The following incidents were reported to the Niceville Police Department in recent days.
- A man told police he was recuperating from an accident and went to stay with a friend on Bullock Boulevard. He took his Xbox with him to use while he convalesced. He said his friend moved and took the Xbox with him. Police tried to track down the friend but the complainant said he would get back with them when he had better information about his friend�s whereabouts.
- A woman on Kelly Road said somebody stole her medications. She said pills were taken from her room. There was no sign of forced entry, police reported.
- A man on Kelly Road called police to say a black bear was eating out of his garbage can. Then, he said the bear had moved across the street and was eating out of his neighbor�s garbage can. An officer couldn�t find the bear.


Madison - A Dane County judge's ruling striking down many limits on collective bargaining for public workers will likely be appealed quickly and could go straight to a showdown on a divided, but often conservative-leaning state Supreme Court.
What is less clear is whether the state's highest court will repeat last year's decision when the justices restored the collective bargaining law after it had been struck down following a very different challenge.
Last year's case required the justices to decide whether lawmakers violated the open meetings law when they passed the collective bargaining measure, but the current case "is much more fundamental," said Janine Geske, a former state Supreme Court justice, now a distinguished professor of law at Marquette University.
Geske said the prior case looked at the process followed, while Friday's ruling by Judge Juan Colas focuses on whether the law violated the constitutional rights of people who belong to unions - a question likely to have broad repercussions.
"Can you treat non-represented employees differently than employees represented by a union?" Geske said, citing one of the issues raised in Colas' ruling. "That impacts school boards all over the state."
Geske said that despite the state court's political tilt, it could defy expectations just as the U.S. Supreme Court did in upholding most of President Barack Obama's health care reform law.
"I do think you could have a very different decision because the issues are very different," Geske said. "Yes, I think it's going to be a split on the court, but you never know. . . . All you need is one justice to look at it differently to have a different result."
Others, however, suspect a repeat of last year's 4-3 ruling from the court. A four-justice bloc on the court often tilts conservative on major issues.
"It wouldn't be too surprising if this decision were to face a frosty reception from the conservatives on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court," said Paul M. Secunda, an associate professor at Marquette University Law School.
While the U.S. Supreme Court has, on occasion, defied expectations, Secunda said Wisconsin's highest court appears less inclined to do so. "This is not a court," he said, "that instills a great deal of faith in people who want to see a nonpartisan, deliberative process take place."
The latest turn in Gov. Scott Walker's bid to end most collective bargaining for state and local workers came when Colas threw out many of the provisions put in place amid historic protests last year.
The law, known as Act 10, required public workers to pay more for their pensions and health care, limited bargained raises to inflation in most cases and eliminated workers' power to bargain over other issues.
Colas cited a number of constitutional issues, saying the law violated workers' rights to free speech, free association and equal representation under the law.
Act 10 exempted the police and firefighter unions from the restrictions on collective bargaining and established different wage restrictions for union and nonunion workers.
His ruling also faulted the collective bargaining law for setting pension contributions for city of Milwaukee employees in violation of the Wisconsin Constitution's "home rule" clause.
The law remains largely in force for state workers, but for city, county and school workers the decision by Colas returns the law to its status before Walker signed the legislation in March 2011.
The latest challenge to the collective bargaining law could result in a number of new parties seeking to intervene in the case, a lawyer involved in the matter predicted Saturday.
"The (court) paper is going to be flying," said Lester Pines, an attorney for a Madison teachers union. "This case will be continuing in litigation . . . but we're confident that this law is unconstitutional and will remain unconstitutional."
In a statement Saturday, Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said, "We believe that Act 10 is constitutional in all respects and will be appealing this decision. We also will be seeking a stay of Friday's decision pending appeal in order to allow the law to continue in effect as it has for more than a year while the appellate courts address the legal issues."
Walker also has said he expects the law to be upheld on appeal and characterized Colas as a Madison liberal. Colas was appointed by former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle.
The turmoil surrounding Act 10 is further complicated by a federal court ruling, issued in March, which knocked out portions of Act 10. Friday's ruling, however, invalidated far more provisions in the law.
The federal case will be argued before the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals on Sept. 24. Pines said that even if the 7th Circuit rules against the unions, he does not expect it to affect Colas' decision because the two cases were based on different arguments.
The protracted fight over Act 10 could create headaches for local governments, which have been operating under the terms of the new law for months.
Now parts of that law have been voided, but local officials know the status could again change in the appeals process.
Eighteen months after Walker signed the law, it is not even clear if the debate is finally in the end stages.
"It could be resolved within the next couple of months or it could be the next couple of years," said Secunda at Marquette. "I don't see the end anywhere in sight."


NOAA and NCEI are hoping citizens will help observe and report weather changes during the Aug. 21 eclipse.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Centers for Environmental Information are looking for help from citizens in a massive effort to observe and record weather changes during the total solar eclipse Monday.
Greenville, Anderson and much of the Upstate are in the path of totality. That means this area is set for one of the best views of the so-called "great American total solar eclipse."
About 2:38 p.m. Monday, the sky will go dark as the moon aligns with the sun, blocking all but a lighted ring, called the corona.
The natural phenomenon occurs about every 18 months, but this one is particularly rare for the U.S., because it crosses the mainland from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic, touching no other country. It's the first time in nearly a century this has occurred.
More: Interactive – How much of the eclipse will you see?
Scientists with NOAA hope to continue a 117-year-old tradition of observing and recording weather changes during an eclipse. In 1900, a group of 62 weather bureau stations took 25 sets of observations within 500 miles of the center of totality before, during and after the eclipse, according to NOAA.
Those observations included barometric pressure, temperature, vapor pressure, cloudiness, wind speed and direction. Observers noticed temperature drops of 3 to 4 degrees, wind speeds decreasing by about 1 mph, as well as increases in humidity and cloudiness.
The 2017 eclipse, with the help of technology, has the potential to gather far more data than in 1900. Anyone interested in contributing to the observations can do so by downloading the GLOBE Observer app available on smartphones. Users will be able to register as citizen scientists within the app. Instructions for providing eclipse observations will be provided inside the app.
Anyone interested in keeping a physical record of observations can download the weather observer chart provided by NOAA.


Los Angeles, CA (November 16, 2010) — Tributes have been pouring in from the elite of the entertainment and media arenas for Ronni Chasen, one of the industry’s preeminent press agents, who was tragically killed in the early morning hours of November 16, 2010. A funeral service for Ronni Chasen will be held on Sunday, November 21, at 11:00 a.m. at Hillside Memorial Park and Mortuary, located at 6001 West Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90045.
Over the course of her remarkable, decades-long career, Ronni Chasen earned the respect and admiration of her colleagues and the loyalty of her clients, to whom she was passionately devoted. Her work was an integral part of her life, and her love for her profession showed in her zeal for everything she did. Bringing more than 35 years of experience to bear, she approached her job with an extraordinary blend of old-school public relations and cutting-edge marketing. Her singular enthusiasm and indefatigable spirit endeared her to everyone with whom she worked, and it was common knowledge in the industry that it was impossible to say “no” to Ronni when she set her sights on something—never for herself, always in the interests of her clients.
Her impressive client roster ranged from Oscar-winning filmmakers and composers—all of whom are expressing grief and shock today—to international production companies, record labels, film festivals and fashion houses. She was also a sought-after awards campaign consultant, who had worked with virtually every major studio, as well as independent film companies. Over the years, she was also a mentor to many aspiring publicists, who went on to have successful careers of their own.
Born and raised in New York, Ronni Chasen began her career in public relations in the theater. Moving to Los Angeles, she headed publicity for American International Pictures and then served for 10 years as Executive Vice President of Motion Pictures at the prestigious Rogers & Cowan agency. She later held the post of Senior Vice President of Publicity for MGM.
For almost 20 years, Ronni Chasen enjoyed her greatest success as the head of her own boutique agency, Chasen & Company, where she worked with a broad range of personal and corporate clients.
Under her leadership, Chasen & Company became well known for its inventive campaigns for a diversified list of films, recently including Alice In Wonderland, Crazy Heart, Brothers, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, He’s Just Not That Into You, I Love You Man, Doubt, The Wrestler, Sweeney Todd, There Will Be Blood, Babel, Dreamgirls, Little Miss Sunshine, Walk The Line, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. As an awards strategist Chasen contributed to over 150 Oscar nominations and numerous wins, including seven Best Picture winners: The Hurt Locker, Slumdog Millionaire, No Country For Old Men, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Chicago, Shakespeare In Love, and Driving Miss Daisy.
In 2000, Chasen & Company was honored to handle public relations for the 72nd Academy Awards produced by Richard D. Zanuck and Lili Fini Zanuck.
In recent years, Chasen & Company music clients garnered more than 65 Grammy nominations, winning in six major categories, including the prestigious “Album of the Year” (for 1995’s Jagged Little Pill). Ronni was regarded as the premier publicist for many of the world’s leading film composers, including Hans Zimmer, Howard Shore, Ennio Morricone, Elliot Goldenthal, Thomas Newman, Harry Gregson-Williams, James Newton Howard and Jan Kaczmarek.
She continued to work in the legitimate theatre, where she was involved in the publicity campaigns for such shows as Mary Poppins, Randy Newman’s Faust, Julie Taymor’s The Green Bird, The Lion King and Thoroughly Modern Millie, as well as the ballet Othello and the opera Grendel.
Chasen was a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, the American Film Institute, NARAS, and Women in Film.


The Texas Department of Transportation’s land purchases for the expansion of Interstate 35E in North Texas are part of a federal grand jury’s probe into potential criminal activity, according to state records obtained by The Dallas Morning News.
The agency confirmed the federal investigation in a letter sent last month to the state attorney general’s office. TxDOT officials declined last week to discuss the inquiry, its scope or what prompted it.
“I really can’t comment on any aspect of it just because of the fact that it’s an active investigation by the feds,” agency spokesman Bob Kauffman said.
TxDOT notified the attorney general because the transportation agency wants to withhold copies of subpoenas regarding I-35E land acquisition. The News requested the subpoenas in February under the state’s Public Information Act.
The newspaper reported in December that two Dallas real estate men raked in millions of taxpayer dollars by buying right of way and then selling it to the state months later at a profit. The TxDOT letter did not say whether those purchases are part of the criminal investigations. However, people with knowledge of the situation said they were approached by FBI agents about those highway deals.
Business partners Kevin Bollman, 46, and Wade Blackburn, 31, have said they used public information about the highway projects to decide where and when to buy land along the highway corridor. The men later hired a former TxDOT official who had helped them coordinate the purchases of their land.
The state needed the land to widen I-35E in Denton County and to improve bridges and highways near downtown Dallas. Both projects had been on the books for many years, but they were subject to numerous delays and changes because of a lack of funding and other factors.
An attorney for Bollman, Matthew Orwig, said last week that the FBI has not approached either one of the men.
Information about TxDOT's highway projects is generally public and available to anyone. But it’s usually less clear when the state will begin acquiring right of way for projects because that decision is based on the availability of money and shifting priorities, experts say.
Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins said he didn’t know about the investigation but hopes that money was not improperly spent.
“It’s important that the public have trust for the process as we go about building these roads, but there will always be land speculators,” he said.
“And when you fund transportation in parts, it telegraphs where the next land purchase will be and drives up the price of that land,” Jenkins said.
In the TxDOT case, Bollman and Blackburn formed several business partnerships to buy properties along I-35E in Denton County and downtown Dallas since 2009. They then sold multiple parcels to TxDOT early in the state’s right-of-way acquisition process. The News identified at least 19 acres, using available public records.
Records show TxDOT paid Bollman and Blackburn at least $22.2 million over roughly a five-month period in 2011 for the Denton County parcels. It is not known how much the men originally paid for the property because real estate sales prices do not have to be disclosed in Texas.
The pair retained the services of Travis Henderson, a former TxDOT right-of-way official in the Dallas district who said he was hired to help them research real estate.
Henderson, 57, formed a consulting business after he retired from TxDOT in mid-2011. He told The News last year that the consulting work he has done for Bollman and Blackburn did not involve any of the projects he worked on as a TxDOT employee.
Since then, Henderson has declined to comment. But his attorney, Arnold Spencer, said last week that his client had no conflicts of interest based on his current and past work.
“He’s an individual who is a civil servant who worked hard for the state and is now working hard for his clients,” said Spencer, who declined to say whether his client has been approached or questioned by FBI agents.
In one of their TxDOT sales, a Bollman partnership bought 1 acre in Lewisville in 2011 for $2.2 million, according to appraisal district records. A month later, TxDOT paid $3.5 million for about two-thirds of the property, records show.
TxDOT makes offers based on its appraisals of property. And those appraisals use comparable sales in the area to arrive at a value.
But when offering to buy similar parcels for the I-35E project, TxDOT is not considering the higher prices it paid the Bollman partnerships for right of way, according to Joshua Westrom, a Denton eminent domain lawyer.
Westrom said TxDOT is offering his clients less money. In one case, for example, a Bollman partnership bought a 1-acre property for $9 a square foot and 10 months later sold half the property to the state for about $32 a square foot, Westrom said.


And now we're adrift in an ocean of sadness.
"Waterworld" is not a myth. I've seen it!
And, according to Kevin Costner, so have a bunch of other people around the world — and those people love it.
The reality is, we live in a world of remakes and reboots and sequels and such. Any and all existing properties are, at some point or another, considered for a revisit. So why not "Waterworld"? Given the ongoing conversation about global climate change, isn't now the perfect time for a movie about a future where the polar ice caps have melted and covered the world in water?
And just like that, all our "Waterworld" sequel hopes have been slapped out of our hands.


Libya closed the only functioning airport in the capital Tripoli after it came under rocket fire, the airport said Wednesday,.
Several rockets hit the perimeter of Mitiga International Airport on the eastern outskirts of Tripoli without causing any casualties but the violence undermined a fragile truce between the groups in Tripoli that the U.N. brokered last week.
Rival groups fought for several days in Tripoli until last week but the clashes had been mainly in the south of the city, whereas Mitiga airport lies in an eastern suburb.


The Sarasota Orchestra�s skillful performance of great moments from Oscar-worthy film scores effectively turned the usual structure of those films upside down. The wisdom of such a step is debatable, but the pleasure it provided on Saturday evening was undeniable.
n a production created by John Goberman's New York-based PGM Productions, excerpts from such iconic movies as �Gone With the Wind,� �Ben-Hur,� �An American in Paris,� �Citizen Kane� and �The Wizard of Oz� were screened while the orchestra, under Andrew Lane�s decisive direction, played the scores in synchronization with the images projected above them.
�The Adventures of Robin Hood� boasts a dynamic score by one of the European composers who effectively took over Hollywood movie music from 1930 to 1980, Erich Korngold. Unfortunately, the 1938 film�s sound track made separation of music and dialogue problematical, rendering the witty spoken words nearly unintelligible amid the resonance of the orchestra.
The same technical hurdle had a negative effect on Max Steiner�s score for the 1939 hit, �Gone with the Wind.� The fabulous sequence portraying the burning of Atlanta lacked both the dialogue and the sound effects so crucial to feeling the impact of the flames, the crowds and the collapsing buildings. However, the music underscoring Scarlett O�Hara�s vow never to be hungry again, including the glorious Tara Theme, matched the fine photography and early Technicolor beautifully.
1939 also saw the debut of another Technicolor spectacle, �The Wizard of Oz,� with a dazzling score by Herbert Stothart, including songs by Harold Arlen that live on, particularly in the ubiquitous �Somewhere Over the Rainbow,� played in both the film�s finale and the program overture.
Orson Welles always weighed the impact of music in his films very carefully. His debut film � never equalled, alas � was �Citizen Kane,� in which astonishing black-and-white cinematography and a rich score by Bernard Herrmann never miss a step. The excerpts included here, the opening and closing �Rosebud� sequences, were beautifully realized by the orchestra.
The greatest opportunity to blow us away occurred in the excerpts from Miklos Rosza�s score for �Ben-Hur.� By the time this film was made (1959), multi-track sound was the norm, making it possible for the producers of this concert to mix live sound with dialogue and effects, rendering all three more relevant. While the magnificent music was performed beautifully, its scale contrasted unfavorably with the small and somewhat dim projection, once more reminding us that the creators of these great films might well have been right in their original balance of music, sound effects, images and the spoken word.


Consultant recommends candidates from Miami, Colorado and New Jersey from among 28 applicants.
A consultant is recommending that Brevard County commissioners interview three candidates for consideration as the next county manager.
Daniel Alfonso, the city manager of Miami.
Todd Leopold, the former county manager of Adams County, Colorado.
John Pulomena, the county administrator in Middlesex County, New Jersey.
Higginbotham also named Dale Walker, the former county manager of Macon-Bibb County in Georgia, as a semifinalist.
The recommendation came from a pool of 28 people who applied for the position, a figure that was less than what Higginbotham initially had expected.
County commissioners can decide to hire one of the recommended candidates, hire someone else who applied or recruit someone else for the position.
Brevard's former county manager, Stockton Whitten, left on April 30 to take a position as associate vice president in charge of facilities and special projects at Eastern Florida State College.
Assistant County Manager Frank Abbate currently is serving as interim county manager, but did not apply for the permanent job.
County Commissioner John Tobia has placed an item on the County Commission agenda for its next regular meeting on July 11, asking the commission to consider Abbate for the job.
Tobia said he is impressed with Abbate's work, and wants commissioners to consider him.
Tobia said Abbate is "diligent" and "a pleasure to work with."
He said Brevard County government department heads he has "informally surveyed" have a good working relationship with him.
"He is well-liked and respected," Tobia said.
Furthermore, Tobia described the pool of candidates as "weak," and doesn't want the county to spend any more money on the job search — including bringing out-of-town candidates in for an interview — until commissioners get a chance to consider Abbate.
In a letter to county management, Tobia wrote: "Due to the lack of diverse, qualified candidates who applied for the county manager position, and concerns with several of the finalists selected by The Mercer Group, it is in the best interests of Brevard County to put a temporary halt to any further expenses incurred in recruitment."
Tobia said that, since May 1, when Abbate became interim county manager, "it has become abundantly clear that the county already has a top-tier candidate within its ranks. Interim County Manager Frank Abbate has demonstrated exceptional skill in this position. He is a man of integrity who is respected by the members of the legislative, executive and administrative branches of our county government."
"To illustrate this point, in response to an anonymous survey my office sent to our department directors, Mr. Abbate was mentioned by name as the ideal county manager," Tobia wrote. "Perhaps more importantly, the qualities and experience which these directors have described as essential in a county manager match those of Mr. Abbate."
Higginbotham said, of the 28 applicants, he considered only seven "minimally qualified," and chose six of them for one-on-one interviews, then narrowed the list further.
The only Brevard County resident to apply for Whitten's job was Palm Bay City Manager Gregg Lynk, who consultant Higginbotham put on his list as a "second-tier" semifinalist — in effect, ranking him fifth of the 28 applicants. But Lynk on June 14 withdrew his name from consideration.
County commissioners received copies of material submitted by all 28 applicants. So they can add or subtract people from the list to be interviewed.
In a letter to county commissioners, Higginbotham encouraged them to schedule interviews with the leading candidates for the job as soon as possible.
"As time elapses after the closing date, the more likely we will lose good candidates," Higginbotham wrote. The application period closed June 9. But the County Commission does not meet during June.
Whitten gave the county nearly two months' notice before leaving for the EFSC job.
The county manager job posting did not give a salary range for the job but noted that "the salary for the most recent county manager was $188,000 annually, with an excellent fringe benefit package."
The latest salaries for Alfonso, Leopold and Pulomena all are more than $200,000 a year.
Alfonso and Lynk were among six candidates from Florida who applied for the job. Other candidates came from 16 other states and the District of Columbia.
Brevard County Human Resources Director Jerry Visco attributed the relatively small number of applicants to "market conditions" — basically, who was looking for a job at the time the search was underway.


The Lowcountry was spared of Hurricane Irene’s wrath last week, but Sun City took the storm seriously and was prepared to batten down the hatches if the threat of a hurricane hitting the area became a reality.
Community Association staff monitored the storm and began preparations for Hurricane Irene early last week with several formal meetings to implement the Community Associations’ Hurricane Preparedness Plan, which covers preseason planning, all the way up to evacuation, said Damon Williams, the assistant executive director.
Planning for Hurricane Irene reached the notification stage locally early last week. All Sun City directors reviewed departmental standard operating procedures as a group to ensure there were no holes in the plan and all responsibilities were clear. The Community Association was lucky that Hurricane Irene swayed eastward and Sun City never reached the hurricane watch/standby mode, Williams added.
In preparation for a possible hit of Hurricane Irene, the Facilities Services Department stocked its emergency preparedness trailer, fueled vehicles, secured barricades and other heavy equipment, readied storm panels and arranged for delivery of the emergency generator for Sun City’s recovery headquarters. Staff also confirmed operation of satellite phones and other communication devices, and readied fuel tanks for filling, and procured storage boxes, trash bags and other supplies.
The Community Association also sent out daily Hurricane Irene updates to residents via email, encouraging them to be prepared for the storm.
By Monday last week, Hurricane Irene appeared to be on track to smack into the Lowcountry. The storm veered further east as the week wore on. Coastal South Carolina to the north of Beaufort County, from Edisto Beach to the border of North Carolina, was under a tropical storm warning as of last Thursday afternoon, according to the National Hurricane Center. Locally, there was a high risk of rip currents along the coastal waters on Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
North Carolina all the up to northeast Atlantic states were affected by Hurricane Irene and sustained power outages, fallen trees and flooding.
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Tirupati Railway station is situated in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Station code of Tirupati is TPTY. Here are some trains that are passing through Tirupati railway station like Kerala Express, Kerala Express, Nizamuddin Exp, Swarna Jayanti, Nizamuddin Exp, Ers Millenum Ex, Gurudev Express, and many more.


NAIROBI (Reuters) - The global price of cashew nuts has jumped nearly 10 percent over the past week, after Tanzania’s government started buying the entire country’s stock at a higher price, a trader said.
Growers of cashews, the most valuable export crop for the East African nation, had been holding back from selling after prices fell below what they said it cost them to produce.
President John Magufuli last week ordered a 94 percent increase in the domestic price to help the farmers and told the government to buy the estimated 220,000 tonne crop after private buyers balked at the higher price.
Army personnel have been ferrying truck loads of the crop purchased by the government to selected storage areas.
The price of the commodity has risen to $3.80 per pound from $3.50 in the last seven to ten days, said Michael Stevens, a commodities trader at Scotland-based Freeworld Trading.
Global kernel prices hit a high of $4.8 per pound at the beginning of the year, but as demand from the United States and Europe fell, they declined to $3.2 in October, an analyst at Cashewinfo, an India-based industry research organisation, said.
He said the price was currently around $3.8-3.9 per pound.
In the United States and Europe, cashew kernels compete with other nuts, like almonds and pistachios. With every increase in cashew prices relative to other nuts, its usage in snacks starts falling. Snacks account for over 60 percent of the demand for cashews, the analyst said.
Traders said they were assessing how Tanzania, a top ten global producer, would be able to get its cashews to the main buyers in India and Vietnam before the end of the year, after which harvests from other producers in South and West Africa will start to come into the market.
“Between now and then, it’s not clear what the price will be. If buyers think the price will continue to go up then they might come in and buy,” Stevens said.
“Some of the smaller packers may just close early and not be able to afford the price of raw seeds that’s been quoted,” he said.


Genetically engineered food was once a concern of vegetarians, environmentalists and ethically concerned chefs, but the failure of Propositionn 37 on California’s ballot in November brought the issue into the mainstream—and Florida has entered the fray.
Earlier this week, bills were introduced in the Florida House and Senate that would require labeling of genetically engineered (GE) foods in the Sunshine State. There is no federal requirement that labels disclose GE foods.
ingredients, which have become pervasive in our food system.
According to Food & Water Watch—a consumer advocacy group that supported the drafting of the proposed GE-labeling legislation in Florida—the European Union is among nearly 50 developed countires that require the labeling of GE products they import from the U.S.
If you’re against genetically modified foods, you can sign Food & Water Watch’s “Let Me Decide” petition supporting labeling. Visit the organization’s website: www.fwwatch.org.


Verizon has agreed to buy AOL for $4.4 billion.
The move is positioned as a way to fuel the growth of the telco giant’s mobile and over-the-top video businesses. AOL’s assets and expertise in mobile content and advertising will support Verizon’s goal of creating a “global multiscreen network platform” that delivers content for consumers wherever they are, and helps advertisers reach them while they’re there, according to Lowell McAddam, chairman and CEO of Verizon.
“At Verizon, we’ve been strategically investing in emerging technology, including Verizon Digital Media Services and OTT, that taps into the market shift to digital content and advertising. AOL’s advertising model aligns with this approach, and the advertising platform provides a key tool for us to develop future revenue streams,” he added in a statement.
AOL’s chairman and CEO Tim Armstrong will remain at the helm following the completion of the deal, which will turn AOL into a wholly owned subsidiary of Verizon.
The deal is expected to close this summer. It was advised by LionTree Advisors, Guggenheim Partners, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges for Verizon, and Allen & Company LLC and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz for AOL.
Video Discovery: Why Hasn’t Anyone Solved It (Yet)?


Arsenal boss Unai Emery has spoken out on his plans at left-back after Ainsley Maitland-Niles suffered a leg fracture which rules the youngster out for up to eight weeks.
Maitland-Niles started against Manchester City at the weekend but the 20-year-old was forced off after only 35 minutes of Arsenal’s opening Premier League match of the 2018/19 campaign.
Summer signing Stephan Lichtsteiner came on to replace Maitland-Niles at left-back and Emery is considering starting the experienced Swiss against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
Another option for Emery is Nacho Monreal who missed the Gunners’ 2-0 defeat to City but rejoined his team-mates in training this week after returning from a knee problem.
Sead Kolasinac is also unavailable with a knee injury and the Bosnian is expected back in October.
‘It’s clear that we don’t want to have injuries in the team. When you want to play and be competitive, they can arrive,’ Emery said when discussing Arsenal’s injury concerns at left-back.
‘The first injury with Kolasinac was important because I think he was playing well in pre-season. But we needed to play with another player like Ainsley [once Kolasinac was injured].
‘His performance can improve, he can get better in his career in the team. Maybe not especially at left-back, but he was playing well in the first 25 minutes on Sunday.
‘After this injury, I tried with Lichtsteiner, who is a player with experience. He can play at left-back but his position in the team is more at right-back.
Emery is hoping for a ‘good response’ from his players at Stamford Bridge following the side’s defeat to City.
‘First, we want to build a competitive team,’ the Spaniard said.
‘We are going to play away but we need to keep our personality, keep our mentality, because I think on Sunday against Manchester City, the team kept their ideas, kept their spirit in the game for the full 90 minutes, even when we were losing, and didn’t let [their heads] go down.
‘That was a good thing, [despite] us losing 2-0. I want us to continue with this work and to be competitive for 90 minutes, but with a better performance than on Sunday, both individually and collectively.


Students are encouraged to write with new reward program.
SAINT THOMAS - Danielle Parson had an interesting story to tell, but she wasn't sure how listeners would react to it.
"I didn't really think anybody would like it," Parson said.
For a writing assignment, Parson was to write a personal narrative. She chose to recall the time she attended a Rockets football game and ended the night in the emergency room. For her writing efforts on her story, Parson was one of 13 Saint Thomas Elementary students whose writing ability and perseverance were recognized at a special party Thursday morning hosted by Principal Andrew Kyle and Kelly Nair, literacy coach at Saint Thomas.
Parson knew her story was being submitted to Kyle, but she didn't know her piece had been selected as one of the winners until her teacher told her right before the party.
"I was like, me?" Parson said, describing her reaction to having her story picked.
Parson said when she was given the assignment, that particular story was the first one to come to her mind. But it was one that she never really talked about, hence her hesitation about how it would be received. Her fears were for naught, as Kyle and the other students enjoyed her story.
"It was really fun being able to share my story with other people," Parson said.
Students ranging from kindergartners to fifth-graders had the chance to celebrate their winning writing assignments with Kyle at a "principal's publishing party." Introduced for the first time this year, the principal's publishing party rewards students' writing efforts, and is not entirely based on how well-written the piece is.
Students were assigned to write either a fiction story or a personal narrative. Teachers submitted the completed stories to Kyle for review, and then rather than simply rewarding those who had the best pieces, Kyle selected those that were not only well-written, but also showed improvement and growth, understanding of the content, knowledge of their subject and their hard work and dedication to the craft.
"It's one way to get them excited about writing and to celebrate them as writers," Nair said, adding that the project not only builds confidence but also teaches that writing is meant to be shared with others.
Publishing parties will be held every six to seven weeks during the school year.
Ideas for rewards for future projects include ice cream or Popsicles or taking the winners outside during the nice weather while sharing their work. Students and their writing always will be the focus, and students are encouraged to read their piece themselves, if they want to.
The assignments Kyle chooses for these parties will be hung in the area of the front office and the cafeteria. If a student's work is not selected, it will still be displayed on a wall outside each student's respective classroom, which means every student will be able to see his or work displayed somewhere in the school.
Third-grader Ella Dean also chose a hospital visit to write about for her personal narrative. Like Danielle, she too had never written about or told anyone about her experience. She said being selected did make her want to work harder in the future so she can return to the party later in the year. Her favorite part was having lunch with Kyle and sharing her story.
"Kids get a chance to share with each other," Kyle said. "I think it's great to get them down here and writing and excited about the whole writing process."


Baby on board! Kate Middleton made her first public appearance since announcing her second pregnancy during a meet and greet with The President of the Republic of Singapore and his wife, Mrs. Tony Tan Keng Yam, on Oct. 21.
Kate debuted her tiny baby bump in an gray Alexander McQueen coat with a matching Jane Taylor hat. We approve!
Kensington Palace confirmed yesterday that the Duchess of Cambridge is due in April.
“I’ve been looking forward to getting out of the house," Kate quipped with the President. “It’s a bit colder than when we last met,” she continued, speaking of their meeting in 2012.
Her husband, Prince William, who looked smart in a navy blue suit and burgundy tie, accompanied the Duchess.
The Princess is expected to attend the Wildlife Photographer of The Year 2014 Awards Ceremony at the Natural History Museum later today. We can’t wait to see what she’s going to wear next!
The royals are already parents to their one-year-old son, George.
Do you think George will have a baby brother or sister to play with? Tell us in the comments below or tweet us @OKMagazine.com!


Spare a thought for the good folk of Burslem in Stoke-on-Trent. Last year, the former Potteries hotspot was named as Britain’s foremost ghost town, where a staggering third of the high street shops are either boarded up or plastered with “to let” signs.
For a town with a proud history, including the home of Josiah Wedgwood’s first factory in the 18th century, its inhabitants must find its fall from grace desperately hard to swallow.
Still, if it’s any consolation, there are towns just like it up and down the country. Dewsbury in West Yorkshire came a close second with a 29pc closure rate, followed by Newport, Wales, at 27pc.


PwC must pay a $25 million penalty for misconduct in connection with a report submitted to regulators on behalf of a banking client.
An accounting firm that's supposed to help keep banks from breaking the rules ended up breaking the rules itself, improperly altering a document sent to regulators after it was pressured by a banking client.
As a result, PwC, also known as PricewaterhouseCoopers, is being suspended and must pay a $25 million penalty.
The New York Department of Financial Services is prohibiting PwC from doing certain consulting work for banks it regulates for 2 years. In addition to paying the fine, PwC has also agreed to change procedures to make sure the misconduct doesn't happen again.
Regulators say PwC changed the warning language in a report it submitted for its client, Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi. The language originally pointed out that the Japanese bank had done wire transfers on behalf of countries that face U.S. sanctions, such as Iran and Sudan.
But, after pressure from the bank , the language was whitewashed so it was less likely to trigger red flags with regulators.
"We are continuing to find examples of improper influence and misconduct in the bank consulting industry," said New York's Superintendent of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, in a statement. "It may well be advisable for us to take a hard look in the mirror and ask whether we are doing enough to root out and investigate this troubling web of conflicts."
PwC's U.S. advisory leader, Miles Everson, in a statement, defended the PwC report submitted to authorities, saying it was "detailed" and that it "disclosed the relevant facts."
"This matter relates to a single engagement completed more than six years ago in which PwC searched for and identified relevant transactions that were self-reported to regulators by PwC's client," Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi, Everson added.
Monday's announcement follows a similar agreement reached with Deloitte Financial Advisory Services in 2013. The company was suspended from accepting consulting engagements with institutions regulated by the New York bank watchdog.


Can you assist police with their investigations?
Victims of anti-social behaviour in Ripon have told the Gazette this week that they won’t allow offenders to rule by intimidation.
City residents are standing together to help Ripon Police with their crackdown, after a number of cars have been targeted with stone throwing and other criminal behaviour over recent months.
Police have identified a number of young people suspected of being involved.
Ripon taxi driver Richard Fieldman has urged residents to be vigilant, after his taxi was pelted with stones in the early hours of Saturday morning while driving customers over Bondgate Green bridge to Nidd village.
Mr Fieldman said: “It was very frightening for them and they didn’t know what was going on. We just heard a loud bang. People must report all of the incidents, this could cause a serious accident.
“Bondgate is becoming a no-go area, the same thing happened to my colleague in the area. We can’t let these people intimidate us and dictate our lives, something must be done about it. When I go over the bridge and around that area now, I keep my eyes peeled.
Ripon Police Beat Manager PC Matt Scott, said: “Over recent months North Yorkshire Police have received reports of Anti-Social Behaviour involving young people in Ripon. Some instances have involved the throwing of stones at moving vehicles and other criminal behaviour.
“Police are continuing to investigate reports and have identified some of the young people who are suspected of being involved and are taking appropriate action.
Ripon Police Sgt Andrew Tiffany, said: “This is unacceptable behaviour and we are taking it very seriously. We have identified a number of the youths involved in these incidents and positive action is being taken against them.


DAVID LE/Staff photo. 3/14/15. Danvers senior guard Vinny Clifford (21) drives hard to the hoop after blowing past Marlboro junior Brian Short. Danvers captured the D2 State Championship with a 52-49 win over the Panthers at the DCU Center in Worcester on Saturday afternoon for their third state title in four years under head coach John Walsh.


The Anchorage Police Department is investigating the deaths of two people found dead on a bicycle path Sunday morning.
Police found the two victims’ bodies just west of the intersection of N Post Road and Viking Drive around 7:45 a.m., according to a statement from police spokeswoman Renee Oistad.
Oistad said no arrests have been made.
This is a developing story; please check back for updates as they become available.
The post Police: 2 found dead on bike path near Ship Creek, foul play suspected appeared first on KTVA 11.


Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, infamous for killing his own citizens, once said he would stop swearing because God threatened him.
Now, in response to reports that House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez had several extramarital affairs, the oddly pious Duterte dismissed the allegations, saying Alvarez didn’t know any better because he wasn’t Christian.
“Even if Bebot (Alvarez’s nickname) says he has five or four (women), we can’t do anything. He never converted to Christianity so he is not bound by the number of women you can have,” Duterte said during the launch of the Metro Manila Development Authority crisis monitoring and management center in Makati.
Monogamy is by no means a concept exclusive to Christianity.
Duterte also asked the crowd, in bizarre Trumpian rhetorical fashion, Who among us doesn’t have mistresses? No word on how many hands went up. But he added that there was a simple way to get away with having affairs: Just tell everyone you don’t believe in God.
Duterte then teased Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista and asked him to look him straight in eyes while he was talking about womanizing.
“Look at me straight in the eyes. I’ll tell you, you (Bautista) are a liar,” the president said in jest.
Duterte even advised Bautista to introduce himself as an atheist so he can have as many women as he wants.
“You will be charged someday. Don’t tell them you are a Catholic or a Protestant. All you have to say is that I am an atheist… If you are an atheist. You can have as much as you want as long as you are able to support the children,” he said.
This is the sort of nasty stereotyping that’s so beyond the pale, it’s hard to take seriously. But this isn’t some random Christian saying it. It’s a world leader.
For what it’s worth, there’s an argument to be made for how atheists’ marriages last longer than religious ones, but it’s not like Duterte cares about facts. He’s going to keep saying outlandish things. Whether he’s joking or not, Duterte always elevates God (and puts down non-believers) despite doing things that virtually no Christian would ever condone.
Who Needs CrossFit When You Can Get Fit for the Cross?


Despite the decline of the camcorder market, Sony's latest HDR-GW77V Handycam looks to make a splash in the Handycam range.
Not only is the 10x optical zoom HDR-GW77V tough enough to survive a drop from 5 feet, it's also waterproof down to 16 feet.
The 29.8mm equivalent wide-angle lens can extend through to 298mm to capture far-away subjects on the move. Optical image stabilisation is also built into the lens to help steady capture.
The Handycam offers a 28Mbit/sec data rate when capturing 1080p60 movie files, while the back-illuminated Exmor R sensor can capture JPEG stills at a whopping 20.4-megapixels. There's even Sony's Intelligent Sweep Panorama mode - as featured in most Sony Alpha and Cyber-shot stills cameras - to capture a panoramic image by moving the Handycam through a scene in real time.
There's also a 3-inch, 921k-dot touchscreen LCD that's said to work while submerged, which is mounted on a vari-angle bracket for framing from all manner of different angles.
The GW77V, which comes with 16GB of memory built in, is anticipated to launch at the end of June with a $700 (USD) asking price. Although our pictures might suggest it's a bit of a chameleon, the model will be available in black, white and blue finishes.
However, there's no word as to whether it'll see a release on UK shores as yet.
Can the GW77V make enough of a splash to make you part with your cash?


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Examining the Recent Silver Rally, Will It Last?
Silver had a big day on February 28 th as it sharply rose by 4.5% - the sharpest gain for silver since January 3 rd when it added 5.94% to its value. But, unlike yesterday's gain, the rise in silver back then was prompted by the sharp increase in gold when it rose by 2.15%. Yesterday gold price increase by only 0.76%. Since the big bump in silver it managed to tumble down by 6.89% on Wednesday and then bounced back by nearly 3% on March 1 st. So what is going on with silver? And what could stop silver from reaching the $50 mark within the next few months?
Up to the sharp fall on Wednesday, silver added 8.4% to its value within five days. This rally seems to be more than just driven by the increase in the price of gold. After all, in the last five business days the price of gold rose by only 1%. It doesn't seem to be a matter of "silver is catching up with gold" movement because as seen in the chart below the ratio between gold to silver is in its lowest level since September 2011.
Recall that between February and April 2011 silver increased by nearly 80% and reached a record high of $48.6 on April 29 th, 2011. Back then it was mostly a matter of speculative money entering the silver market. The price soon plummeted during the first few days of May after CME raised the margins on silver to cool down the metals market.
I suspect the same thing is currently occurring in the silver market - i.e. speculative money entering the silver market. This means if the silver market will heat again as it did back in 2011; it might prompt CME to raise margins again.
The recent rise in silver's volatility raises the chances for a CME market intervention, a step that will bring the silver rally to a halt, but if silver will cool down CME might refrain from intervening from the time being.


JACK BUTLAND feared his career could have been finished by his ankle injury.
The 24-year-old Stoke keeper revealed repeated setbacks sent him to some dark places as he wondered if he’d ever get back.
Butland spoke candidly about his injury horror as he celebrated his recall to the England squad.
It was playing for England in Germany in March last year that he fractured his ankle and ended up being out for over a year.
Butland required surgery after the freak accident but then broke down again on the eve of the season.
He then required further surgery to repair scar tissue just before Christmas and didn’t return to the Stoke side until the final five games of the season.
He said: “Being out for so long makes you stronger but sometimes you reach your lowest point.
“There are times when you don’t know if you are going to play again, when the next injection or operation might be.
“So there are times when you are at rock bottom but that’s when you need the people around you to give you that bit of reassurance and positivity.
“I feel like I’ve pretty much experienced everything I can in football. Positive things, winning, losing, the injury side of it all the setbacks, so yeah.
Butland is just enjoying being back after the heartache of so long on the sidelines.
He said: “It feels extremely, extremely good to be back. It’s been a long time and to get the Three Lions back on my chest after some difficult times is really good.
“I’m just thoroughly enjoying being back and looking forward to the week ahead.
“You miss being out there with your team-mates and just experiencing the highs and the lows. It was the drive and belief of wanting to get back to where I was that kept me going.


While you were sleeping, innovation was sticking itself in what looks like a Blue Man Group’s torture chamber, phoning a friend from his smartphone, and noticing that there are similarities between Apple’s antenna testing facility and a vaccination patch.
1. Thad Allen, the man in charge of the BP leak, is worried that oil may be seeping out from the seabed, and has ordered BP to start thinking about reopening the cap to funnel oil to the surface. Not surprisingly, the firm’s shares have tanked on the news. It has also emerged that the blowout preventer was serviced in China rather than the U.S. in order to save money.
2. Steve Jobs has topped Media Guardian’s 100 list, leapfrogging over Sergey and Larry, due to the way he is changing the way we consume stuff. Most interesting fact from the top 10 is that Evan Williams is seen as more powerful than Mark Zuckerberg. The two social media bods are separated by Simon Cowell. Jobs’ firm Apple opened up its antenna test lab for all to see. It really is gorgeous, and the video is worth two minutes of your time. Although this one, from Taiwanese news channel NMA, showing an animated Steve Jobs, might be more up your alley.
3. Anyone with a phobia of needles may be pleased to know that researchers at Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology have created a patch that allows vaccinations via its 100 “microneedles.” As well as the less pain gain, it’s thought that the technology provides a more effective immunization, and will be good for self-medicators and the developing world.
4. Is this the supersonic car that’s going to hit 1,000 mph? Well, it’s a full-size model of it, at least. The design of the Bloodhound SuperSonic car has been unveiled at the Farnborough Air Show, and the back end is to be built by aerospace firm Hampston at the beginning of next year.
5. As the world watches to see if Rupert Murdoch’s paywall experiment works out, Guardian columnist Peter Preston has been doing the math with its competitor in the U.K., the Mail Online website. Preston’s colleague, comedian David Mitchell, went against popular Grauniad opinion by saying, reasonably, to see if Murdoch’s experiment works before excoriating it in public. Post-paywall, the first unofficial numbers have come in, and they are said to be disappointing. Just a tenth of the readers who registered have actually paid out for a subscription, according to former Times media correspondent Dan Sabbagh. And 12,500 iPad apps have been paid for.


ABERDEEN are expected to appoint Derek McInnes as their new manager.
Express Sport understands the former St Johnstone and Bristol City manager has agreed personal terms and could be installed, along with long-time assistant Tony Docherty, today. Current boss Craig Brown announced last week he was retiring and would step aside immediately if the club found an instant successor.
Aberdeen had a move for Ross County manager Derek Adams rebuffed before agreeing a deal with McInnes.
The 41-year-old’s first task at Pittodrie will be to try to earn the Dons a top-six spot.
Aberdeen sit in ninth place in the SPL and have won just once in 11 games in 2013, but they are only two points off the top half of the table with two games to come before the split.


Taxi operator Ola has retained market leadership in the city after registering a 40 per cent month-on-month growth, the company said.
CHENNAI: Taxi operator Ola has retained market leadership in the city after registering a 40 per cent month-on-month growth, the company said today.
Chennai is the second largest market for Ola after Bengaluru in which over 25,000 vehicles are registered on the platform, OLA said in a statement.
"Chennai accounts for the second largest share in Ola's one million daily requests, nationally," it said.
"We have constantly been building and innovating for the local market by bringing on board multiple categories for customers across Mini, Sedan, Prime and autorickshaws," Ola, Business Head-Tamil Nadu, Ravi Teja said.
"Our understanding of the local market has helped us scale rapidly in city with customers preferring us for a wide range of mobility options," he said.
"In the coming year, we will continue to innovate on newer categories and bring in more options for users. In the next six months we plan to increase the number of vehicles on the platform to 40,000," he said.
On the occasion of its second anniversary, the company has undertaken a campaign under which free rides in sedan would be available for upto Rs 200 to every unique customer.
Users in 102 cities can book from over 2.50 lakh cabs and 75,000 autorickshaws on its platform, it said.


ENUMCLAW, Wash., Feb. 11, 2019 /Christian Newswire/ -- Ever been down in life? Really down? S. Todd Townsend knows down.


Photo Description: F18 Bomb Run at Rocky Mountain Air Show.
Great shot, but the other person is right about being a F-16. Also, if the F-18 was a bomber, it would be called the B-18, but it is a fighter, hence the F designation.
This is actually an F-16. I was there and also F-18s have two vertical stabilizers.


Result of July Poetry Competition and so much more!
A Joyful and Very Funny Poem - read it here!
It’s been a busy time for me as your Community Poet.
I hosted an Open Mic Evening at Gayton Library earlier this week. It was such a hot evening that I didn’t expect too many poets to turn up, but we’re a resilient bunch and there were about twenty of us. Simon is a vivacious story teller and we were entranced with his tales. Also good to see Angela, Joy, Samuel, Heather, Vicki, John, Sharon, Marilyn and many others.
Kenton Library launched their Summer Reading Challenge with The Big Friendly Read and I was invited to run a workshop with some of the children. They wrote poetry and some beautiful pictures were drawn and coloured in. In particular I’d mention Krishay, Joshita, Tiana, Manish, Dhruvi, Tahani, Hasnaa, Abdun, Baasit and Neha.
Manish also entered this month’s Poetry Competition, The Holiday, with a poem about when he went to France with his family. He illustrated it too with a French flag.
And of course, there’s the Poetry Competition. It’s been a wonderful month for poetry with lots of entries on The Holiday. Far too many entrants to mention them all but our runners-up were John Clarke, Naomi Caplin, J D Milaric, Jeffery Edmunds, Peter Collins and Patricia J Tausz.
However, I’m delighted to tell you that our extremely worthy winner this month is Joy Brooks. After reading her poem, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that not only is it well crafted, it’s jolly funny too.
I think I’ll try the Deep fried clod, well, it may go down a treat.
I’ll let you see a few other entries in a further blog, but for today, just enjoy Joy’s poem.
Next month’s subject is Pets. Doesn’t mean you have to have one or even like them. Do they make you sneeze or is your home overloaded with cats on every surface? Whatever you think of them, please put your thoughts in a poem of not more than twenty lines by the 18th August.


When Walmart moves, people move with it.Suppliers found that out the hard way when retailer went big for RFID adoption a few years back.
When Walmart moves, people move with it.
Suppliers found that out the hard way when retailer went big for RFID adoption a few years back. "What do you mean we need to provide a better way to automate the tracking of products across the supply chain?" That one hurt lots of companies, especially smaller ones that hadn’t invested in the technology. Still, Walmart says it must be so. Then let it be so.
But given the domestic interest in environmental activism, Walmart's latest move could be even more profound. If you can't guilt companies into action, then hit them in the wallet!
The Walmart announcement isn’t really a surprise, but the clock is now ticking for the big consumer products companies. Ha, and they thought they could get away with ignoring the CDP’s annual questionnaire urging companies to disclose greenhouse emissions information voluntarily!
The mega-retailer will look first at the impact of products in seven categories that it considers essential to many Americans: DVDs, toothpaste, soap, milk, vacuum cleaners, soda and (gasp!) beer. Beer, huh? Itself a sad commentary on U.S. consumerism. Do the Budweiser Clydesdale horses count?
Walmart and CDP will work with suppliers to study and measure the energy usage required for all steps of getting a product to a human: procurement, manufacturing and distribution. It hasn’t given a timeframe for when it will actually take action on this information. Another stay tuned kind of announcement.
I gotta bet, though, that this particular declaration has many consumer product execs sitting up and taking notice.


The Marine Corps’ footprint in Afghanistan is changing dramatically as a drawdown in forces continues throughout the summer.
The latest changes include a shift in central Helmand province in which one infantry battalion — 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. — is distributed across Marjah, Nawa, and several other districts, with Afghan forces taking a leading role. Second Battalion, 9th Marines, and 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines, both out of Lejeune, left the battlefield recently and were not replaced.
The Corps also has realigned all remaining infantry units to fall under Regimental Combat Team 6, out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., as Afghan National Security Forces increasingly lead security operations in Helmand. The change took effect July 5 when RCT-5, out of Camp Pendleton, Calif., transferred its powers to RCT-6. RCT-5’s headquarters element was not replaced.
RCT-6, commanded by Col. John Shafer, now includes both the remaining units in northern Helmand and 3/8. Its headquarters elements will be moved from Camp Delaram II to Camp Leatherneck, the Corps’ largest base in Afghanistan. That stands in contrast to most of the last two years, when there were two RCT headquarters in Helmand. One was based at Camp Dwyer in Garmser district, and the other was based at Delaram II, just west of northern Helmand in Nimroz province.
Marine spokesmen declined to specify how many Marines are currently on the ground in Helmand, but stressed that the reduction of forces in Helmand is part of a deliberate plan to shrink the U.S. footprint to the size it was in 2009, before President Obama authorized the temporary surge of about 23,000 troops. That surge effectively grew the Marine presence in Afghanistan from about 8,000 Marines to a peek of more than 21,000.
Marine officials told Marine Corps Times in May that there were about 15,800 in Helmand at the time. The number is expected to drop to as low as 7,000 by October.
Gretel Kovach of the San Diego Union Tribune is currently embedded with Marine units in Afghanistan. She published this substantial piece over the weekend after joining Maj. Gen. Charles Gurganus on a battlefield circulation of Helmand.
This is great news. Let’s get the majority of our forces out of there.
Put me in the camp of folks who say it’s time to get out of there.
I’m okay with a base or two full of special operations troops from which we can launch attacks and control drones, but I’m beyond sick and tired of spending billions trying to rebuild this backward, broken, and uneducated country. These people are decades and decades — if not centuries — away from understanding things such as democracy and decency.
I’m sorry there are women who will be mistreated. I’m sorry they won’t have the right to vote and the Taliban will soon be whipping and shooting people in the streets. But we gave them a chance. We’ve stayed longer than we stayed in Vietnam. They could have helped us make this happen.
Instead, guys like Karzai and his corrupt cronies have undermined us at nearly every step and inflamed the misguided masses to believing the BS propaganda from the Taliban.
Stan, the points you made would equally apply to WWII. Should we have withdrawn because of how uncertain an Allied victory was for the first several years of the war? The abandonment of the European colonies in Asia and Africa has left us with a continent almost totally in anarchy and fundamentalism.
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Newt Gingrich, the former Republican Speaker of the House, issued a warning to fellow members of his party for not supporting Donald Trump because it could lead to Hillary Clinton winning the election.
He said Clinton would be a “nightmare” as president and would head the “most corrupt and dishonest administration in American history.” Clinton will be even “harder to work with” than President Obama, and “she will simply smother you,” he warned.
“I think to sit on your hands, to find some pretense because Donald Trump is not pure enough, so you’re willing to have Hillary Clinton get elected, is an enormous disservice to the future of the country and to the future of our children and grandchildren,” Gingrich, who ran for president in 2012, added in the video.
He appeared to be responding to Speaker Paul Ryan’s conference call in which he advised fellow GOP lawmakers do to what’s best for their districts. Ryan said he’s not going to defend Trump in the wake of 11-year-old taped comments that surfaced in a Washington Post report last Friday in which Trump made crude and sexually suggestive comments about women. A number of high-ranking Republican officials have attempted to distance themselves from the billionaire businessman.


A new Washoe County Sheriff will be sworn in soon. Tuesday night, Darin Balaam defeated Heidi Howe by about 14,000 votes to win the position.
A new Washoe County Sheriff will be sworn in soon.
Tuesday night, Darin Balaam defeated Heidi Howe by about 14,000 votes to win the position.
Balaam has 21 years of experience with the Sheriff's Office, but he'll have some new challenges to face as the new sheriff.
Balaam won't officially be sworn in until next year, but current sheriff Chuck Allen says he'll start taking Balaam through what he needs to know next week.
"It's all about getting him up to speed on where we are with the budget and what's important," Allen said. "He said he was concerned about it as I was and continue to be. Personnel matters, and just the status of where the Sheriff's Office is."
Balaam celebrated his campaign at Pinocchio's Bat and Grill Tuesday night. He declined an interview on Wednesday to spend time with his family.
His father, Dennis Balaam, was elected Washoe County Sheriff in 2000 and says he entered the race once Allen decided not to run again.
Allen tells 2 News it's important to know your people and from everything he's heard, people within the Sheriff's Office have his respect.
While relationships are valuable inside the Sheriff's Office, Allen says talking to other sheriffs is also valuable.
"Find a Sheriff that you can learn something from, you know find a mentor," Allen said. "I did early on and you can reach out to that Sheriff just to help advise when you need to."
Balaam will be down in Las Vegas for a quarterly budget meeting next Wednesday. He will officially be sworn in on January 7.
For all Nevada election results, visit this link here.


OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - The man who crashed his car through a Crane Coffee store in October of 2017 was sentenced to three years in prison.
Jake Yestingsmeier injured five people when his Jeep Grand Cherokee crashed into the Crane Coffee drive-thru kiosk near 129th and West Maple.
Two counts of second-degree assault were dropped, and Yestingsmeier pleaded no contest to two counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury.
He received three years of prison time with credit of one day served for the first count of DUI causing serious bodily injury. That prison time will be followed with nine months of post-release supervision.
Yestingsmeier received 36 months of probation for the second count of DUI causing serious bodily injury that will be served after his prison time.
He also had his driver's license revoked for 30 months.


WASHINGTON - As the threat of internal corruption dogs the ranks of border security forces, the Obama administration is considering regularly rotating agents to other locations to distance them from the persuasive power and money of Mexico's drug cartels.
Such a decision would subject locally recruited U.S. Border Patrol agents and Customs and Border Protection officers to the periodic relocations already required for agents within the FBI, U.S. Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other premier federal law enforcement agencies.
"It is something we are looking at very carefully," James Tomsheck, chief of internal affairs for Customs and Border Protection, told the Houston Chronicle in an interview. "It is too early to make a (final) assessment, but we certainly believe it does have an impact."
Four CBP employees have been arrested on corruption-related charges in the last four months. Another 132 CBP employees have been arrested since 2005 as a result of investigations by Tomsheck's 214 internal affairs investigators across the country.
The Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General's 213 criminal investigators have arrested 178 CBP employees across the country as well since 2003 for criminal misconduct - including 26 in the last three years on corruption-related charges.
Tomsheck, a career federal law enforcement officer, relocated six times during a 23-year career with the Secret Service before joining the leadership of the Department of Homeland Security in 2006. The relocations would be the latest step by federal authorities to combat cartels' attempts to penetrate DHS.
The Obama administration's approach remains a matter of debate among some Texas lawmakers. Sen. John Cornyn, R-San Antonio, a former state attorney general and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, warns that routine transfers could jeopardize border agents' ability to build local relationships that pay off with tips and intelligence.
"I want to know a little bit more about whether dropping people into new environments has actually been demonstrated to be successful in dealing with the potential for corruption," Cornyn said.
About 8,000 of the recruits for front-line positions in the U.S. Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection since 2008 - or about one quarter - have undergone lie detector tests, in addition to routine criminal background checks. By next year, Tomsheck said 100 percent of new hires for front-line posts will face polygraphs.
Officials also are considering eventually subjecting veteran employees among the 21,444 U.S. Border Patrol agents and the 20,582 Customs and Border Protection officers to polygraphs as part of re-screening that takes place every five years - an approach currently used only by the FBI.
The potential changes come as Mexican cartels have infiltrated the ranks of law enforcement personnel to chart safe transit for multibillion-dollar smuggling operations that move drugs, cash, guns and illegal immigrants across the 1,969-mile southern border.
Officials concede rapid expansion of DHS ranks has made it easier.
"It is more desirable for our adversaries to attempt to compromise our employees or infiltrate our agency than ever before," says Tomsheck. "It is perhaps a more important aspect of their achieving success than it has been before."
Adds acting Inspector General Charles Edwards: "As efforts to secure the border meet with increasing success, the smugglers have been forced to become more creative and clever in their illicit activities."
CBP also has enlisted Michael C. Mines, a former counterintelligence expert at the FBI who built a career tracking suspected spies.
In Texas a year ago, a former Customs and Border Protection inspector stationed at Pharr was convicted in Houston of accepting $10,000 to enable drug traffickers to transport marijuana through his inspection lane at the border. Another CBP officer was convicted in El Paso of accepting $5,000 to permit a collaborator to smuggle illegal immigrants through his inspection lane.
"There has never been a policy of transferring border agents on a regular basis because of the cost," said Susan Ginsberg, a homeland security expert who served on the staff of the 9/11 commission. "I think that people who are allowed to stay in their hometowns are probably more vulnerable to corruption, especially by friends or families who have become involved in the drug trade and can exert personal pressure on them."


As classes let out in Searcy, Ark., on Tuesday, and students scattered across neighborhoods, a seventh-grader in the Riverview School District noticed something that stopped him in his tracks. He was taking a shortcut across campus, on the way to meet his mother at work, the district’s superintendent said in an interview.
The route took him near an overgrown patch of woods on the school grounds, a little-used area that doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic. And there, just visible through the brambles and underbrush, the young man saw it.
They hadn’t been buried, like a grave, Dewitt said. They were just out there, visible to a passerby, mere feet from the school’s administrative offices.
The middle-schooler, whom the district and the authorities did not identify, then told a trustworthy high school student about his disturbing discovery, Riverview Superintendent David Rutledge said. The older student informed the school resource officer — a law enforcement official stationed on campus — and local police were called.
It’s a puzzling case, Dewitt said, and a mystery that no one found the bones sooner.
The finding sent a shudder through the campus, which houses both the junior high and the high schools, and through the central Arkansas city, population roughly 24,000.
The district posted the news to Facebook, where it was widely shared. The bones, police said, appeared old — “It’s been there for years, I can say that much,” Dewitt said — but investigators won’t know their age or provenance until they get results back from the state crime lab. They weren’t even sure whether the skeleton belonged to a man or a woman — but they did say it was an adult.
Officials said they have no reason to believe the remains are in any way connected to the school, and it’s possible they’ve been there, undisturbed since the school bought the property in the early 2000s, Rutledge said.
“If there’s a connection between the school district and this individual, we are not aware of it,” he said of the deceased.
The police investigation is ongoing, Dewitt said, but because the area hasn’t seen any cases that match up, they’re looking into the possibility that the bones are connected to an out-of-state incident.
Meanwhile, Rutledge said, the school district is prepared to accommodate students who may be traumatized. They have counselors on staff. School will go on — as everyone there tries to get back to normal.
Police fined her when she kept reporting her ex-boyfriend for stalking. Then he killed her.
These women say they were raped by fake Uber drivers. Now they’re suing the company.


Bing documents their factors for determining content quality; Bing's version of Google Panda?
Michael Basilyan, Senior Program Manager from the Bing Content Quality Team, shared a nice set of details on the Bing blog about how Bing’s algorithms determine what makes for content quality.
Michael Basilyan explained that content quality is a primary factor in their ranking algorithm, along with topical relevance and context. Michael then went on to explain that content quality is made up of three primary factors, authority, utility and presentation.
Bing defines authority as if they can trust the content. How do they know if they can trust the content? It is not just about the links pointing to the page but also about how established the web site and web page is. In addition, Bing looks at signals from social networks to see if the author is well cited, recognized and an authority in the space. They also explain that how they determine authority changes by query segment, where health authorities need professional documents written about the authority.
This is about determining if the page written is useful and detailed enough to the searcher for them to accomplish their task. Does the page have enough supporting citations. Is it detailed enough for the typical searcher. Bing also prefers to see videos, images and graphs on the page – those are signals of utility and content quality.
A factor that may harm the content quality is repurposed or “recycled” content. They want pages that are the source of that data or do unique things with the data, not just pages that recycle the content from the source.
Bing then shares some examples of the above.
For those who deal with Google Panda, a lot of this may sound very familiar.


Facebook was lucky, it knew its enemy (Instagram) because it followed the old saying “keep your enemies close”; they went to the same school, lived down the road from each other.
It’s easier to follow a competitor when you are that close, but that requires discipline from a company that’s growing so fast. Next time, when a competitor emerges from the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Facebook might not be so fortunate.
Failure to spot competitors has been one of the major reasons for the downfall of some of the world’s biggest brands. They get blinded by arrogance and it becomes harder and harder to see the biggest competitive threats that don’t conform to your pre-conceived notions. If you make cameras, you can only see other camera makers as your competitors, not a phone and the same could be said for Nintendo’s recent challenges in the world of gaming, they also failed to see the rise of mobile.


Santiago De Cuba	- Cuba, long a source of inspiration for leftist Latin American governments, celebrated the 60th anniversary of its revolution on Tuesday facing increasing isolation in a region dominated by a resurgent right.
Havana	- Cuba will celebrate 60 years of revolution on Tuesday amidst economic crises and political reforms, the first time it will mark such an anniversary without a revolutionary fighter in power.
Caracas	- The Venezuelan government took control Tuesday of installations owned by Goodyear, a day after the US tire-maker closed its operations in the crisis-torn South American country.
Panama	- China's President Xi Jinping and his Panamanian counterpart Juan Carlos Varela signed a string of cooperation agreements Monday as Beijing aims to extend its political and economic influence in Latin America.
Caracas	- President Nicolas Maduro on Thursday increased Venezuela's minimum wage by 150 percent, the sixth readjustment this year, as part of an economic reform plan that has failed to curb rampant inflation.
Havana	- Cuba President Miguel Diaz-Canel personally welcomed back doctors at Havana airport, a local newspaper reported, as 200 returned from Brazil following a spat between the two Latin American countries' leaders.
Havana	- The first of more than 6,000 Cuban doctors working in Brazil arrived back on the Communist-run island Thursday after Havana announced it was withdrawing from a medical aid program over a spat with President-elect Jair Bolsonaro.
Havana	- As the second anniversary of Fidel Castro's death approaches, Cuban authorities are working on a center for the study and promotion of his ideas, the official newspaper Granma reported Saturday.
Caracas	- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said Saturday he had new commitments from Beijing on funding for the oil industry on which crisis-hit Caracas relies.
Managua	- Many shops, banks and gas stations were closed Friday in a 24-hour strike in Nicaragua called by the opposition in protest at "political prisoners" and the rule of President Daniel Ortega's government.
Caracas	- Venezuelan authorities have arrested 131 people accused of attempting to sabotage reforms implemented by President Nicolas Maduro to alleviate a crippling economic crisis, the attorney general said on Thursday.
Caracas	- President Nicolas Maduro has launched a raft of economic reforms aimed at injecting life into his country's dying economy, but Venezuelans aren't convinced and continue to flee in the thousands.
Caracas	- Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro ordered banks to adopt the petro cryptocurrency as a unit of account Monday, as the country struggles to emerge from a severe political and economic crisis.
Havana	- Cuba has signaled its willingness to open up the operation of its extensive state railway system to foreign companies in a decree published Wednesday as part of a spate of economic reforms.
Managua	- Tourist spots are empty, shopping centers and hotels are shuttered, loans for farming have dried up, and unemployment is accelerating.
Caracas	- In Venezuela's inflation-hit economy, a single US dollar can buy 3.5 million liters of gasoline -- an absurdity that the government says it will tackle with a hike in the cost of state-subsidized fuel.
Caracas	- Under-fire Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro admitted his economic model has "failed" in the wake of food and medicine shortages and public service paralysis, such as Tuesday's power failure that affected 80 percent of Caracas.
Caracas	- Zapping five zeros off Venezuela's almost worthless currency is nothing but a half-hearted measure and won't solve the country's chronic hyperinflation, analysts have told AFP.
Buenos Aires	- Global trade conflicts triggered by the protectionist policies of US President Donald Trump are set to dominate this weekend's meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers in Buenos Aires.
Havana	- Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Tuesday said that while reforms loom in the Communist country, they would not be an embrace of capitalism.


St. Louis police have reportedly made two arrests in the vicious beating of a commuter on the St. Louis MetroLink light rail system.
As the Inquisitr previously reported, a passenger on a St. Louis MetroLink light rail train was brutally attacked on Monday night after allegedly being asked what he thought about the Michael Brown “situation.” A cellphone video of the incident was subsequently uploaded to social media.
“Police said the victim, who is white, was punched and kicked by three black men, one of whom had made the reference to the teen killed in Ferguson by a police officer Aug. 9,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
The primary alleged assailant (see footage below) appears to be a man wearing a red shirt and a red ball cap.
From what the victim, 43, told police, the blows starting raining down on him after he allegedly told the men that “he hadn’t put much thought into it,” i.e., the Michael Brown case in which the teen was fatally shot by officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a St. Louis suburb.
The victim, who tried to cover up as he was being hit, suffered cuts and bruises to his face in the barrage, but declined medical treatment.
KMOV, Channel 4 in St. Louis, indicated on its Facebook page that police have taken into custody two suspects, one age 21 and the other 15. Cops apparently were able to identify the suspects via surveillance video. Police released a third man without charging him.
He wasn’t robbed in the encounter and apparently believes that the incident was a hate crime.
“St. Louis has a big problem right now, and everyone needs to be vigilant. If it could happen to me, it could happen to anyone,” he added.
A man who identifies himself as David Autry has launched a GoFundMe page that is closing in on the goal of raising $5,000.
Autry also disclosed that he is in the process of getting a lawyer.
In the meantime, MetroLink has attempted to beef up security on the trains with off-duty officers.
Added: Authorities have decided against bringing hate crime charges. “Specifically, when put in context, it did not support the finding that the acts in this case met the elements of the hate crime statute in the state of Missouri, specifically proving the motivating factor behind the individual that we have charged,” a St. Louis prosecutor’s office representative declared.
This following report about the MetroLink attack allegedly linked to the Michael Brown “situation” aired on local TV prior to the arrests.


The senior will graduate in May, but over the past five years he has recovered from breaking his left arm twice and his right leg.
GREENBRIER — Jake Downard’s career as a basketball player at Greenbrier was nearly over before it ever began.
But his injuries haven’t stopped him from playing the sport he loves.
As an eighth-grader, Downard broke his left arm after driving into the basket and landing on it awkwardly.
The injury forced him to miss the rest of the season and his rehab delayed him from entering high school ready to compete for playing time.
After playing on Greenbrier’s freshman team for a year, Downard was nearly ready to make the transition to varsity, when injury struck again.
Downard’s sophomore basketball season was cut short when he broke his right leg.
His season was over, but Downard was not; he wasn’t ready to give up fighting for basketball, not yet.
Now used to the rehab process, Downard watched from the sidelines as the Bobcats put together a 3-20 record and exited the playoffs with a first round loss to Westmoreland, 56-44.
A year later Downard was back ready to help Greenbrier in his junior season.
Downard and the Bobcats were 4-5 and entering their first district game against White House, when he broke his left arm again.
“I knew as soon as it happened,” Downard recalls of his third season-ending injury in four years.
This time Downard went over a defender who drew a charge causing him to try and catch himself on the way down with his arm.
But Downard didn’t give up, in fact, he credits his former coach, Clint Mason who helped him stay positive through his injuries.
Despite recovering from three season ending injuries, Downard continues to play basketball at the highest level.
Downard and the Bobcats are currently 11-11 (4-4 in District 9-AA) still with the opportunity to compete for a spot in the district playoffs.
After his senior season, Downard believes his basketball career will likely end.
Reach Andrew Preston at APreston@tennessean.com or 615-259-8015 and on Twitter @AndrewPreston33.


An octagon has eight equal sides.
An octagon has eight sides. You don't need complicated math to draw one, especially if you have established parameters such as a square or rectangular surface. To cut an octagon on a tabletop, or even a blank piece of wood, all you need do is make sure all eight sides are the same length by cutting off the corners. Using basic mechanical skills and a circular saw, you can cut almost any table or panel into an octagonal shape with little effort.
Clamp a straightedge diagonally across one corner of the tabletop or panel. Trace the line on the tabletop. Move the straightedge to the next three corners and repeat.
Measure the eight sides created by the lines. If they're not equal, move the straightedge forward or back and trace new lines. Repeat until all eight sides are equal.
Cut along the lines using a circular saw, keeping the blade just to the outside of the line.
Sand the sides of the octagon flush to the line with a hand block equipped with 100-grit sandpaper if you plan on adding molding to the sides. If you do not plan to add molding, sand the sides smooth and flush to the line using an orbital sander with 100-grit sandpaper.
Use a crosscut blade for the smoothest cuts that don't chip or splinter. Don't use an orbital sander if you plan to add molding. Orbital sanders can round edges and cause dips that interfere with molding placement.
Wear eye protection when operating a circular saw. Keep two hands on the saw at all times. Circular saws can kick back if not properly secured.
Shaddy, Wade. "How to Cut an Octagonal Wood Tabletop." Home Guides | SF Gate, http://homeguides.sfgate.com/cut-octagonal-wood-tabletop-84009.html. Accessed 19 April 2019.


Serious allegations have been made about the deaths of civilians at the hands of Turkish security forces in the overwhelmingly Kurdish town of Cizre in south-eastern Turkey earlier this year.
Local people say Turkish security forces killed up to 160 civilians in the town, according to statements made to the BBC and human rights groups.
The worst single incident ended with the deaths of around 100 people who had been sheltering in three cellars.
The UN human rights chief has expressed his concern in unusually strong terms and wants to send in investigators.
The Turkish foreign ministry dismissed the allegations. It said that the Turkish military took all necessary precautions to protect civilians during military operations.
The killings happened during a 78-day curfew imposed on Cizre between 14 December 2015 and 2 March this year. During the curfew, the town of about 100,000 people was sealed off.
The curfew was part of a military campaign in south-eastern Turkey, which is still going on, targeting the PKK, the armed Kurdish group. Turkey, the European Union and the United States classify it as a terrorist organisation.
Since the long-running conflict resumed last year, the PKK has killed hundreds of Turkish soldiers and police. It has also exploded bombs in Ankara, the Turkish capital, killing many civilians.
Most Turks, and some Kurds, condemn the actions of the PKK. But in the Kurdish villages and towns of south-east Turkey, the PKK is often seen as a protector.
Image caption Firat Duymak, whose father died: "In Turkey we have nothing. There is no justice; there is no court"
In Cizre, some of the most serious allegations centre on the area around Bostanci Street, where Turkish security forces are accused of killing as many as 100 civilians who were sheltering in three basements.
Until the curfew, Bostanci Street was part of a district of narrow streets and densely-populated blocks of flats. The buildings were shattered by artillery, tank fire and street fighting, according to local people. When the curfew ended and the fighting stopped, Turkish security forces sent in bulldozers to level the ruins.
Now it's hard to see where Bostanci Street ran. I am shown the site of the cellars by 18-year-old Firat Duymak, whose father, Mahmut, was killed there. All that is left is a pile of rubble, indistinguishable from the rest of the wasteland of concrete fragments that was left behind by the war and then the bulldozers.
Firat denies that his father was a member of the PKK. He says he was in the cellars to look after civilians who were there, including students who had come from elsewhere in Turkey just before the curfew was imposed to show solidarity with Cizre.
Firat condemns the actions of the Turkish state and its police and military.
"They are the terrorists; the ones who commit all these atrocities," he says. "Even if those people were from the PKK, why does the state have to destroy and burn their lives? Even war has rules.
"Can you rip the people up when you catch them? You have courts; you have a justice system. In Turkey we have nothing. There is no justice; there is no court."
The areas of Cizre that were targeted by the Turkish military were known to be centres of PKK activity. Since 2014, a militant PKK Kurdish youth organisation had made parts of Cizre effectively a no-go area for the police, digging trenches and blocking roads.
Some local people resented what looked like preparations for war. Kurdish MPs tried to persuade the PKK militants to fill in the trenches, with limited success.
The question is whether the Turkish state's response to an outright challenge to its authority was proportionate to the threat it faced and in line with the laws of war.
Firat Duymak and many other Kurds in Cizre say it was not. He blames Turkey's President Recip Tayyip Erdogan, whose government is increasingly authoritarian, and produces his father's identity card.
"All these things are coming from Erdogan's head. My father was not a terrorist, he was a civilian; he was a citizen," he says.
"The state should look at his ID card. Let the state look at his identity. The Turkish flag is on his ID card, not the flag of the PKK."
Back at the family home, where war damage is still being patched up, Firat's mother Lutfiye sits with the youngest of her five children, a boy of three.
"All my kids have been hurt psychologically," she says. "We were in the firing line for a month. You cannot sleep; you cannot go to the toilet. They call you a terrorist. They behave as if you are not a human being. No human being could do this to anybody.
"My kids will grow up with a grudge. Do you think you can finish Kurds? You cannot."
She says that soldiers smashed up homes of residents, and defecated on the beds.
"How does a person who does that claim to be a human being?"
Lawyers from the local Bar Association told investigators from Mazlumder, a Turkish human rights group, that "following the deaths in the basements in Cizre, there was no crime scene investigation and no judicial authority was allowed to enter the basements."
Mazlumder also heard allegations that civilians, including children, were targeted and shot dead by government snipers.
A 50-something couple, Mehmet and Murside Balcal, sit in the courtyard of a rented house - their own home was destroyed - mourning Ferhat, their 20-year-old son, who died in the cellar.
His father reads out text messages various members of the family received from their son. He had implored them to organise a demonstration to try to persuade the security forces who ringed the cellars to let them out.
Murside, his mother, was turned back and she says they were arrested when they tried to demonstrate. She sits with two portraits of her son in her arms, hugging them and weeping.
But this is a bitter conflict, and the weeping is on both sides.
Pinar Saglam's hands shake as she lights a cigarette. On 13 March, a female PKK suicide bomber in central Ankara killed Kirim, her 21-year-old brother, and 36 others.
Pinar shows me a photograph she found on the web of a poster the size of a building in a Syrian Kurdish town.
It shows the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, who is held on a Turkish prison island, next to the photograph of the woman who killed her brother and so many others.
Pinar is incredulous at the way the bomber was glorified. "Like a leader, like an angel," she says. "I mean, when I saw this picture I can't believe my eyes, because it can't be true, it can't be true.
"She was a murderer, murderer of my brother. Now her picture is displayed on the streets of Syria.
"I wrote about my feelings on Twitter. A Kurdish woman said to me that I was a Turkish Nazi. She said I shouldn't speak the way I do. She said Kurdish children are often killed in Kurdistan."
Pinar says she wants peace, not revenge. Plenty of other Kurds and Turks feel the same way.
But this is about more than a succession of personal tragedies, and the grief of parents and children.
The violence between Kurds and the Turkish state is the latest instalment of a long-running conflict. An attempt at a peace process collapsed last year. Both sides blamed each other.
The violence is not happening in a vacuum: the Middle East is gripped by violent change. War in Syria and Iraq is changing the region's balance of power.
Turkey is deeply involved in the war in Syria, backing militias fighting the regime. It is also a member of Nato. It is a big player in Europe and the Middle East.
Kurds in Syria are closely allied with the PKK, and have strengthened their position as the Assad regime retreated.
Ironically, the Syrian Kurds are also allies of the West, as they have fought well against the jihadists who call themselves Islamic State. But the Syrian Kurds' allies and patrons in the PKK are regarded as terrorists.
That adds up to a serious complication.
Turkey's President Erdogan is as worried as any of his predecessors about Kurdish ambitions for self-government. Perhaps more so, as the Kurds, despite their internal differences, have been among the winners so far in Syria and Iraq.
President Erdogan is acting to crush Kurdish ambitions, hoping that the tide will not turn in favour of Turkey's Kurds.
The European Union, meanwhile, wants Turkey to be a big part of the solution to the refugee crisis that has been created by war in Syria and Iraq.
On a pile of rubble in Cizre, next to the cellar where his father was killed along with dozens of others, is Firat Duymak. He blames the Turkish state for his father's death, and the European Union and Turkey's other allies for allowing it to happen.
"Europe blatantly watched all these atrocities, and did nothing, because of the refugees," he says.
"What Europeans do any more is not my concern. We don't need anyone's help. We're not interested in what they do or not do.
"The whole world is responsible for what happened in here."