34 percent said Merkel's government has made the right decisions to counter the crisis.
The one member of Merkel's Cabinet who enjoys steady support is Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg with 61 percent of those surveyed applauding his work. | The survey offered by public broadcaster ARD showed [TGT]'s popularity has plummeted by 10 points to 48 percent -- her worst showing since late 2006.
Of the 1 000 people surveyed by Infratest dimap this week 58 percent said they thought the previous government of [TGT]'s conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats would be better than the current coalition [TGT] formed in October with the Free Democrats.
's conservatives and the center-left Social Democrats would be better than the current coalition [TGT] formed in October with the Free Democrats.
[TGT] has been under pressure for months. Within Germany critics noted that her new coalition so far has little to show for its efforts in the seven months since it took control other than the unpopular Greek and euro rescue packages. On the international stage [TGT] has been criticized for dragging her feet on helping Greece.
[TGT] has already scrapped plans for promised tax cuts but still faces a huge federal budget deficit. Her government is to decide on spending cuts and possibly even on tax hikes within the next 10 days.
Only 34 percent said [TGT]'s government has made the right decisions to counter the crisis.
The one member of [TGT]'s Cabinet who enjoys steady support is Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg with 61 percent of those surveyed applauding his work. | 0Negative
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117 | Macau ex-minister chosen to lead gambling hub | Fernando Chui | Chui's election was a formality as he was the only candidate. He won the support of 282 or 94 percent of the southern Chinese city's 300-strong chief executive electoral committee formed mostly by people with ties to Beijing.
Chui said after Sunday's vote that the city needed to do more to reduce its economic reliance on the casino business.
"Since we opened up the gaming market we have seen a big change in the operation mode and the scale of the business " he told reporters.
Chui said that he would actively develop the convention Chinese medicine logistics and education sectors.
He also said he planned to work to attract more Taiwanese tourists to Macau taking advantage of recently improved relations between Beijing and Taipei.
The new Macau leader has also pledged to fight corruption which has cast a shadow over the territory's success. | [TGT]'s election was a formality as he was the only candidate. He won the support of 282 or 94 percent of the southern Chinese city's 300-strong chief executive electoral committee formed mostly by people with ties to Beijing.
[TGT] said after Sunday's vote that the city needed to do more to reduce its economic reliance on the casino business.
"Since we opened up the gaming market we have seen a big change in the operation mode and the scale of the business " he told reporters.
[TGT] said that [TGT] would actively develop the convention Chinese medicine logistics and education sectors.
He also said he planned to work to attract more Taiwanese tourists to Macau taking advantage of recently improved relations between Beijing and Taipei.
The new Macau leader has also pledged to fight corruption which has cast a shadow over the territory's success. | 2Positive
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118 | Justin Cronin: `I always liked vampire stories ' | Justin Cronin | His new vampire thriller "The Passage " published this month is a best-seller. The unfinished manuscript sold in a bidding war to Fox 2000 for $1.75 million. And Stephen King called during Cronin's interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" to tell him that he is a fan.
Cronin talked about vampires his inspiration for "The Passage" and readers' reaction to his book in a recent interview.
Cronin: It was her dare. In the fall of 2005 my daughter was 8. I was kind of wondering what to do next and she came to me and she said she thought I should write a book in her words "about a girl that saves the world and that it should be interesting." I think every interesting thing a man does in his life he probably does to impress a girl and so I wrote this book to impress my daughter.
Cronin: The word "series" isn't quite right. I want each of these books to be a satisfying book all in itself. ... To call it a trilogy is true but not really the whole truth and not the exact truth but there are three books all taking place in this world with this basic set of characters.
Cronin: Oh yeah. My office is the war room. I've got a white board and photographs and maps and every kind of thing up there. | His new vampire thriller "The Passage " published this month is a best-seller. The unfinished manuscript sold in a bidding war to Fox 2000 for $1.75 million. And Stephen King called during [TGT]'s interview on ABC's "Good Morning America" to tell him that he is a fan.
[TGT] talked about vampires [TGT] inspiration for "The Passage" and readers' reaction to [TGT] book in a recent interview.
[TGT]: It was her dare. In the fall of 2005 my daughter was 8. I was kind of wondering what to do next and she came to me and she said she thought I should write a book in her words "about a girl that saves the world and that it should be interesting." I think every interesting thing a man does in his life he probably does to impress a girl and so I wrote this book to impress my daughter.
Cronin: The word "series" isn't quite right. I want each of these books to be a satisfying book all in itself. ... To call it a trilogy is true but not really the whole truth and not the exact truth but there are three books all taking place in this world with this basic set of characters.
[TGT]: Oh yeah. My office is the war room. I've got a white board and photographs and maps and every kind of thing up there. | 2Positive
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119 | APPEAL PLANNED ON STATE INSPECTION | Michael Connors | "We're alarmed. These are serious indications of serious neglect " said Michael Connors spokesman for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
"It's disturbing that multiple residents suffered weight loss and injuries due to various falls " Connors said.
"We've been concerned all along that the Motion Picture home pressured and coerced residents into leaving. No information was provided to them of their rights " Connors said.
The group is calling on operators of the home to notify all the residents of their rights and invite them back. "If they don't " Connors said "we and other family members will be considering other remedies."
But Mark Fleischer whose grandparents moved to the home in the 1960s and whose parents also moved there in 2005 said he did not feel pressured into transferring his mother to the Jewish Home for the Aging. | "We're alarmed. These are serious indications of serious neglect " said [TGT] spokesman for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.
"It's disturbing that multiple residents suffered weight loss and injuries due to various falls " Connors said.
"We've been concerned all along that the Motion Picture home pressured and coerced residents into leaving. No information was provided to them of their rights " Connors said.
The group is calling on operators of the home to notify all the residents of their rights and invite them back. "If they don't " Connors said "we and other family members will be considering other remedies."
But Mark Fleischer whose grandparents moved to the home in the 1960s and whose parents also moved there in 2005 said he did not feel pressured into transferring his mother to the Jewish Home for the Aging. | 1Neutral
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120 | Ted Cruz 's Thesis Adviser on How He 's Changed Since College . | Ted Cruz | Cruz : When Robbie returned my junior independent research paper , the front corner was folded over .
In the four years since he made national headlines for his infamous marathon speech against Obamacare , Senator Ted Cruz has become a household name -- first as an ambitious young senator , then as a presidential candidate .
Kitchener : You were already a well-respected professor by the time Senator Cruz arrived at Princeton .
Read more But 25 years ago , Cruz was an undergraduate student at Princeton .
George was Cruz 's constitutional-law professor and his thesis adviser .
Cruz credits George with pushing him to not only think about the Constitution more deeply , but to constantly revisit his own beliefs .
On the presidential campaign trail , Cruz regularly turned to George for advice .
For The Atlantic 's series "On the Shoulders of Giants ," I spoke with Cruz and George about their mentor-mentee relationship .
Caroline Kitchener : How is the Ted Cruz that you know today different from the Ted Cruz that you knew when he was a student ?
Ted Cruz : If you were a person on the left , you had a multitude of mentors available on the faculty .
Cruz : Professor George is scrupulously fair .
Kitchener : Senator Cruz , when you think back on your time at school with Professor George , what memory sticks out most ? | Cruz : When Robbie returned my junior independent research paper , the front corner was folded over .
In the four years since he made national headlines for his infamous marathon speech against Obamacare , [TGT] has become a household name -- first as an ambitious young senator , then as a presidential candidate .
Kitchener : You were already a well-respected professor by the time [TGT] arrived at Princeton .
Read more But 25 years ago , [TGT] was an undergraduate student at Princeton .
George was Cruz 's constitutional-law professor and his thesis adviser .
[TGT] credits George with pushing him to not only think about the Constitution more deeply , but to constantly revisit his own beliefs .
On the presidential campaign trail , [TGT] regularly turned to George for advice .
For The Atlantic 's series "On the Shoulders of Giants ," I spoke with [TGT] and George about their mentor-mentee relationship .
Caroline Kitchener : How is [TGT] that you know today different from [TGT] that you knew when [TGT] was a student ?
[TGT] : If you were a person on the left , you had a multitude of mentors available on the faculty .
[TGT] : Professor George is scrupulously fair .
Kitchener : [TGT] , when you think back on your time at school with Professor George , what memory sticks out most ? | 2Positive
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121 | LIGHTER TEST HOAX BRINGS PRISON TIME | Karen Forcade | TAMPA Karen Forcade sobbed about how children are her life but she's going to prison for a million-dollar fraud that prosecutors say put kids nationwide in potential danger.
"I need to say from the deepest part of my heart how sorry I am for what I've done " Forcade said Tuesday in federal court in Tampa.
What Forcade did was falsify parts of 97 safety tests for cigarette lighters made or imported for sale in the United States from 1994 to 2005.
Also officials said it was difficult to determine exactly who lost what for purposes of making restitution. Before Forcade's sentencing federal officials sent letters to 78 companies asking about their potential losses. Two responded with what appeared to be inflated claims.
Forcade pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in January. Federal sentencing guidelines called for 37 to 46 months in prison.
Her attorney Jack Fernandez Jr. asked Whittemore not to sentence Forcade to prison. Instead he asked that she be sentenced to house arrest so she could care for her husband.
Forcade is a "broken shell of a person" who believes her crimes led her husband to suffer a debilitating heart attack and two strokes he said. Partly because of her strict Catholic upbringing she believed she could redeem herself only by caring for the husband crippled by her crimes according to Fernandez and a psychiatrist who examined her. | TAMPA [TGT] sobbed about how children are [TGT] life but [TGT]'s going to prison for a million-dollar fraud that prosecutors say put kids nationwide in potential danger.
"I need to say from the deepest part of my heart how sorry I am for what I've done " [TGT] said Tuesday in federal court in Tampa.
What [TGT] did was falsify parts of 97 safety tests for cigarette lighters made or imported for sale in the United States from 1994 to 2005.
Also officials said it was difficult to determine exactly who lost what for purposes of making restitution. Before [TGT]'s sentencing federal officials sent letters to 78 companies asking about their potential losses. Two responded with what appeared to be inflated claims.
[TGT] pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud in January. Federal sentencing guidelines called for 37 to 46 months in prison.
Her attorney Jack Fernandez Jr. asked Whittemore not to sentence [TGT] to prison. Instead he asked that she be sentenced to house arrest so she could care for her husband.
[TGT] is a "broken shell of a person" who believes her crimes led her husband to suffer a debilitating heart attack and two strokes he said. Partly because of her strict Catholic upbringing she believed she could redeem herself only by caring for the husband crippled by her crimes according to Fernandez and a psychiatrist who examined her. | 0Negative
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122 | Man arrested for insulting Sarkozy | Nicolas Sarkozy | Police arrested a young man for insulting French President Nicolas Sarkozy as the leader visited a deprived suburb and the suspect will go before a judge on Friday a court official said.
The 21-year-old was arrested at a train station in Seine-Saint-Denis near the northern Paris suburb of La Courneuve where Sarkozy made an unannounced visit late on Wednesday evening.
An aide to Sarkozy said the president had talked on Wednesday with people in a section of the estate that is due to be demolished but several residents told AFP they saw nothing but police and cars coming and going.
A local counsellor for the neighbourhood Stephane Troussel said in a statement that the visit was an "admission of failure" for Sarkozy's security policies.
He said Sarkozy "is obliged to come in the middle of the night secretly because in La Courneuve as in Seine-Saint-Denis his record on public security and action in working class areas is not great." | Police arrested a young man for insulting [TGT] as the leader visited a deprived suburb and the suspect will go before a judge on Friday a court official said.
The 21-year-old was arrested at a train station in Seine-Saint-Denis near the northern Paris suburb of La Courneuve where [TGT] made an unannounced visit late on Wednesday evening.
An aide to [TGT] said [TGT] had talked on Wednesday with people in a section of the estate that is due to be demolished but several residents told AFP they saw nothing but police and cars coming and going.
A local counsellor for the neighbourhood Stephane Troussel said in a statement that the visit was an "admission of failure" for [TGT]'s security policies.
He said [TGT] "is obliged to come in the middle of the night secretly because in La Courneuve as in Seine-Saint-Denis his record on public security and action in working class areas is not great." | 0Negative
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123 | Ted Cruz is now likeable , The New York Times wants you to believe . | Ted Cruz | Hurricane Harvey was so powerful it uprooted palm trees and apparently gave us a new side of Sen. Ted Cruz the country had never seen .
The New York Times wrote that the "forecast has changed" in terms of Cruz 's politicking , ever since his home state of Texas was hit by an unprecedented hurricane .
Yet the Times provided little evidence to show how exactly Cruz has evolved .
Sure , Cruz offered his help after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston .
The side of Cruz as a consoler was definitely different from 2012 , when he refused to send federal aid to New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy .
Indeed , New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called Cruz a liar for his reasoning to vote "no" on a disaster relief bill in the Senate .
In an interview with the Times on Wednesday , Cruz showed no remorse for his ruthless legislating four years ago .
"And it seems not many people in New Jersey do either ," Cruz added , an apparent nod to Christie 's low approval ratings . | Hurricane Harvey was so powerful it uprooted palm trees and apparently gave us a new side of Sen. Ted Cruz the country had never seen .
The New York Times wrote that the "forecast has changed" in terms of [TGT] 's politicking , ever since his home state of Texas was hit by an unprecedented hurricane .
Yet the Times provided little evidence to show how exactly [TGT] has evolved .
Sure , [TGT] offered [TGT] help after Hurricane Harvey devastated Houston .
The side of [TGT] as a consoler was definitely different from 2012 , when [TGT] refused to send federal aid to New York and New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy .
Indeed , New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie called [TGT] a liar for his reasoning to vote "no" on a disaster relief bill in the Senate .
In an interview with the Times on Wednesday , [TGT] showed no remorse for [TGT] ruthless legislating four years ago .
"And it seems not many people in New Jersey do either ," [TGT] added , an apparent nod to Christie 's low approval ratings . | 1Neutral
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124 | Australian official urges balance in India reports | Ranjodh Singh | Jaspreet Singh 29 of Melbourne appeared in court Wednesday on charges of making a false police report and criminal damage with a view to gaining a financial advantage. He did not enter a plea and was released on bail.
Singh told police he was parking his car when four men approached him pushed him against the car poured a fluid on him and set him on fire. Singh was burned on his arms chest and face.
But Detective Senior Constable Danielle O'Keefe told the court Wednesday that arson chemists and hospital staff had determined Singh's injuries and damage to his clothes and car were not consistent with his story.
Investigators believe Singh made up the story of the attack after accidentally lighting himself on fire while torching his car in an insurance fraud scheme O'Keefe said. | Jaspreet Singh 29 of Melbourne appeared in court Wednesday on charges of making a false police report and criminal damage with a view to gaining a financial advantage. He did not enter a plea and was released on bail.
Singh told police he was parking his car when four men approached him pushed him against the car poured a fluid on him and set him on fire. Singh was burned on his arms chest and face.
But Detective Senior Constable Danielle O'Keefe told the court Wednesday that arson chemists and hospital staff had determined Singh's injuries and damage to his clothes and car were not consistent with his story.
Investigators believe Singh made up the story of the attack after accidentally lighting himself on fire while torching his car in an insurance fraud scheme O'Keefe said. | 0Negative
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125 | IMF warns Indonesia on capital outflow threat | Thomas R. Rumbaugh | IMF chief mission Thomas R. Rumbaugh said at the end of its annual assessment of Indonesian's economy that volatile capital flow complicated the country's policy strategy but it urged the government to maintain its policy of exchange-rate flexibility in responding to changing global conditions.
Rumbaugh observed the fiscal outlook this year is also supportive of economic stability and consistent with plans to further reduce public debts relative to gross domestic product which is currently less than 30 percent.
But he urged the government to focus its fiscal policy on structural reforms.
He also warned that the government should promulgate clear-cut precise legal guidelines for dealing with problem banks because the legal framework currently in place was not adequate. | [TGT] said at the end of [TGT] annual assessment of Indonesian's economy that volatile capital flow complicated the country's policy strategy but [TGT] urged the government to maintain its policy of exchange-rate flexibility in responding to changing global conditions.
[TGT] observed the fiscal outlook this year is also supportive of economic stability and consistent with plans to further reduce public debts relative to gross domestic product which is currently less than 30 percent.
But [TGT] urged the government to focus its fiscal policy on structural reforms.
[TGT] also warned that the government should promulgate clear-cut precise legal guidelines for dealing with problem banks because the legal framework currently in place was not adequate. | 2Positive
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126 | MURDER CASE MAY PROCEED IN GEORGIA | Jamie Weis | The original lawyers were replaced with salaried public defenders who do not usually work on capital cases. Those lawyers asked to withdraw saying they did not have the time financing or qualifications to properly pursue a death penalty case. Weis argued that he should have had the first legal team and refused to work with the second.
The fight continued for the next two years; in that time Weis' mother who was expected to testify on his behalf died.
Justice Harold D. Melton writing for a four-justice majority found that the trial delay was "brought about by Weis and his attorneys and not the funding issues." Countering arguments that there had been a "systemic breakdown in the public defender system " he said "There are still attorneys within that system who are available to represent the criminal defendant."
In dissent Justice Hugh P. Thompson wrote that the Constitution requires that Weis receive a "vigorous defense " and that Georgia "cannot shirk this responsibility because it is experiencing budgetary constraints." | The original lawyers were replaced with salaried public defenders who do not usually work on capital cases. Those lawyers asked to withdraw saying they did not have the time financing or qualifications to properly pursue a death penalty case. [TGT] argued that [TGT] should have had the first legal team and refused to work with the second.
The fight continued for the next two years; in that time Weis' mother who was expected to testify on his behalf died.
Justice Harold D. Melton writing for a four-justice majority found that the trial delay was "brought about by [TGT] and his attorneys and not the funding issues." Countering arguments that there had been a "systemic breakdown in the public defender system " he said "There are still attorneys within that system who are available to represent the criminal defendant."
In dissent Justice Hugh P. Thompson wrote that the Constitution requires that [TGT] receive a "vigorous defense " and that Georgia "cannot shirk this responsibility because it is experiencing budgetary constraints." | 1Neutral
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127 | POLAND ' S ACTING PRESIDENT APPEARS TO CLAIM A NARROW VICTORY | Bronislaw Komorowski | Final results from the election commission are not expected until Monday. With the official tally of votes incomplete some of Kaczynski's supporters expressed hope that his concession might have been premature. But Polish public television projected that Komorowski the governing party's candidate and the speaker of the lower house of Parliament would win with 53.1 percent of the vote with Kaczynski a former prime minister at 46.9 percent.
Speaking before Kaczynski's concession speech Komorowski stopped short of claiming an outright victory. "Tonight we open a small bottle of champagne. For a bigger one we will have to wait until tomorrow " Komorowski 58 a father of five told supporters in central Warsaw.
Komorowski said he wanted to "create unity " making reference to the plane crash that claimed the life of his predecessor by calling the race "an unusual campaign a difficult campaign held in the shadow of catastrophe."
Though Komorowski led by as much as 20 percentage points in polls after Kaczynski's twin announced his candidacy in April the election ended much closer to even.
Andrzej Rychard a sociologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw said that Komorowski had positioned himself less as an independent candidate and more as a strong supporter of government policies making him susceptible to blame for voter dissatisfaction. "He presented himself more as a prime minister than as a presidential candidate " Rychard said.
Komorowski who is often overshadowed by the popular prime minister Tusk did not help himself during the campaign with a number of verbal gaffes including confusing the budget deficit with the national debt and saying he wanted to pull troops out of the NATO alliance when he meant to say Afghanistan.
"He's the opposite of the person who usually becomes president with a strong point of view and a lot of charisma " said Wiktor Swietlik a political analyst and columnist for the newspaper Polska The Times who is working on a book about Komorowski. "Not everybody has to be like Churchill Roosevelt or de Gaulle." | Final results from the election commission are not expected until Monday. With the official tally of votes incomplete some of Kaczynski's supporters expressed hope that his concession might have been premature. But Polish public television projected that Komorowski the governing party's candidate and the speaker of the lower house of Parliament would win with 53.1 percent of the vote with Kaczynski a former prime minister at 46.9 percent.
Speaking before Kaczynski's concession speech [TGT] stopped short of claiming an outright victory. "Tonight we open a small bottle of champagne. For a bigger one we will have to wait until tomorrow " Komorowski 58 a father of five told supporters in central Warsaw.
[TGT] said [TGT] wanted to "create unity " making reference to the plane crash that claimed the life of [TGT] predecessor by calling the race "an unusual campaign a difficult campaign held in the shadow of catastrophe."
Though [TGT] led by as much as 20 percentage points in polls after Kaczynski's twin announced [TGT] candidacy in April the election ended much closer to even.
Andrzej Rychard a sociologist at the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw said that [TGT] had positioned [TGT] less as an independent candidate and more as a strong supporter of government policies making [TGT] susceptible to blame for voter dissatisfaction. "[TGT] presented [TGT] more as a prime minister than as a presidential candidate " Rychard said.
Komorowski who is often overshadowed by the popular prime minister Tusk did not help himself during the campaign with a number of verbal gaffes including confusing the budget deficit with the national debt and saying he wanted to pull troops out of the NATO alliance when he meant to say Afghanistan.
"He's the opposite of the person who usually becomes president with a strong point of view and a lot of charisma " said Wiktor Swietlik a political analyst and columnist for the newspaper Polska The Times who is working on a book about [TGT]. "Not everybody has to be like Churchill Roosevelt or de Gaulle." | 1Neutral
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128 | Liberty Times: Accomplice in annexation plan | Ma Ying-jeou | The newspaper quoted Ma as saying: "Whether there will be reunification as expected by the mainland side depends very much on what is going to unfold in the next decade."
Although the Presidential Office quickly produced a recording showing that Ma actually said "decades " the issue is not about "decade" or "decades."
Ma's major fault lies in his ignorance of Taiwan's independent sovereign status. There is no such issue as unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The term "unification" is just a term coined by China to camouflage its attempt to annex Taiwan.
Ma's other mistake is his failure to recognize that only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to decide Taiwan's future. Since Taiwan and China are two different countries China's 1.3 billion people should have no say in determining Taiwan's destiny. It is wrong to say that Taiwan's future would be jointly decided by people on both sides of the strait.
Most threatening is that Ma thinks Taiwan has resisted unification because "conditions are not ripe...We don't even know each other that well."
Ma must remember that as a popularly elected president he is obligated to defend Taiwan's national security and sovereignty. If he fails in his duty and lets the people down he would be a traitor. | The newspaper quoted [TGT] as saying: "Whether there will be reunification as expected by the mainland side depends very much on what is going to unfold in the next decade."
Although the Presidential Office quickly produced a recording showing that [TGT] actually said "decades " the issue is not about "decade" or "decades."
Ma's major fault lies in his ignorance of Taiwan's independent sovereign status. There is no such issue as unification of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. The term "unification" is just a term coined by China to camouflage its attempt to annex Taiwan.
[TGT]'s other mistake is [TGT] failure to recognize that only the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to decide Taiwan's future. Since Taiwan and China are two different countries China's 1.3 billion people should have no say in determining Taiwan's destiny. It is wrong to say that Taiwan's future would be jointly decided by people on both sides of the strait.
Most threatening is that [TGT] thinks Taiwan has resisted unification because "conditions are not ripe...We don't even know each other that well."
Ma must remember that as a popularly elected president he is obligated to defend Taiwan's national security and sovereignty. If he fails in his duty and lets the people down he would be a traitor. | 0Negative
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129 | Serbian central bank cuts rate to 10 pct after IMF deal | Radovan Jelasic | Serbia's central bank cut its key rate to 10 percent on Thursday after a deal with the IMF governor Radovan Jelasic said signalling that more cuts could come.
"The National Bank of Serbia's (NBS) monetary policy committee decided to lower the interest rate from 11 to 10 percent for several reasons " Jelasic told reporters marking the second cut in a month.
Among the reasons was "successful completion of a second revision of a stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund a day before " Jelasic said.
Low inflation in the third quarter and stability of the exchange rate were also listed among the reasons Jelasic said.
However Jelasic said that trends for the economy were better than had been expected and that further cuts in interest rates could be expected. | Serbia's central bank cut its key rate to 10 percent on Thursday after a deal with the IMF [TGT] said signalling that more cuts could come.
"The National Bank of Serbia's (NBS) monetary policy committee decided to lower the interest rate from 11 to 10 percent for several reasons [TGT] told reporters marking the second cut in a month.
Among the reasons was "successful completion of a second revision of a stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund a day before " [TGT] said.
Low inflation in the third quarter and stability of the exchange rate were also listed among the reasons [TGT] said.
However [TGT] said that trends for the economy were better than had been expected and that further cuts in interest rates could be expected. | 1Neutral
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130 | US teen charged with strangling brother 10 | Andrew Conley | Andrew Conley showed no remorse or emotion as he described choking to death Conner Conley as the two wrestled Sunday a probable cause affidavit said. He told investigators the child's last words were "Andrew stop."
Conley said he dragged his brother's body to his car before driving to see his girlfriend who told investigators the teen "seemed happy more happy than she had seen him in a while " according to the affidavit. Conley said he dumped the body near a park in his town of Rising Sun about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Indianapolis.
Prosecutors filed preliminary charges of murder against Conley along with a supporting affidavit Thursday. He is being charged as an adult and will appear Friday in court Negangard said.
Conley's family did not return messages for comment Thursday. Negangard said Conley had an attorney but none was listed in the affidavit.
The teen told investigators he had had fantasies about killing someone since he was in eighth grade including cutting somebody's throat and felt "just like" the serial killer Dexter on the Showtime television series of the same name.
Negangard said he will consider seeking the maximum prison term of life without parole. Conley's age makes him ineligible for the death penalty.
The teen had no juvenile record and his teachers considered him a good student Negangard said. | [TGT] showed no remorse or emotion as [TGT] described choking to death Conner Conley as the two wrestled Sunday a probable cause affidavit said. [TGT] told investigators the child's last words were "Andrew stop.[TGT] said [TGT] dragged [TGT] brother's body to [TGT] car before driving to see [TGT] girlfriend who told investigators the teen "seemed happy more happy than [TGT] had seen him in a while " according to the affidavit. [TGT] said [TGT] dumped the body near a park in [TGT] town of Rising Sun about 90 miles (145 kilometers) southeast of Indianapolis.
Prosecutors filed preliminary charges of murder against [TGT] along with a supporting affidavit Thursday. [TGT] is being charged as an adult and will appear Friday in court Negangard said.
[TGT]'s family did not return messages for comment Thursday. Negangard said [TGT] had an attorney but none was listed in the affidavit.
The teen told investigators [TGT] had had fantasies about killing someone since [TGT] was in eighth grade including cutting somebody's throat and felt "just like" the serial killer Dexter on the Showtime television series of the same name.
Negangard said he will consider seeking the maximum prison term of life without parole. [TGT]'s age makes [TGT] ineligible for the death penalty.
The teen had no juvenile record and [TGT] teachers considered [TGT] a good student Negangard said. | 0Negative
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131 | Clijsters wins 1st US Open match in straight sets | Francesca Schiavone | Melanie Oudin and Francesca Schiavone also know how quickly perceptions can change. Oudin struggled with higher expectations since her crowd-pleasing run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year. So did Schiavone after her breakthrough French Open title in June.
Oudin 18 needed just 56 minutes to beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-3 6-0. Schiavone the Italian who won her first Grand Slam weeks before her 30th birthday dispatched Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1 6-0 in 58 minutes.
If anything Schiavone seems to be having fun in the spotlight. Asked why she's a fan favorite she playfully replied "I attract them because I'm beautiful."
Schiavone acknowledged that maybe she's a bit more motivated at a Grand Slam than at other tournaments. Schiavone seeded No. 6 had been just 3-6 since winning at Roland Garros. She lost in the first round at Wimbledon and dropped her opening match at three other tournaments.
She was pleased that her first-round match was in the grandstand -- a year ago she was relegated to an outer court.
"I like to do it because adrenaline is coming up and I enjoy much more than play in faraway court " she said with a laugh. "Maybe because I am 30 years old and now I want to enjoy with people." | Melanie Oudin and [TGT] also know how quickly perceptions can change. Oudin struggled with higher expectations since her crowd-pleasing run to the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year. So did [TGT] after her breakthrough French Open title in June.
Oudin 18 needed just 56 minutes to beat Olga Savchuk of Ukraine 6-3 6-0. [TGT]the Italian who won her first Grand Slam weeks before her 30th birthday dispatched Ayumi Morita of Japan 6-1 6-0 in 58 minutes.
If anything [TGT] seems to be having fun in the spotlight. Asked why she's a fan favorite she playfully replied "I attract them because I'm beautiful."
Schiavone acknowledged that maybe she's a bit more motivated at a Grand Slam than at other tournaments. [TGT]seeded No. 6 had been just 3-6 since winning at Roland Garros. She lost in the first round at Wimbledon and dropped her opening match at three other tournaments.
She was pleased that her first-round match was in the grandstand -- a year ago she was relegated to an outer court.
"I like to do it because adrenaline is coming up and I enjoy much more than play in faraway court " she said with a laugh. "Maybe because I am 30 years old and now I want to enjoy with people." | 2Positive
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132 | Fire Victim's Parents Sue Landlord | McHugh | "It is impossible not to conclude that McHugh knew full well he was purposefully and illegally exposing his tenants to catastrophic injury and death " the suit said. Noe Duran the roommate who escaped the fire is also a party to the suit.
McHugh could not be reached for comment. His attorney Greg Stannard said he had not had time to review the case and could not comment.
McHugh is under a court order to sell all his rental properties in Los Angeles by the fall of 2010 as part of a plea agreement to avoid jail time for fire and habitability violations.
City officials have been trying to regulate McHugh for decades. In the 1980s then-City Attorney Ira Reiner accused McHugh now 84 of dealing in "blood money" and threatened to put him in jail.
But the landlord continued to amass buildings and a record of violating health and safety codes. Last summer his lawyer told city officials that he owned more than 140 properties housing about 8 000 people many of them impoverished immigrants in the city's core.
Tenants and their advocates say the conditions in his buildings caused health risks such as lead poisoning asthma and ear infections caused by allergy to cockroaches. | "It is impossible not to conclude that [TGT] knew full well [TGT] was purposefully and illegally exposing [TGT] tenants to catastrophic injury and death " the suit said. Noe Duran the roommate who escaped the fire is also a party to the suit.
[TGT] could not be reached for comment. [TGT] attorney Greg Stannard said he had not had time to review the case and could not comment.
[TGT] is under a court order to sell all [TGT] rental properties in Los Angeles by the fall of 2010 as part of a plea agreement to avoid jail time for fire and habitability violations.
City officials have been trying to regulate [TGT] for decades. In the 1980s then-City Attorney Ira Reiner accused [TGT]now 84 of dealing in "blood money" and threatened to put [TGT] in jail.
But the landlord continued to amass buildings and a record of violating health and safety codes. Last summer his lawyer told city officials that he owned more than 140 properties housing about 8 000 people many of them impoverished immigrants in the city's core.
Tenants and their advocates say the conditions in his buildings caused health risks such as lead poisoning asthma and ear infections caused by allergy to cockroaches. | 0Negative
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133 | Football: South Africa coach Santana rues Iraq negativity | Santana | Football: South Africa coach Santana rues Iraq negativity
South Africa coach Joel Santana accused Iraq of deploying negative tactics which paralysed the game after watching the Asian champions grab a point in the Confederations Cup opener here on Sunday.
Santana expressed his surprise at what he considered Iraq coach Bora Milutinovic's spoiling tactics.
Santana assured his side's expectant fans 48 837 of whom turned up at this venue which hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup final won by South Africa that his team would improve. | Football: [TGT] rues Iraq negativity
South Africa coach [TGT] accused Iraq of deploying negative tactics which paralysed the game after watching the Asian champions grab a point in the Confederations Cup opener here on Sunday.
[TGT] expressed [TGT] surprise at what [TGT] considered Iraq coach Bora Milutinovic's spoiling tactics.
[TGT] assured [TGT] side's expectant fans 48 837 of whom turned up at this venue which hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup final won by South Africa that [TGT] team would improve. | 1Neutral
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134 | TYLER PERRY BRINGS 1975 CLASSIC ABOUT BLACK WOMEN TO FILM | Tyler Perry | Director Tyler Perry's big-screen adaptation of "For Colored Girls" -- the landmark theatrical journey through several black women's lives -- opens to great anticipation this week. And some trepidation.
A movie and television director and producer Perry is best known for his films about black women under duress most often featuring Madea a gun-toting auntie with lots of attitude portrayed by the filmmaker. His movies use camp and gallons of sweet tea to wash down some authentic truths.
This month's issue of Essence the premier magazine for African-American women features the movie's cast. And "For Colored Girls" is populated by intriguing performers from Phylicia Rashad to Thandie Newton Janet Jackson to Whoopi Goldberg Kimberly Elise (Perry's breakout hit "Diary of a Mad Black Woman") to Tony winner Anika Noni Rose ("Caroline or Change").
Still not everyone cheered when news broke that Perry would be taking on "For Colored Girls."
"Literally I was like 'No. ... No! Don't do it ' " says Ashara Ekundayo who hosted a special screening of the film for Denver audiences last week. "I was 6 years old when this play came out. I remember the book was on my mother's nightstand. When I heard Tyler Perry was going to make a movie I thought that's like the holy grail. Why on Earth is anybody trying to make that into a movie? Let alone Tyler Perry? This is a genre unto itself that choreopoem." | Director Tyler Perry's big-screen adaptation of "For Colored Girls" -- the landmark theatrical journey through several black women's lives -- opens to great anticipation this week. And some trepidation.
A movie and television director and producer Perry is best known for his films about black women under duress most often featuring Madea a gun-toting auntie with lots of attitude portrayed by the filmmaker. His movies use camp and gallons of sweet tea to wash down some authentic truths.
This month's issue of Essence the premier magazine for African-American women features the movie's cast. And "For Colored Girls" is populated by intriguing performers from Phylicia Rashad to Thandie Newton Janet Jackson to Whoopi Goldberg Kimberly Elise ([TGT]'s breakout hit "Diary of a Mad Black Woman") to Tony winner Anika Noni Rose ("Caroline or Change").
Still not everyone cheered when news broke that [TGT] would be taking on "For Colored Girls."
"Literally I was like 'No. ... No! Don't do it ' " says Ashara Ekundayo who hosted a special screening of the film for Denver audiences last week. "I was 6 years old when this play came out. I remember the book was on my mother's nightstand. When I heard [TGT] was going to make a movie I thought that's like the holy grail. Why on Earth is anybody trying to make that into a movie? Let alone [TGT]? This is a genre unto itself that choreopoem." | 2Positive
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135 | German Cabinet approves trading curbs bill | Wolfgang Schaeuble | Some market watchers say most such trading is conducted outside Germany and Schaeuble said Wednesday that Berlin's move -- which applies only to domestic markets -- effectively bans naked short-selling only of German and Austrian government debt.
"The criticism made of our plans that we are impairing trading of other European government bonds is unfounded " he argued. He added that the legislation will allow his ministry to authorize exceptions.
Schaeuble said he acted after hearing that the European Commission wouldn't be able to propose rules on naked short-selling before October.
He noted that a German decision earlier this year to introduce a levy on banks which would pay into a fund to cover the costs of future financial crises was followed by European proposals. | Some market watchers say most such trading is conducted outside Germany and [TGT] said Wednesday that Berlin's move -- which applies only to domestic markets -- effectively bans naked short-selling only of German and Austrian government debt.
"The criticism made of our plans that we are impairing trading of other European government bonds is unfounded " he argued. He added that the legislation will allow his ministry to authorize exceptions.
[TGT] said [TGT] acted after hearing that the European Commission wouldn't be able to propose rules on naked short-selling before October.
[TGT] noted that a German decision earlier this year to introduce a levy on banks which would pay into a fund to cover the costs of future financial crises was followed by European proposals. | 0Negative
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136 | Thai protesters stay put but cancel ' offensive ' | Abhisit Vejjajiva | Weng Tojirakarn a key protest leader said Tuesday night that the group was sticking to its demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva immediately dissolve Parliament and hold elections. But he canceled an earlier announced "offensive" against the army camp.
Weng said the "Red Shirt" protesters would decide what step to take next after the end Friday of a raucous three-day celebration of Thai New Year which doused some of the tension that have kept Bangkok on knife-edge since March 12.
"This is such a great relief from politics " said Jetsada Pinyomongkol brandishing a giant pink-and-yellow water gun. "I think many people get sick of it. Everywhere you turn to itit's Red Shirt this government that. It's great that we could put the differences aside for at least today."
At loggerheads in the yearslong struggle for power in Thailand are the rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose ouster in a 2006 coup exposed the country's deep political divisions -- and the traditional ruling elite represented by Abhisit and his allies. The Red Shirts claim Abhisit whose supporters include business leaders the military brass and members of the urban middle class took power illegitimately. | Weng Tojirakarn a key protest leader said Tuesday night that the group was sticking to its demand that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva immediately dissolve Parliament and hold elections. But he canceled an earlier announced "offensive" against the army camp.
Weng said the "Red Shirt" protesters would decide what step to take next after the end Friday of a raucous three-day celebration of Thai New Year which doused some of the tension that have kept Bangkok on knife-edge since March 12.
"This is such a great relief from politics " said Jetsada Pinyomongkol brandishing a giant pink-and-yellow water gun. "I think many people get sick of it. Everywhere you turn to itit's Red Shirt this government that. It's great that we could put the differences aside for at least today."
At loggerheads in the yearslong struggle for power in Thailand are the rural supporters of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra -- whose ouster in a 2006 coup exposed the country's deep political divisions -- and the traditional ruling elite represented by [TGT] and [TGT] allies. The Red Shirts claim Abhisit whose supporters include business leaders the military brass and members of the urban middle class took power illegitimately. | 0Negative
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137 | PITTSBURGH MAYOR STRIKES DEAL TO SCRAP TUITION TAX | Luke Ravenstahl | In what he described as a "leap of faith " Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of Pittsburgh agreed Monday to shelve his plans for the nation's first tax on college tuition in exchange for an increase in voluntary contributions from local colleges and universities to the city.
City officials said the mayor also had a promise from university officials to help lobby state lawmakers in Harrisburg for changes to enable the city to raise certain taxes and fees.
Earlier this month Ravenstahl said he had asked the universities and other tax-exempt nonprofit organizations to pay $5 million annually to the city and that in lieu of the tax he would find the other $10 million by dipping into reserves cutting services and pushing Harrisburg to increase the commuter tax rate.
After universities initially turned down his request to increase their voluntary payments to the city Ravenstahl said he was left with no alternative to imposing a tax. He said the money was needed to pay for pension costs and to offset the roughly $50 million in property taxes that the city forgoes from the tax-exempt status of nonprofit institutions.
Ravenstahl said the city had already begun tightening its belt.
"We continue to consolidate services with other governments achieving cost savings through joint purchasing joint provision of services and any other avenue we can pursue " he said. "We have reduced our work force by about 1 000 employees. We have stopped issuing new debt going to a 'pay as you go' capital budgeting system."
He added: "We have cut everything we can to the bone. Today is not the end of our work together. Today is only the beginning." | In what he described as a "leap of faith " [TGT] agreed Monday to shelve his plans for the nation's first tax on college tuition in exchange for an increase in voluntary contributions from local colleges and universities to the city.
City officials said [TGT] also had a promise from university officials to help lobby state lawmakers in Harrisburg for changes to enable the city to raise certain taxes and fees.
Earlier this month [TGT] said [TGT] had asked the universities and other tax-exempt nonprofit organizations to pay $5 million annually to the city and that in lieu of the tax [TGT] would find the other $10 million by dipping into reserves cutting services and pushing Harrisburg to increase the commuter tax rate.
After universities initially turned down [TGT] request to increase their voluntary payments to the city [TGT] said [TGT] was left with no alternative to imposing a tax. [TGT] said the money was needed to pay for pension costs and to offset the roughly $50 million in property taxes that the city forgoes from the tax-exempt status of nonprofit institutions.
[TGT] said the city had already begun tightening [TGT] belt.
"We continue to consolidate services with other governments achieving cost savings through joint purchasing joint provision of services and any other avenue we can pursue " [TGT] said. "We have reduced our work force by about 1 000 employees. We have stopped issuing new debt going to a 'pay as you go' capital budgeting system."
He added: "We have cut everything we can to the bone. Today is not the end of our work together. Today is only the beginning." | 2Positive
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138 | Gov ' t: Banks should share Fannie Freddie costs | Freddie Freddie | Fannie and Freddie buy mortgages and package them into securities with a guarantee against default.
Fannie and Freddie have a legal right to return bad loans especially if they later discover fraudulent statements on applications. Any money they recover offsets their losses.
A bigger headache for lawmakers is figuring out what to do with Fannie and Freddie in the future.
The Obama administration is working on a plan to restructure the mortgage market and make sure home loans are affordable. Officials don't plan to release details until next year. But Michael Barr an assistant Treasury secretary told the panel Wednesday that Fannie and Freddie "will not exist in the same form as they did in the past."
Republicans have seized on the administration's management of Fannie and Freddie to illustrate Democrats' push for broadening the reach of the federal government. They say loans acquired by Fannie and Freddie since the September 2008 takeover have put taxpayers at risk.
But Democrats and regulators say the loans acquired by Fannie and Freddie before their takeover represent the overwhelming majority of the companies' losses. New loans acquired since then have been performing well they note.
"There is no urgency " to reform the two companies said Rep. Barney Frank the committee's chairman. "The pattern of abuse they had engaged in has been changed...Fannie and Freddie are behaving differently and are causing far less problems." | Fannie and [TGT] buy mortgages and package them into securities with a guarantee against default.
Fannie and [TGT] have a legal right to return bad loans especially if they later discover fraudulent statements on applications. Any money they recover offsets their losses.
A bigger headache for lawmakers is figuring out what to do with Fannie and [TGT] in the future.
The Obama administration is working on a plan to restructure the mortgage market and make sure home loans are affordable. Officials don't plan to release details until next year. But Michael Barr an assistant Treasury secretary told the panel Wednesday that Fannie and [TGT] "will not exist in the same form as they did in the past."
Republicans have seized on the administration's management of Fannie and [TGT] to illustrate Democrats' push for broadening the reach of the federal government. They say loans acquired by Fannie and [TGT] since the September 2008 takeover have put taxpayers at risk.
But Democrats and regulators say the loans acquired by Fannie and [TGT] before their takeover represent the overwhelming majority of the companies' losses. New loans acquired since then have been performing well they note.
"There is no urgency " to reform the two companies said Rep. Barney Frank the committee's chairman. "The pattern of abuse they had engaged in has been changed...Fannie and [TGT] are behaving differently and are causing far less problems." | 1Neutral
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139 | 2nd LD Writethru: Massive search ends after possible cult members found | Mike Parker | A tipster directed deputies to a park where the missing people were found "alive and well " Los Angeles Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Mike Parker said.
A person who had seen television reports about the incident spotted the party praying at 11:40 a.m. at Jackie Robinson Park on the east side of Palmdale Los Angeles and took deputies to the scene according to Parker.
Based on the letters authorities believed that the group was " possibly awaiting the Rapture or some catastrophic event " Parker said.
He said the missing persons include three sisters ages 30 32 and 40 a 19 -year-old son and eight children ages 3 to 17.
The search teams combed a broad swatch of mountains high desert and canyons searching for the missing persons Parker said.
The Sheriff's Department police California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies were all involved in the search in the Antelope Valley and beyond Parker said.
The local KNX radio reported that Chicas the supposed leader of the cult was being detained in a squad car as deputies investigated her claims that the whole incident was a mix-up. | A tipster directed deputies to a park where the missing people were found "alive and well " Los Angeles Sheriff's spokesman Capt. [TGT] said.
A person who had seen television reports about the incident spotted the party praying at 11:40 a.m. at Jackie Robinson Park on the east side of Palmdale Los Angeles and took deputies to the scene according to [TGT].
Based on the letters authorities believed that the group was " possibly awaiting the Rapture or some catastrophic event [TGT] said.
[TGT] said the missing persons include three sisters ages 30 32 and 40 a 19 -year-old son and eight children ages 3 to 17.
The search teams combed a broad swatch of mountains high desert and canyons searching for the missing persons [TGT] said.
The Sheriff's Department police California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies were all involved in the search in the Antelope Valley and beyond [TGT] said.
The local KNX radio reported that Chicas the supposed leader of the cult was being detained in a squad car as deputies investigated [TGT] claims that the whole incident was a mix-up. | 2Positive
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140 | Dwyane Wade : LeBron James ` happy ' as Cavaliers approach pivotal season . | LeBron James | Each noticed how the Cavs who 've been here a while , the ones playing alongside LeBron James the past three seasons , show up to work hours before they 're due .
James said his job this year , leading this team , is no easier or harder than in years past .
It 's the kind of culture James demanded since he first re-joined the Cavs in the summer of 2014 .
"Being a professional is what it 's all about ," James said .
And then on the eve of training camp , Wade secured his buyout -LRB- worth $ 16 million -RRB- and release from the Bulls , clearing the path for him to sign with Cleveland and reunite with James after all their success together in Miami .
James is also surrounded by more talent than at any point in his previous 14 seasons .
In many ways , the Cavs ' positioning is remarkable , given James ' likely free agency next summer and the overwhelming view from outside the organization that things were coming apart at the seams in the offseason .
"I think he loves it here ," said Wade , who along with James and new general manager Koby Altman agreed to interviews with cleveland.com to preview the Cavs ' 2017-18 season , which begins Tuesday against the Boston Celtics .
Shaky summer for Cavs , James .
James is 32 and has already logged 50,000 minutes in the NBA .
Looking back on the offseason that was , James said he "knew what we had coming back" and "the uncertainty of what could possibly happen ."
He 's happy with the reworking of the roster Altman undertook , and James said the pre-camp workouts he held in Santa Barbara , Calif. , offered a glimpse to where "you could actually see what we could possibly have and that definitely makes everyone feel good ."
Training camp actually was n't so good for James , a sprained ankle suffered the day Wade arrived all but wiped him out for the preseason .
And in September James said his oft-stated intention to finish his career here has n't changed .
With so many new faces , the Cavs have n't been able to build the chemistry they 'd like because James was hurt .
To varying degrees , the responsibility to meet these challenges falls to coach Tyronn Lue , James , and Altman .
Rumors and reports of James ' frustration and his intention to leave after this season were rampant .
"I was never frustrated throughout the summer ," James said .
That culture James is so proud of ?
Some of the "reports" James mentioned appeared on cleveland.com and USA Today .
They were generated through conversations with people "close" to James .
"I think our coaching staff will do a great of putting everybody in a position to succeed and then I 'm going to keep everybody motivated on a night to night basis to know what we have ," James said .
The Cavs knew James would be watching how the Cavs responded , and the man they put in charge of the response was Altman , who turned 35 in September and had never run an organization before .
The reasons were such that Cleveland really had no choice to move him , that Irving no longer wanted to play with James . | Each noticed how the Cavs who 've been here a while , the ones playing alongside [TGT] the past three seasons , show up to work hours before they 're due .
[TGT] said [TGT] job this year , leading this team , is no easier or harder than in years past .
It 's the kind of culture [TGT] demanded since [TGT] first re-joined the Cavs in the summer of 2014 .
"Being a professional is what it 's all about ,[TGT] said .
And then on the eve of training camp , Wade secured his buyout -LRB- worth $ 16 million -RRB- and release from the Bulls , clearing the path for him to sign with Cleveland and reunite with [TGT] after all their success together in Miami .
[TGT] is also surrounded by more talent than at any point in [TGT] previous 14 seasons .
In many ways , the Cavs ' positioning is remarkable , given [TGT] ' likely free agency next summer and the overwhelming view from outside the organization that things were coming apart at the seams in the offseason .
"I think [TGT] loves it here ," said Wade , who along with [TGT] and new general manager Koby Altman agreed to interviews with cleveland.com to preview the Cavs ' 2017-18 season , which begins Tuesday against the Boston Celtics .
Shaky summer for Cavs , [TGT] .
[TGT] is 32 and has already logged 50,000 minutes in the NBA .
Looking back on the offseason that was , [TGT] said [TGT] "knew what we had coming back" and "the uncertainty of what could possibly happen ."
[TGT] 's happy with the reworking of the roster Altman undertook , and [TGT] said the pre-camp workouts [TGT] held in Santa Barbara , Calif. , offered a glimpse to where "you could actually see what we could possibly have and that definitely makes everyone feel good ."
Training camp actually was n't so good for [TGT] , a sprained ankle suffered the day Wade arrived all but wiped him out for the preseason .
And in [TGT] said his oft-stated intention to finish his career here has n't changed .
With so many new faces , the Cavs have n't been able to build the chemistry they 'd like because [TGT] was hurt .
To varying degrees , the responsibility to meet these challenges falls to coach Tyronn Lue , [TGT] , and Altman .
Rumors and reports of [TGT] ' frustration and [TGT] intention to leave after this season were rampant .
"I was never frustrated throughout the summer ,[TGT] said .
That culture [TGT] is so proud of ?
Some of the "reports" [TGT] mentioned appeared on cleveland.com and USA Today .
They were generated through conversations with people "close" to [TGT] .
"I think our coaching staff will do a great of putting everybody in a position to succeed and then I 'm going to keep everybody motivated on a night to night basis to know what we have ," [TGT] said .
The Cavs knew [TGT] would be watching how the Cavs responded , and the man they put in charge of the response was Altman , who turned 35 in September and had never run an organization before .
The reasons were such that Cleveland really had no choice to move [TGT] , that Irving no longer wanted to play with [TGT] . | 2Positive
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141 | How Did Bernie Sanders ' Latest Political Manifesto Become a YA Best-seller ? | Bernie Sanders | As YA best-sellers go , the Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution is an unlikely contender .
Sanders has described the Guide as an introduction to "what being a progressive is all about ."
Sanders ' guidebook is not a children 's book , of course .
Sanders ' popularity with young people took many journalists and career Washingtonians by surprise in 2015 and 2016 .
The Bernie Sanders Guide is based on Sanders 's previous best-seller , Our Revolution , which was published one week after the election of Donald Trump .
Sanders used Our Revolution to tout victories , air grudges , and revisit the campaign 's inflection points -LRB- debates , media interviews , rallies -RRB- and what it felt like to experience them in the moment .
Sanders is cranky and impatient , and he makes a convincing case that the left could use more crankiness and impatience if it wants to start winning .
On the page , Sanders 's case -- so electric on the campaign trail -- was larded down with repetitive statistics and digressions .
The most refreshing thing about the Bernie Sanders Guide is the most refreshing thing about Bernie Sanders the politician : a seemingly total lack of condescension .
Sanders does not strain to convince his young readers that criminal justice reform will be immediately relevant in their own lives .
The trimmer , punchier Bernie Sanders Guide skips the leaden chronicle of diner conversations and C-SPAN coverage .
Our Revolution spent almost 50 pages on Sanders ' childhood and his early political career . | As YA best-sellers go , [TGT] is an unlikely contender .
[TGT] has described [TGT] as an introduction to "what being a progressive is all about .[TGT] guidebook is not a children 's book , of course .
[TGT] ' popularity with young people took many journalists and career Washingtonians by surprise in 2015 and 2016 .
[TGT] is based on [TGT] 's previous best-seller , Our Revolution , which was published one week after the election of Donald Trump .
[TGT] used Our Revolution to tout victories , air grudges , and revisit the campaign 's inflection points -LRB- debates , media interviews , rallies -RRB- and what it felt like to experience them in the moment .
[TGT] is cranky and impatient , and [TGT] makes a convincing case that the left could use more crankiness and impatience if it wants to start winning .
On the page , [TGT] 's case -- so electric on the campaign trail -- was larded down with repetitive statistics and digressions .
The most refreshing thing about [TGT] is the most refreshing thing about [TGT] the politician : a seemingly total lack of condescension .
[TGT] does not strain to convince [TGT] young readers that criminal justice reform will be immediately relevant in their own lives .
The trimmer , punchier [TGT] skips the leaden chronicle of diner conversations and C-SPAN coverage .
Our Revolution spent almost 50 pages on [TGT] ' childhood and [TGT] early political career . | 2Positive
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142 | Greece to vote on 2011 austerity budget | George Papandreou | The Socialist government of George Papandreou has a six-seat majority in parliament and is expected to carry the vote to be held after midnight.
"Reform was long overdue " Papandreou told Newsweek magazine in an interview released on Wednesday.
"Right now people are in limbo " Papandreou admitted on Wednesday.
"Our drastic measures are still fresh and people feel the pain. Reforms need time to kick in and show results " he said. | The Socialist government of [TGT] has a six-seat majority in parliament and is expected to carry the vote to be held after midnight.
"Reform was long overdue " [TGT] told Newsweek magazine in an interview released on Wednesday.
"Right now people are in limbo " [TGT] admitted on Wednesday.
"Our drastic measures are still fresh and people feel the pain. Reforms need time to kick in and show results " he said. | 1Neutral
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143 | Lawyer: US balloon boy parents to plead guilty | Richard Heene | Richard Heene will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant a felony his attorney David Lane said. Mayumi Heene -- a Japanese citizen who could have been deported if convicted of more serious charges -- will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities a misdemeanor he said.
"Upon reviewing the evidence arguably Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and Richard could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal " Lane said. "This however would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving caring compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk thus these pleas."
Richard and Mayumi Heene's frantic calls to authorities saying they feared their son Falcon might be aboard a homemade balloon that had escaped from their suburban Fort Collins back yard triggered a frenzied response before the balloon landed in a dusty farm field without the boy inside. The Heenes said they found Falcon at home -- hiding they said.
The Heenes had twice appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap " and former business partners said Richard Heene wanted a show of his own called "The Science Detectives" or "The Psyience Detectives." | [TGT] will plead guilty to attempting to influence a public servant a felony [TGT] attorney David Lane said. [TGT] will plead guilty to false reporting to authorities a misdemeanor [TGT] said.
"Upon reviewing the evidence arguably Mayumi could have possibly ended up being deported and [TGT] could have proceeded to trial and had a good chance at an acquittal " Lane said. "This however would have put the family at grave risk of seeing a loving caring compassionate wife and mother ripped from the family and deported. That was not an acceptable risk thus these pleas."
[TGT] and Mayumi Heene's frantic calls to authorities saying they feared their son Falcon might be aboard a homemade balloon that had escaped from their suburban Fort Collins back yard triggered a frenzied response before the balloon landed in a dusty farm field without the boy inside. The Heenes said they found Falcon at home -- hiding they said.
The Heenes had twice appeared on the ABC reality show "Wife Swap " and former business partners said Richard Heene wanted a show of his own called "The Science Detectives" or "The Psyience Detectives." | 2Positive
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144 | Niger: once-taboo topic of hunger spoken again | Mamadou Tandja | "That's why they're still afraid of words like 'famine '" said Tiemogo who spent three months in prison and seven in exile for publishing articles critical of Tandja.
During the 2005 crisis Tandja's government felt humiliated Boher said. "They thought people were trying to make it look like it was their fault that children were dying."
And "if you are unable to feed the population as president you are going to be at risk " Boher said. "Malnutrition has political implications. This is why Tandja wanted to deny there was a problem."
One unanswered question is whether Niger's new junta will be as sensitive to the issue as Tandja's regime has been.
So far the soldiers in charge are overwhelmed with the burden of governing and convincing diplomats -- none of which are calling for Tandja's return -- that coup was a good thing. | "That's why they're still afraid of words like 'famine '" said Tiemogo who spent three months in prison and seven in exile for publishing articles critical of [TGT].
During the 2005 crisis Tandja's government felt humiliated Boher said. "They thought people were trying to make it look like it was their fault that children were dying."
And "if you are unable to feed the population as president you are going to be at risk " Boher said. "Malnutrition has political implications. This is why [TGT] wanted to deny there was a problem."
One unanswered question is whether Niger's new junta will be as sensitive to the issue as [TGT]'s regime has been.
So far the soldiers in charge are overwhelmed with the burden of governing and convincing diplomats -- none of which are calling for [TGT]'s return -- that coup was a good thing. | 0Negative
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145 | Can Russia have a ` Bernie ' revolution ? | Bernie Sanders | "I 'm with the Bernie campaign ," the colleague wrote .
Vitali Shkliarov , a political operative who campaigned for Bernie Sanders in 2016 and has now turned his sights to Russian opposition politics , sits in a cafe in downtown Moscow .
Vitali Shkliarov , a 41-year-old political operative born in Belarus , speaks the gospel of Bernie Sanders in the style of a Silicon Valley executive . | "I 'm with the Bernie campaign ," the colleague wrote .
Vitali Shkliarov , a political operative who campaigned for [TGT] in 2016 and has now turned [TGT] sights to Russian opposition politics , sits in a cafe in downtown Moscow .
Vitali Shkliarov , a 41-year-old political operative born in Belarus , speaks the gospel of [TGT] in the style of a Silicon Valley executive . | 1Neutral
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146 | SRI LANKAN WHO LED FIGHT AGAINST TAMILS SEEKS PRESIDENCY | Sarath Fonseka | Gen. Sarath Fonseka retired from the army in mid-November after months of tension with Rajapaksa who has staked his re-election campaign on the resounding military victory over the Tamil Tiger insurgency in May.
Fonseka led a tough counterinsurgency strategy that took small teams of fighters deep into the jungles of northern Sri Lanka striking a mortal blow to a rebel army that had battled the government for more than two decades.
"We have done away with the terrorists " Fonseka told reporters at a news conference on Sunday. "But now you can't leave the country in the hands of a tin-pot dictator."
After the war was won Rajapaksa moved Fonseka into a largely ceremonial post and the uneasy alliance between the two men crumbled. A coalition of nationalist and left-wing opposition parties named Fonseka as its candidate to face Rajapaksa.
In his resignation letter Fonseka criticized what he described as "appalling conditions" at the camps. He promised to shift to Parliament much of the power that comes with the office of the president. He also accused Rajapaksa of failing to bring Sri Lanka together after the long and bloody war with the Tamil Tigers.
Still many of Sri Lanka's Tamils and other minorities remain skeptical of Fonseka because of his role in prosecuting the war and his strong alliance with the nationalists from the ethnic-Sinhalese majority. | [TGT] retired from the army in mid-November after months of tension with Rajapaksa who has staked [TGT] re-election campaign on the resounding military victory over the Tamil Tiger insurgency in May.
Fonseka led a tough counterinsurgency strategy that took small teams of fighters deep into the jungles of northern Sri Lanka striking a mortal blow to a rebel army that had battled the government for more than two decades.
"We have done away with the terrorists [TGT] told reporters at a news conference on Sunday. "But now you can't leave the country in the hands of a tin-pot dictator."
After the war was won Rajapaksa moved [TGT] into a largely ceremonial post and the uneasy alliance between the two men crumbled. A coalition of nationalist and left-wing opposition parties named [TGT] as its candidate to face Rajapaksa.
In his resignation letter [TGT] criticized what he described as "appalling conditions" at the camps. He promised to shift to Parliament much of the power that comes with the office of the president. He also accused Rajapaksa of failing to bring Sri Lanka together after the long and bloody war with the Tamil Tigers.
Still many of Sri Lanka's Tamils and other minorities remain skeptical of [TGT] because of [TGT] role in prosecuting the war and [TGT] strong alliance with the nationalists from the ethnic-Sinhalese majority. | 1Neutral
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147 | Dutch voters decide on economy immigration | Job Cohen | A softer approach promoted by left-leaning parties including former Amsterdam Mayor Job Cohen's Labor Party is very unlikely to win a majority though Labor is running second in polls and has made a late surge.
Cohen wants to preserve government social programs raise taxes and make it easier for immigrants to integrate rather than punishing those that fail.
In a final televised debate Tuesday night Rutte mocked one of Cohen's signature lines -- that it is the primary duty of an executive to "hold things together."
Cohen won praise for his handling of a tense period in Amsterdam after the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim fanatic in 2004.
"The difference between you and me Mr. Cohen is that I don't want to hold things together. I want to get things going " Rutte said.
Cohen shot back that Rutte's plans -- including raising the retirement age increasing health care costs and banning welfare for any immigrant for 10 years after arrival -- were equivalent to electroshock therapy.
"You know what happens when you give an electric shock: there are great risks of crippling" the economy Cohen said. | A softer approach promoted by left-leaning parties including former Amsterdam Mayor [TGT] Labor Party is very unlikely to win a majority though Labor is running second in polls and has made a late surge.
[TGT] wants to preserve government social programs raise taxes and make it easier for immigrants to integrate rather than punishing those that fail.
In a final televised debate Tuesday night Rutte mocked one of [TGT]'s signature lines -- that it is the primary duty of an executive to "hold things together."
[TGT] won praise for [TGT] handling of a tense period in Amsterdam after the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh by a Muslim fanatic in 2004.
"The difference between you and me Mr. Cohen is that I don't want to hold things together. I want to get things going " Rutte said.
[TGT] shot back that Rutte's plans -- including raising the retirement age increasing health care costs and banning welfare for any immigrant for 10 years after arrival -- were equivalent to electroshock therapy.
"You know what happens when you give an electric shock: there are great risks of crippling" the economy [TGT] said. | 2Positive
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148 | THE FACES (AND ONE NOTABLE BACK OF THE HEAD) OF CAMPAIGN SEASON | Bill White | Next thing. I wrote recently about answering a casting call for extras to portray hurricane refugees in a video for the Bill White gubernatorial campaign. I showed up and played along just to get an idea of what the experience would be like.
You can see the video at tinyurl.com/28y8sa5. I'm in the second snippet about 25 seconds in. My participation ends at about the 26-second mark. Good luck spotting me.
Taken as a whole here's the message: White's a weird-looking dude who is very very short (at least he looks so in the photo of him with the 7-foot-6-inch Yao Ming) and who at least once attended an event with some Borat-looking folks and who tends to make babies cry (unexplained photo of a smiling White holding a crying baby).
A current Perry attack ad twice uses a video clip in which White looks very shifty-eyed. And there's another ad that ends with a black-and-white mugshot of White in which he looks like a guy trying to smile through his booking photo or a patient asking if he should be concerned about the oozing from his left eye. Way to take the high road governor.
Locally the best example of this genre so far is an ad (tinyurl.com/26qx8rp) for Rep. Patrick Rose D-San Marcos showing GOP opponent Jason Isaac -- who looks downright presentable in photos on his campaign website -- in slow-mo grainy action doctored to make it look like it might have been taken while Isaac was fleeing after robbing a 7-Eleven. | Next thing. I wrote recently about answering a casting call for extras to portray hurricane refugees in [TGT]. I showed up and played along just to get an idea of what the experience would be like.
You can see [TGT] at tinyurl.com/28y8sa5. I'm in the second snippet about 25 seconds in. My participation ends at about the 26-second mark. Good luck spotting me.
Taken as a whole here's the message: [TGT]'s a weird-looking dude who is very very short (at least [TGT] looks so in the photo of [TGT] with the 7-foot-6-inch Yao Ming) and who at least once attended an event with some Borat-looking folks and who tends to make babies cry (unexplained photo of a smiling White holding a crying baby).
A current Perry attack ad twice uses a video clip in which White looks very shifty-eyed. And there's another ad that ends with a black-and-white mugshot of White in which he looks like a guy trying to smile through his booking photo or a patient asking if he should be concerned about the oozing from his left eye. Way to take the high road governor.
Locally the best example of this genre so far is an ad (tinyurl.com/26qx8rp) for Rep. Patrick Rose D-San Marcos showing GOP opponent Jason Isaac -- who looks downright presentable in photos on his campaign website -- in slow-mo grainy action doctored to make [TGT] look like [TGT] might have been taken while Isaac was fleeing after robbing a 7-Eleven. | 0Negative
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149 | Skip Bayless reacts to LeBron James preseason debut . | LeBron James | - I love LeBron James .
And LeBron had a rough night in those three quarters trying to play with his new group of starters and his buddy Dwyane .
And in the first half alone , LeBron had seven turnovers .
This is why LeBron James is by far the most entertaining player in all of sports , on and off the floor -- for the right reasons sometimes and for , in this case , the wrong reason .
I realize it was just a preseason game , but the Cavs played it unlike most preseason games because , obviously , LeBron has had a bum ankle -- so he says . | - I love [TGT] .
And [TGT] had a rough night in those three quarters trying to play with [TGT] new group of starters and [TGT] buddy Dwyane .
And in the first half alone , [TGT] had seven turnovers .
This is why [TGT] is by far the most entertaining player in all of sports , on and off the floor -- for the right reasons sometimes and for , in this case , the wrong reason .
I realize it was just a preseason game , but the Cavs played it unlike most preseason games because , obviously , [TGT] has had a bum ankle -- so [TGT] says . | 0Negative
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150 | Spain wants Pinochet ' s widow to post bond | Rodrigo Garcia Pinochet | Rodrigo Garcia Pinochet the dictator's grandson said the clan was innocent and placed all its trust in Chile's judicial system.
Garzon went after Pinochet in 1998 under a Spanish legal doctrine that allowed particularly grave crimes to be prosecuted in this country even if they are alleged to have been committed abroad and had no tie to Spain. Britain ultimately declined to extradite Pinochet saying he was ill.
Pinochet in 1998 under a Spanish legal doctrine that allowed particularly grave crimes to be prosecuted in this country even if they are alleged to have been committed abroad and had no tie to Spain. Britain ultimately declined to extradite Pinochet saying he was ill.
Pinochet died in Chile in 2006 without having stood trial for abuses during his 1973-90 dictatorship.
The amount of the bond sought by Garzon -- $77 348 374 -- is equivalent to the amount of state money allegedly pilfered and laundered by Pinochet Garzon said. He said the figure came from by a Madrid-based human rights group which requested the probe the Fundacion Espanola Presidente Allende which obtained it from Chilean investigators.
The foundation is named for Salvador Allende the president that Pinochet ousted in 1973. Allende died in the coup. | [TGT]said the clan was innocent and placed all its trust in Chile's judicial system.
Garzon went after [TGT] in 1998 under a Spanish legal doctrine that allowed particularly grave crimes to be prosecuted in this country even if they are alleged to have been committed abroad and had no tie to Spain. Britain ultimately declined to extradite [TGT]saying [TGT] was ill.
Pinochet in 1998 under a Spanish legal doctrine that allowed particularly grave crimes to be prosecuted in this country even if they are alleged to have been committed abroad and had no tie to Spain. Britain ultimately declined to extradite [TGT]saying [TGT] was ill.
[TGT] died in Chile in 2006 without having stood trial for abuses during [TGT] 1973-90 dictatorship.
The amount of the bond sought by Garzon -- $77 348 374 -- is equivalent to the amount of state money allegedly pilfered and laundered by [TGT]Garzon said. He said the figure came from by a Madrid-based human rights group which requested the probe the Fundacion Espanola Presidente Allende which obtained it from Chilean investigators.
The foundation is named for Salvador Allende the president that [TGT] ousted in 1973. Allende died in the coup. | 1Neutral
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151 | Berlusconi ' s fate lies in hands of swing lawmakers | Silvio Berlusconi | If Berlusconi wins he is assured of more time in office even though a razor-thin majority is no guarantee of stability. If he loses he has to resign -- a move that might lead to early elections.
Berlusconi has been trying to persuade undecided lawmakers -- drawing accusations of vote-buying and even an investigation by Rome prosecutors. He has rejected any such accusations but appeared to have succeeded at least with a few lawmakers.
On Monday Berlusconi appeared before both houses of parliament to press his case that lawmakers should continue to support his government.
He insisted that his government had successfully protected Italy from becoming engulfed by the eurozone's debt crisis. He warned they risked plunging Italy into financial instability at a time of crisis if they force him to step down and end Italy's 62nd postwar government. | If [TGT] wins [TGT] is assured of more time in office even though a razor-thin majority is no guarantee of stability. If [TGT] loses [TGT] has to resign -- a move that might lead to early elections.
[TGT] has been trying to persuade undecided lawmakers -- drawing accusations of vote-buying and even an investigation by Rome prosecutors. [TGT] has rejected any such accusations but appeared to have succeeded at least with a few lawmakers.
On Monday [TGT] appeared before both houses of parliament to press [TGT] case that lawmakers should continue to support [TGT] government.
[TGT] insisted that [TGT] government had successfully protected Italy from becoming engulfed by the eurozone's debt crisis. [TGT] warned they risked plunging Italy into financial instability at a time of crisis if they force [TGT] to step down and end Italy's 62nd postwar government. | 1Neutral
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152 | Bangladesh garment sector pinched by recession | Abdus Salam Murshedy | In June the sector contracted 0.1 percent month-on-month after growing 9.6 percent in May Abdus Salam Murshedy president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association told reporters late Tuesday.
He said prices for Bangladeshi garment products have fallen 20 to 25 percent in the global market and the situation is taking a "serious turn". About 25 factories were shut down over June and July.
"The buyers do not want to offer good rate anymore " he said as the entrepreneurs late Tuesday held a meeting with Members of Parliament in the capital Dhaka to discuss the crisis.
"We are under tremendous pressure to keep us afloat " Murshedy said.
Murshedy said the next three months till October would be the most challenging period for the industry as domestic issues including frequent power outages and a gas crisis are aggravating the situation.
He demanded the government bring the entrepreneurs under a special stimulus package to support the sector at least until June 2010. | In June the sector contracted 0.1 percent month-on-month after growing 9.6 percent in May [TGT]told reporters late Tuesday.
[TGT] said prices for Bangladeshi garment products have fallen 20 to 25 percent in the global market and the situation is taking a "serious turn". About 25 factories were shut down over June and July.
"The buyers do not want to offer good rate anymore " [TGT] said as the entrepreneurs late Tuesday held a meeting with Members of Parliament in the capital Dhaka to discuss the crisis.
"We are under tremendous pressure to keep us afloat " [TGT] said.
[TGT] said the next three months till October would be the most challenging period for the industry as domestic issues including frequent power outages and a gas crisis are aggravating the situation.
[TGT] demanded the government bring the entrepreneurs under a special stimulus package to support the sector at least until June 2010. | 2Positive
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153 | That Balenciaga Bernie Sanders Logo Was Not , In Fact , Inspired by Bernie Sanders . | Bernie Sanders | "To be honest , the collection was not inspired by Bernie Sanders , it was inspired by -LSB- all things -RSB- corporate ," Gvasalia explained .
In his short time there , he 's introduced his fair share of cult-favorite statement pieces , including items adorned with a very conspicuous take on the Bernie Sanders logo that debuted on the Fall 2017 men 's runway .
In my research , Bernie Sanders 's was most present at that time ; that 's why it resembles it so directly and obviously I was very aware of it . | "To be honest , the collection was not inspired by [TGT] , it was inspired by -LSB- all things -RSB- corporate ," Gvasalia explained .
In his short time there , he 's introduced his fair share of cult-favorite statement pieces , including items adorned with a very conspicuous take on the [TGT] logo that debuted on the Fall 2017 men 's runway .
In my research , [TGT] 's was most present at that time ; that 's why it resembles it so directly and obviously I was very aware of it . | 1Neutral
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154 | Indonesia to ask tourists to wear masks: minister | Siti Fadilah Supari | "Visitors from infected countries should wear masks. It's a precautionary measure we're taking to avoid human-to-human transmission of the virus " Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari told AFP.
But the minister said the government had no intention of enforcing the precaution which could do serious damage to the country's stuttering tourism industry.
"There'll be no penalty if people don't wear them. You can't expect people to wear masks when they're swimming " Supari said adding the masks would be handed out to visitors as soon as possible depending on funding.
Supari said last week she was particularly worried about Australian tourists who flock to the famous surf beaches of Bali island. More than 300 000 Australian holiday-makers visited the island last year.
/Users/mohaddeseh/Documents/EntitySentimentAnalyzer-master/dataAnalysis/LDC2014E13_output/used_documents_in_MTurk_merge/small/AFP_ENG_20090609.0525 | "Visitors from infected countries should wear masks. It's a precautionary measure we're taking to avoid human-to-human transmission of [TGT] told AFP.
But [TGT] said the government had no intention of enforcing the precaution which could do serious damage to the country's stuttering tourism industry.
"There'll be no penalty if people don't wear them. You can't expect people to wear masks when they're swimming " Supari said adding the masks would be handed out to visitors as soon as possible depending on funding.
Supari said last week she was particularly worried about Australian tourists who flock to the famous surf beaches of Bali island. More than 300 000 Australian holiday-makers visited the island last year.
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155 | Fake photo changes social message on LeBron James ' t-shirt . | LeBron James | A viral image shows LeBron James wearing a T-shirt that reads , "We march , y’ all mad .
The photo was from warmups for James ' Dec. 8 , 2014 , game in Brooklyn .
A viral image of National Basketball Association superstar LeBron James wearing a T-shirt about racial inequity gained lots of traction on social media , but the wording has been digitally replaced .
PolitiFact first saw an image of James wearing the shirt on Oct. 9 , 2017 , on the Facebook page of Occupy Democrats , but the photo has spread all over the Internet .
We have to be better for one another ," James said in 2014 .
More recently , James chided President Donald Trump , who lashed out at the Golden State Warriors ' Stephen Curry for refusing to visit the White House with his championship team .
James called Trump a "bum "on Twitter and later added that Trump "does n't understand the power that he has" as president .
The older photo of James has been altered to make it look like he was wearing something he was n't .
James was n't wearing that shirt in that photo -LRB- although you can buy it from scads of online retailers -RRB- . | A viral image shows [TGT] wearing a T-shirt that reads , "We march , y’ all mad .
The photo was from warmups for [TGT] ' Dec. 8 , 2014 , game in Brooklyn .
A viral image of [TGT] wearing a T-shirt about racial inequity gained lots of traction on social media , but the wording has been digitally replaced .
PolitiFact first saw an image of [TGT] wearing the shirt on Oct. 9 , 2017 , on the Facebook page of Occupy Democrats , but the photo has spread all over the Internet .
We have to be better for one another ,[TGT] said in 2014 .
More recently , [TGT] chided President Donald Trump , who lashed out at the Golden State Warriors ' Stephen Curry for refusing to visit the White House with his championship team .
[TGT] called Trump a "bum "on Twitter and later added that Trump "does n't understand the power that [TGT] has" as president .
The older photo of [TGT] has been altered to make it look like [TGT] was wearing something [TGT] was n't .
[TGT] was n't wearing that shirt in that photo -LRB- although you can buy it from scads of online retailers -RRB- . | 1Neutral
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156 | Judge considers sending ex-Edwards aide to jail | Andrew Young | Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones said he was "troubled" by discrepancies in Andrew Young's statements. Jones decided to take a break for part of the afternoon to consider the matter and asked Young and his wife to take the stand later in the day to explain their statements.
Lawyers for Edwards' mistress Rielle Hunter accused Andrew Young of "dozens of lies." They took issue with Young's handling of materials that Hunter is seeking including the tape.
Young described in written affidavits a limited number of people who have seen parts of the tape. But Hunter's attorneys produced an affidavit Tuesday of another man freelance journalist Robert Draper who said in a written statement to the court that Young also showed the tape to him in March 2009.
Hunter's attorneys have also accused Young of lying when he initially claimed that the only copies of the tape had been sealed for more than a year in an Atlanta safety deposit box. Young has since said he recently showed the video to ABC News as he prepared to promote his tell-all book with the program.
An attorney for Young chalked up the discrepancies to "memory lapses" and said Young had done everything he could to turn over the materials to the court. The sex tape along with photos and documents have been placed under seal. | Superior Court Judge Abraham Penn Jones said he was "troubled" by discrepancies in [TGT]'s statements. Jones decided to take a break for part of the afternoon to consider the matter and asked [TGT] and [TGT] wife to take the stand later in the day to explain their statements.
Lawyers for Edwards' mistress Rielle Hunter accused [TGT] of "dozens of lies." They took issue with [TGT]'s handling of materials that Hunter is seeking including the tape.
[TGT] described in written affidavits a limited number of people who have seen parts of the tape. But Hunter's attorneys produced an affidavit Tuesday of another man freelance journalist Robert Draper who said in a written statement to the court that [TGT] also showed the tape to [TGT] in March 2009.
Hunter's attorneys have also accused [TGT] of lying when [TGT] initially claimed that the only copies of the tape had been sealed for more than a year in an Atlanta safety deposit box. [TGT] has since said [TGT] recently showed the video to ABC News as [TGT] prepared to promote [TGT] tell-all book with the program.
An attorney for [TGT] chalked up the discrepancies to "memory lapses" and said [TGT] had done everything [TGT] could to turn over the materials to the court. The sex tape along with photos and documents have been placed under seal. | 1Neutral
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157 | The day the war began: tales from two cities | Byun Jong-Rak | Byun Jong-Rak was among the first people in Seoul to hear the news of the invasion. Police came at dawn on June 25 to the dyeing factory where he worked.
"Leave the city! The North Koreans are coming " they told him.
Jo's eldest brother was in the North Korean military and another brother served in South Korea's army. "My eldest brother told me to go to the South but I never saw him after that."
Just before the end of the war Jo heard from a cousin that herher eldest brother probably survived. To this day she has had no news of him. The younger brother was killed. | [TGT] was among the first people in Seoul to hear the news of the invasion. Police came at dawn on June 25 to the dyeing factory where [TGT] worked.
"Leave the city! The North Koreans are coming " they told [TGT].
[TGT] was in the North Korean military and another brother served in South Korea's army. "[TGT] told me to go to the South but I never saw [TGT] after that."
Just before the end of the war [TGT] heard from a cousin that herher eldest brother probably survived. To this day [TGT] has had no news of him. [TGT] was killed. | 1Neutral
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158 | Court rules politician defamed Cambodian PM | Mu Sochua Sam | The case against Mu Sochua was filed after she attempted to sue the prime minister claiming he made defamatory remarks about her during two speeches.
In early April Hun Sen referred to an unnamed lawmaker as a "strong leg " a term seen by some in Cambodia as particularly offensive to women. Mu Sochua has said the speech clearly referred to her. She also denounced his remarks in another speech.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court rejected her lawsuit in June saying it was groundless but it moved ahead with the prime minister's countersuit.
Cambodia's Parliament then stripped immunity from Mu Sochua and another opposition legislator who was being sued for defamation by Hun Sen and senior military officers. The two accused Parliament of serving the prime minister's interests as colleagues staged a walkout. | The case against [TGT] was filed after [TGT] attempted to sue the prime minister claiming he made defamatory remarks about [TGT] during two speeches.
In early April Hun Sen referred to an unnamed lawmaker as a "strong leg " a term seen by some in Cambodia as particularly offensive to women. [TGT] has said the speech clearly referred to [TGT]. [TGT] also denounced [TGT] remarks in another speech.
The Phnom Penh Municipal Court rejected [TGT] lawsuit in June saying it was groundless but it moved ahead with the prime minister's countersuit.
Cambodia's Parliament then stripped immunity from [TGT] and another opposition legislator who was being sued for defamation by Hun Sen and senior military officers. The two accused Parliament of serving the prime minister's interests as colleagues staged a walkout. | 1Neutral
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159 | Philippine election campaign wraps up in festive style | Benigno Aquino | Three months of intense campaigning were due to officially end at midnight with 50-year-old bachelor Benigno Aquino looking set to win Monday's election in a landslide and continue the legacy of his democracy-champion parents.
"The dawn is near... the people are hungry for a new leadership " Aquino told a cheering crowd of roughly 10 000 people at his final major campaign rally in Manila late on Friday night.
Benigno Aquino looking set to win Monday's election in a landslide and continue the legacy of his democracy-champion parents.
"The dawn is near... the people are hungry for a new leadership " Aquino told a cheering crowd of roughly 10 000 people at his final major campaign rally in Manila late on Friday night.
Aquino's rally featured pop singers movie stars and comedians delivering routines that were flashed on giant screens.
The skits included a woman dressed as an angel telling the crowd she was sent from heaven by Aquino's late mother former president Corazon Aquino who led the revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
Aquino spent Saturday in his home town of Tarlac his family's political and economic stronghold for generations where he travelled in a motorcade aboard a flatbed truck in a final salute to his supporters. | Three months of intense campaigning were due to officially end at midnight with [TGT] looking set to win Monday's election in a landslide and continue the legacy of [TGT] democracy-champion parents.
"The dawn is near... the people are hungry for a new leadership " [TGT] told a cheering crowd of roughly 10 000 people at [TGT] final major campaign rally in Manila late on Friday night.
[TGT] looking set to win Monday's election in a landslide and continue the legacy of [TGT] democracy-champion parents.
"The dawn is near... the people are hungry for a new leadership " [TGT] told a cheering crowd of roughly 10 000 people at [TGT] final major campaign rally in Manila late on Friday night.
[TGT]'s rally featured pop singers movie stars and comedians delivering routines that were flashed on giant screens.
The skits included a woman dressed as an angel telling the crowd she was sent from heaven by [TGT]'s late mother former president Corazon Aquino who led the revolution that overthrew dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.
[TGT] spent Saturday in [TGT] home town of Tarlac [TGT] family's political and economic stronghold for generations where [TGT] travelled in a motorcade aboard a flatbed truck in a final salute to [TGT] supporters. | 2Positive
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160 | Derrick Rose reveals video role in recruiting LeBron James , Dwyane Wade . | LeBron James | For the first time this preseason , the Cavaliers unleashed LeBron James , Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose in the starting lineup because James ' sore ankle cooperated and the regular season is nearing .
The Tribune reported at the time that Rose made clear to James and Wade he would be open to playing with them .
A 2011 Sports Illustrated profile on Rose reported that Rose sent James one text .
One source added Rose "backed out" of accompanying the contingent that traveled to Cleveland to pitch James in person despite being invited .
Rose said he pitched the merits of playing for the Bulls , who even eventually had trade talks with the Clippers centered on Luol Deng that would have created the salary cap space to sign James , Wade and Bosh . | For the first time this preseason , the Cavaliers unleashed [TGT] , Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose in the starting lineup because [TGT] sore ankle cooperated and the regular season is nearing .
The Tribune reported at the time that Rose made clear to [TGT] and Wade [TGT] would be open to playing with them .
A 2011 Sports Illustrated profile on Rose reported that Rose sent [TGT] one text .
One source added Rose "backed out" of accompanying the contingent that traveled to Cleveland to pitch [TGT] in person despite being invited .
Rose said he pitched the merits of playing for the Bulls , who even eventually had trade talks with the Clippers centered on Luol Deng that would have created the salary cap space to sign [TGT] , Wade and Bosh . | 1Neutral
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161 | Putin says 'surprised' by second Khodorkovsky trial: media | Putin | Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said in an interview published Monday he was "surprised" by the second trial of jailed oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky widely seen as orchestrated by the Kremlin.
Interviewed by the daily Kommersant Putin said he was surprised when prosecutors in 2008 announced fresh charges against the former Yukos chief that could see him serve two more decades in jail.
"When I heard about the second trial I was very surprised and asked what case this was since he is already serving time for what he did. What is this second trial?" Putin said.
At the time of his arrest in 2003 Khodorkovsky once Russia's richest man was seen as a political rival to Putin.
Putin denied having involvement in the case and said he supported the second trial. "If such a case is being heard it means that the law requires it. I'm not in charge of this case " he said.
Asked by the paper why he "hounded Khodorkovsky into a corner " Putin denied the charge.
"He is being justifiably punished " Putin said. "He will come out of prison and he will be a free man. No I definitely never pushed him into a corner." | [TGT] said in an interview published Monday [TGT] was "surprised" by the second trial of jailed oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky widely seen as orchestrated by the Kremlin.
Interviewed by the daily Kommersant [TGT] said [TGT] was surprised when prosecutors in 2008 announced fresh charges against the former Yukos chief that could see [TGT] serve two more decades in jail.
"When I heard about the second trial I was very surprised and asked what case this was since [TGT] is already serving time for what [TGT] did. What is this second trial?" [TGT] said.
At the time of [TGT] arrest in 2003 Khodorkovsky once Russia's richest man was seen as a political rival to [TGT].
[TGT] denied having involvement in the case and said [TGT] supported the second trial. "If such a case is being heard it means that the law requires it. I'm not in charge of this case " [TGT] said.
Asked by the paper why [TGT] "hounded Khodorkovsky into a corner [TGT] denied the charge.
"[TGT] is being justifiably punished [TGT] said. "[TGT] will come out of prison and [TGT] will be a free man. No I definitely never pushed [TGT] into a corner." | 1Neutral
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162 | Bernie Sanders , Eyeing 2020 Run , Heads to California to Court Support . | Bernie Sanders | Bernie Sanders appears to be eyeing opportunities to further develop his support base in California ahead of a potential 2020 presidential run .
Indeed , receiving policy support from California is nothing new for Sanders , who saw some of his 2016 campaign 's biggest donors coming from the West Coast state , with $ 17.1 million of donations coming from California - $ 4.2 million of that just from Los Angeles and Long Beach and $ 2.7 million coming from San Francisco , a report from McClatchy 's Washington Bureau states .
Speaking at the California Nurses Association , Sanders , who has not yet confirmed whether he intends to run in 2020 , said in comments carried by Mercury News : "Medicare for senior citizens has worked , and we want Medicare to work for every man , woman and child in this country .
In addition , California is a good fit for Sanders because he is believed to be one of few candidates who has the experience , backing and resources to win delegates in such a large , and costly , state in which to garner support . | [TGT] appears to be eyeing opportunities to further develop [TGT] support base in California ahead of a potential 2020 presidential run .
Indeed , receiving policy support from California is nothing new for Sanders , who saw some of [TGT] 2016 campaign 's biggest donors coming from the West Coast state , with $ 17.1 million of donations coming from California - $ 4.2 million of that just from Los Angeles and Long Beach and $ 2.7 million coming from San Francisco , a report from McClatchy 's Washington Bureau states .
Speaking at the California Nurses Association , Sanders , who has not yet confirmed whether [TGT] intends to run in 2020 , said in comments carried by Mercury News : "Medicare for senior citizens has worked , and we want Medicare to work for every man , woman and child in this country .
In addition , California is a good fit for [TGT] because [TGT] is believed to be one of few candidates who has the experience , backing and resources to win delegates in such a large , and costly , state in which to garner support . | 2Positive
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163 | Indian home minister retracts statement linking crime with migrant population | P. Chidambaram | Indian home minister retracts statement linking crime with migrant population
Facing the heat Chidambaram clarified his statement and said that he was withdrawing his entire comment.
Chidambaram said that he was in fact pointing to the "behavior that is unacceptable."
"Nevertheless I think the best way to put an end to any controversy would be to withdraw the whole of my answer to the question and I do so " Chidambaram said.
As soon as Chidambaram blamed the migrant population for rising incidents of crime in Delhi leaders from all the major political parties came down heavily on him.
They blamed Chidambaram and the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's government of not doing enough to control crime in Delhi. | Indian home minister retracts statement linking crime with migrant population
Facing the heat [TGT] clarified [TGT] statement and said that [TGT] was withdrawing [TGT] entire comment.
[TGT] said that [TGT] was in fact pointing to the "behavior that is unacceptable."
"Nevertheless I think the best way to put an end to any controversy would be to withdraw the whole of my answer to the question and I do so [TGT] said.
As soon as [TGT] blamed the migrant population for rising incidents of crime in Delhi leaders from all the major political parties came down heavily on him.
They blamed [TGT] and the Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit's government of not doing enough to control crime in Delhi. | 1Neutral
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164 | See Bernie Sanders and Larry David learn they 're related -LRB- It 's shock and awe -RRB- . | Bernie Sanders | "He does a better Bernie Sanders than I do !"
In July , Larry David revealed that Sen. Bernie Sanders -- whom David famously spoofed on "Saturday Night Live" during the lead-up to 2016 election -- was actually a distant cousin .
So let 's take a moment to reminisce about two years ago , when "SNL" was spoofing the Democratic debates -- featuring David as Sanders and Alec Baldwin merely as Jim Webb -LRB- remember him ? -RRB-
," Sanders appears to be delighted . | "He does a better [TGT] than I do !"
In July , Larry David revealed that Sen. Bernie Sanders -- whom David famously spoofed on "Saturday Night Live" during the lead-up to 2016 election -- was actually a distant cousin .
So let 's take a moment to reminisce about two years ago , when "SNL" was spoofing the Democratic debates -- featuring David as [TGT] and Alec Baldwin merely as Jim Webb -LRB- remember him ? -RRB-
," [TGT] appears to be delighted . | 2Positive
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165 | CLOSER UNLIKELY TO BE WITHIN TEAM ' S RANGE | Andrew Friedman | "I don't think that's realistic " executive VP Andrew Friedman said at Tuesday's season wrapup media session.
Though Friedman said they'd like to have a single pitcher to get the final three outs the high cost and limited availability plus the Rays' financial limitations make it more likely they will add two or three relievers who can face left-handers and right-handers and "have the stuff to pitch high-leverage innings" and handle late-game situations.
"Our goal is to have our bullpen be even more of a strength for us " Friedman said.
Manager Joe Maddon and Friedman said they expected DH Pat Burrell and C Dioner Navarro who had disappointing seasons to rebound.
Overall Friedman said the team's performance illustrated the fine line between a disappointing season and a successful one: "Our goal going into any season is to play competitive games in September and this year we barely accomplished that. I think that the true talent level of this club was greater than that." | "I don't think that's [TGT] said at Tuesday's season wrapup media session.
Though [TGT] said they'd like to have a single pitcher to get the final three outs the high cost and limited availability plus the Rays' financial limitations make it more likely they will add two or three relievers who can face left-handers and right-handers and "have the stuff to pitch high-leverage innings" and handle late-game situations.
"Our goal is to have our bullpen be even more of a strength for us " [TGT] said.
Manager Joe Maddon and [TGT] said they expected DH Pat Burrell and C Dioner Navarro who had disappointing seasons to rebound.
Overall [TGT] said the team's performance illustrated the fine line between a disappointing season and a successful one: "Our goal going into any season is to play competitive games in September and this year we barely accomplished that. I think that the true talent level of this club was greater than that." | 2Positive
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166 | Hermes family 'united' in drawbridge defence against LVMH | Hennessy Louis Vuitton | The price of shares in LVMH (Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton) fell by 0.53 percent to 121.05 euros. LVMH is a leading global luxury products and retailing group owning a long list of top brand names.
The decision by the Hermes family to lock away more than 50.0 percent of the business in readiness for a siege was taken by a meeting of 73 inheritors in response to a raid by LVMH which captured 17.1 percent of the capital in October.
The creation of the holding company is intended to prevent LVMH now the second- biggest shareholder after family interests from taking control by buying more shares.
LVMH has said the purchase of its stake was a "friendly" courtship but it has rejected a request from Puech to sell its shares.
Puech who chairs the family management board said that the decision to block LVMH "is one more demonstration to all those who do not want to believe us. We are a united family driven by the same spirit of transmitting to our descendants the unique jewel which we have received from our parents." | The price of shares in [TGT] fell by 0.53 percent to 121.05 euros. [TGT] is a leading global luxury products and retailing group owning a long list of top brand names.
The decision by the Hermes family to lock away more than 50.0 percent of the business in readiness for a siege was taken by a meeting of 73 inheritors in response to a raid by [TGT] which captured 17.1 percent of the capital in October.
The creation of the holding company is intended to prevent [TGT] now the second- biggest shareholder after family interests from taking control by buying more shares.
[TGT] has said the purchase of [TGT] stake was a "friendly" courtship but [TGT] has rejected a request from Puech to sell [TGT] shares.
Puech who chairs the family management board said that the decision to block [TGT] "is one more demonstration to all those who do not want to believe us. We are a united family driven by the same spirit of transmitting to our descendants the unique jewel which we have received from our parents." | 2Positive
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167 | LeBron James empathizes with Browns ' troubled wide receiver Josh Gordon . | LeBron James | CLEVELAND , Ohio -- At one point it appeared LeBron James and Josh Gordon were going to intersect in Cleveland -- two stars embedded in the city 's sports landscape .
But as James was bringing the Cavaliers back to prominence after a four-year stint in Miami , Gordon 's life was spiraling out of control and his football future was in peril .
"I applaud Josh for what he 's doing ," James said .
"I have zero relationship with Josh Gordon , but I have a lot of knowledge about substance abuse ," James said late Tuesday night following the Cavaliers ' fourth preseason game .
Earlier in the day , Gordon opened up about his drug and alcohol abuse during a 13-minute documentary on Uninterrupted , the online media platform James created for athletes .
While the Cavs star expressed his support for Gordon on social media , James elaborated on that a little more , explaining why he could empathize .
"I 've had someone in my family that 's had substance abuse and it 's very easy to point the finger at people when you do n't know what they 're going through ," James said . | CLEVELAND , Ohio -- At one point it appeared [TGT] and Josh Gordon were going to intersect in Cleveland -- two stars embedded in the city 's sports landscape .
But as [TGT] was bringing the Cavaliers back to prominence after a four-year stint in Miami , Gordon 's life was spiraling out of control and his football future was in peril .
"I applaud Josh for what he 's doing ,[TGT] said .
"I have zero relationship with Josh Gordon , but I have a lot of knowledge about substance abuse ,[TGT] said late Tuesday night following the Cavaliers ' fourth preseason game .
Earlier in the day , Gordon opened up about his drug and alcohol abuse during a 13-minute documentary on Uninterrupted , the online media platform [TGT] created for athletes .
While the Cavs star expressed his support for Gordon on social media , [TGT] elaborated on that a little more , explaining why [TGT] could empathize .
"I 've had someone in my family that 's had substance abuse and it 's very easy to point the finger at people when you do n't know what they 're going through ,[TGT] said . | 1Neutral
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168 | French Socialists shelve divisions at party congress | Martine Aubry | Profitable firms that close factories to outsource jobs should be taken under state judicial control Aubry told activists.
And on the environment she attacked Sarkozy's flagship plan for a domestic carbon tax another hot-button issue saying it would penalise poor families and that the state's priority should be investment in clean transport.
But in her closing speech Aubry batted away talk of working with the ModDem saying she was determined to build a new rainbow alliance of the left from the Greens to the Communist party.
"The left is our history but it is our future too " Aubry said. | Profitable firms that close factories to outsource jobs should be taken under state judicial control [TGT] told activists.
And on the environment [TGT] attacked Sarkozy's flagship plan for a domestic carbon tax another hot-button issue saying it would penalise poor families and that the state's priority should be investment in clean transport.
But in [TGT] closing speech [TGT] batted away talk of working with the ModDem saying [TGT] was determined to build a new rainbow alliance of the left from the Greens to the Communist party.
"The left is our history but it is our future too [TGT] said. | 1Neutral
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169 | LeBron James ' social media posts , Kyrie Irving barbs fuel perceived rift . | LeBron James | Beyond the question of James and whether it 's hard to be his teammate , there are basketball mysteries that will matter much more : Will new addition Jae Crowder help the Cavaliers ' 22nd-ranked defense improve in this regular season ?
; Will Isaiah Thomas ' ailing hip be better anytime soon so he can fill Irving 's role as James ' worthy sidekick ?
; Will the Cavs swap their prized 2018 first round pick from Brooklyn for another star as a way of convincing James to re-sign in free agency next summer ?
Cavs forward LeBron James -LRB- 23 -RRB- high fives forward Kevin Love -LRB- 0 -RRB- during the second half against the Boston Celtics in game two of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden .
.@KyrieIrving on why he did n't inform LeBron James that he wanted out of Cleveland .
Right about the time Kyrie Irving was dissecting his departure from Cleveland with ESPN 's "First Take" crew during a Monday visit in Bristol , Ct. , Cavaliers pals LeBron James and Kevin Love were strolling the beautiful UCLA campus after their latest offseason workout .
Only James knows if the timing of his latest Instagram story was intentional , but it was impossible not to notice the polar-opposite messaging .
Some 3,000 miles to the West , James and Love - having clearly evolved from those days where their relationship was the one being analyzed -- were looking like the NBA 's version of Bert and Ernie .
In one corner , you had Irving making it clear that his relationship with James was n't good enough to warrant a conversation about the late July trade request that led to his exit to Boston .
The notion of James as anything other than a world-class friend and teammate was nowhere to be found .
Stephen A. Smith , to Irving : "Did you speak to LeBron James , or talk to LeBron James , before you or your representatives met with ownership and let them know that you wanted out ?"
I really do ," James says to the Bruin alum during their lifting session .
"Incoming freshman , here shadowing , you know , the upper classmen ; he 's showing me around campus right now ," James says with a smile as they walk .
Kevin Love brought LeBron James to UCLA for a workout and campus tour .
; Will Irving mesh with Gordon Hayward , Al Horford & Co. and help end James ' string of seven consecutive trips to the Finals ? | Beyond the question of [TGT] and whether it 's hard to be [TGT] teammate , there are basketball mysteries that will matter much more : Will new addition Jae Crowder help the Cavaliers ' 22nd-ranked defense improve in this regular season ?
; Will Isaiah Thomas ' ailing hip be better anytime soon so he can fill Irving 's role as [TGT] worthy sidekick ?
; Will the Cavs swap their prized 2018 first round pick from Brooklyn for another star as a way of convincing [TGT] to re-sign in free agency next summer ?
Cavs forward [TGT] -LRB- 23 -RRB- high fives forward Kevin Love -LRB- 0 -RRB- during the second half against the Boston Celtics in game two of the Eastern conference finals of the NBA Playoffs at TD Garden .
.@KyrieIrving on why he did n't inform [TGT] that he wanted out of Cleveland .
Right about the time Kyrie Irving was dissecting his departure from Cleveland with ESPN 's "First Take" crew during a Monday visit in Bristol , Ct. , [TGT] were strolling the beautiful UCLA campus after [TGT] latest offseason workout .
[TGT] knows if the timing of [TGT] latest Instagram story was intentional , but it was impossible not to notice the polar-opposite messaging .
Some 3,000 miles to the West , [TGT] and Love - having clearly evolved from those days where their relationship was the one being analyzed -- were looking like the NBA 's version of Bert and Ernie .
In one corner , you had Irving making it clear that his relationship with [TGT] was n't good enough to warrant a conversation about the late July trade request that led to his exit to Boston .
The notion of [TGT] as anything other than a world-class friend and teammate was nowhere to be found .
[TGT] , before you or your representatives met with ownership and let [TGT] know that you wanted out ?"
I really do ,[TGT] says to the Bruin alum during [TGT] lifting session .
"Incoming freshman , here shadowing , you know , the upper classmen ; [TGT] 's showing me around campus right now ,[TGT] says with a smile as they walk .
Kevin Love brought [TGT] to UCLA for a workout and campus tour .
; Will Irving mesh with Gordon Hayward , Al Horford & Co. and help end [TGT] ' string of seven consecutive trips to the Finals ? | 1Neutral
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170 | Traditional banks should help govern fintech: Fed's Brainard | Lael Brainard | Traditional lenders should demand that online financial companies protect consumer privacy and money interests Federal Reserve Governor Lael Brainard said on Thursday . " Banks have considerable influence " Brainard said of the relationship between conventional lenders and online operators . Banks often pay tech companies for the information they gather on borrowers . For that reason Brainard said those lenders can set high standards in consumer protection and privacy . " Banks have a stake in ensuring that their vendors and third - party service providers act appropriately that consumers are protected and treated fairly and that the banks ' reputations aren ' t exposed to unnecessary risk " she said in prepared remarks at a fintech conference at the University of Michigan . The Federal Reserve has broad authority to police the banking industry and Brainard said technology has given more clients financial options . Lenders need to ensure that customer privacy is sacrosanct said Brainard . ( Reporting By Patrick RuckerEditing by Chizu Nomiyama ) | Traditional lenders should demand that online financial companies protect consumer privacy and money interests [TGT]said on Thursday . " Banks have considerable influence " [TGT]said of the relationship between conventional lenders and online operators . Banks often pay tech companies for the information they gather on borrowers . For that reason [TGT]said those lenders can set high standards in consumer protection and privacy . " Banks have a stake in ensuring that their vendors and third - party service providers act appropriately that consumers are protected and treated fairly and that the banks ' reputations aren ' t exposed to unnecessary risk " she said in prepared remarks at a fintech conference at the University of Michigan . The Federal Reserve has broad authority to police the banking industry and [TGT]said technology has given more clients financial options . Lenders need to ensure that customer privacy is sacrosanct said [TGT]. ( Reporting By Patrick RuckerEditing by Chizu Nomiyama ) | 2Positive
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171 | LeBron James ` bum ' tweet led to racist messages , Cavaliers owner says . | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has revealed that he received "vile , disgusting" voicemails after star LeBron James called President Donald Trump a "bum" on Twitter .
James ' message last weekend came in response to Trump rescinding an invitation for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors to visit the White House .
Gilbert said he had not told James about the voicemails .
James also commended NFL players for protesting after Trump said owners should fire any players who kneel during the national anthem .
Gilbert and James have patched up a complicated relationship .
Gilbert infamously wrote a letter to Cleveland fans criticizing James for leaving as a free agent in 2010 .
The owner was later fined $ 100,000 after he accused James of quitting in the playoffs during an interview with The Associated Press .
Earlier this week , James said he did not regret his comment about Trump .
"Me and my friends call me that all the time ," James said during a news conference prior to the opening of Cleveland 's training camp . | Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert has revealed that he received "vile , disgusting" voicemails after [TGT] called President Donald Trump a "bum" on Twitter .
[TGT] ' message last weekend came in response to Trump rescinding an invitation for the NBA champion Golden State Warriors to visit the White House .
Gilbert said he had not told [TGT] about the voicemails .
[TGT] also commended NFL players for protesting after Trump said owners should fire any players who kneel during the national anthem .
Gilbert and [TGT] have patched up a complicated relationship .
Gilbert infamously wrote a letter to Cleveland fans criticizing [TGT] for leaving as a free agent in 2010 .
The owner was later fined $ 100,000 after he accused [TGT] of quitting in the playoffs during an interview with The Associated Press .
Earlier this week , [TGT] said [TGT] did not regret [TGT] comment about Trump .
"Me and my friends call me that all the time ," [TGT] said during a news conference prior to the opening of Cleveland 's training camp . | 1Neutral
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172 | Canadian band The Tragically Hip's Gord Downie dead at 53 | Gord Downie Seth | Beloved Canadian rock star Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip passed away Tuesday night at the age of 53 . He had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in December of 2015 . The band has issued a statement on social media from the Downie family emphasizing how Downie spent the last years of his life surrounded by music family and friends . Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a televised statement on Downie ' s passing during which he was unable to hold back tears . " We are less of a country without Gord Downie in it even though we all knew it was coming " Prime Minister Trudeau said . Trudeau was very emotional over the death of Gord Downie . # cdnpoli pic . twitter . com / EnorPDrG0H — Mackenzie Gray (@ Gray_Mackenzie ) October 18 2017 Full statement on the death of the Tragically Hip ' s Gord Downie : https :// t . co / FiHhj9Spee — Justin Trudeau (@ JustinTrudeau ) October 18 2017 An alt - rock band whose career spanned more than three decades The Tragically Hip had a prolific output of 14 studio albums two live albums one EP and 54 singles . Downie publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis in May 2016 . He and his band played an emotional farewell concert in August 2016 in the singer ' s hometown of Kingston Ontario . Gord Downie wipes tears from his eyes in the middle of the Tragically Hip ' s " Grace Too " https :// t . co / JFz3pEkEwk pic . twitter . com / ZFOdKuBx9F — CBC News (@ CBCNews ) August 21 2016 Since Downie ' s passing there has been an outpouring of emotional tributes on social media from politicians organizations celebrities and fans . Canada ' s identity & culture are richer for Gord Downie ' s work . — Justin Trudeau (@ JustinTrudeau ) October 18 2017 Knowing this day was coming doesn ’ t make it any less devastating . Gord and the band improved Canada . Let ’ s all cry and kiss together . — Polaris Music Prize (@ PolarisPrize ) October 18 2017 RIP Gord Downie . 🇨🇦 — Seth Rogen (@ Sethrogen ) October 18 2017 Gord Downie was an inspiration to us all . His music is an essential part of the soundtrack of Canada . His diagnosis was heartbreaking but he faced illness with courage and a commitment to continue doing what he loved . — John Tory (@ JohnTory ) October 18 2017 # RIP Gord Downie . You music spun in every locker room I ' ve ever entered and gave pride to every Canadian I ' ve ever encountered . # WheatKingsOnRepeat pic . twitter . com / GA6b9pEQS3 — Matt Lashoff (@ MattLashoff ) October 18 2017 Gord Downie . Another brilliant wonderful soul is gone . Deepest condolences to the family . Thank you for everything you gave us . pic . twitter . com / nkJ1Uu6yxd — Bubbles (@ MSmithBubbles ) October 18 2017 Was at an airport with my kids while ago . My 5 - year - old had a long long casual chat with guy in a hat next to us . Like an hour about nothing . Where you going who you gonna see what will be best . As we left realized it was Gord Downie . — Steve Ladurantaye (@ ladurantaye ) October 18 2017 Rest in peace Gord . | Beloved Canadian rock star Gord Downie of The Tragically Hip passed away Tuesday night at the age of 53 . He had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in December of 2015 . The band has issued a statement on social media from the Downie family emphasizing how Downie spent the last years of his life surrounded by music family and friends . Prime Minister Justin Trudeau delivered a televised statement on Downie ' s passing during which he was unable to hold back tears . " We are less of a country without Gord Downie in it even though we all knew it was coming " Prime Minister Trudeau said . Trudeau was very emotional over the death of Gord Downie . # cdnpoli pic . twitter . com / EnorPDrG0H — Mackenzie Gray (@ Gray_Mackenzie ) October 18 2017 Full statement on the death of the Tragically Hip ' s Gord Downie : https :// t . co / FiHhj9Spee — Justin Trudeau (@ JustinTrudeau ) October 18 2017 An alt - rock band whose career spanned more than three decades The Tragically Hip had a prolific output of 14 studio albums two live albums one EP and 54 singles . Downie publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis in May 2016 . He and his band played an emotional farewell concert in August 2016 in the singer ' s hometown of Kingston Ontario . Gord Downie wipes tears from his eyes in the middle of the Tragically Hip ' s " Grace Too " https :// t . co / JFz3pEkEwk pic . twitter . com / ZFOdKuBx9F — CBC News (@ CBCNews ) August 21 2016 Since Downie ' s passing there has been an outpouring of emotional tributes on social media from politicians organizations celebrities and fans . Canada ' s identity & culture are richer for Gord Downie ' s work . — Justin Trudeau (@ JustinTrudeau ) October 18 2017 Knowing this day was coming doesn ’ t make it any less devastating . Gord and the band improved Canada . Let ’ s all cry and kiss together . — Polaris Music Prize (@ PolarisPrize ) October 18 2017 RIP Gord Downie . 🇨🇦 — Seth Rogen (@ Sethrogen ) October 18 2017 Gord Downie was an inspiration to us all . His music is an essential part of the soundtrack of Canada . His diagnosis was heartbreaking but he faced illness with courage and a commitment to continue doing what he loved . — John Tory (@ JohnTory ) October 18 2017 # RIP Gord Downie . You music spun in every locker room I ' ve ever entered and gave pride to every Canadian I ' ve ever encountered . # WheatKingsOnRepeat pic . twitter . com / GA6b9pEQS3 — Matt Lashoff (@ MattLashoff ) October 18 2017 Gord Downie . Another brilliant wonderful soul is gone . Deepest condolences to the family . Thank you for everything you gave us . pic . twitter . com / nkJ1Uu6yxd — Bubbles (@ MSmithBubbles ) October 18 2017 Was at an airport with my kids while ago . My 5 - year - old had a long long casual chat with guy in a hat next to us . Like an hour about nothing . Where you going who you gonna see what will be best . As we left realized it was Gord Downie . — Steve Ladurantaye (@ ladurantaye ) October 18 2017 Rest in peace Gord . | 2Positive
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173 | Trump blames Schumer for immigration impasse prolonged shutdown | Chuck Schumer | The scrimmage over immigration showed no sign of being settled Friday as President Trump again blamed Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer for stalling talks . Trump tweeted that a deal “ has been made increasingly difficult by the fact that Cryin ’ Chuck Schumer took such a beating over the shutdown that he is unable to act on immigration !” The federal government shut down for three days this week over the issue . President Trump said Schumer has been making it difficult to reach a deal on immigration . ( FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images ) Schumer ( D - N . Y .) shot back that Trump is using hundreds of thousands of young immigrants as a “ tool to tear apart our legal immigration system .” The bickering centers on the Obama - era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protected nearly 700 000 immigrants brought to the U . S . illegally as children from deportation . | The scrimmage over immigration showed no sign of being settled Friday as President Trump again blamed [TGT]for stalling talks . Trump tweeted that a deal “ has been made increasingly difficult by the fact that Cryin ’ [TGT]took such a beating over the shutdown that [TGT] is unable to act on immigration !” The federal government shut down for three days this week over the issue . President Trump said [TGT]has been making it difficult to reach a deal on immigration . ( FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP / Getty Images ) [TGT] . Y .) shot back that Trump is using hundreds of thousands of young immigrants as a “ tool to tear apart our legal immigration system .” The bickering centers on the Obama - era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that protected nearly 700 000 immigrants brought to the U . S . illegally as children from deportation . | 1Neutral
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174 | Bernie Sanders cultivating California for 2020 | The Sacramento Bee . | Bernie Sanders | Bernie Sanders makes 2016 push for drug-pricing measure U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders made a stop in Sacramento to make a final push for Proposition 61 on the West steps of the state Capitol on Monday , November 7 , 2016 .
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders made a stop in Sacramento to make a final push for Proposition 61 on the West steps of the state Capitol on Monday , November 7 , 2016 .
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders made a stop in Sacramento to make a final push for Proposition 61 on the West steps of the state Capitol on Monday , November 7 , 2016 . | Bernie Sanders makes 2016 push for drug-pricing measure [TGT] made a stop in Sacramento to make a final push for Proposition 61 on the West steps of the state Capitol on Monday , November 7 , 2016 .
[TGT] made a stop in Sacramento to make a final push for Proposition 61 on the West steps of the state Capitol on Monday , November 7 , 2016 .
[TGT] made a stop in Sacramento to make a final push for Proposition 61 on the West steps of the state Capitol on Monday , November 7 , 2016 . | 2Positive
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175 | Hundreds of school bus drivers disciplined but few canned | Michael Laveaux | bus drivers have been disciplined for disgusting and dangerous behavior — from taking photos up a child ’ s skirt to drinking booze behind the wheel — but the vast majority remain on the job a Post analysis of city records shows . From December 2015 to July 2017 the city Department of Education punished bus drivers and attendants in 281 incidents that endangered kids . Yet in only 32 cases did the employee lose the ability to work with city schoolkids according to data The Post acquired through a Freedom of Information Law request after suing the DOE . Only in rare cases did student - transport workers lose their city school - bus driver certifications : Driver Sergot Medy was decertified after children reported that he watched porn while driving — and that his inattention nearly caused him to hit a car a DOE report says . Medy said the kids made up the accusations because he was strict and they didn ’ t like him . “ I only have one hour with the kids ” he told The Post . “ I have the whole day to do what you say . That don ’ t make no sense .” Medy said the kids made up the accusations because he was strict and they didn ’ t like him . “ I only have one hour with the kids ” he told The Post . “ I have the whole day to do what you say . That don ’ t make no sense .” Driver Michael Laveaux ’ s driving privileges were yanked after he took photos up a child ’ s skirt with his cellphone the records say . He was arrested and charged and the NYPD said the records were sealed . Laveaux could not be reached for comment . Cops arrested bus attendant Jose Collado - Mena in June for allegedly showing a 13 - year - old student “ animated pornography ” including images of nude women on his cellphone while on a school bus a criminal complaint says . He was charged with child endangerment and the DOE ’ s Office of Pupil Transportation decertified him . His attorney called the allegations “ baseless .” In the vast majority of cases workers were slapped with suspensions but returned to work : | bus drivers have been disciplined for disgusting and dangerous behavior — from taking photos up a child ’ s skirt to drinking booze behind the wheel — but the vast majority remain on the job a Post analysis of city records shows . From December 2015 to July 2017 the city Department of Education punished bus drivers and attendants in 281 incidents that endangered kids . Yet in only 32 cases did the employee lose the ability to work with city schoolkids according to data The Post acquired through a Freedom of Information Law request after suing the DOE . Only in rare cases did student - transport workers lose their city school - bus driver certifications : Driver Sergot Medy was decertified after children reported that he watched porn while driving — and that his inattention nearly caused him to hit a car a DOE report says . Medy said the kids made up the accusations because he was strict and they didn ’ t like him . “ I only have one hour with the kids ” he told The Post . “ I have the whole day to do what you say . That don ’ t make no sense .” Medy said the kids made up the accusations because he was strict and they didn ’ t like him . “ I only have one hour with the kids ” he told The Post . “ I have the whole day to do what you say . That don ’ t make no sense .” [TGT] driving privileges were yanked after [TGT] took photos up a child ’ s skirt with his cellphone the records say . He was arrested and charged and the NYPD said the records were sealed . [TGT] could not be reached for comment . Cops arrested bus attendant Jose Collado - Mena in June for allegedly showing a 13 - year - old student “ animated pornography ” including images of nude women on his cellphone while on a school bus a criminal complaint says . He was charged with child endangerment and the DOE ’ s Office of Pupil Transportation decertified him . His attorney called the allegations “ baseless .” In the vast majority of cases workers were slapped with suspensions but returned to work : | 2Positive
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176 | Fed's Yellen says solid economic growth means more rate hikes ahead | Janet Yellen | Outgoing Federal Reserve Bank Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday that solid economic growth faster wage increases and a tightening labor market mean the U . S . central bank is likely to need to continue to raise interest rates gradually as it has signaled it will . “ The economy is growing at a healthy solid pace ” Yellen said in an interview with PBS NewsHour on the last day of her four - year term . “ The job market is strong and inflation is low ... The Federal Reserve has been on a path of gradual rate increases and if conditions continue as they have been that process is likely to continue and as it does we would expect long rates to move up .” On Saturday she hands the reins to President Donald Trump ’ s pick to replace her Governor Jerome Powell . She will stay in Washington as a fellow at the Brookings Institution the think tank where former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke also works . | [TGT]said on Friday that solid economic growth faster wage increases and a tightening labor market mean the U . S . central bank is likely to need to continue to raise interest rates gradually as it has signaled it will . “ The economy is growing at a healthy solid pace ” [TGT]said in an interview with PBS NewsHour on the last day of [TGT] four - year term . “ The job market is strong and inflation is low ... The Federal Reserve has been on a path of gradual rate increases and if conditions continue as they have been that process is likely to continue and as it does we would expect long rates to move up .” On Saturday [TGT] hands the reins to President Donald Trump ’ s pick to replace [TGT] Governor Jerome Powell . [TGT] will stay in Washington as a fellow at the Brookings Institution the think tank where former Fed Chair Ben Bernanke also works . | 2Positive
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177 | Grassley Graham Memo Affirms Nunes Memo on FISA & Steele Dossier | Steele Steele | Sen . Chuck Grassley speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in December 2017 . ( Reuters file photo : Aaron . P . Bernstein ) We need a full - blown investigation of how the FISA court came to grant warrants to spy on Carter Page . In a word the Grassley - Graham memo is shocking . Yet the press barely notices . Rest assured : If a Republican administration had used unverifiable hearsay from a patently suspect agent of the Republican presidential candidate to gull the FISA court into granting a warrant to spy on an associate of the Democratic nominee ’ s campaign it would be covered as the greatest political scandal in a half - century . Instead it was the other way around . The Grassley - Graham memo corroborates the claims in the Nunes memo : The Obama Justice Department and FBI used anonymously sourced Clinton - campaign generated innuendo to convince the FISA court to issue surveillance warrants against Carter Page and in doing so they concealed the Clinton campaign ’ s role . Though the Trump campaign had cut ties with Page shortly before the first warrant was issued in October 2016 the warrant application was based on wild allegations of a corrupt conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin . Moreover the warrant meant the FBI could seize not only Page ’ s forward - going communications but any past emails and texts he may have stored — i . e . his Trump campaign communications . x With its verification by the Grassley - Graham memo the Nunes memo now has about a thousand times more corroboration than the Steele dossier the basis of the heinous allegations used by the Justice Department and FBI to get the FISA warrants . What the Grassley - Graham memo tells us is that the Nunes memo for all the hysteria about it was tame . The Grassley - Graham memo tells us that we need not only a full - blown investigation of what possessed the Obama administration to submit such shoddy applications to the FISA court but of how a judge — or perhaps as many as four judges — rationalized signing the warrants . Advertisement We need full disclosure — the warrants the applications the court proceedings . Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are senior Republicans on the Judiciary Committee ( which Grassley chairs while Graham chairs a relevant subcommittee ). As we ’ ve previously detailed ( in a two - part series here and here ) they composed their memo in support of a criminal referral recommending that dossier author Christopher Steele be investigated for making false statements to the FBI ( which is a felony ). Initially the senators ’ memo was withheld then it was released with extensive redactions because its contents were largely classified — covering submissions to the FISA court the secret tribunal established by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . But following the release of the Nunes memo — the memo prepared by Republican majority staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence led by Representative Devin Nunes ( R . Calif .) — Senators Grassley and Graham stepped up their admirable efforts to get more information unsealed . so that the public can see it even if the press prefers not to cover it . Last Friday the Nunes memo asserted that the FBI and Justice Department had significantly relied on the unverified Steele dossier to obtain FISA warrants on Page . In the week that followed House Intelligence Committee Democrats and their media echo chamber bleated about how things had been taken out of context with some suggesting that there was plenty of other evidence to establish probable cause that Page was acting as a Russian agent . ( See my column last Sunday responding to claims by Representative Jerrold Nadler here .) It was even implied that Nunes & Co . had deceptively reported committee testimony by the FBI ’ s then deputy director Andrew McCabe that the Steele dossier was essential to this probable - cause showing . We ’ re not hearing much of that now . Here ’ s the Grassley - Graham memo on the critical first FISA application the basis for the warrant granted on October 21 2016 : The bulk of the application consists of allegations against Page that were disclosed to the FBI by Mr . Steele and are also outlined in the Steele dossier . The application appears to contain no additional information corroborating the dossier allegations against Mr . Page although it does cite to a news article that appears to be sourced to Mr . Steele ’ s dossier . We ’ ll come to the news article — the stupefying circular attempt to corroborate Steele with Steele . For the moment suffice it to say that the senators have confirmed the Nunes memo ’ s account except with much more information than House Republicans were able to include . Information such as this : When asked at the March 2017 briefing [ of Judiciary Committee leaders ] why the FBI relied on the dossier in the FISA applications absent meaningful corroboration — and in light of the highly political motives surrounding its creation — then - Director [ James ] Comey stated that the FBI included the dossier allegations about Carter Page in the FISA applications because Mr . Steele himself was considered reliable due to his past work with the Bureau . On this score Grassley and Graham quote directly from the warrant applications : “ Based on [ Steele ’ s ] previous reporting history with the FBI whereby [ Steele ] provided reliable information to the FBI the FBI believes [ Steele ’ s ] reporting to be credible .” ( Emphasis added .) I cannot stress enough how irregular this is . It is why there is abundant reason to demand that the judge explain his or her rationale for granting the warrant . As I outlined at greater length last week ( here in section C ) in applying for a warrant the government must establish the reliability of the informants who witnessed the alleged facts claimed to support a probable - cause finding . Steele was not one of those witnesses . He is not the source of the facts . He is the purveyor of the sources — anonymous Russians much of whose alleged information is based on hearsay sometimes multiple steps removed from direct knowledge . Steele has not been in Russia since his cover as a British spy was blown nearly 20 years ago . He has sources who have sources who have sources . None of his information is better than third - hand ; most of it is more attenuated than that . For purposes of justifying a warrant it does not matter that in a totally unrelated investigation ( involving corruption at FIFA the international soccer organization ) the FBI judged that the hearsay information provided by Steele then a British agent checked out . In his anti - Trump research Steele could not verify his sources . Furthermore he was now a former foreign intelligence officer who was then working for private clients — which is the advocacy business not the search - for - truth business . A judge would need to know whether Steele ’ s sources were reliable not whether Steele himself was reliable . Let that sink in then think about this contrast : No actual FBI agent no matter how renowned would be able to get a judicial warrant based solely on his own reliability as an investigator . Jim Comey despite having a résumé geometrically more impressive than Steele ’ s including Senate confirmations to some of federal law - enforcement ’ s loftiest positions would not be given a warrant based on representations to the court that the FBI the Justice Department the president and the Senate all attested to his impeccable reliability . The only reliability that counts is the reliability of the factual informants not of the investigator who purports to channel the informants . The judge wants to know why the court should believe the specific factual claims : Was the informant truly in a position to witness what is alleged and if so does the informant have a track record of providing verified information ? The track record of the investigator who locates the sources is beside the point . A judge would need to know whether Steele ’ s sources were reliable not whether Steele himself was reliable . Advertisement This is not esoterica . In the investigations biz this is so basic that to call it “ Warrants 101 ” doesn ’ t do it justice . If you don ’ t have witnesses with verifiable first - hand knowledge you don ’ t have anything . Without them to borrow Director Comey ’ s notorious dictum no reasonable prosecutor would bring a warrant application to a federal judge and no reasonable judge would issue a warrant . If there is no credible sourcing for the factual allegations in the warrant application that is a probable - cause deficiency that could not have been cured by the reputation of the purveyor of the sources no matter how sterling . That said it is obvious that the less identifiable and reliable the informants are the greater is the government ’ s obligation to be transparent in conveying the investigator ’ s potential biases . The Obama administration ’ s malfeasance on this point is breathtaking . Graham and Grassley recount : The FBI noted to a vaguely limited extent the political origins of the dossier . In footnote 8 [ of the first warrant application apparently repeated in the subsequent applications ] the FBI stated that the dossier information was compiled pursuant to the direction of a law firm who had hired an “ identified U . S . person ” — now known as Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS . The fact that Fusion GPS ’ s ultimate client was the Clinton campaign was never disclosed in any of the warrant applications which ran well beyond June 2017 when the last 90 - day extension was granted . Patently so much struggle and circumlocution went into crafting this “ vaguely limited ” footnote that we can only conclude the decision not to disclose the Clinton connection was the subject of much deliberation . The Clinton campaign ’ s sponsorship was not publicly disclosed until October 2017 . Before then it is virtually certain that to the extent the FISA court and Congress were told of the “ political origins ” of the dossier these were benignly presented as bipartisan concerns about Donald Trump . That is the Steele dossier phase of Fusion ’ s anti - Trump project was conflated with the earlier phase when — as Simpson has testified — Fusion did documentary research on Trump during the Republican primaries for a conservative media outlet . It was not disclosed that by the time Steele was hired to do the dossier the project was backed exclusively by the Democratic party and the Clinton campaign . Manifestly that was a material fact . If a prosecutor withheld an arguably exculpatory fact of this degree of significance it could get a conviction reversed . As some have observed a public company would likely face a stock fraud prosecution for concealing a fact so patently material from its required SEC reports . The Clinton - campaign tie should have been disclosed from the beginning . Now consider what happened as the surveillance continued for the better part of a year . In late October 2016 shortly after the first warrant was issued the FBI terminated its relationship with Steele because he lied to the Bureau about his contacts with the media . But the Justice Department did not report this to the FISA court . Instead when the first warrant expired in January 2017 the FBI and Justice Department sought its renewal by again relying on the credibility of the guy they ’ d booted for lying . In another lawyerly footnote they told the FISA court that Steele had been terminated not because he lied but because he was guilty of “ unauthorized disclosure of information to the press .” But that was not the half of it . Steele ’ s agreement with the FBI was that he would not communicate with the press . He made that agreement and then communicated with the press anyway — which showed he was unreliable notwithstanding the FBI ’ s continued insistence to the contrary . He hadn ’ t just flouted the agreement by speaking to the press though ; he had clearly lied about doing so . By mid - September 2016 at Fusion ’ s direction and even before the first FISA warrant was issued Steele had spoken with a plethora of Clinton - friendly press outlets . As a result Yahoo News published a news story by Michael Isikoff on September 23 which reported precisely the information that Steele had given to the FBI about Page : that he ’ d supposedly met in Moscow with two top Russian operatives and discussed the lifting of sanctions against Russia . Advertisement How could the FBI and Justice Department not have known that Steele was the source for this story ? Isikoff explicitly stated that his account of Page ’ s activities was set forth in “ intelligence reports ” that were in the possession of “ U . S . officials .” Plainly the FBI was privy to intelligence reports in the government ’ s possession — the purported “ intelligence ” reports Steele had provided as well as any others . Had there been another intel report from a different source who happened to provide the same exact information Steele had provided not only would the FBI have known about it ; the Bureau would have touted it to the FISA court as critical corroboration of Steele ’ s anonymous sources . To the contrary the FISA court was told : “ The FBI does not believe that [ Steele ] directly provided this information to the press .” I ’ ve emphasized “ directly ” to highlight how curious this assertion is . Ostensibly the Bureau seems to have been saying that Steele was not the source — meaning that there must have been another source yet one the Bureau had not managed to identify even though this mystery source was described in intelligence reports accessible to the Bureau . On the other hand what does “ directly ” mean ? By using that qualifier was the Bureau conceding that Steele might have provided information to the press indirectly – i . e . through an intermediary ? But that would make no sense : What would be the point of citing the Isikoff article as corroboration for Steele if Steele had been Isikoff ’ s source even if indirectly ? It is not good one way or the other . Either Steele lied to the FBI about speaking to the press or the FBI consciously avoided learning that Steele had spoken to Isikoff and then speculated to the court that Steele was probably not Isikoff ’ s source . Either way Steele ’ s credibility was a huge issue . That put in doubt the FBI ’ s vouching for his reliability which in turn made disclosure of the Clinton campaign ’ s sponsorship of his dossier even more imperative . Or how about this : Steele gave a published interview to Mother Jones in late October 2016 after promising not to speak to the media . In trying to soft - peddle the palpable unreliability Steele had thus exhibited the FBI rationalized that he was acting not out of dishonesty but in a fit of pique over Director Comey ’ s pre - election announcement that the FBI had reopened the Clinton emails investigation . This of course is the announcement that Clinton partisans blame for their candidate ’ s loss . So according to the Bureau Steele ’ s pro - Clinton partisanship induced him to such outrage over Comey ’ s announcement that he was moved to violate his agreement with the FBI . Wouldn ’ t you think it might then occur to the Bureau and the Justice Department that maybe just maybe they ought to let the court in on that teeny detail about the Clinton campaign ’ s being the sponsor of Steele ’ s dossier ? Instead they kept mum and they kept telling the court Steele was perfectly reliable . In fact they kept telling the FISA court he was reliable even after Steele himself admitted to a British court that his dossier wasn ’ t at all reliable . Truth is a defense to libel . Suffice it to say it was not Steele ’ s defense . Even though there was still no meaningful corroboration of Steele ’ s sources after months of investigation even though Steele had lied to them the FBI and Justice Department represented again and again in April and June 2017 that the FISA court could confidently bank on Steele ’ s reliability . By early 2017 however Steele was being sued for libel in Britain among other places by people accused of misconduct in the dossier . Truth is a defense to libel . Suffice it to say it was not Steele ’ s defense . In May 2017 as I have detailed ( here ) Steele was required to respond to interrogatories . He emphasized that his dossier allegations were “ raw intelligence ” that was “ unverified ” and “ warranted investigation .” He further described his reports as “ limited intelligence ” that described mere “ indications ” of “ possible ” coordination between Trump ’ s campaign and the Russian government . He was not in a position to vouch for the accuracy of what he ’ d been told he explained ; he passed it along because it needed further investigation . Yet far from reporting Steele ’ s retreat to the FISA court Grassley and Graham report that the FBI and Justice Department continued vouching for the reliability of his allegations . Advertisement Beyond all that we now learn through the senators ’ memo and some follow - up reporting that two longtime Clinton cronies Cody Shearer and Sidney Blumenthal fed their own anti - Trump dossier to Steele through a State Department official Jonathan Winer . In the fall of 2016 Steele while working on his Clinton - funded project reported this Clinton - crony information to the FBI . Still the FBI and Justice Department elected not to tell the FISA court that the Clinton campaign was paying for Steele ’ s unverified unverifiable anti - Trump research . I spent many months assuring people that nothing like this could ever happen — that the FBI and Justice Department would not countenance the provision to the FISA court of uncorroborated allegations of heinous misconduct . When Trump enthusiasts accused them of rigging the process I countered that they probably had not even used the Steele dossier . If the Justice Department had used it in writing a FISA warrant application I insisted that the FBI would independently verify any important facts presented to the court make any disclosures that ought in fairness be made so the judge could evaluate the credibility of the sources and compellingly demonstrate probable cause before alleging that an American was a foreign agent . | Sen . Chuck Grassley speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in December 2017 . ( Reuters file photo : Aaron . P . Bernstein ) We need a full - blown investigation of how the FISA court came to grant warrants to spy on Carter Page . In a word the Grassley - Graham memo is shocking . Yet the press barely notices . Rest assured : If a Republican administration had used unverifiable hearsay from a patently suspect agent of the Republican presidential candidate to gull the FISA court into granting a warrant to spy on an associate of the Democratic nominee ’ s campaign it would be covered as the greatest political scandal in a half - century . Instead it was the other way around . The Grassley - Graham memo corroborates the claims in the Nunes memo : The Obama Justice Department and FBI used anonymously sourced Clinton - campaign generated innuendo to convince the FISA court to issue surveillance warrants against Carter Page and in doing so they concealed the Clinton campaign ’ s role . Though the Trump campaign had cut ties with Page shortly before the first warrant was issued in October 2016 the warrant application was based on wild allegations of a corrupt conspiracy between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin . Moreover the warrant meant the FBI could seize not only Page ’ s forward - going communications but any past emails and texts he may have stored — i . e . his Trump campaign communications . x With its verification by the Grassley - Graham memo the Nunes memo now has about a thousand times more corroboration than the Steele dossier the basis of the heinous allegations used by the Justice Department and FBI to get the FISA warrants . What the Grassley - Graham memo tells us is that the Nunes memo for all the hysteria about it was tame . The Grassley - Graham memo tells us that we need not only a full - blown investigation of what possessed the Obama administration to submit such shoddy applications to the FISA court but of how a judge — or perhaps as many as four judges — rationalized signing the warrants . Advertisement We need full disclosure — the warrants the applications the court proceedings . Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina are senior Republicans on the Judiciary Committee ( which Grassley chairs while Graham chairs a relevant subcommittee ). As we ’ ve previously detailed ( in a two - part series here and here ) they composed their memo in support of a criminal referral recommending that dossier author Christopher Steele be investigated for making false statements to the FBI ( which is a felony ). Initially the senators ’ memo was withheld then it was released with extensive redactions because its contents were largely classified — covering submissions to the FISA court the secret tribunal established by the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act . But following the release of the Nunes memo — the memo prepared by Republican majority staff of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence led by Representative Devin Nunes ( R . Calif .) — Senators Grassley and Graham stepped up their admirable efforts to get more information unsealed . so that the public can see it even if the press prefers not to cover it . Last Friday the Nunes memo asserted that the FBI and Justice Department had significantly relied on the unverified [TGT] dossier to obtain FISA warrants on Page . In the week that followed House Intelligence Committee Democrats and their media echo chamber bleated about how things had been taken out of context with some suggesting that there was plenty of other evidence to establish probable cause that Page was acting as a Russian agent . ( See my column last Sunday responding to claims by Representative Jerrold Nadler here .) It was even implied that Nunes & Co . had deceptively reported committee testimony by the FBI ’ s then deputy director Andrew McCabe that the [TGT] dossier was essential to this probable - cause showing . We ’ re not hearing much of that now . Here ’ s the Grassley - Graham memo on the critical first FISA application the basis for the warrant granted on October 21 2016 : The bulk of the application consists of allegations against Page that were disclosed to the FBI by Mr . [TGT] and are also outlined in the [TGT] dossier . The application appears to contain no additional information corroborating the dossier allegations against Mr . Page although it does cite to a news article that appears to be sourced to Mr . [TGT] s dossier . We ’ ll come to the news article — the stupefying circular attempt to corroborate [TGT] with [TGT] . For the moment suffice it to say that the senators have confirmed the Nunes memo ’ s account except with much more information than House Republicans were able to include . Information such as this : When asked at the March 2017 briefing [ of Judiciary Committee leaders ] why the FBI relied on the dossier in the FISA applications absent meaningful corroboration — and in light of the highly political motives surrounding its creation — then - Director [ James ] Comey stated that the FBI included the dossier allegations about Carter Page in the FISA applications because Mr . [TGT] himself was considered reliable due to [TGT] past work with the Bureau . On this score Grassley and Graham quote directly from the warrant applications : “ Based on [ [TGT] ’ s ] previous reporting history with the FBI whereby [ [TGT] ] provided reliable information to the FBI the FBI believes [ [TGT] ’ s ] reporting to be credible .” ( Emphasis added .) I cannot stress enough how irregular this is . It is why there is abundant reason to demand that the judge explain his or her rationale for granting the warrant . As I outlined at greater length last week ( here in section C ) in applying for a warrant the government must establish the reliability of the informants who witnessed the alleged facts claimed to support a probable - cause finding . [TGT]was not one of those witnesses . [TGT] is not the source of the facts . [TGT] is the purveyor of the sources — anonymous Russians much of whose alleged information is based on hearsay sometimes multiple steps removed from direct knowledge . [TGT]has not been in Russia since [TGT] cover as a British spy was blown nearly 20 years ago . [TGT] has sources who have sources who have sources . None of [TGT] information is better than third - hand ; most of it is more attenuated than that . For purposes of justifying a warrant it does not matter that in a totally unrelated investigation ( involving corruption at FIFA the international soccer organization ) the FBI judged that the hearsay information provided by Steele then a British agent checked out . In his anti - Trump research [TGT] could not verify his sources . Furthermore he was now a former foreign intelligence officer who was then working for private clients — which is the advocacy business not the search - for - truth business . A judge would need to know whether [TGT] ’ s sources were reliable not whether [TGT] himself was reliable . Let that sink in then think about this contrast : No actual FBI agent no matter how renowned would be able to get a judicial warrant based solely on his own reliability as an investigator . Jim Comey despite having a résumé geometrically more impressive than [TGT] ’ s including Senate confirmations to some of federal law - enforcement ’ s loftiest positions would not be given a warrant based on representations to the court that the FBI the Justice Department the president and the Senate all attested to his impeccable reliability . The only reliability that counts is the reliability of the factual informants not of the investigator who purports to channel the informants . The judge wants to know why the court should believe the specific factual claims : Was the informant truly in a position to witness what is alleged and if so does the informant have a track record of providing verified information ? The track record of the investigator who locates the sources is beside the point . A judge would need to know whether [TGT] ’ s sources were reliable not whether [TGT] himself was reliable . Advertisement This is not esoterica . In the investigations biz this is so basic that to call it “ Warrants 101 ” doesn ’ [TGT] do it justice . If you don ’ [TGT] have witnesses with verifiable first - hand knowledge you don ’ [TGT] have anything . Without [TGT] to borrow Director Comey ’ s notorious dictum no reasonable prosecutor would bring a warrant application to a federal judge and no reasonable judge would issue a warrant . If there is no credible sourcing for the factual allegations in the warrant application that is a probable - cause deficiency that could not have been cured by the reputation of the purveyor of the sources no matter how sterling . That said it is obvious that the less identifiable and reliable the informants are the greater is the government ’ s obligation to be transparent in conveying the investigator ’ s potential biases . The Obama administration ’ s malfeasance on this point is breathtaking . Graham and Grassley recount : The FBI noted to a vaguely limited extent the political origins of the dossier . In footnote 8 [ of the first warrant application apparently repeated in the subsequent applications ] the FBI stated that the dossier information was compiled pursuant to the direction of a law firm who had hired an “ identified U . S . person ” — now known as Glenn Simpson of Fusion GPS . The fact that Fusion GPS ’ s ultimate client was the Clinton campaign was never disclosed in any of the warrant applications which ran well beyond June 2017 when the last 90 - day extension was granted . Patently so much struggle and circumlocution went into crafting this “ vaguely limited ” footnote that we can only conclude the decision not to disclose the Clinton connection was the subject of much deliberation . The Clinton campaign ’ s sponsorship was not publicly disclosed until October 2017 . Before then it is virtually certain that to the extent the FISA court and Congress were told of the “ political origins ” of the dossier these were benignly presented as bipartisan concerns about Donald Trump . That is the [TGT] dossier phase of Fusion ’ s anti - Trump project was conflated with the earlier phase when — as Simpson has testified — Fusion did documentary research on Trump during the Republican primaries for a conservative media outlet . It was not disclosed that by the time [TGT]was hired to do the dossier the project was backed exclusively by the Democratic party and the Clinton campaign . Manifestly that was a material fact . If a prosecutor withheld an arguably exculpatory fact of this degree of significance it could get a conviction reversed . As some have observed a public company would likely face a stock fraud prosecution for concealing a fact so patently material from its required SEC reports . The Clinton - campaign tie should have been disclosed from the beginning . Now consider what happened as the surveillance continued for the better part of a year . In late October 2016 shortly after the first warrant was issued the FBI terminated its relationship with [TGT]because [TGT] lied to the Bureau about [TGT] contacts with the media . But the Justice Department did not report this to the FISA court . Instead when the first warrant expired in January 2017 the FBI and Justice Department sought its renewal by again relying on the credibility of the guy they ’ d booted for lying . In another lawyerly footnote they told the FISA court that [TGT]had been terminated not because [TGT] lied but because [TGT] was guilty of “ unauthorized disclosure of information to the press .” But that was not the half of it . [TGT] ’ s agreement with the FBI was that [TGT] would not communicate with the press . [TGT] made that agreement and then communicated with the press anyway — which showed [TGT] was unreliable notwithstanding the FBI ’ s continued insistence to the contrary . [TGT] hadn ’ t just flouted the agreement by speaking to the press though ; [TGT] had clearly lied about doing so . By mid - September 2016 at Fusion ’ s direction and even before the first FISA warrant was issued [TGT]had spoken with a plethora of Clinton - friendly press outlets . As a result Yahoo News published a news story by Michael Isikoff on September 23 which reported precisely the information that [TGT]had given to the FBI about Page : that [TGT] ’ d supposedly met in Moscow with two top Russian operatives and discussed the lifting of sanctions against Russia . Advertisement How could the FBI and Justice Department not have known that [TGT]was the source for this story ? Isikoff explicitly stated that his account of Page ’ s activities was set forth in “ intelligence reports ” that were in the possession of “ U . S . officials .” Plainly the FBI was privy to intelligence reports in the government ’ s possession — the purported “ intelligence ” reports [TGT]had provided as well as any others . Had there been another intel report from a different source who happened to provide the same exact information [TGT]had provided not only would the FBI have known about it ; the Bureau would have touted it to the FISA court as critical corroboration of [TGT] ’ s anonymous sources . To the contrary the FISA court was told : “ The FBI does not believe that [ [TGT]] directly provided this information to the press .” I ’ ve emphasized “ directly ” to highlight how curious this assertion is . Ostensibly the Bureau seems to have been saying that [TGT]was not the source — meaning that there must have been another source yet one the Bureau had not managed to identify even though this mystery source was described in intelligence reports accessible to the Bureau . On the other hand what does “ directly ” mean ? By using that qualifier was the Bureau conceding that [TGT]might have provided information to the press indirectly – i . e . through an intermediary ? But that would make no sense : What would be the point of citing the Isikoff article as corroboration for [TGT]if [TGT]had been Isikoff ’ s source even if indirectly ? It is not good one way or the other . Either [TGT]lied to the FBI about speaking to the press or the FBI consciously avoided learning that [TGT]had spoken to Isikoff and then speculated to the court that [TGT]was probably not Isikoff ’ s source . Either way [TGT] ’ s credibility was a huge issue . That put in doubt the FBI ’ s vouching for his reliability which in turn made disclosure of the Clinton campaign ’ s sponsorship of his dossier even more imperative . Or how about this : [TGT]gave a published interview to Mother Jones in late October 2016 after promising not to speak to the media . In trying to soft - peddle the palpable unreliability [TGT]had thus exhibited the FBI rationalized that [TGT] was acting not out of dishonesty but in a fit of pique over Director Comey ’ s pre - election announcement that the FBI had reopened the Clinton emails investigation . This of course is the announcement that Clinton partisans blame for their candidate ’ s loss . So according to the Bureau [TGT] ’ s pro - Clinton partisanship induced him to such outrage over Comey ’ s announcement that he was moved to violate his agreement with the FBI . Wouldn ’ t you think it might then occur to the Bureau and the Justice Department that maybe just maybe they ought to let the court in on that teeny detail about the Clinton campaign ’ s being the sponsor of [TGT] ’ s dossier ? Instead they kept mum and they kept telling the court [TGT]was perfectly reliable . In fact they kept telling the FISA court [TGT] was reliable even after [TGT][TGT] admitted to a British court that [TGT] dossier wasn ’ t at all reliable . Truth is a defense to libel . Suffice it to say it was not [TGT] ’ s defense . Even though there was still no meaningful corroboration of [TGT] ’ s sources after months of investigation even though [TGT]had lied to them the FBI and Justice Department represented again and again in April and June 2017 that the FISA court could confidently bank on [TGT] ’ s reliability . By early 2017 however [TGT]was being sued for libel in Britain among other places by people accused of misconduct in the dossier . Truth is a defense to libel . Suffice it to say it was not [TGT] ’ s defense . In May 2017 as I have detailed ( here ) [TGT]was required to respond to interrogatories . [TGT] emphasized that [TGT] dossier allegations were “ raw intelligence ” that was “ unverified ” and “ warranted investigation .” [TGT] further described [TGT] reports as “ limited intelligence ” that described mere “ indications ” of “ possible ” coordination between Trump ’ s campaign and the Russian government . He was not in a position to vouch for the accuracy of what he ’ d been told he explained ; he passed it along because it needed further investigation . Yet far from reporting [TGT] ’ s retreat to the FISA court Grassley and Graham report that the FBI and Justice Department continued vouching for the reliability of his allegations . Advertisement Beyond all that we now learn through the senators ’ memo and some follow - up reporting that two longtime Clinton cronies Cody Shearer and Sidney Blumenthal fed their own anti - Trump dossier to Steele through a State Department official Jonathan Winer . In the fall of 2016 Steele while working on his Clinton - funded project reported this Clinton - crony information to the FBI . Still the FBI and Justice Department elected not to tell the FISA court that the Clinton campaign was paying for [TGT] ’ s unverified unverifiable anti - Trump research . I spent many months assuring people that nothing like this could ever happen — that the FBI and Justice Department would not countenance the provision to the FISA court of uncorroborated allegations of heinous misconduct . When Trump enthusiasts accused them of rigging the process I countered that they probably had not even used [TGT]dossier . If the Justice Department had used it in writing a FISA warrant application I insisted that the FBI would independently verify any important facts presented to the court make any disclosures that ought in fairness be made so the judge could evaluate the credibility of the sources and compellingly demonstrate probable cause before alleging that an American was a foreign agent . | 1Neutral
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178 | LeBron James | CLEVELAND , Ohio - Three of LeBron James ' cars were on display in Public Square on Saturday . | CLEVELAND , Ohio - Three of [TGT] ' cars were on display in Public Square on Saturday . | 1Neutral
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179 | Bay Area political events : Bernie Sanders , no-hate march . | Bernie Sanders | Bay Area political events : Bernie Sanders , no-hate march .
Bernie Sanders : Sen. Bernie Sanders , independent-Vt. , speaks at a California Nurses Association-sponsored rally in favor of a single-payer health care system .
Fifteen Senate Democrats are flirting with a ... more Photo : Andrew Harrer , Bloomberg Bay Area political events : Bernie Sanders , no-hate march 1 1 Back to Gallery . | Bay Area political events : [TGT] , no-hate march .
[TGT] : Sen. Bernie Sanders , independent-Vt. , speaks at a California Nurses Association-sponsored rally in favor of a single-payer health care system .
Fifteen Senate Democrats are flirting with a ... more Photo : Andrew Harrer , Bloomberg Bay Area political events : [TGT] , no-hate march 1 1 Back to Gallery . | 1Neutral
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180 | Putin suggests he will work on a farm if he loses election | Vladimir Putin | on - Don on Feb . 1 . ( Alexei Druzhinin / Pool / Sputnik / Kremlin / AP ) Vladimir Putin visited an agricultural equipment factory Thursday — and quipped that if he were to lose upcoming elections he might choose a new career in farming . The Russian president made the comments while sitting in a combine harvester simulator at a Rostselmash factory in Rostov - on - Don . If things didn ' t go well in the upcoming election “ I ' ll start work as a combine driver after March 18 ” Putin said according to footage published by state - funded news network RT . “ No problem no problem at all ” Konstantin Babkin chief executive of Rostselmash responded . Putin may not have reason to worry . Last year he became the longest - serving Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin and though he delayed his announcement about whether he would run in the upcoming elections until December polls suggest he has little real opposition . The most recent data from VTsIOM for example shows that 69 . 9 percent of Russians say they will vote for the incumbent president in March ' s election . According to VTsIOM ' s polling Putin ' s closest competitor is Pavel Grudinin a candidate for Russia ' s Communist Party who has about 6 percent of the vote . Meet one of the presidential candidates running against Vladimir Putin in Russia . ( David Filipov Sarah Parnass / The Washington Post ) Russia ’ s most prominent Putin critic Alexei Navalny is barred from the ballot and there is a split among opposition voters about tactics . While some want to boycott the ballot to undermine its legitimacy other liberals plan to vote for government critics like Grudinin or journalist Ksenia Sobchak . In a rare instance Friday Russia ' s Central Election Commission criticized Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for speaking in Putin ' s favor ahead of the election . “ The level of Putin ’ s popularity goes far beyond the borders of Russia . Hardly anyone can question Putin ’ s being the absolute leader of the public opinion the absolute leader of the political pinnacle that hardly anyone can compete with seriously at the present stage ” Peskov said of Putin on Monday according to state news agency Tass . Peskov subsequently apologized for his statement and said he would be more cautious in the future . More on WorldViews Russian President Vladimir Putin struck a familiar chord at his year - end news conference on Dec . 14 praising President Trump ' s economic record and calling for improved U . S .- Russia relations . ( Joyce Lee Jenny Starrs / The Washington Post ) Putin saw the Panama Papers as a personal attack and may have wanted revenge Russian authors say | on - Don on Feb . 1 . ( Alexei Druzhinin / Pool / Sputnik / Kremlin / AP ) [TGT]visited an agricultural equipment factory Thursday — and quipped that if [TGT] were to lose upcoming elections [TGT] might choose a new career in farming . [TGT]made the comments while sitting in a combine harvester simulator at a Rostselmash factory in Rostov - on - Don . If things didn ' t go well in the upcoming election “ I ' ll start work as a combine driver after March 18 ” [TGT]said according to footage published by state - funded news network RT . “ No problem no problem at all ” Konstantin Babkin chief executive of Rostselmash responded . [TGT]may not have reason to worry . Last year [TGT] became the longest - serving Kremlin leader since Joseph Stalin and though [TGT] delayed [TGT] announcement about whether [TGT] would run in the upcoming elections until December polls suggest [TGT] has little real opposition . The most recent data from VTsIOM for example shows that 69 . 9 percent of Russians say they will vote for the incumbent president in March ' s election . According to VTsIOM ' s polling Putin ' s closest competitor is Pavel Grudinin a candidate for Russia ' s Communist Party who has about 6 percent of the vote . Meet one of the presidential candidates running against Vladimir Putin in Russia . ( David Filipov Sarah Parnass / The Washington Post ) Russia ’ s most prominent Putin critic Alexei Navalny is barred from the ballot and there is a split among opposition voters about tactics . While some want to boycott the ballot to undermine its legitimacy other liberals plan to vote for government critics like Grudinin or journalist Ksenia Sobchak . In a rare instance Friday Russia ' s Central Election Commission criticized Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov for speaking in Putin ' s favor ahead of the election . “ The level of Putin ’ s popularity goes far beyond the borders of Russia . Hardly anyone can question Putin ’ s being the absolute leader of the public opinion the absolute leader of the political pinnacle that hardly anyone can compete with seriously at the present stage ” Peskov said of Putin on Monday according to state news agency Tass . Peskov subsequently apologized for his statement and said he would be more cautious in the future . More on [TGT]struck a familiar chord at his year - end news conference on Dec . 14 praising President Trump ' s economic record and calling for improved U . S .- Russia relations . ( Joyce Lee Jenny Starrs / The Washington Post ) [TGT]saw the Panama Papers as a personal attack and may have wanted revenge Russian authors say | 2Positive
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181 | LeBron James Knows When He 's Leaving the Cavs and Where He 's Going Next : Reports . | LeBron James | "Accordingly ," Vecsey wrote , "I 'm publicly terminating the pandemic of speculation surrounding LeBron James ' playing plans past this season .
While this question has surrounded LeBron James for much of the offseason and will follow him when the NBA begins play next month , a decision has already been made , according to reports .
I 'm comfortable now in stating unequivocally , LeBron will leave the Cavaliers a second time and join the Lakers , and return the team to LA Lore status ."
Related : LeBron James scouts L.A. schools as Lakers rumors build . | "Accordingly ," Vecsey wrote , "I 'm publicly terminating the pandemic of speculation surrounding [TGT] playing plans past this season .
While this question has surrounded [TGT] for much of the offseason and will follow [TGT] when the NBA begins play next month , a decision has already been made , according to reports .
I 'm comfortable now in stating unequivocally , LeBron will leave the Cavaliers a second time and join the Lakers , and return the team to LA Lore status ."
Related : [TGT] scouts L.A. schools as Lakers rumors build . | 1Neutral
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182 | Openness or protection? Czechs' choice echoes EU U.S. votes | Milos Zeman | Czechs like fellow voters from Europe to the United States must weigh promises of a more outward - looking society against protection from the uncertainties of the global economy and immigration when they elect their president later this month . In the run - off on Jan . 26 - 27 academic Jiri Drahos will face incumbent political veteran Milos Zeman in a contest that echoes a string of elections in the past two years across the European Union as well as Donald Trump ’ s battle with Hillary Clinton for the White House . Zeman - a 73 - year - old who has courted the far - right in rejecting migrants from Muslim countries while pursuing warmer relations with Russia and China - won the first round with 38 . 6 percent of the vote results showed on Saturday . However Drahos finished a solid second on 26 . 6 percent with support from liberal voters attracted by his policies favoring EU integration . The 68 - year - old has also won endorsement from most of the other candidates eliminated in the first round . Czech presidents wield limited executive powers but from their office in Prague Castle they appoint prime ministers and represent the nation abroad . They can also influence public opinion at a time when Czech political economic and social debate shows similarities to that in the United States France and Austria as well as in fellow post - Communist neighbors Poland Hungary and Slovakia . Czech voters like others are split between those who have benefited from European integration and those who fear the impact of globalization and cultural change . Tomas Klvana a professor at NYU in Prague draws parallels between Zeman ’ s voter appeal and the U . S . president ‘ s . “ The pattern is affected by domestic issues but this is similar to Trump turning to the same voters ” he told Reuters . “ On one side there are more successful better educated younger people not afraid of opening up integrating economically ... and ( on the other ) are people who are less successful less educated have lower income and live in smaller towns .” Klvana also saw similarities between Zeman and two other central European leaders right - wing Polish party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who have both picked fights with EU partners . POLITICAL NOVICE Drahos won the first round in the capital Prague which has grown prosperous since the return to a free - market economy . Zeman won in all other regions and performed particularly strongly in areas that have struggled since the fall of Communism in 1989 . Drahos a soft - spoken political novice and professor of chemistry offers a direct contrast to Zeman who has used expletives in live debates relishes drinking and smokes heavily . In politics since the fall of Communism Zeman also suffers from diabetes and has difficulty walking . The clash is similar to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen ’ s fight against a far - right opponent in a 2016 presidential vote Klvana said . Beyond the region French President Emmanuel Macron also offered a liberal vision when he beat far - right candidate Marine Le Pen last year . Czech President Milos Zeman attends a news conference after polling stations closed for the country ' s direct presidential election in Prague the Czech Republic January 13 2018 . REUTERS / Matej Stransky / Pool MIGRATION Zeman has won votes with a tough stance on migration . The ethnically homogenous country of 10 . 6 million is united against accepting large number of refugees even though few came in 2015 while hundreds of thousands arrived in neighboring Germany . Like Zeman Drahos opposes EU quotas that would force member states to share asylum seekers but he would accept a limited number seeking shelter if they met certain criteria . While Drahos lacks Zeman ’ s charisma among some voters opinion polls show fewer view the father of two daughters in a negative light than the incumbent . Drahos who comes from a small town on the Slovak border joined the Czech Academy of Sciences in 1976 but missed out on promotion until the 1989 Velvet Revolution as he refused offers to join the ruling Communist Party . The physical chemist who plays the piano and has sung in a chamber choir for four decades eventually chaired the academy from 2009 - 2017 . SECOND ROUND MATHS While Drahos trailed Zeman in the first round by 12 percentage points he immediately won endorsements from five other candidates who collectively won 32 . 6 percent - making him a slight favorite at betting firms . “ The aim of Zeman ’ s team will be to discourage those voters who are not rock - solid from voting for Drahos ” said Marek Vocel a former campaign leader for Karel Schwarzenberg who lost to Zeman in the last election in 2013 . “ Migration is a theme that moves almost everybody . I would expect that to feature in the debates .” Zeman has the backing of the Communists as well as the far - right anti - EU and anti - NATO SPD party . On social media and websites that often carry pro - Russian content Drahos was accused on Monday of being a weakling who would threaten the country and give in to foreign interests . Drahos brushed off allegations that he had informed for the Communist secret police or worse . “ My adversaries are hoping that if they ram down people ’ s throats that I was an StB collaborator or a pedophile it will stick with someone . I know Milos Zeman will come with blows below the belt ” he told daily Mlada fronta Dnes in an interview published on Monday . Zeman has insisted since declaring his candidacy last March that he was not actively campaigning . But he has had a weekly show on a sympathetic TV channel and traveled the country to meet voters while posters proclaiming “ Zeman Again ” hang around the country . He refused to face his first round rivals on TV but has agreed to a debate with Drahos for the run - off . Drahos ’ s biggest declared campaign donations are from self - made businessmen electronics firm founder Dalibor Dedek and real estate developer Ludek Sekyra and asset management office BPD Partners . Zeman ’ s donations include 2 million Czech crowns ($ 96 000 ) from a firm owned by arms industry entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad . Former President Vaclav Klaus who also holds pro - Russian and anti - EU views has backed Zeman . After the first round he thanked Zeman voters for “ not bowing to foreign interests ” migration and the related “ threat of liquidation of European and Czech culture traditions and values ”. | Czechs like fellow voters from Europe to the United States must weigh promises of a more outward - looking society against protection from the uncertainties of the global economy and immigration when they elect their president later this month . In the run - off on Jan . 26 - 27 academic Jiri Drahos will face incumbent political veteran Milos Zeman in a contest that echoes a string of elections in the past two years across the European Union as well as Donald Trump ’ s battle with Hillary Clinton for the White House . Zeman - a 73 - year - old who has courted the far - right in rejecting migrants from Muslim countries while pursuing warmer relations with Russia and China - won the first round with 38 . 6 percent of the vote results showed on Saturday . However Drahos finished a solid second on 26 . 6 percent with support from liberal voters attracted by his policies favoring EU integration . The 68 - year - old has also won endorsement from most of the other candidates eliminated in the first round . Czech presidents wield limited executive powers but from their office in Prague Castle they appoint prime ministers and represent the nation abroad . They can also influence public opinion at a time when Czech political economic and social debate shows similarities to that in the United States France and Austria as well as in fellow post - Communist neighbors Poland Hungary and Slovakia . Czech voters like others are split between those who have benefited from European integration and those who fear the impact of globalization and cultural change . Tomas Klvana a professor at NYU in Prague draws parallels between [TGT] ’ s voter appeal and the U . S . president ‘ s . “ The pattern is affected by domestic issues but this is similar to Trump turning to the same voters ” he told Reuters . “ On one side there are more successful better educated younger people not afraid of opening up integrating economically ... and ( on the other ) are people who are less successful less educated have lower income and live in smaller towns .” Klvana also saw similarities between [TGT] and two other central European leaders right - wing Polish party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban who have both picked fights with EU partners . POLITICAL NOVICE Drahos won the first round in the capital Prague which has grown prosperous since the return to a free - market economy . Zeman won in all other regions and performed particularly strongly in areas that have struggled since the fall of Communism in 1989 . Drahos a soft - spoken political novice and professor of chemistry offers a direct contrast to Zeman who has used expletives in live debates relishes drinking and smokes heavily . In politics since the fall of Communism Zeman also suffers from diabetes and has difficulty walking . The clash is similar to Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen ’ s fight against a far - right opponent in a 2016 presidential vote Klvana said . Beyond the region French President Emmanuel Macron also offered a liberal vision when he beat far - right candidate Marine Le Pen last year . Czech President Milos Zeman attends a news conference after polling stations closed for the country ' s direct presidential election in Prague the Czech Republic January 13 2018 . REUTERS / Matej Stransky / Pool MIGRATION Zeman has won votes with a tough stance on migration . The ethnically homogenous country of 10 . 6 million is united against accepting large number of refugees even though few came in 2015 while hundreds of thousands arrived in neighboring Germany . Like Zeman Drahos opposes EU quotas that would force member states to share asylum seekers but he would accept a limited number seeking shelter if they met certain criteria . While Drahos lacks Zeman ’ s charisma among some voters opinion polls show fewer view the father of two daughters in a negative light than the incumbent . Drahos who comes from a small town on the Slovak border joined the Czech Academy of Sciences in 1976 but missed out on promotion until the 1989 Velvet Revolution as he refused offers to join the ruling Communist Party . The physical chemist who plays the piano and has sung in a chamber choir for four decades eventually chaired the academy from 2009 - 2017 . SECOND ROUND MATHS While Drahos trailed Zeman in the first round by 12 percentage points he immediately won endorsements from five other candidates who collectively won 32 . 6 percent - making him a slight favorite at betting firms . “ The aim of Zeman ’ s team will be to discourage those voters who are not rock - solid from voting for Drahos ” said Marek Vocel a former campaign leader for Karel Schwarzenberg who lost to Zeman in the last election in 2013 . “ Migration is a theme that moves almost everybody . I would expect that to feature in the debates .” Zeman has the backing of the Communists as well as the far - right anti - EU and anti - NATO SPD party . On social media and websites that often carry pro - Russian content Drahos was accused on Monday of being a weakling who would threaten the country and give in to foreign interests . Drahos brushed off allegations that he had informed for the Communist secret police or worse . “ My adversaries are hoping that if they ram down people ’ s throats that I was an StB collaborator or a pedophile it will stick with someone . I know Milos Zeman will come with blows below the belt ” he told daily Mlada fronta Dnes in an interview published on Monday . Zeman has insisted since declaring his candidacy last March that he was not actively campaigning . But he has had a weekly show on a sympathetic TV channel and traveled the country to meet voters while posters proclaiming “ Zeman Again ” hang around the country . He refused to face his first round rivals on TV but has agreed to a debate with Drahos for the run - off . Drahos ’ s biggest declared campaign donations are from self - made businessmen electronics firm founder Dalibor Dedek and real estate developer Ludek Sekyra and asset management office BPD Partners . Zeman ’ s donations include 2 million Czech crowns ($ 96 000 ) from a firm owned by arms industry entrepreneur Jaroslav Strnad . Former President Vaclav Klaus who also holds pro - Russian and anti - EU views has backed Zeman . After the first round he thanked Zeman voters for “ not bowing to foreign interests ” migration and the related “ threat of liquidation of European and Czech culture traditions and values ”. | 2Positive
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183 | Dwyane Wade : ` Like Peanut Butter and Jelly ' With LeBron James . | LeBron James | Dwyane Wade says he makes a perfect pairing with LeBron James , comparing their partnership to peanut butter and jelly .
When he arrived earlier this week , Wade found himself in familiar company : James , Cavs assistant coaches and former teammates James Posey and Damon Jones , and players he 's battled with over the years like Derrick Rose , Kyle Korver and Richard Jefferson .
Wade and James still ca n't believe they 've been re-united in Cleveland , with a chance to compete for a third NBA championship together . | Dwyane Wade says he makes a perfect pairing with [TGT] , comparing their partnership to peanut butter and jelly .
When he arrived earlier this week , Wade found himself in familiar company : [TGT] , Cavs assistant coaches and former teammates James Posey and Damon Jones , and players he 's battled with over the years like Derrick Rose , Kyle Korver and Richard Jefferson .
Wade and [TGT] still ca n't believe they 've been re-united in Cleveland , with a chance to compete for a third NBA championship together . | 2Positive
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184 | Review: Troubadour Vance Joy delivers on 'Nation of Two' | Vance Joy | Vance Joy " Nation of Two " ( Atlantic ) If ukuleles make their way back onto the pop charts you can probably thank Vance Joy . The Australian singer - songwriter delivers an exciting sophomore effort with " Nation of Two " a 13 - track collection in which he proves he isn ' t too cool to play a little uke banjo or even that guitar - ukulele hybrid known as a guitalele . Joy born James Keogh had a breakout hit with 2013 ' s ukulele - led " Riptide " and became the opening act for Taylor Swift . This is his time to really shine — and he seizes it . The sensitive strummer links up with several veteran songwriters — including three tunes with Dave Bassett and three with Dan Wilson — for an album of very personal love songs . Joy is all over the CD writing or co - writing every song and even contributing to the cover art . The clear standout track is the alt - rock anthem " We ' re Going Home " but other beauties include the uke - led ditty " Saturday Sun " the slow - burning " Alone With Me " and the achingly beautiful " I ' m With You ." If you yearn for music by Mumford & Sons The Lumineers and even early Ed Sheeran these are your jams — earthy folky and honest . Joy ' s songs are nicely not overly produced allowing a little charming vocal strain every once in a while . Joy ' s co - writers tend to elevate his songs into something a bit more substantial whether it ' s with a brass section or strings pushing him to go bigger . The four tunes he is credited with writing alone are clearly the weakest but also the most personal . It all adds up to an appealing album from an artist with a promising future . " Won ' t you take your time on me ?" he sings in one song and it seems absolutely rude not to . ___ Mark Kennedy is at http :// twitter . com / KennedyTwits The Associated Press . | [TGT] Nation of Two " ( Atlantic ) If ukuleles make their way back onto the pop charts you can probably thank [TGT]. The Australian singer - songwriter delivers an exciting sophomore effort with " Nation of Two " a 13 - track collection in which he proves he isn ' t too cool to play a little uke banjo or even that guitar - ukulele hybrid known as a guitalele . [TGT] born James Keogh had a breakout hit with 2013 ' s ukulele - led " Riptide " and became the opening act for Taylor Swift . This is his time to really shine — and he seizes it . The sensitive strummer links up with several veteran songwriters — including three tunes with Dave Bassett and three with Dan Wilson — for an album of very personal love songs . [TGT]is all over the CD writing or co - writing every song and even contributing to the cover art . The clear standout track is the alt - rock anthem " We ' re Going Home " but other beauties include the uke - led ditty " Saturday Sun " the slow - burning " Alone With Me " and the achingly beautiful " I ' m With You ." If you yearn for music by Mumford & Sons The Lumineers and even early Ed Sheeran these are your jams — earthy folky and honest . [TGT] songs are nicely not overly produced allowing a little charming vocal strain every once in a while . [TGT] co - writers tend to elevate his songs into something a bit more substantial whether it ' s with a brass section or strings pushing him to go bigger . The four tunes he is credited with writing alone are clearly the weakest but also the most personal . It all adds up to an appealing album from an artist with a promising future . " Won ' t you take your time on me ?" he sings in one song and it seems absolutely rude not to . ___ Mark Kennedy is at http :// twitter . com / KennedyTwits The Associated Press . | 2Positive
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185 | LeBron James Says He 'd Sign Colin Kaepernick If He Owned NFL Team . | LeBron James | "My voice and what I do in my community and what I stand for -- I do n't think that I have to show you guys more getting on the knee or doing something else or trying to create something else ," James told reporters ."
LeBron James does n't plan to take a knee during the national anthem when the NBA season opens .
That said , James took time during his media day press conference Monday to bemoan Colin Kaepernick 's ongoing unemployment and offer his support .
"I salute Colin Kaepernick for being as powerful as he was and being the one that he had to fall on his sword , unfortunately -- and I hate that ," James told reporters .
James said he does not feel player protests are about disrespecting the military or the flag but that he does not plan on joining the movement . | "My voice and what I do in my community and what I stand for -- I do n't think that I have to show you guys more getting on the knee or doing something else or trying to create something else ," [TGT] told reporters ."
[TGT] does n't plan to take a knee during the national anthem when the NBA season opens .
That said , [TGT] took time during [TGT] media day press conference Monday to bemoan Colin Kaepernick 's ongoing unemployment and offer [TGT] support .
"I salute Colin Kaepernick for being as powerful as he was and being the one that he had to fall on his sword , unfortunately -- and I hate that ," [TGT] told reporters .
[TGT] said [TGT] does not feel player protests are about disrespecting the military or the flag but that [TGT] does not plan on joining the movement . | 1Neutral
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186 | What the heck does Steve Bannon do now? | Trump Steve Bannon | ( CNN ) This time last year Steve Bannon was on top of the world . He had shepherded Donald Trump to the most unlikely presidential victory ever . He was preparing to go with Trump to the White House as a senior strategist . He was the new hot thing . Bannon is suddenly a man without a friend left in the world . So what ' s his next act ? To answer that I reached out to my friend Josh Green who wrote the incredible Bannon biography " Devil ' s Bargain : Steve Bannon Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency ." Our email conversation about all things Bannon is below . Cillizza : Josh as the foremost Bannonologist in the country -- if that ' s not a thing I am making it a thing right now -- I turn to you for wisdom at this amazing moment . Steve Bannon appears to be totally and completely on the outs with Donald Trump his political patron after talking ( at length ) to Michael Wolff for " Fire and Fury ." Trump said that Bannon lost his mind ! Trump appears to be WAY angrier at Bannon than when he actually fired him a few months back . So is this the end of the end ? A seven - year political friendship turned into " Sloppy Steve " Green : What Bannon did by talking to Wolff for this book -- and by extension probably talking to me for my book -- is pour a can of gasoline over his head and light a match . Trump appears to have broken with him in a way that seems final and ultimate even tagging him with a dreaded nickname " Sloppy Steve " which I think we can all admit is pretty fantastic . Bannon has been in the doghouse before and come back . I hear that he thinks he can come back from this too . We ' ll see ; nothing ' s ever quite impossible in Trump ' s world . You can never say never . As Bannon has told people in the past Trump is entirely transactional . But if he loses his platform at Breitbart News then it ' s hard for me to see how he ' ll be able to wield the kind of influence that I describe in " Devil ' s Bargain " and that he seemed to have regained after leaving the White House last year . Cillizza : Let ' s talk about Bannon and Breitbart . There ' s reporting out there they may oust him . And Rebekah Mercer one of the major financial patrons of Breitbart ( and Bannon ) said publicly that she and he are not on speaking terms and she ' s not going to be funding what he does anymore . What ' s weird to me is that it appears Bannon ' s quotes on Trump to Wolff have had a far more profound effect on his role at Breitbart -- and in the conservative firmament more generally -- then when he was fired by Trump ! After that he was welcomed as a conquering hero back into Breitbart ! Is it solely the Wolff book ? And is Bannon really in danger of losing his Breitbart platform ? Green : The reason uber - wealthy people like the Mercers become involved in politics is to exert influence . Bannon was an agent of that influence and the architect . And he did for a time have a profound influence on American politics that culminated in Trump ' s election . Bannon was the real force behind Breitbart ; the head honcho at GAI which produced the " Clinton Cash " book so damaging to Hillary ' s candidacy ; and a board member at Cambridge Analytica : The reason uber - wealthy people like the Mercers become involved in politics is to exert influence . Bannon was an agent of that influence and the architect . And he did for a time have a profound influence on American politics that culminated in Trump ' s election . Bannon was the real force behind Breitbart ; the head honcho at GAI which produced the " Clinton Cash " book so damaging to Hillary ' s candidacy ; and a board member at Cambridge Analytica the data research firm that worked on the Trump campaign So as an investment Bannon really did pay off for the Mercers like early -' 80s Apple stock . The problem is that effectiveness waned almost immediately upon entering the White House and that coupled with his megalomania and his belief that he was the true leader of the nationalist movement backfired on him big time . Trump obviously doesn ' t value him the way that he did a year ago . With the humiliation of Moore ' s loss in Alabama and the devastating quotes in Wolff ' s book attacking Trump ' s family there was really no reason to keep him around . And when Trump turns on someone he really TURNS on them ! Cillizza : I am STUNNED that Bannon ever entertained the idea of a presidential bid . That would um never work . But let ' s assume -- just for the purpose of the conversation -- he hangs on at Breitbart . How does he start to rebuild what he ' s lost ? And just for the thought experiment : If Breitbart jettisons Bannon -- where does he go then ? Green : Look here on planet Earth we ' re all rightly astonished that Bannon holds ( held ?) But the psychology would work as follows : Bannon has always thought that Trump was riding a global nationalist wave that ' d swept across Europe the UK and now the US . Trump embraced that politics -- Bannon ' s politics -- and got elected . So clearly the ideas resonate in the US . If Trump were to decide against running for re - election Bannon believing he ' s the true carrier of the faith must ' ve thought " Why not me ?" Like his ex - boss he ' s always been a guy with a healthy ego . But if he were to lose the Breitbart platform it ' s hard for me to envision what vehicle he would use to lead such a movement and how he would fund it . But he ' s not self - fund - a - presidential - campaign rich . So a presidential bid is off . [ Shakes hands nods walks away .] BUT what then does Bannon do ? This guy is a news animal . He appears to be totally obsessed with the media the battle of ideas between the two parties all of it . It feels impossible for someone like Steve Bannon to just disappear from well anywhere -- especially a world in which Donald Trump is president . Green : In the near term Bannon does ( and is doing ) what everybody who wants to influence and ingratiate themselves to Trump does : Flatter him with obsequious praise . It shouldn ' t be lost on anyone that after Bannon called Trump a " great man " on his radio show on the evening of his own defenestration Trump quickly learned about it ( probably from a cable TV chyron ) and mentioned this to reporters at the White House pool spray on Thursday . I ' m skeptical it ' ll work . But that ' s the only path back for Bannon that I can imagine . Or heck why doesn ' t he run for president ? It ' s an automatic way to get in front of the cameras and spread a message . | ( CNN ) This time last year Steve Bannon was on top of the world . He had shepherded Donald Trump to the most unlikely presidential victory ever . He was preparing to go with Trump to the White House as a senior strategist . He was the new hot thing . Bannon is suddenly a man without a friend left in the world . So what ' s his next act ? To answer that I reached out to my friend Josh Green who wrote the incredible Bannon biography " Devil ' s Bargain : Steve Bannon Donald Trump and the Storming of the Presidency ." Our email conversation about all things Bannon is below . Cillizza : Josh as the foremost Bannonologist in the country -- if that ' s not a thing I am making it a thing right now -- I turn to you for wisdom at this amazing moment . Steve Bannon appears to be totally and completely on the outs with Donald Trump his political patron after talking ( at length ) to Michael Wolff for " Fire and Fury ." Trump said that Bannon lost his mind ! Trump appears to be WAY angrier at Bannon than when he actually fired him a few months back . So is this the end of the end ? A seven - year political friendship turned into " Sloppy Steve " Green : What Bannon did by talking to Wolff for this book -- and by extension probably talking to me for my book -- is pour a can of gasoline over his head and light a match . Trump appears to have broken with him in a way that seems final and ultimate even tagging him with a dreaded nickname " Sloppy Steve " which I think we can all admit is pretty fantastic . Bannon has been in the doghouse before and come back . I hear that he thinks he can come back from this too . We ' ll see ; nothing ' s ever quite impossible in Trump ' s world . You can never say never . As Bannon has told people in the past Trump is entirely transactional . But if [TGT][TGT] loses [TGT] platform at Breitbart News then it ' s hard for me to see how he ' ll be able to wield the kind of influence that I describe in " Devil ' s Bargain " and that he seemed to have regained after leaving the White House last year . Cillizza : Let ' s talk about Bannon and Breitbart . There ' s reporting out there they may oust him . And Rebekah Mercer one of the major financial patrons of Breitbart ( and Bannon ) said publicly that she and he are not on speaking terms and she ' s not going to be funding what he does anymore . What ' s weird to me is that it appears Bannon ' s quotes on Trump to Wolff have had a far more profound effect on his role at Breitbart -- and in the conservative firmament more generally -- then when he was fired by Trump ! After that he was welcomed as a conquering hero back into Breitbart ! Is it solely the Wolff book ? And is Bannon really in danger of losing his Breitbart platform ? Green : The reason uber - wealthy people like the Mercers become involved in politics is to exert influence . Bannon was an agent of that influence and the architect . And he did for a time have a profound influence on American politics that culminated in Trump ' s election . Bannon was the real force behind Breitbart ; the head honcho at GAI which produced the " Clinton Cash " book so damaging to Hillary ' s candidacy ; and a board member at Cambridge Analytica : The reason uber - wealthy people like the Mercers become involved in politics is to exert influence . Bannon was an agent of that influence and the architect . And he did for a time have a profound influence on American politics that culminated in Trump ' s election . Bannon was the real force behind Breitbart ; the head honcho at GAI which produced the " Clinton Cash " book so damaging to Hillary ' s candidacy ; and a board member at Cambridge Analytica the data research firm that worked on the Trump campaign So as an investment Bannon really did pay off for the Mercers like early -' 80s Apple stock . The problem is that effectiveness waned almost immediately upon entering the White House and that coupled with his megalomania and his belief that he was the true leader of the nationalist movement backfired on him big time . Trump obviously doesn ' t value him the way that he did a year ago . With the humiliation of Moore ' s loss in Alabama and the devastating quotes in Wolff ' s book attacking Trump ' s family there was really no reason to keep him around . And when Trump turns on someone he really TURNS on them ! Cillizza : I am STUNNED that Bannon ever entertained the idea of a presidential bid . That would um never work . But let ' s assume -- just for the purpose of the conversation -- he hangs on at Breitbart . How does he start to rebuild what he ' s lost ? And just for the thought experiment : If Breitbart jettisons Bannon -- where does he go then ? Green : Look here on planet Earth we ' re all rightly astonished that Bannon holds ( held ?) But the psychology would work as follows : Bannon has always thought that Trump was riding a global nationalist wave that ' d swept across Europe the UK and now the US . Trump embraced that politics -- Bannon ' s politics -- and got elected . So clearly the ideas resonate in the US . If Trump were to decide against running for re - election Bannon believing he ' s the true carrier of the faith must ' ve thought " Why not me ?" Like his ex - boss he ' s always been a guy with a healthy ego . But if he were to lose the Breitbart platform it ' s hard for me to envision what vehicle he would use to lead such a movement and how he would fund it . But he ' s not self - fund - a - presidential - campaign rich . So a presidential bid is off . [ Shakes hands nods walks away .] BUT what then does Bannon do ? This guy is a news animal . He appears to be totally obsessed with the media the battle of ideas between the two parties all of it . It feels impossible for someone like Steve Bannon to just disappear from well anywhere -- especially a world in which Donald Trump is president . Green : In the near term Bannon does ( and is doing ) what everybody who wants to influence and ingratiate themselves to Trump does : Flatter him with obsequious praise . It shouldn ' t be lost on anyone that after Bannon called Trump a " great man " on his radio show on the evening of his own defenestration Trump quickly learned about it ( probably from a cable TV chyron ) and mentioned this to reporters at the White House pool spray on Thursday . I ' m skeptical it ' ll work . But that ' s the only path back for Bannon that I can imagine . Or heck why doesn ' [TGT] [TGT] run for president ? It ' s an automatic way to get in front of the cameras and spread a message . | 2Positive
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187 | Bernie Sanders to visit SF on Friday for state nurses convention . | Bernie Sanders | Bernie Sanders to visit SF on Friday for state nurses convention .
Photo : Tom BrennerThe New York Times Image 1 of 6 Caption Close Image 1 of 6 Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
less Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
The former presidential candidate will be in San Francisco on Friday to address a ... more Photo : Tom BrennerThe New York Times Image 2 of 6 Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
On the same day that Republican lawmakers were pitching a last-gasp effort to undo the Affordable Care Act , Sanders said that 15 Democratic senators have signed on to what he called a a Medicare-for-all , single-payer health care system .
-LRB- Tom BrennerThe New York Times -RRB- less Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
, holds a news conference regarding health care policy , on Capitol Hill in ... more Photo : TOM BRENNER , NYT Image 3 of 6 Senator Kamala Harris , a Democrat from California , speaks as Senator Bernie Sanders , an independent from Vermont , left , listens during a health care bill news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , D.C. , U.S. , on Wednesday , Sept. 13 , 2017 .
Photographer : Andrew HarrerBloomberg less Senator Kamala Harris , a Democrat from California , speaks as Senator Bernie Sanders , an independent from Vermont , left , listens during a health care bill news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , D.C. , ... more Photo : Andrew Harrer , Bloomberg Image 4 of 6 Sens. Elizabeth Warren -LRB- D-Mass . -RRB-
look on as Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
Sanders said that 15 Democratic senators have signed on to what he called a "a Medicare-for-all , single-payer health care system ."
look on as Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
spoke at a news conference on health care policy , on Capitol Hill in Washington , ... more Photo : TOM BRENNER , NYT Image 5 of 6 Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , second from right , declines to speak with a reporter as he walks to a luncheon with Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington , Tuesday , Sept. 12 , 2017 .
-LRB- AP PhotoSusan Walsh -RRB- Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , second from right , declines to speak with a reporter as he walks to a luncheon with Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington , Tuesday , Sept. 12 , 2017 .
-LRB- AP PhotoSusan Walsh -RRB- Photo : Susan Walsh , Associated Press Image 6 of 6 A doctor and other supporters gather before Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , and other democratic Senators arrive for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , Wednesday , Sept. 13 , 2017 , to unveil their Medicare for All legislation to reform health care .
-LRB- AP PhotoAndrew Harnik -RRB- less A doctor and other supporters gather before Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , and other democratic Senators arrive for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , Wednesday , Sept. 13 , 2017 , to unveil their ... more Photo : Andrew Harnik , Associated Press Bernie Sanders to visit SF on Friday for state nurses convention 1 6 Back to Gallery .
Sen. Bernie Sanders will visit San Francisco on Friday to promote his recently introduced Medicare for All plan at a convention of California nurses .
Sanders introduced his Medicare for All bill on Sept. 13 .
The California Nurses Association , though , welcomes Sanders ' legislation as part of a "common fight for health care for all and social justice ," RoseAnn DeMoro , the union 's executive director , said in a press release announcing Sanders ' visit .
The event begins on Thursday and will feature speakers , including Sanders ' wife , Jane O'Meara Sanders , founder of the Sanders Institute .
Also set to speak are playwright Eve Ensler , political commentator Van Jones and Nina Turner , president of Our Revolution , an organization founded by leaders of Sanders ' campaign .
Sanders is scheduled to take the stage at 1 p.m. Friday . | [TGT] to visit SF on Friday for state nurses convention .
Photo : Tom BrennerThe New York Times Image 1 of 6 Caption Close Image 1 of [TGT] -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
less Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
The former presidential candidate will be in San Francisco on Friday to address a ... more Photo : Tom BrennerThe New York Times Image 2 of [TGT] -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
On the same day that Republican lawmakers were pitching a last-gasp effort to undo the Affordable Care Act , [TGT] said that 15 Democratic senators have signed on to what [TGT] called a a Medicare-for-all , single-payer health care system .
-LRB- Tom BrennerThe New York Times -RRB- less Sen. Bernie Sanders -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
, holds a news conference regarding health care policy , on Capitol Hill in ... more Photo : TOM BRENNER , NYT Image 3 of 6 Senator Kamala Harris , a Democrat from California , speaks as Senator Bernie Sanders , an independent from Vermont , left , listens during a health care bill news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , D.C. , U.S. , on Wednesday , Sept. 13 , 2017 .
Photographer : Andrew HarrerBloomberg less Senator Kamala Harris , a Democrat from California , speaks as Senator Bernie Sanders , an independent from Vermont , left , listens during a health care bill news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , D.C. , ... more Photo : Andrew Harrer , Bloomberg Image 4 of 6 Sens. Elizabeth Warren -LRB- D-Mass . -RRB-
look on as [TGT] -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
[TGT] said that 15 Democratic senators have signed on to what he called a "a Medicare-for-all , single-payer health care system ."
look on as [TGT] -LRB- I-Vt . -RRB-
spoke at a news conference on health care policy , on Capitol Hill in Washington , ... more Photo : TOM BRENNER , NYT Image 5 of 6 Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , second from right , declines to speak with a reporter as he walks to a luncheon with Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington , Tuesday , Sept. 12 , 2017 .
-LRB- AP PhotoSusan Walsh -RRB- Sen. Bernie Sanders , I-Vt. , second from right , declines to speak with a reporter as he walks to a luncheon with Democrats on Capitol Hill in Washington , Tuesday , Sept. 12 , 2017 .
-LRB- AP PhotoSusan Walsh -RRB- Photo : Susan Walsh , Associated Press Image 6 of 6 A doctor and other supporters gather before [TGT] arrive for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , Wednesday , Sept. 13 , 2017 , to unveil their Medicare for All legislation to reform health care .
-LRB- AP PhotoAndrew Harnik -RRB- less A doctor and other supporters gather before [TGT] arrive for a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington , Wednesday , Sept. 13 , 2017 , to unveil their ... more Photo : Andrew Harnik , Associated Press [TGT] to visit SF on Friday for state nurses convention 1 6 Back to Gallery .
[TGT] will visit San Francisco on Friday to promote [TGT] recently introduced Medicare for All plan at a convention of California nurses .
[TGT] introduced [TGT] Medicare for All bill on Sept. 13 .
The California Nurses Association , though , welcomes [TGT] ' legislation as part of a "common fight for health care for all and social justice ," RoseAnn DeMoro , the union 's executive director , said in a press release announcing [TGT] ' visit .
The event begins on Thursday and will feature speakers , including [TGT] wife , Jane O'Meara Sanders , founder of the Sanders Institute .
Also set to speak are playwright Eve Ensler , political commentator Van Jones and Nina Turner , president of Our Revolution , an organization founded by leaders of [TGT] ' campaign .
[TGT] is scheduled to take the stage at 1 p.m. Friday . | 1Neutral
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188 | California lawmaker taking flak over plastic straw bill | Ian Calderon | in restaurants to offer customers plastic straws without first being asked . Since introducing his bill last week Democratic Assemblyman Ian Calderon has been the target of scorn from critics who call his proposal " absurd " and an overreach of government . " It really is a reasonable measured approach that I think will make a difference " Calderon told ABC News on Monday about his proposed bill . California State Asssembly He explained that when he sent the proposal to the state legislative rules committee health and safety code penalties were automatically tacked on making it a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail and a $ 1 000 fine for dine - in restaurants caught offering plastic straws without being requested . " I didn ' t actually ask for penalties " Calderon said . " They were more or less prescribed to my bill by the code section ." But critics immediately jumped on him . Assemblyman Travis Allen a Republican candidate for governor of California asked people on his campaign Facebook page to protest the bill by flooding Calderon ' s office with plastic straws . California State Assembly " Instead of tackling the real issues today ' s California Democrats are more interested in giving jail time to waiters offering their customers the convenience of having a straw " Allen told ABC News on Monday . " This is one absurd bill but it highlights how ridiculous the California Democrats have gotten . This is clearly the last straw ." Paul Preston said such laws are the reason he co - founded a movement to break up the state and form a New California where regulations aren ' t overbearing and discouraging to businesses . " It ' s absolute lunacy " Preston told ABC News of Calderon ' s bill . " They are criminalizing everything we do . It ' s over the top ." Calderon brushed off the bashing saying an estimated 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States and most are just used once and discarded . He said plastic straws and stirrers were the sixth most common items collected during California Coastal Cleanup Days between 1989 and 2014 . " We need to create awareness around the issue of one - time use of plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills waterways and oceans " Calderon said . STOCK PHOTO / Getty Images He said he ' ll work to get the bill ' s language rewritten so that no one fears going to jail or paying hefty fines for handing out plastic straws . He said he expects the bill to reach Gov . Jerry Brown ' s desk for approval in about two months . " Nobody is going to jail nobody is going to be getting a $ 1 000 fine " said Calderon adding that the bill does not affect fast - food restaurants or grocery stores . He said critics like Allen are " grasping at straws " by saying such legislation is hurting businesses in California . " It ' s a ridiculous argument " he said . Sharokina Shams -- a spokeswoman for the California Restaurant Association which represents more than 20 000 restaurants in the state -- told ABC News her group is taking a wait - and - see approach on Calderon ' s bill . " The association will study the bill ' s potential impacts and consult with its membership before taking an officials stance on the bill " said Shams adding that Calderon ' s proposal " is preferable to an outright ban on straws ." Matt Davis a spokesman for the national environmental group Clean Water Action said Calderon ' s proposal makes sense . " It ' s great he ' s doing it " Davis told ABC News . " It does reduce the amount of straws that restaurants are giving out and that ' s a good thing ." He said cities such as Alameda California have passed local straws - on - request ordinances and that many restaurants have saved money by not having to provide so many straws . He compared it to the plastic shopping bag ban passed by California voters in 2016 or water - on - request ordinances used to combat the state ' s drought saying people got used to it . In New Jersey too local businesses have been participating in an initiative to reduce plastic straw use . And it has dramatically reduced the number of straws the companies are giving out according to the Montclair Local . A local eatery said it was using about a tenth of the straws it had previously used on a monthly basis from 6 800 straws to 650 the paper reported . Back in California Davis said Calderon ' s concerns that plastic straws are fouling up the ocean are real . " There is going to be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish by 2050 " Davis said citing a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that was presented to the World Economic Forum in 2016 . He said that plastic breaks down into minute particles that fish mistake for food . " I don ' t want plastic in my sushi " he said . | in restaurants to offer customers plastic straws without first being asked . Since introducing his bill last week [TGT]has been the target of scorn from critics who call his proposal " absurd " and an overreach of government . " It really is a reasonable measured approach that I think will make a difference " Calderon told ABC News on Monday about his proposed bill . California State Asssembly He explained that when he sent the proposal to the state legislative rules committee health and safety code penalties were automatically tacked on making it a misdemeanor punishable by six months in jail and a $ 1 000 fine for dine - in restaurants caught offering plastic straws without being requested . " I didn ' t actually ask for penalties [TGT] said . " They were more or less prescribed to my bill by the code section ." But critics immediately jumped on [TGT] . Assemblyman Travis Allen a Republican candidate for governor of California asked people on his campaign Facebook page to protest the bill by flooding Calderon ' s office with plastic straws . California State Assembly " Instead of tackling the real issues today ' s California Democrats are more interested in giving jail time to waiters offering their customers the convenience of having a straw " Allen told ABC News on Monday . " This is one absurd bill but it highlights how ridiculous the California Democrats have gotten . This is clearly the last straw ." Paul Preston said such laws are the reason he co - founded a movement to break up the state and form a New California where regulations aren ' t overbearing and discouraging to businesses . " It ' s absolute lunacy " Preston told ABC News of Calderon ' s bill . " They are criminalizing everything we do . It ' s over the top ." Calderon brushed off the bashing saying an estimated 500 million plastic straws are used every day in the United States and most are just used once and discarded . He said plastic straws and stirrers were the sixth most common items collected during California Coastal Cleanup Days between 1989 and 2014 . " We need to create awareness around the issue of one - time use of plastic straws and its detrimental effects on our landfills waterways and oceans " Calderon said . STOCK PHOTO / Getty Images He said he ' ll work to get the bill ' s language rewritten so that no one fears going to jail or paying hefty fines for handing out plastic straws . He said he expects the bill to reach Gov . Jerry Brown ' s desk for approval in about two months . " Nobody is going to jail nobody is going to be getting a $ 1 000 fine " said Calderon adding that the bill does not affect fast - food restaurants or grocery stores . He said critics like Allen are " grasping at straws " by saying such legislation is hurting businesses in California . " It ' s a ridiculous argument " he said . Sharokina Shams -- a spokeswoman for the California Restaurant Association which represents more than 20 000 restaurants in the state -- told ABC News her group is taking a wait - and - see approach on Calderon ' s bill . " The association will study the bill ' s potential impacts and consult with its membership before taking an officials stance on the bill " said Shams adding that Calderon ' s proposal " is preferable to an outright ban on straws ." Matt Davis a spokesman for the national environmental group Clean Water Action said Calderon ' s proposal makes sense . " It ' s great he ' s doing it " Davis told ABC News . " It does reduce the amount of straws that restaurants are giving out and that ' s a good thing ." He said cities such as Alameda California have passed local straws - on - request ordinances and that many restaurants have saved money by not having to provide so many straws . He compared it to the plastic shopping bag ban passed by California voters in 2016 or water - on - request ordinances used to combat the state ' s drought saying people got used to it . In New Jersey too local businesses have been participating in an initiative to reduce plastic straw use . And it has dramatically reduced the number of straws the companies are giving out according to the Montclair Local . A local eatery said it was using about a tenth of the straws it had previously used on a monthly basis from 6 800 straws to 650 the paper reported . Back in California Davis said Calderon ' s concerns that plastic straws are fouling up the ocean are real . " There is going to be more plastic in the ocean than there are fish by 2050 " Davis said citing a study by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that was presented to the World Economic Forum in 2016 . He said that plastic breaks down into minute particles that fish mistake for food . " I don ' t want plastic in my sushi " he said . | 2Positive
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189 | LeBron James says feeling of wanting to finish career in Cleveland ` has n't changed ' . | LeBron James | But LeBron James has committed himself to Cleveland when he came back .
Now , LeBron has orchestrated his contract in such a special way , even when he went to Miami , that there was always a chance that he could leave .
And until LeBron says , I 'm leaving , we have to think that he 's going to stay in Cleveland . | But [TGT] has committed [TGT] to Cleveland when [TGT] came back .
Now , [TGT] has orchestrated [TGT] contract in such a special way , even when [TGT] went to Miami , that there was always a chance that [TGT] could leave .
And until [TGT] says , I 'm leaving , we have to think that [TGT] 's going to stay in Cleveland . | 1Neutral
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190 | Mugabe agrees to stand down as Zimbabwe president: source | Robert Mugabe | Robert Mugabe agreed on Sunday to resign as Zimbabwe ’ s president hours after the ruling ZANU - PF party fired him as its leader following 37 years in charge a source familiar with the negotiations said . FILE PHOTO : Zimbabwe ' s President Robert Mugabe looks on as his deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa reads a card during Mugabe ' s 93rd birthday celebrations in Harare Zimbabwe February 21 2017 . REUTERS / Philimon Bulawayo / File Photo ZANU - PF had given the 93 - year - old less than 24 hours to quit as head of state or face impeachment an attempt to secure a peaceful end to his tenure after a de facto coup . The source said the Zimbabwe military was working on a resignation statement by Mugabe without giving details . Zimbabwe ’ s state broadcaster ZBC said Mugabe would address the nation shortly . Earlier on Sunday the official Herald newspaper showed pictures of him meeting top generals at his State House offices . Mugabe the only leader the southern African nation has known since independence from Britain in 1980 was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa the deputy he sacked this month in a move that triggered the mid - week intervention by the army . In scenes unthinkable just a week ago the announcement drew cheers from the 200 delegates packed into ZANU - PF ’ s Harare headquarters to seal the fate of Mugabe whose support has crumbled in the four days since the army seized power . Mugabe was given until noon ( 5 . 00 a . m . ET ) on Monday to resign or face impeachment an ignominious end to the career of the “ Grand Old Man ” of African politics who was once feted across the continent as an anti - colonial liberation hero . Even in the West he was renowned in his early years as the “ Thinking Man ’ s Guerrilla ” an ironic nickname for a man who would later proudly declare he held a “ degree in violence ”. As the economy crumbled and political opposition to his rule grew in the late 1990s Mugabe seized thousands of white - owned farms detained opponents and unleashed security forces to crush dissent . When the vote was announced war veterans leader Chris Mutsvangwa who has spearheaded an 18 - month campaign to remove a man he openly described as a “ dictator ” embraced colleagues and shouted : “ The President is gone . Long live the new President .” Mugabe ’ s 52 - year - old wife Grace who had harbored ambitions of succeeding her husband was also expelled from ZANU - PF along with at least three cabinet ministers who had formed the backbone of her “ G40 ” political faction . Speaking before the meeting Mutsvangwa said Mugabe who has so far resisted calls to quit was running out of time to negotiate his departure and should leave the country while he could . “ He ’ s trying to bargain for a dignified exit ” he said . If Mugabe refused to go “ we will bring back the crowds and they will do their business ” Mutsvangwa told reporters . Mnangagwa a former state security chief known as “ The Crocodile ” is expected to head an interim post - Mugabe unity government that will focus on rebuilding ties with the outside world and stabilizing an economy in freefall . The next presidential election is due in 2018 . On Saturday hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Harare singing dancing and hugging soldiers in an outpouring of elation at Mugabe ’ s expected overthrow . FILE PHOTO : Zimbabwe Vice - President Emmerson Mnangagwa listens as President Robert Mugabe ( not pictured ) delivers his state of the nation address to the country ' s parliament in Harare August 25 2015 . REUTERS / Philimon Bulawayo / File Photo His stunning downfall is likely to send shockwaves across Africa where a number of entrenched strongmen from Uganda ’ s Yoweri Museveni to Democratic Republic of Congo ’ s Joseph Kabila are facing mounting pressure to step down . “ READY TO DIE ” On Saturday men women and children ran alongside the armored cars and troops who stepped in to target what the army called “ criminals ” in Mugabe ’ s inner circle . Meanwhile the man himself remained under house arrest in his lavish “ Blue Roof ” compound watching the support from his party security services and people evaporate . Speaking from a secret location in South Africa his nephew Patrick Zhuwao told Reuters Mugabe and his wife were “ ready to die for what is correct ” rather than step down in order to legitimize what he described as a coup . Zhuwao who was also sanctioned by ZANU - PF did not answer his phone on Sunday . However Mugabe ’ s son Chatunga railed against those who had pushed out his father . Slideshow ( 11 Images ) “ You can ’ t fire a Revolutionary leader !” he wrote on this Facebook page . “ ZANU - PF is nothing without President Mugabe .” “ SECOND LIBERATION ” On Harare ’ s streets few seemed to care about the legal niceties as they heralded a “ second liberation ” and spoke of their dreams for political and economic change after two decades of deepening repression and hardship . More than 3 million Zimbabweans - around 20 percent of the population - have emigrated to neighboring South Africa in search of a better life . The huge crowds in Harare have given a quasi - democratic veneer to the army ’ s intervention backing its assertion that it is merely effecting a constitutional transfer of power rather than a plain coup which would risk a diplomatic backlash . Despite the euphoria some Mugabe opponents are uneasy about the prominent role played by the military and fear Zimbabwe might be swapping one army - backed autocrat for another rather than allowing the people to choose their next leader . “ The real danger of the current situation is that having got their new preferred candidate into State House the military will want to keep him or her there no matter what the electorate wills ” former education minister David Coltart said . The United States a longtime Mugabe critic said it was looking forward to a new era in Zimbabwe while President Ian Khama of neighboring Botswana said Mugabe had no diplomatic support in the region and should resign at once . Besides changing its leadership ZANU - PF said it wanted to change the constitution to reduce the power of the president a possible sign of its desire to move towards a more pluralistic and inclusive political system . However Mnangagwa ’ s history as state security chief during the so - called Gukurahundi crackdown when an estimated 20 000 people were killed by the North Korean - trained Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland in the early 1980s suggested that quick sweeping change was unlikely . “ The deep state that engineered this change of leadership will remain thwarting any real democratic reform ” said Miles Tendi a Zimbabwean academic at Oxford University . | [TGT]agreed on Sunday to resign as Zimbabwe ’ s president hours after the ruling ZANU - PF party fired him as its leader following 37 years in charge a source familiar with the negotiations said . FILE PHOTO : Zimbabwe ' s [TGT]looks on as [TGT] deputy Emmerson Mnangagwa reads a card during Mugabe ' s 93rd birthday celebrations in Harare Zimbabwe February 21 2017 . REUTERS / Philimon Bulawayo / File Photo ZANU - PF had given the 93 - year - old less than 24 hours to quit as head of state or face impeachment an attempt to secure a peaceful end to his tenure after a de facto coup . The source said the Zimbabwe military was working on a resignation statement by [TGT]without giving details . Zimbabwe ’ s state broadcaster ZBC said [TGT] would address the nation shortly . Earlier on Sunday the official Herald newspaper showed pictures of him meeting top generals at his State House offices . [TGT]was replaced by Emmerson Mnangagwa the deputy he sacked this month in a move that triggered the mid - week intervention by the army . In scenes unthinkable just a week ago the announcement drew cheers from the 200 delegates packed into ZANU - PF ’ s Harare headquarters to seal the fate of [TGT] whose support has crumbled in the four days since the army seized power . [TGT] was given until noon ( 5 . 00 a . m . ET ) on Monday to resign or face impeachment an ignominious end to the career of the “ Grand Old Man ” of African politics who was once feted across the continent as an anti - colonial liberation hero . Even in the West [TGT] was renowned in [TGT] early years as the “ Thinking Man ’ s Guerrilla ” an ironic nickname for a man who would later proudly declare [TGT] held a “ degree in violence ”. As the economy crumbled and political opposition to [TGT] rule grew in the late 1990s [TGT] seized thousands of white - owned farms detained opponents and unleashed security forces to crush dissent . When the vote was announced war veterans leader Chris Mutsvangwa who has spearheaded an 18 - month campaign to remove a man he openly described as a “ dictator ” embraced colleagues and shouted : “ The President is gone . Long live the new President .” Mugabe ’ s 52 - year - old wife Grace who had harbored ambitions of succeeding her husband was also expelled from ZANU - PF along with at least three cabinet ministers who had formed the backbone of her “ G40 ” political faction . Speaking before the meeting Mutsvangwa said Mugabe who has so far resisted calls to quit was running out of time to negotiate his departure and should leave the country while he could . “ He ’ s trying to bargain for a dignified exit ” he said . If [TGT] refused to go “ we will bring back the crowds and they will do their business ” Mutsvangwa told reporters . Mnangagwa a former state security chief known as “ The Crocodile ” is expected to head an interim post - Mugabe unity government that will focus on rebuilding ties with the outside world and stabilizing an economy in freefall . The next presidential election is due in 2018 . On Saturday hundreds of thousands of people flooded the streets of Harare singing dancing and hugging soldiers in an outpouring of elation at [TGT] ’ s expected overthrow . FILE PHOTO : Zimbabwe Vice - President Emmerson Mnangagwa listens as President Robert Mugabe ( not pictured ) delivers his state of the nation address to the country ' s parliament in Harare August 25 2015 . REUTERS / Philimon Bulawayo / File Photo His stunning downfall is likely to send shockwaves across Africa where a number of entrenched strongmen from Uganda ’ s Yoweri Museveni to Democratic Republic of Congo ’ s Joseph Kabila are facing mounting pressure to step down . “ READY TO DIE ” On Saturday men women and children ran alongside the armored cars and troops who stepped in to target what the army called “ criminals ” in [TGT] ’ s inner circle . Meanwhile the man himself remained under house arrest in his lavish “ Blue Roof ” compound watching the support from his party security services and people evaporate . Speaking from a secret location in South Africa his nephew Patrick Zhuwao told Reuters Mugabe and his wife were “ ready to die for what is correct ” rather than step down in order to legitimize what he described as a coup . Zhuwao who was also sanctioned by ZANU - PF did not answer his phone on Sunday . However Mugabe ’ s son Chatunga railed against those who had pushed out his father . Slideshow ( 11 Images ) “ You can ’ t fire a Revolutionary leader !” he wrote on this Facebook page . “ ZANU - PF is nothing without President Mugabe .” “ SECOND LIBERATION ” On Harare ’ s streets few seemed to care about the legal niceties as they heralded a “ second liberation ” and spoke of their dreams for political and economic change after two decades of deepening repression and hardship . More than 3 million Zimbabweans - around 20 percent of the population - have emigrated to neighboring South Africa in search of a better life . The huge crowds in Harare have given a quasi - democratic veneer to the army ’ s intervention backing its assertion that it is merely effecting a constitutional transfer of power rather than a plain coup which would risk a diplomatic backlash . Despite the euphoria some Mugabe opponents are uneasy about the prominent role played by the military and fear Zimbabwe might be swapping one army - backed autocrat for another rather than allowing the people to choose their next leader . “ The real danger of the current situation is that having got their new preferred candidate into State House the military will want to keep him or her there no matter what the electorate wills ” former education minister David Coltart said . The United States a longtime Mugabe critic said it was looking forward to a new era in Zimbabwe while President Ian Khama of neighboring Botswana said Mugabe had no diplomatic support in the region and should resign at once . Besides changing its leadership ZANU - PF said it wanted to change the constitution to reduce the power of the president a possible sign of its desire to move towards a more pluralistic and inclusive political system . However Mnangagwa ’ s history as state security chief during the so - called Gukurahundi crackdown when an estimated 20 000 people were killed by the North Korean - trained Fifth Brigade in Matabeleland in the early 1980s suggested that quick sweeping change was unlikely . “ The deep state that engineered this change of leadership will remain thwarting any real democratic reform ” said Miles Tendi a Zimbabwean academic at Oxford University . | 2Positive
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191 | Bernie Sanders helps celebrate free City College tuition . | Bernie Sanders | Bernie Sanders helps celebrate free City College tuition .
With all the fervor of a revival meeting , about 700 people at City College of San Francisco today cheered U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and the supervisor who helped make tuition at the college free to city residents .
I want to use my life to help other people , like Bernie ," Headrick said . | [TGT] helps celebrate free City College tuition .
With all the fervor of a revival meeting , about 700 people at City College of San Francisco today cheered U.S. Sen. [TGT] and the supervisor who helped make tuition at the college free to city residents .
I want to use my life to help other people , like Bernie ," Headrick said . | 2Positive
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192 | Meet the new Bernie Sanders spider . | Bernie Sanders | "-LSB- B -RSB- ut we all named the Bernie Sanders spider ," Lily Sargeant , one of the students and a co-author of the paper , said in a statement .
"We all have tremendous respect for Bernie .
It is my hope that through naming that spider after Bernie we can remember the ideas that he has at this pivotal point in the life of our nation ."
"-LSB- B -RSB- ut we all named the Bernie Sanders spider ," Lily Sargeant , one of the students and a co-author of the paper , said in a statement .
"We all have tremendous respect for Bernie .
Several newly discovered spider species have been named in honor of US Senator Bernie Sanders and other outspoken supporters of human rights and climate action . | "-LSB- B -RSB- ut we all named the Bernie Sanders spider ," Lily Sargeant , one of the students and a co-author of the paper , said in a statement .
"We all have tremendous respect for [TGT] .
It is my hope that through naming that spider after [TGT] we can remember the ideas that [TGT] has at this pivotal point in the life of our nation ."
"-LSB- B -RSB- ut we all named the Bernie Sanders spider ," Lily Sargeant , one of the students and a co-author of the paper , said in a statement .
"We all have tremendous respect for [TGT] .
Several newly discovered spider species have been named in honor of US Senator Bernie Sanders and other outspoken supporters of human rights and climate action . | 2Positive
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193 | Norway wealth fund to assess climate risks in power oil materials | Yngve Slyngstad | Norway ’ s $ 1 trillion sovereign wealth fund will this year step up its assessment of the risks posed by climate change to its investments in power producers oil firms and basic materials companies its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday . Separately the board of the central bank will soon decide whether to blacklist from the fund one or more companies -- either in the oil steel or concrete sectors -- for producing too much greenhouse gases the central bank chief told Reuters . The fund which invests the proceeds from Norway ’ s oil and gas production for future pensions in stocks bonds and real estate abroad is one of the world ’ s biggest shareholders with stakes totaling 1 . 4 percent of all listed companies . In recent years the world ’ s biggest sovereign wealth fund has become a more active shareholder trying to influence companies ’ attitudes . Among them are the way companies report on climate change such as their carbon dioxide emissions or whether companies have scenario analyses of how more heatwaves droughts or floods might affect their earnings . Chief Executive Yngve Slyngstad said the fund would first focus its efforts on electricity producers . “ That is ... the sector that we will first go through and think about in this scenario . The two next ones will be ( basic ) materials and oil .” “ By far the largest ... is electricity producers which of course has been a specific focus for us because of the so - called coal criteria ” he said referring to the fund not being allowed by parliament to invest in firms that derive more than 30 percent of their revenue from coal . The proposal to potentially exclude one or more companies in the oil steel or cement sectors over excessive greenhouse gas emissions is under review by the board of the central bank . “ We have received some recommendations on potential exclusions based on that new criteria . The board is working on the issues ... It ’ s not going to be long ” central bank governor Oeystein Olsen said declining to give a more precise timeframe . Slideshow ( 2 Images ) The moves come as the fund is proposing to drop oil and gas stocks from its benchmark index which would reduce over time its stakes in oil and gas companies . That proposal is under consideration at the finance ministry and will be voted by parliament at a later stage . DOUBLED ITS RETURN IN 2017 Also on Tuesday the fund said it doubled its return on investment in 2017 beating its benchmark as strong global stock markets boosted the value of the portfolio . It earned a return of 13 . 7 percent in 2017 up from 6 . 9 percent in 2016 . “ The fund ’ s cumulative return since inception has passed 4 000 billion Norwegian crowns ($ 511 billion ). One out of four crowns of return was generated in 2017 after a very strong year for the fund ” Slyngstad said in a statement . “ Again our equity investments returned strongest with a return close to 20 percent .” The fund ’ s biggest single company investment at the end of 2017 was in Apple Inc ( AAPL . O ) worth 66 billion crowns ahead of Nestle ( NESN . S ) at 51 billion and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa . L ) at 50 billion . Apple was also the biggest single contributor to the fund ’ s returns in 2017 ahead of Chinese tech group Tencent Holdings ( 0700 . HK ) and Microsoft ( MSFT . O ). The fund ’ s size is equivalent to $ 200 000 for every Norwegian man woman and child . The government withdrew 61 billion crowns during 2017 to pay for public expenses compared with 101 billion crowns in 2016 . Slyngstad earned an annual salary of 6 . 7 million crowns or roughly $ 855 000 in 2017 while his chief investment officer for equity strategies Petter Johnsen earned more with 7 . 4 million crowns . By comparison the country ’ s prime minister Erna Solberg earned 1 . 6 million crowns . | Norway ’ s $ 1 trillion sovereign wealth fund will this year step up its assessment of the risks posed by climate change to its investments in power producers oil firms and basic materials companies its CEO told Reuters on Tuesday . Separately the board of the central bank will soon decide whether to blacklist from the fund one or more companies -- either in the oil steel or concrete sectors -- for producing too much greenhouse gases the central bank chief told Reuters . The fund which invests the proceeds from Norway ’ s oil and gas production for future pensions in stocks bonds and real estate abroad is one of the world ’ s biggest shareholders with stakes totaling 1 . 4 percent of all listed companies . In recent years the world ’ s biggest sovereign wealth fund has become a more active shareholder trying to influence companies ’ attitudes . Among them are the way companies report on climate change such as their carbon dioxide emissions or whether companies have scenario analyses of how more heatwaves droughts or floods might affect their earnings . [TGT]said the fund would first focus its efforts on electricity producers . “ That is ... the sector that we will first go through and think about in this scenario . The two next ones will be ( basic ) materials and oil .” “ By far the largest ... is electricity producers which of course has been a specific focus for us because of the so - called coal criteria ” [TGT] said referring to the fund not being allowed by parliament to invest in firms that derive more than 30 percent of their revenue from coal . The proposal to potentially exclude one or more companies in the oil steel or cement sectors over excessive greenhouse gas emissions is under review by the board of the central bank . “ We have received some recommendations on potential exclusions based on that new criteria . The board is working on the issues ... It ’ s not going to be long ” central bank governor Oeystein Olsen said declining to give a more precise timeframe . Slideshow ( 2 Images ) The moves come as the fund is proposing to drop oil and gas stocks from its benchmark index which would reduce over time its stakes in oil and gas companies . That proposal is under consideration at the finance ministry and will be voted by parliament at a later stage . DOUBLED ITS RETURN IN 2017 Also on Tuesday the fund said it doubled its return on investment in 2017 beating its benchmark as strong global stock markets boosted the value of the portfolio . It earned a return of 13 . 7 percent in 2017 up from 6 . 9 percent in 2016 . “ The fund ’ s cumulative return since inception has passed 4 000 billion Norwegian crowns ($ 511 billion ). One out of four crowns of return was generated in 2017 after a very strong year for the fund ” Slyngstad said in a statement . “ Again our equity investments returned strongest with a return close to 20 percent .” The fund ’ s biggest single company investment at the end of 2017 was in Apple Inc ( AAPL . O ) worth 66 billion crowns ahead of Nestle ( NESN . S ) at 51 billion and Royal Dutch Shell ( RDSa . L ) at 50 billion . Apple was also the biggest single contributor to the fund ’ s returns in 2017 ahead of Chinese tech group Tencent Holdings ( 0700 . HK ) and Microsoft ( MSFT . O ). The fund ’ s size is equivalent to $ 200 000 for every Norwegian man woman and child . The government withdrew 61 billion crowns during 2017 to pay for public expenses compared with 101 billion crowns in 2016 . Slyngstad earned an annual salary of 6 . 7 million crowns or roughly $ 855 000 in 2017 while his chief investment officer for equity strategies Petter Johnsen earned more with 7 . 4 million crowns . By comparison the country ’ s prime minister Erna Solberg earned 1 . 6 million crowns . | 1Neutral
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194 | Around The World In 42 Days: Frenchman Sets New Sailing Record : The Two | Gabart | Around The World In 42 Days : Frenchman Sets New Sailing Record Enlarge this image toggle caption Thibault Camus / AP Thibault Camus / AP There is a new world record for sailing around the world : 42 days 16 hours 40 minutes and 35 seconds . If verified it is more than 6 days faster than the previous record set a year earlier . Enlarge this image toggle caption Thibault Camus / AP Thibault Camus / AP French sailor François Gabart aboard a 100 - foot trimaran set out on Nov . 4 to break the record held by countryman Thomas Coville . On Sunday Gabart crossed the virtual finish between France ' s northwest tip and Lizard Point in southwest England at 0145 GMT before turning homeward to Brest in northwestern France . He reportedly averaged 27 . 2 knots ( 31 . 3 mph ) over 27 859 . 7 nautical miles . YouTube Making such a journey is a difficult feat . It involves tackling the cold and stormy Southern Ocean that rings Antarctica all the while tending a high - performance sailing vessel at the edge of its performance envelope . After reaching Brest Gabart 34 said he was " aching all over ." "[ It ' s ] been like that for weeks weeks since a proper sleep – I can hardly go on " he told reporters after making landfall at Brest . " It was hard and I was on the very edge of things the whole time ." Exhausted or not Gabart managed to share a bottle of champagne with his shore crew . " It hasn ' t sunk in yet but I know it ' s a great time " he said . Britain ' s Dame Ellen MacArthur won the title for fastest non - stop circumnavigation in 2005 but lost it to Francis Joyon of France . She regained it three years later . Gabart ' s record must be verified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council which will scrutinize his vessel ' s GPS data before signing off on the new record . | Around The World In 42 Days : Frenchman Sets New Sailing Record Enlarge this image toggle caption Thibault Camus / AP Thibault Camus / AP There is a new world record for sailing around the world : 42 days 16 hours 40 minutes and 35 seconds . If verified it is more than 6 days faster than the previous record set a year earlier . Enlarge this image toggle caption Thibault Camus / AP Thibault Camus / AP French sailor François Gabart aboard a 100 - foot trimaran set out on Nov . 4 to break the record held by countryman Thomas Coville . On Sunday Gabart crossed the virtual finish between France ' s northwest tip and Lizard Point in southwest England at 0145 GMT before turning homeward to Brest in northwestern France . He reportedly averaged 27 . 2 knots ( 31 . 3 mph ) over 27 859 . 7 nautical miles . YouTube Making such a journey is a difficult feat . It involves tackling the cold and stormy Southern Ocean that rings Antarctica all the while tending a high - performance sailing vessel at the edge of its performance envelope . After reaching Brest Gabart 34 said he was " aching all over ." "[ It ' s ] been like that for weeks weeks since a proper sleep – I can hardly go on " he told reporters after making landfall at Brest . " It was hard and I was on the very edge of things the whole time ." Exhausted or not Gabart managed to share a bottle of champagne with his shore crew . " It hasn ' t sunk in yet but I know it ' s a great time " he said . Britain ' s Dame Ellen MacArthur won the title for fastest non - stop circumnavigation in 2005 but lost it to Francis Joyon of France . She regained it three years later . [TGT]record must be verified by the World Sailing Speed Record Council which will scrutinize [TGT] vessel ' s GPS data before signing off on the new record . | 2Positive
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195 | LeBron James links arms with Stephen Curry and other prominent sports figures on powerful Sports Illustrated cover . | LeBron James | CLEVELAND , Ohio -- LeBron James has earned another spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated , shown linking arms with Stephen Curry , NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a handful of other prominent sports figures -- a powerful cover about unity .
While James has been outspoken about his beliefs and the state of the country , others have expressed their right to protest freely and peacefully in different ways .
"I 'm not going to let while I have this platform -- to let one individual , no matter the power , no matter the impact that he should have or she should have , ever use sport as a platform to divide us ," James said Monday afternoon during a passionate speech at Cavs Media Day . | CLEVELAND , Ohio -- [TGT] has earned another spot on the cover of Sports Illustrated , shown linking arms with Stephen Curry , NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and a handful of other prominent sports figures -- a powerful cover about unity .
While [TGT] has been outspoken about [TGT] beliefs and the state of the country , others have expressed their right to protest freely and peacefully in different ways .
"I 'm not going to let while I have this platform -- to let one individual , no matter the power , no matter the impact that [TGT] should have or she should have , ever use sport as a platform to divide us ,[TGT] said Monday afternoon during a passionate speech at Cavs Media Day . | 1Neutral
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196 | Chapter One: Undeniable | Byron Palmer | Undeniable is available for purchase on Amazon . DIE BABY KILLERS The graffiti was crude and unimaginative . The words were scrawled across a ten - foot section of the corridor wall in tall letters the color of blood . Drips ran down from the thick spots where the vandal activist started and stopped his strokes . The scent of aerosolized acrylic lingered in the air . Security guard Burt Dobbin pressed a finger to one of the spots — the paint felt tacky . He wiped the residue on the wall and pressed the send button on the microphone clipped to the epaulet of his uniform . “ Charlie you copy ?” “ Yeah ” a voice crackled back . “ I ’ m on six main corridor near the conference room . Some nut job musta got in and spray painted a nastygram on the wall .” “ How the —? Hold on I ’ m toggling the cameras .” Dobbin could hear Charlie Sparks breathing over the walkie - talkie . Same with the stairwells .” “ I take it this death threat wasn ’ t here during your rounds an hour ago .” “ Hell no .” “ Well call it into Central double - check the doors and get up here . We need to do a room - by - room sweep .” Ten minutes later Dobbin ’ s partner on the night shift scaled the stairs to the top floor of the six - story commercial loft in the heart of Manhattan ’ s Tribeca District . The nineteenth - century warehouse building had fallen on hard times and then found new life with a renovation that transformed it into the national headquarters of Heartland Family Planning . As he closed the stair door behind him Sparks swiped a card key through the jamb reader to set the door into alarm mode . The illuminated display changed from green to red . He then joined his partner by the defaced wall . “ Damn ” Sparks hissed through his teeth . “ We set ?” Dobbin asked . “ Main floor perimeter is locked down . The elevators are parked on one and if they pop a stair door without a card key we ’ ll hear about it .” “ Good . Let ’ s start with the conference room and work our way around .” Sparks nodded . The pair drew their side arms and moved into position on the strike side of the door to the floor ’ s large conference room . Sparks swiped his card key to unlock the door . On Dobbin ’ s signal Sparks grabbed the lever handle and opened the door . Sensors inside the room detected the sudden motion and the lights suspended over the conference table flickered on . They entered and visually swept the room their eyes tracking in concert with the barrels of their Sig Sauer P250s . Both signaled a thumbs - up confirming that the room was clear . Sparks locked the door as they exited and the pair moved on to the next room . The sixth floor housed the administrative offices of Heartland Family Planning a nationwide network of clinics and counseling facilities offering a full range of women ’ s reproductive health services . No patients or clients visited the Tribeca facility . This building contained only the back - office legal and administrative functions associated with the specialty healthcare provider . The guards searched counterclockwise around the floor checking the offices belonging to Heartland ’ s senior staff and finding nothing amiss . Halfway through their circuit Dobbin led the way through the open office area that served as the antechamber to the chief executive officer ’ s inner sanctum . Finding no one hiding under the desks the security guards proceeded to an imposing wood door . Sparks again cleared the electronic lock opened the door and followed Dobbin in . As the senior man Dobbin believed in leading by example especially with a new guard like Sparks who had only spent a few weeks on the job . He took two steps into the room then felt his partner move into position behind him . The city glistened through the arched windows of the large office . And as the lights came on Dobbin saw a can of spray paint on top of the CEO ’ s glass and steel desk . He took a step toward the desk quietly thankful for its open frame construction that offered no place of concealment . The office smelled of fresh acrylic and a single word clung wetly to the glass desktop : MURDERER . “ Our perp must still be in the suite ” Dobbin said just above a whisper . Then everything went black for Dobbin . Sparks watched his partner collapse onto the carpeted floor the unconscious man ’ s awkward descent ended with a muffled thud and the clatter of his dislodged sidearm . A satisfied smile curled in the corners of his mouth — his time playing the role of Charlie Sparks was over and Byron Palmer ’ s real work could now begin . The device in his hand bore a passing resemblance to a Taser though its technological innards were considerably more sophisticated . A fan of Star Trek from his youth Palmer called his invention a disrupter because it did exactly that to the low - voltage current that powers the human body . It was much like flipping a switch and depending on the intensity the effect could be temporary or permanent . Palmer left his former partner where he fell and sat behind the CEO ’ s desk . During his rounds over the previous weeks he had loaded select computers with keystroke traps collecting legitimate usernames and passwords . Bit by bit he fashioned a temporary identity with unfettered access to the wealth of information stored in Heartland ’ s data center . He slipped a flash drive into the USB port and the programs it contained came to life . A window opened on the CEO ’ s flat screen monitor displaying the status of Palmer ’ s data mining effort . Satisfied that all was performing as planned he left the office whistling the dwarf ’ s work song from Disney ’ s Snow White . In addition to scouring Heartland ’ s electronic archives the programs Palmer unleashed tapped the building ’ s security network bypassing live camera feeds with prerecorded imagery . He made his way through the building to the loading dock . Just outside the service door he found the pair of homeless men he had befriended over the past few weeks . “ Look it ’ s Charlie ” one said warmly his face expectant like a dog ’ s upon the return of his master . Both men staggered to their feet hopeful for another few dollars to carry them through the coming day . “ Hey fellas real cold out tonight . Wanna step inside and warm up a bit ?” “ C - can we ?” one asked surprised by the offer . I ’ ll kick on the dock heaters .” Palmer led the two men through the open door . Once inside he quickly stunned both with the disrupter . He then stripped the men and dressed the one closest to his height and build in an identical guard uniform . The other wino he clad in activist chic — used jeans a hooded sweatshirt and a careworn army field jacket . Palmer stuffed the threadbare grimy rags he had peeled from the men into a large black trash bag that he set beside the loading dock door . He loaded the two men on a dolly along with a pair of backpacks and checked his watch — right on schedule . Once on the sixth floor Palmer set the stage . He laid the fake guard on the floor outside the CEO ’ s office door where Palmer had stood when he incapacitated Dobbin . He dragged the faux activist into the office setting him against a credenza between two of the arched windows and placed both backpacks on top of the desk . From one he removed a pair of jeans and other layers appropriate for this time of year in the city . He quickly changed clothes and stuffed his uniform into the empty backpack . Palmer waited for the computer to chime then he withdrew the flash drive and tucked it into his pocket . He saw the fading remnants of the programs erase themselves and knew that all traces of their actions would disappear from the internal network . Satisfied he reached into the second backpack and activated a timer . As it counted down he slung the backpack containing his uniform over his shoulder and departed . Down on the main floor Palmer picked up the black trash bag and slipped out the back door into the alley . He followed a meandering course away from the building and dumped the trash bag in a pile of refuse awaiting the 5 : 00 a . m . garbage collection . He heard a low dull rumble as he neared the subway station and then saw a bright flash as flames leaped skyward from the top floor of the Heartland building . | Undeniable is available for purchase on Amazon . DIE BABY KILLERS The graffiti was crude and unimaginative . The words were scrawled across a ten - foot section of the corridor wall in tall letters the color of blood . Drips ran down from the thick spots where the vandal activist started and stopped his strokes . The scent of aerosolized acrylic lingered in the air . Security guard Burt Dobbin pressed a finger to one of the spots — the paint felt tacky . He wiped the residue on the wall and pressed the send button on the microphone clipped to the epaulet of his uniform . “ Charlie you copy ?” “ Yeah ” a voice crackled back . “ I ’ m on six main corridor near the conference room . Some nut job musta got in and spray painted a nastygram on the wall .” “ How the —? Hold on I ’ m toggling the cameras .” Dobbin could hear Charlie Sparks breathing over the walkie - talkie . Same with the stairwells .” “ I take it this death threat wasn ’ t here during your rounds an hour ago .” “ Hell no .” “ Well call it into Central double - check the doors and get up here . We need to do a room - by - room sweep .” Ten minutes later Dobbin ’ s partner on the night shift scaled the stairs to the top floor of the six - story commercial loft in the heart of Manhattan ’ s Tribeca District . The nineteenth - century warehouse building had fallen on hard times and then found new life with a renovation that transformed it into the national headquarters of Heartland Family Planning . As he closed the stair door behind him Sparks swiped a card key through the jamb reader to set the door into alarm mode . The illuminated display changed from green to red . He then joined his partner by the defaced wall . “ Damn ” Sparks hissed through his teeth . “ We set ?” Dobbin asked . “ Main floor perimeter is locked down . The elevators are parked on one and if they pop a stair door without a card key we ’ ll hear about it .” “ Good . Let ’ s start with the conference room and work our way around .” Sparks nodded . The pair drew their side arms and moved into position on the strike side of the door to the floor ’ s large conference room . Sparks swiped his card key to unlock the door . On Dobbin ’ s signal Sparks grabbed the lever handle and opened the door . Sensors inside the room detected the sudden motion and the lights suspended over the conference table flickered on . They entered and visually swept the room their eyes tracking in concert with the barrels of their Sig Sauer P250s . Both signaled a thumbs - up confirming that the room was clear . Sparks locked the door as they exited and the pair moved on to the next room . The sixth floor housed the administrative offices of Heartland Family Planning a nationwide network of clinics and counseling facilities offering a full range of women ’ s reproductive health services . No patients or clients visited the Tribeca facility . This building contained only the back - office legal and administrative functions associated with the specialty healthcare provider . The guards searched counterclockwise around the floor checking the offices belonging to Heartland ’ s senior staff and finding nothing amiss . Halfway through their circuit Dobbin led the way through the open office area that served as the antechamber to the chief executive officer ’ s inner sanctum . Finding no one hiding under the desks the security guards proceeded to an imposing wood door . Sparks again cleared the electronic lock opened the door and followed Dobbin in . As the senior man Dobbin believed in leading by example especially with a new guard like Sparks who had only spent a few weeks on the job . He took two steps into the room then felt his partner move into position behind him . The city glistened through the arched windows of the large office . And as the lights came on Dobbin saw a can of spray paint on top of the CEO ’ s glass and steel desk . He took a step toward the desk quietly thankful for its open frame construction that offered no place of concealment . The office smelled of fresh acrylic and a single word clung wetly to the glass desktop : MURDERER . “ Our perp must still be in the suite ” Dobbin said just above a whisper . Then everything went black for Dobbin . Sparks watched his partner collapse onto the carpeted floor the unconscious man ’ s awkward descent ended with a muffled thud and the clatter of his dislodged sidearm . A satisfied smile curled in the corners of his mouth — his time playing the role of Charlie Sparks was over and [TGT] ’ s real work could now begin . The device in his hand bore a passing resemblance to a Taser though its technological innards were considerably more sophisticated . A fan of Star Trek from his youth Palmer called his invention a disrupter because it did exactly that to the low - voltage current that powers the human body . It was much like flipping a switch and depending on the intensity the effect could be temporary or permanent . [TGT] left [TGT] former partner where [TGT] fell and sat behind the CEO ’ s desk . During [TGT] rounds over the previous weeks [TGT] had loaded select computers with keystroke traps collecting legitimate usernames and passwords . Bit by bit [TGT] fashioned a temporary identity with unfettered access to the wealth of information stored in Heartland ’ s data center . [TGT] slipped a flash drive into the USB port and the programs it contained came to life . A window opened on the CEO ’ s flat screen monitor displaying the status of [TGT] ’ s data mining effort . Satisfied that all was performing as planned [TGT] left the office whistling the dwarf ’ s work song from Disney ’ s Snow White . In addition to scouring Heartland ’ s electronic archives the programs [TGT] unleashed tapped the building ’ s security network bypassing live camera feeds with prerecorded imagery . [TGT] made [TGT] way through the building to the loading dock . Just outside the service door [TGT] found the pair of homeless men [TGT] had befriended over the past few weeks . “ Look it ’ s Charlie ” one said warmly [TGT] face expectant like a dog ’ s upon the return of [TGT] master . Both men staggered to their feet hopeful for another few dollars to carry them through the coming day . “ Hey fellas real cold out tonight . Wanna step inside and warm up a bit ?” “ C - can we ?” one asked surprised by the offer . I ’ ll kick on the dock heaters .” [TGT]led the two men through the open door . Once inside [TGT] quickly stunned both with the disrupter . [TGT] then stripped the men and dressed the one closest to [TGT] height and build in an identical guard uniform . The other wino [TGT] clad in activist chic — used jeans a hooded sweatshirt and a careworn army field jacket . [TGT]stuffed the threadbare grimy rags [TGT] had peeled from the men into a large black trash bag that [TGT] set beside the loading dock door . [TGT] loaded the two men on a dolly along with a pair of backpacks and checked [TGT] watch — right on schedule . Once on the sixth floor [TGT] set the stage . [TGT] laid the fake guard on the floor outside the CEO ’ s office door where [TGT] had stood when [TGT] incapacitated Dobbin . [TGT] dragged the faux activist into the office setting him against a credenza between two of the arched windows and placed both backpacks on top of the desk . From one he removed a pair of jeans and other layers appropriate for this time of year in the city . He quickly changed clothes and stuffed his uniform into the empty backpack . [TGT]waited for the computer to chime then [TGT] withdrew the flash drive and tucked it into [TGT] pocket . [TGT] saw the fading remnants of the programs erase themselves and knew that all traces of their actions would disappear from the internal network . Satisfied he reached into the second backpack and activated a timer . As it counted down he slung the backpack containing his uniform over his shoulder and departed . Down on the main floor Palmer picked up the black trash bag and slipped out the back door into the alley . He followed a meandering course away from the building and dumped the trash bag in a pile of refuse awaiting the 5 : 00 a . m . garbage collection . He heard a low dull rumble as he neared the subway station and then saw a bright flash as flames leaped skyward from the top floor of the Heartland building . | 1Neutral
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197 | This Little Girl's Before And After School Hairdo Is Going Viral | Markeisha | year - old Charle - feigh dropped her daughter off with perfectly coiffed hair on the first day of kindergarten . But as Markeisha ' s Facebook pic shows Charle - feigh didn ' t come home that day with the same hairdo . Charle - feigh apparently decided to alter the special ' do herself at school and returned home let ' s say looking a bit different . Markeisha says she " lost it all " when she saw her daughter ' s hair but she appreciated everyone ' s interest after she posted the before and after pics . Markeisha wrote in the comments " Thanks everyone ! She is really a joy ! I was upset true ! But me and my baby laughed together at her hair redo !" | year - old Charle - feigh dropped her daughter off with perfectly coiffed hair on the first day of kindergarten . But as Markeisha ' s Facebook pic shows Charle - feigh didn ' t come home that day with the same hairdo . Charle - feigh apparently decided to alter the special ' do herself at school and returned home let ' s say looking a bit different . [TGT]says she " lost it all " when she saw her daughter ' s hair but she appreciated everyone ' s interest after she posted the before and after pics . [TGT]wrote in the comments " Thanks everyone ! She is really a joy ! I was upset true ! But me and my baby laughed together at her hair redo !" | 2Positive
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198 | A Man Says George Takei Groped Him While He Was Passed Out | Scott Brunton | Scott Brunton had just gone through a bad breakup when actor George Takei offered to take him out on the town . It was the summer of 1981 and Takei then 44 was well - known for his role as Lt . Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek . The two men knew each other socially . “ It was a very hard breakup for me and he said ‘ Well let me take you out to dinner and the theater and we will talk ’" said Brunton who was 23 at the time . “ And I thought OK that would be nice .” The two men — who hadn ’ t spent time together one - on - one before — spent the evening out before returning to Takei ’ s Los Angeles condo for a cocktail Brunton said . Takei prepared a drink in the kitchen and brought it out to Brunton who was in the living room . Brunton recalled that Takei served it in a Star Trek glass which he found “ a bit cheesy .” “ I ’ m pouring my heart out on my sleeve to him ” talking about the breakup Brunton said . “ He is very sympathetic . And then he asked if I would like another drink and I said ‘ Sure .’” But by the second cocktail Brunton said he felt like he was going to pass out . “ I was shaky ” he told BuzzFeed News in an interview . “ I said ‘ I have to lie down .’ He said ‘ Come over here and sit .’” Brunton recalls sitting down on a yellow beanbag chair . He doesn ’ t know how much time passed but the next thing he remembers is waking up his pants down around his ankles and Takei on top of him pushing his hand down his underwear Brunton said . “ He ’ s on top of me trying with his hand down my underwear [ to ] pull my underwear down ” said Brunton . Brunton said he then pushed Takei off and asked what he was doing . He said Takei told him he was trying to make him comfortable . Brunton said he told Takei he had to go home though he was “ still a little bit out of it .” Takei told him that he was in no condition to drive Brunton said and he agreed but told the older actor he was leaving anyway . " I got my pants up composed myself and I just couldn ’ t believe this whole thing happened " Brunton told BuzzFeed News . " I went out to my car and I sat in it and that was that ." A representative for Takei denied multiple detailed requests for comment saying the actor was traveling . After this story was published Takei tweeted on Saturday morning saying the events Brunton described " simply did not occur ." He also said he did not remember Brunton . " I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them " Takei said . " The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur and I do not know why he has claimed them now . I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr . Brunton and I cannot say I do ." Takei said he took the claims very seriously and wanted to provide a thoughtful response . " Right now it is a he said / he said situation over alleged events nearly 40 years ago . But those that know me understand that non - consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful " Takei said . Five of Brunton ’ s friends independently told BuzzFeed News that they have heard Brunton tell the story at various times over the years . One of those friends Jan Steward told BuzzFeed News she recalled Brunton telling her the story at the dinner table roughly a decade ago . “ It was clearly very very upsetting to him ” she said . | [TGT] had just gone through a bad breakup when actor George Takei offered to take him out on the town . It was the summer of 1981 and Takei then 44 was well - known for his role as Lt . Hikaru Sulu on Star Trek . The two men knew each other socially . “ It was a very hard breakup for me and he said ‘ Well let me take you out to dinner and the theater and we will talk ’" said Brunton who was 23 at the time . “ And I thought OK that would be nice .” The two men — who hadn ’ t spent time together one - on - one before — spent the evening out before returning to Takei ’ s Los Angeles condo for a cocktail [TGT] said . Takei prepared a drink in the kitchen and brought it out to [TGT] who was in the living room . [TGT] recalled that Takei served it in a Star Trek glass which [TGT] found “ a bit cheesy .” “ I ’ m pouring my heart out on my sleeve to him ” talking about the breakup [TGT] said . “ He is very sympathetic . And then he asked if I would like another drink and I said ‘ Sure .’” But by the second cocktail [TGT] said [TGT] felt like [TGT] was going to pass out . “ I was shaky ” [TGT] told BuzzFeed News in an interview . “ I said ‘ I have to lie down .’ [TGT] said ‘ Come over here and sit .’” [TGT] recalls sitting down on a yellow beanbag chair . [TGT] doesn ’ t know how much time passed but the next thing [TGT] remembers is waking up [TGT] pants down around [TGT] ankles and Takei on top of [TGT] pushing [TGT] hand down [TGT] underwear [TGT]said . “ [TGT] ’ s on top of me trying with [TGT] hand down my underwear [ to ] pull my underwear down ” said [TGT]. [TGT]said [TGT] then pushed Takei off and asked what he was doing . [TGT]said Takei told him he was trying to make him comfortable . [TGT]said [TGT] told Takei [TGT] had to go home though [TGT] was “ still a little bit out of it .” Takei told [TGT] that [TGT] was in no condition to drive [TGT]said and [TGT] agreed but told the older actor [TGT] was leaving anyway . " I got my pants up composed myself and I just couldn ’ t believe this whole thing happened [TGT]told BuzzFeed News . " I went out to my car and I sat in it and that was that ." A representative for Takei denied multiple detailed requests for comment saying the actor was traveling . After this story was published Takei tweeted on Saturday morning saying the events [TGT] described " simply did not occur ." He also said he did not remember [TGT]. " I want to assure you all that I am as shocked and bewildered at these claims as you must feel reading them " Takei said . " The events he describes back in the 1980s simply did not occur and I do not know why he has claimed them now . I have wracked my brain to ask if I remember Mr . [TGT]and I cannot say I do ." Takei said he took the claims very seriously and wanted to provide a thoughtful response . " Right now it is a he said / he said situation over alleged events nearly 40 years ago . But those that know me understand that non - consensual acts are so antithetical to my values and my practices the very idea that someone would accuse me of this is quite personally painful " Takei said . Five of [TGT] ’ s friends independently told BuzzFeed News that they have heard [TGT]tell the story at various times over the years . One of those friends Jan Steward told BuzzFeed News she recalled [TGT]telling her the story at the dinner table roughly a decade ago . “ It was clearly very very upsetting to [TGT] ” she said . | 1Neutral
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199 | Roy Moore Is Doing Bernie Sanders Progressives a Big Old Favor . | Bernie Sanders | Corbyn is so far left , he makes Bernie look like a third way pro-business moderate .
The typical winning Democratic playbook is one of triangulation and moderation , but the radicalism of the regional Republicans creates a national opportunity for progressive leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders , both formerly derided as unviable . | Corbyn is so far left , he makes Bernie look like a third way pro-business moderate .
The typical winning Democratic playbook is one of triangulation and moderation , but the radicalism of the regional Republicans creates a national opportunity for progressive leaders like Senators Elizabeth Warren or [TGT] , both formerly derided as unviable . | 0Negative
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200 | EPA chief may forgo 1st class flights amid growing scrutiny | Scott Pruitt | WASHINGTON ( AP ) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says he may start flying in coach amid increasing scrutiny of claims that he needs to fly first class because of security concerns . EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday he had instructed his staff to make changes that could include flying coach . " What I ' ve told them going forward is this : There is a change occurring you ' re going to accommodate the security threats as they exist you ' re going to accommodate those in all ways alternate ways up to and including flying coach and that is what ' s going to happen on my very next flight " Pruitt said . " So those things are happening right away ." That ' s a significant shift since last month when Pruitt said in interviews that his chief of staff and security team had determined he should fly in premium class seats following some unpleasant interactions with other passengers . Asked what had changed in the assessment of what was needed to keep Pruitt safe EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox referred back to Pruitt ' s CBS interview and declined to provide any additional context or comment . Since taking office last year Pruitt has been unusually secretive about his frequent air travel . In a break from his predecessors Pruitt ' s office consistently refuses to provide advance public notice of his trips typically releasing a schedule of his meetings and appearances only after they have occurred . Following recent media reports about Pruitt ' s pricey airfare the Republican - led House Oversight committee last week demanded copies of his travel records to be provided by March 6 . EPA ' s inspector general is also auditing Pruitt ' s 2017 travel costs . Federal regulations allow government travelers to fly business class or first class when no cheaper options are " reasonably available " or if there are exceptional security circumstances . Wilcox told reporters last month that Pruitt had obtained a " blanket waiver " allowing him to take premium flights . Such a blanket waivers are also barred under federal rules however and Wilcox later said Pruitt was granted separate waivers by ethics officials for each flight . EPA has declined to provide any public explanation of its evolving account and has thus far refused to release copies of the waivers allowing Pruitt to fly first class . The Associated Press is among several organizations that has sought a full accounting of Pruitt ' s travel and security expenses under the Freedom of Information Act . Though some records were released following lawsuits filed against the agency EPA has so far refused to say how much public money has been spent for Pruitt and his staff to travel across the country and on international trips . The limited records that have been provided show Pruitt ' s airfare is often several times more expensive than that of aides booked on the same flights . Often those trips have included weekend - long layovers in Pruitt ' s home state of Oklahoma . Last month Pruitt said there were some " incidents " on flights that prompted his need for first - class seats . EPA has refused requests from AP to provide any details about those incidents . Pruitt is the first EPA administrator to require around - the - clock protection from an armed security detail . He has also taken other security precautions including the addition of a $ 25 000 soundproof " privacy booth " inside his office to prevent eavesdropping on his phone calls and spending $ 3 000 to have his office swept for hidden listening devices . ___ Follow AP environmental writer Michael Biesecker at http :// Twitter . com / mbieseck The Associated Press . | WASHINGTON ( AP ) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency says he may start flying in coach amid increasing scrutiny of claims that he needs to fly first class because of security concerns . [TGT]said in an interview with CBS News on Wednesday [TGT] had instructed [TGT] staff to make changes that could include flying coach . " What I ' ve told them going forward is this : There is a change occurring you ' re going to accommodate the security threats as they exist you ' re going to accommodate those in all ways alternate ways up to and including flying coach and that is what ' s going to happen on my very next flight " [TGT]said . " So those things are happening right away ." That ' s a significant shift since last month when [TGT]said in interviews that [TGT] chief of staff and security team had determined [TGT] should fly in premium class seats following some unpleasant interactions with other passengers . Asked what had changed in the assessment of what was needed to keep [TGT]safe EPA spokesman Jahan Wilcox referred back to Pruitt ' s CBS interview and declined to provide any additional context or comment . Since taking office last year [TGT]has been unusually secretive about [TGT] frequent air travel . In a break from [TGT] predecessors [TGT] office consistently refuses to provide advance public notice of his trips typically releasing a schedule of his meetings and appearances only after they have occurred . Following recent media reports about [TGT] ' s pricey airfare the Republican - led House Oversight committee last week demanded copies of his travel records to be provided by March 6 . EPA ' s inspector general is also auditing Pruitt ' s 2017 travel costs . Federal regulations allow government travelers to fly business class or first class when no cheaper options are " reasonably available " or if there are exceptional security circumstances . Wilcox told reporters last month that [TGT]had obtained a " blanket waiver " allowing [TGT] to take premium flights . Such a blanket waivers are also barred under federal rules however and Wilcox later said [TGT]was granted separate waivers by ethics officials for each flight . EPA has declined to provide any public explanation of its evolving account and has thus far refused to release copies of the waivers allowing Pruitt to fly first class . The Associated Press is among several organizations that has sought a full accounting of [TGT] s travel and security expenses under the Freedom of Information Act . Though some records were released following lawsuits filed against the agency EPA has so far refused to say how much public money has been spent for Pruitt and his staff to travel across the country and on international trips . The limited records that have been provided show [TGT]' s airfare is often several times more expensive than that of aides booked on the same flights . Often those trips have included weekend - long layovers in Pruitt ' s home state of Oklahoma . Last month [TGT]said there were some " incidents " on flights that prompted [TGT] need for first - class seats . EPA has refused requests from AP to provide any details about those incidents . [TGT]is the first EPA administrator to require around - the - clock protection from an armed security detail . [TGT] has also taken other security precautions including the addition of a $ 25 000 soundproof " privacy booth " inside [TGT] office to prevent eavesdropping on [TGT] phone calls and spending $ 3 000 to have [TGT] office swept for hidden listening devices . ___ Follow AP environmental writer Michael Biesecker at http :// Twitter . com / mbieseck The Associated Press . | 0Negative
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