Oscar gave up benchwarming at Chelsea to quadruple his wages and become one of the biggest stars in a continent of four billion people. Is that so bad?
The world started to pay serious attention to the Chinese Super League during last January’s transfer window. Chinese clubs spent huge amounts of money as they tried to lure world-class footballers to the country, with the most notable spending coming from Guangzhou Evergrande, who signed Jackson Martínez from Atlético Madrid for £32m, and Jiangsu Suning, who paid Chelsea £20m for Ramires. The deals hit the headlines across the globe, and Shanghai SIPG’s £52m acquisition of Oscar from Chelsea and Carlos Tevez’s £71m move to Shanghai Shenhua, suggest the big spending will continue this year.
Although many people, including Chelsea boss Antonio Conte, claim that Chinese wealth is a danger to clubs around the world, the large figures are partially caused by market imperfections that have arisen due to the rule that Chinese clubs must limit the number of international players in their squads. This, coupled with the lack of world-class Chinese players, drives up the price of the best homegrown players; for instance Zhang Lu, a 29-year-old goalkeeper with just two caps for China, moved clubs for £8m last year. The high cost of top Chinese talent means it makes economic sense for clubs to spend large sums on top foreign players such as Oscar and Tevez. Indeed, given the inflated prices of Chinese players, Oscar’s price tag may be closer to his real value.
The Chinese government’s ambition to become a footballing superpower is another reason why clubs are so keen to splash the cash. The companies who own the 16 clubs in the Chinese Super League see investment as a way to gain favour with the government. Although China’s plan to become the world’s best footballing nation has many flaws, it is attracting a large number of fans to the game and, while the country may not produce the “Chinese Messi” the government wants, the large-scale investment in academies will improve the base level of Chinese football in the future, as well as the nation’s interest in the game.
The chance to make lucrative connections with the government, along with the restricted Chinese transfer market explain why clubs are willing to pursue foreign superstars. However, many people outside of Asia, especially in the English press, do not understand why top players are willing to move to China in their prime, often still seeing leagues outside of Europe as essentially retirement leagues. These players are deemed greedy and unambitious, descriptions they seldom deserve.
Footballers may dream of winning the Champions League with a storied European club but, essentially, football is football. Oscar will still be doing his dream job: he is still training through the week and then playing for 90 minutes, albeit on the other side of the world. I doubt there are many people who, if offered four times their current salary to do the same job wouldn’t be tempted to move to China for a few years, especially if their careers are as short and fragile as that of a professional footballer.
As for a lack of ambition, Oscar has the chance to go from benchwarmer at Chelsea to potentially the biggest star on an entire continent. If anything, staying at Chelsea and sitting on the touchlines would be showing a lack of aspiration and adventure.
Critics also claim that moving away from Europe damages a player’s career prospects. The quality of football in China is still a long way behind the top European leagues but moving to the Far East is not quite the career-destroying move many people make it out to be. First of all, there are plenty of players who have moved to a “retirement league” before returning to Europe and continue their careers successfully. People assumed Jermain Defoe would finish his career in Major League Soccer when he moved to Toronto FC in 2014. They thought the lower quality of football across the Atlantic would lead to Defoe losing his edge but his goals effectively kept Sunderland in the Premier League last season and a return to the England squad has been suggested.
Even Nicolas Anelka and Didier Drogba, whose spells at Shanghai Shenhua were reported in the English media as being disastrous, both returned to the Premier League after playing in China, with Drogba returning to Chelsea and Anelka joining West Brom.
With scouting systems and media now global businesses, it is possible to keep track of players’ careers from the other side of the world, so a move to China doesn’t mean players will drop off the radar. In fact, the influx of expensive imports and big-name managers have given the Chinese Super League more international attention than ever before.
Moving to Asia can put players in the shop window. Hulk, who will play alongside his Brazil team-mate Oscar at Shanghai SIPG, made his big break in Japan, where he played for Kawazaki Frontale, Tokyo Verdy and Consadole Sapporo. He scored 70 goals in 104 appearances in the J League and his goalscoring attracted the interest of FC Porto, where his impressive form led to a call-up for Brazil.
Edu had a reasonably prolific spell for German club Vfl Bochum towards the start of his career, but when he moved from Mainz 05 to South Korean side Suwon Bluewings in 2007, it may have looked like his time in Europe was over. However, after a successful spell at Suwon – where he helped them become Korean champions – he returned to Germany and ended up playing for Schalke 04 in the Champions League, scoring twice against Inter in the quarter-finals and playing against Manchester United in the semi-finals. He is now back in South Korea with Jeonbuk Motors, the current Asian champions.
Often players move from Brazil to Asia not due to footballing ambition (or greed for that matter; wages in Korea and Japan are similar to what a player would earn back in Brazil and are far lower than what players earn in the Premier League) but because of third-party ownership agreements, or deals with players’ agents. However, if players perform well in Asia, they will attract interest from other parts of the world.
Playing outside of Europe might dent English players’ chances of representing their national team – although David Beckham did earn international caps while at LA Galaxy, even before his loan spells in Italy – but Brazil are perfectly willing to call up their stars who play in China. Paulinho, who swapped Tottenham Hotspur for Guangzhou Evergrande in 2015, and Renato Augusto, who moved to Beijing Guoan last year, both played in Brazil’s 2-0 win over Peru in November.
Asian football still has a long way to go before it can match Europe’s top leagues for quality – the rule limiting foreigners prevents the leagues from just buying their way to the top – but standards are steadily improving every year. Asia’s leagues are slowly becoming more attractive for sponsors, viewing figures are slowly increasing and scouting networks are becoming truly international. China may not become the footballing superpower that its government craves, but Asian countries are not a graveyard for footballers’ careers.


City-based realty players Omkar Realtors and Anand Piramal led Piramal Realty are close to extend their existing partnerships to a new project in Mahim.
The companies are inadvanced stages of discussions to jointly develop a 5-acre prime sea-facing property in Mahim, sources said, adding if it goes through, this willbe the second joint venture agreement between the two afterthe iconic Dhobi Ghat redevelopment project at Mahalaxmi spread across 12 acre.
Earlier Omkar had also entered into a joint development agreement with L&T Realty for a17-acre, redevelopment project in the Parel area, called Crescent Bay, andwith Godrej Properties to develop a4.25 acre property in the tony Bandra Westarea.
"The project is being undertaken under the slum rehabilitation scheme and Omkar and Piramal will jointly develop the property," one of the sources told PTI.
While Omkar could not be reached for comments, Piramal Realty spokesperson said, "We are looking at multiple opportunities within the western corridor."
However, according to sources, the deal involves Omkar developing the slum rehabilitation component while Piramal will handle the commercially saleable component which will be a luxury residential development and the companies plan to launch the project this fiscal itself.
Sources also said the agreements signed by Omkar in the recent past shows their strategic shift towards joint development model where it can leverage its expertise along with that of industry players.
An industry expert opined that after implementation of various reforms like RERA and GST, the wannabees of the realty market will fade away and only serious players with good reputation and expertise will stay.
"Recently we have seen a lot of consolidation and we will see a lot more. Currently, in the MMR region, just 20-22 developers control half of the marketand we think in the next few years their pie will jump to 90 percent," the expert said, adding the current fiscalis likely to see many joint project launches.


The 100th anniversary of World War I has had a powerful effect on all ages, and this deceptively simple rhyming story is a perfect way to introduce children to the history of the trenches.
The poem begins with two little boys, Ben and Ray, playing innocently in poppy-strewn fields and follows them as they join up together as soldiers and are sent to the Front.
Ben is injured and left for dead until Ray risks his life to save him. Using repetition to build the tension and growing horror, the words and pictures convey the youthful sacrifices without being too distressing. Both Robinson and Impey had great-uncles killed on the Somme, one aged 22, one just 19, and the book is dedicated to their memories.
This non-fiction account of The Great War has been produced in association with The Imperial War Museums and is packed with information presented in an accessible and striking format.
Beginning with the political and expansionist ambitions that led to the conflict, the book looks at the first use of tanks and chemical warfare, and how the famous battles were fought on land, sea and in the air.
But it also reaches beyond the familiar trench warfare in France and Belgium and reminds us of the Gallipoli campaign, the conflict in Africa, Italy and the Middle East and the role played by women at home and in the military. Using archive photographs and clearly illustrated maps, this is an excellent and balanced overview of the causes and consequences of the war to end all wars.
Each of the 11 stories in this collection is inspired by an object from World War I and is written by a talented contemporary author — the list includes John Boyne, Tracy Chevalier, David Almond, Marcus Sedgwick and Michael Morpurgo.
Adele Geras uses a wartime butter dish bearing a message from David Lloyd George as the springboard for her story about a wartime pregnancy and a sisterly conspiracy, and David Almond describes how a town fractured by violent rival families is eventually healed by the gift of a wartime pencil case that belonged to a soldier who died on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
Thought-provoking and surprising, each imaginative account is enhanced by the dramatic and stunning black-and-white illustrations from award-winning artist Jim Kay.


Eddie Johnson speaks after being sworn in as the new Chicago police superintendent by Mayor Rahm Emanuel in April.
CHICAGO (AP) — After a month in which nearly 15 people were shot every day, Chicago Police announced a July 4 weekend show of force that will include thousands more officers on the streets, officers toting high-powered weapons at airports and teams of officers patrolling the city's most dangerous neighborhoods, tourist attractions, train stations and parks.
"I'm sick and tired and I know that the people living in those communities are tired of it (the gun violence)," said Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson on Friday. "If it takes 5,000 officers over the weekend, then it takes that."
Johnson made a similar announcement before the Memorial Day weekend that ended with shootings that left six people dead and 56 others wounded. But on Friday, Johnson said the city had added a number of crime fighting initiatives, including a new policy starting Friday that allows more officers to work overtime. And he pointed to efforts to target the 1,400 people who have been identified as most likely to be suspects or victims of gang violence — including two raids in the last several days that led to more than 100 arrests.
At the same time, in the wake of the gun and bomb attack that killed 44 people at Istanbul's Ataturk Airport this week, travelers during one of the busiest travel times of the year arrived at the O'Hare International Airport to the sight of officers in military-style gear, an unusual show of force.
According to the department's crime statistics, June ended with 72 homicides and 447 shooting victims, bringing the homicide tally in Chicago to 315 so far this year. That is more than 100 more than the total for the same period last year and puts the city on pace for more than 600 homicides in a year for the first time since 2003.
The holiday weekend last year ended with six gun deaths and shootings that left 48 people injured. This year's will be a major test for the department that has come under fire since the release of a video late last year showing a white officer fatally shooting black teenager Laquan McDonald 16 times. Johnson has openly worried about data suggesting that since then officers have not been as aggressive in fighting crime as in the past.
But on Friday, Johnson said his officers have taken more guns off the streets and made more gun arrests this year compared to 2015, indicating indicates that officers are aggressively fighting crime.
"We are making it abundantly clear that we will not tolerate violence in our neighborhoods," he said.


With Neerja's biopic set to hit the screens on Friday, TOI spoke to two citizens of Bengaluru - Dr Murthy, then 31, who was in the flight and his wife Dr Veena Bharathi, who has worked closely without Neerja's family to document her life.
File photo of Neerja Bhanot.
"I saw her getting shot. She was shot in the head, point blank. Sitting in the sixth row from the front, I saw her during her last moments," said Dr Kishore Murthy, recalling the fearless Neerja Bhanot. A survivor of 1986 Pan Am hijack, Murthy shuddered as the dreadful moment flashed before his eyes. Though Neerja couldn't make it herself, the flight attendant's bravery saved most of the passengers.
The Pan Am Flight 73 on its way from Mumbai to New York via Karachi and Frankfurt was hijacked on September 5, 1986. Four terrorists in the guise of airport security staff entered the aircraft in Karachi. Twenty of the 380 flyers were killed. Of the 13 passengers from Karnataka, two died and four were injured. The siege ended when the hijackers opened fire on the captives who fled through the emergency exit. Neerja, who was shot by the leader of the terrorist group, is said to have played a pivotal role in the survival of many.
With Neerja's biopic set to hit the screens on Friday, TOI spoke to two citizens of Bengaluru - Dr Murthy, then 31, who was in the flight and his wife Dr Veena Bharathi, who has worked closely with Neerja's family to document her life. The duo has been in touch with producer Atul Kasbekar for the movie Neerja.
"Neerja was absolutely calm and efficient through the horrific episode. She was the first one to alert the captain, the co-pilot and first officers about a possible hijack and it was on her instruction they made their way out from the cockpit, ensuring that the plane could not take off. She was a true global citizen and did not discriminate between Indians and Americans. I remember she and another flight attendant helped us out of the exit door when one of the terrorists was targeting us. There was constant firing of rounds. The auxiliary power unit had failed and the terrorists feared a commando attack. Hence, they started firing indiscriminately," recalled Dr Murthy, now 60 and a hospital management expert with St John's Hospital.
Dr Murthy was heading to New York to present a paper on 'Rheumatic heart disease and hypertension among pediatric patients aged below eight'.
With Neerja's story being adapted into a movie, a lot has been written and circulated about her life and the hijack on various social media platforms. Dr Veena Bharati has been documenting Neerja's life since 1996 with her father Harish Bhanot and her brother Aneesh as her sources. "She was very caring towards all the passengers, especially the elderly and children. I didn't see her lose her cool for even a moment. She was very efficient during the crisis," said Dr Murthy.
"I saw some posts on Facebook saying she died before her 23rd birthday but the truth is Neerja was already 23 and was shot two days before her 24th birthday. She had asked her parents to organize a small family get-together for her birthday but unfortunately they had to collect her coffin a day after her 24th birthday," said Dr Veena.
Negating the false information about Neerja being killed when she was shielding a group of children, Dr Veena said, "She was guiding the passengers to the emergency exit. That is when the terrorists were firing constantly fearing a commando attack. They saw Neerja relentlessly trying to help the passengers out and that is when they caught her by her ponytail and shot her point blank."
V Gowramma (53), received the Neerja Bhanot Award in 1999 for her path-breaking work in getting justice for victims of dowry harassment as an activist with Vimochana, a women's organization. Gowramma had a played a major role in brings many dowry deaths to light, which had been closed as kitchen accidents and stove burst cases, after conducting investigation under section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedures.
"I was overwhelmed with happiness when I got to know that I will be a recipient of the Neerja Bhanot award. They recognized my sincerity and hard work. I don't have words to describe Neerja. She is a true hero. There are few women of substance like her," Gowramma said. The Neerja Bhanot Award is an award of recognition conferred once a year by the The Neerja Bhanot Pan Am Trust to a woman who stands up to social injustice with grit and determination and extends help to other women. Gowramma is now the programme in-charge of the state police gender sensitization wing. Gowramma herself was a victim of domestic abuse and had knocked on the doors of Vimochana seeking help, before she decided to fight for women like her.


Microsoft could have just set the stage for a confrontation with some of its most loyal followers. Just two months after releasing the Surface Pro 2, the updated version of the original Surface tablet that includes support for desktop apps, Microsoft has quietly bumped up the device’s performance.
Strictly speaking, all device makers do this. In fact, smartphone and tablet makers like Samsung, routinely modify internal components based on the factors Microsoft mentions in its statement. The trouble here is that the low-key way in which Microsoft made the change makes it look like it was trying to keep the hardware upgrade under wraps so that users who just purchased the Surface Pro 2 wouldn’t rally in outrage.
To be clear, Microsoft upgraded the Surface Pro 2 from a processor clocked at 1.6GHz to 1.9GHz, which is a big enough speed bump to make a difference in some resource intensive apps. The Verge’s report indicates that the Intel Core i5 4300U processor now included in the Surface Pro 2 also ships with Intel’s new Trusted Execution software security technology.
Though Microsoft doesn’t share its exact reason for changing the processor, it’s possible that the company made the change to help ease supply shortages. Surface Pro 2 units have been hard to come by in recent months, alluding to a possible supply shortage.
Microsoft isn’t charging any extra for the slightly updated Surface Pro 2. The device starts at $899 with 64GB of storage. In theory, the refreshed Surface Pro 2 should begin showing up at retail locations any day now.


Will Narnia’s Dawn Treader Bring Magic Back to the Franchise?
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe was a huge success, garnering truckloads of cash and plenty of love from fans. The second film installment of the successful children’s book series, Prince Caspian, fell flat both at the box office and with the critics. But the trailer is out for Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and it’s looking pretty awesome. View the video above to see what we mean.
Disney ditched the movie series after Prince Caspian failed to score more than $500 million (because Disney’s no small-time player), but 20th Century Fox has taken over and the results look rather promising. Stunning visual effects and inexplicable magical feats make Dawn Treader feel much more Narnian than the last flick.
Dawn Treader, which will be displayed in 3D, comes to theaters December 10. If it manages to bring in big holiday box office crowds, the franchise could be back on track.


WARSAW, Poland – Prosecutors say a Polish parish priest has been formally charged in his native country with sexually molesting minors in both the Dominican Republic and Poland.
A spokesman for prosecutors in Warsaw, Przemyslaw Nowak, said the priest, whom he identified as Wojciech G., has been accused of 10 offenses, eight being the sexual abuse of boys under age 15.
Nowak said Wednesday the alleged acts took place from 2000-2001 in Poland and from 2009-2013 in the Dominican Republic.
The priest, who used his own name, Wojciech Gil, when speaking to TVN television, is also charged with possessing pornographic materials and possessing a firearm and ammunition without having a permit. He was arrested near Krakow in February and remains in police custody.
Gil has denied the allegations of sexual abuse.


The Parliament in Vilnius is now debating a momentous issue: whether to suspend its March 11 declaration of independence. By refusing to do so, Lithuanians might well spoil the upcoming summit meeting between Presidents Bush and Gorbachev. But that would not help achieve Lithuania's independence. It would only force Soviet leaders to get tougher and weaken Washington's positive influence.
The Parliament can vote a moratorium on its declaration of independence - with qualifications. Such an act would meet Moscow's demand, without invalidating Lithuania's right to statehood. Vilnius also would have to carry out its pledge to suspend laws implementing independence, including those forbidding its citizens from serving in ''foreign'' armies. But in each matter, the operative word would be ''suspend,'' permitting principle to be maintained on both sides.
Moscow will continue to insist that the talks be governed by the Soviet Constitution. But that is a difficult and lengthy process. With suspension voted, the Parliament would have strong grounds for urging the amending of this procedure in the case of a nation forcibly incorporated into the Soviet Union. Meantime, Moscow would have to suspend economic sanctions against Lithuania. The Parliament also can call on Western nations to insure that the process proceeds without undue delay. Western leaders can use the moment to reaffirm their support for Lithuanian independence and willingness to use their good offices with Moscow.
Mikhail Gorbachev could not easily reject this approach. To do so would brand as insincere his promise to deal fairly with Baltic independence. It would put him in direct conflict with President Mitterrand of France, Chancellor Kohl of West Germany and Prime Minister Thatcher of Britain, who have proposed a similar approach.
None of this will guarantee Lithuanian independence in a year or two. The bargaining will be hard because the issues are hard. They concern the rights of citizens who want continued union with Moscow, and their rights after independence. And they involve precedents for other Soviet republics.
Lithuanian leaders reportedly devised a new offer yesterday to break the deadlock with the Soviet Union. Though the contents of the new offer remain secret, Prime Minister Kazimiera Prunskiene of Lithuania said they touched on the declaration of independence.
Touching on it will not be enough, as many Lithuanian leaders acknowledge privately. To break the Soviet economic knot that is strangling Lithuania and to start negotiations for actual independence, the Lithuanian Parliament will have to show much more flexibility. To suspend the declaration is the shrewdest way to avoid suspending ultimate independence.


In China, hundreds of millions of people use WeChat not only as a communication tool but also as a major source of news and knowledge. Naturally, the messaging app, called Weixin in China, is also a hotbed for suspicious rumors.
Internet giant Tencent Holdings Ltd., the developer of WeChat, says it is trying to help the app's users verify whether certain rumors they see online are true or false.
This week, an official WeChat account called Rumor Filter, operated by Tencent, added a new feature that it says could make it easier for people to check the veracity of social-media information. When a user sends a chat message -- a phrase or sentence stating what the rumor is -- to the RumorFilter account, it aims to give an auto reply that clarifies whether that rumor is true.
Rumor Filter's short instruction manual for the new feature contains a sample question: "Is a crayfish an insect?" -- which gets a lengthy reply explaining why a crayfish isn’t an insect. But because the feature is a simple auto-reply function, most messages that don't match certain keywords and phrases, Tencent says, either get no reply or a reply saying "there is no relevant information."
China Real Time found that it offered responses mainly about recent myths related to public-health scares.
For instance, a query about online rumors that fast-food chain KFC uses abnormal chickens with an excessive number of wings and legs prompted a reply clarifying that the rumor stemmed from manipulated photos and that experts say chickens with more than two wings are hard to keep alive. KFC filed a lawsuit last year against three Chinese media companies for spreading false information about its products.
The feature also refuted rumors related to diseases such as HIV, and a myth about parasites in pork that can't be killed off by boiling or frying.
Chinese authorities have in recent years grappled with how to regulate social-media platforms that serve as popular venues for discussion and debate in a country where authorities keep a tight grip on the flow of information.
A survey released this month by an institute at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences showed that WeChat is now a bigger channel for online rumors than other social networks such as the Weibo microblogging service, in part because people use WeChat more often than any other social apps.
Other studies have warned that rumors circulated on WeChat, where people typically communicate with friends and acquaintances rather than strangers, are more difficult to refute than rumors spread on microblogging platforms such as Weibo where users post comments to wider audiences.
A CASS study last year said that WeChat intercepts “rumors” as many as 2.1 million times a day, typically in posts on food and personal safety, disease, personal-health regimes, fraud, finance and parenting techniques.
Tencent says it launched the Rumor Filter account in 2014 to help WeChat users distinguish rumors from facts. The account occasionally posts articles that try to determine the authenticity of some of the most widely circulated rumors online.
For example, a Rumor Filter article posted earlier this month talked about a blog post being shared by many WeChat users that came with the headline "Greedy Glass Makers Cause 99% of Nearsightedness Problems." The blog post argued that wearing glasses all the time would make people even more nearsighted. The Rumor Filter article said that this blog post's information is false and glasses don't make nearsightedness worse, citing a BBC article.
However, the idea of distinguishing rumors from facts becomes complicated in a country where internet censorship and online propaganda are part of everyday life. Articles posted on Rumor Filter's account so far haven't contained any online rumors that might be seen as remotely political, and China Real Time failed to find clarity when asking the app about politically sensitive rumors.
The account's introduction page says, "we filter rumors, protect the truth and spread positive energy."


The folks at Popular Mechanics have put together a collection of 16 high-tech materials that we could find in future products. Of that group, we have selected some of our more obscure favorites.
Ceramic Cloth: Cloth knit from ceramic fibres can provide protection from extreme temperatures. It is easy to see the benefit for military personnel and firefighters.
Temperature Sensitive Glass: Remember Hypercolor shirts? Picture the same sort of thing happening with the glass tiles in your shower. The water will cause the tiles to morph into all kinds of trippy colours. Finally, burnt out hippies will have a reason to wash up.
Flavour Changing Additives: Imagine food that changes flavours repeatedly over time. These additives contain nanospheres encapsulated in larger microspheres that burst with with new flavours in succession. It could turn everything you eat into a Gobstopper.
Conductive Hook and Loop Velcro: The Velcro pictured here can conduct electricity and complete a circuit when the hook side comes in contact with the loop side. This could result in a soft switch for clothing, backpacks, etc.


The 'Baby Driver' star has nabbed the male lead in the upcoming musical.
Baby Driver star Ansel Elgort has nabbed the male lead in Steven Spielberg's upcoming take on West Side Story.
The actor will play Tony, a role first portrayed by Larry Kert in the original 1957 Broadway musical. Richard Beymer played the part in the classic 1961 movie.
Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Pulitzer Prize winner Tony Kushner has written the adaptation of the musical originally penned by Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim with music by Leonard Bernstein.
Spielberg has spent the better part of the year looking for stars for his movie, with actors needing to be able to sing, dance and, of course, act their hearts out for the story that transposes Romeo and Juliet into a 1950s New York setting featuring white and Puerto Rican gangs.
Elgort's casting now puts West Side Story firmly on track for a summer 2019 production start. Spielberg, Kevin McCollum and Kristie Macosko Krieger are producing the film.
Elgort, who showcased some of the needed chops in Baby Driver, will play the tragic Tony, who was once in the white gang known as the Jets and falls in love with Maria, the sister of the leader of the Sharks, the Puerto Rican gang.
The New York-born actor broke out by breaking hearts in the 2014 weepie drama The Fault in Our Stars. His next outing will be in The Goldfinch, an adaptation of the Donna Tartt novel, which is set for release on Oct. 11, 2019.
Elgort is repped by CAA and manager Emily Gerson Saines.


Don't put them in the microwave. They'll explode.
They're not just for Christmas.
Waking up on Easter morning to a basket full of treats makes this holiday especially divine. Just try not to obliterate your stash before morning mass.


Nazanine Moshiri looks at how rising unemployment is shaping a nation's choices ahead of elections.
Four years ago, Tunisia was the trigger for the rest of the Arab Spring. And the trigger for so much of the Arab world's revolution was jobs.
Jobs and dignity were among the slogans from the uprising in 2011, so there is frustration that unemployment keeps rising.
The government says it is trying to create jobs but the economic uncertainty has led to many young people to travelling to Europe illegally and it may have partly contributed to what the ministry of interior says, is the presence of 2,000 Tunisians in armed groups in Syria and Iraq.
From Tunisia, where 17 percent of people are still jobless and almost one-third of graduates cannot find work, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri filed a report ahead of the elections.


Another BCCI official said the COA, comprising Vinod Rai and Diana Edulji, might just "tie the albatross of RTI" around the Board's neck before announcing elections.
The BCCI is likely to challenge the Central Information Commission's ruling that the cricket board be brought under the RTI act with a top official accusing the Committee of Administrators (COA) of "wilful negligence" in dealing with the matter.
The CIC verdict would effectively mean that the BCCI become a National Sports Federation (NSF). The BCCI, which has resented coming under the Right to Information (RTI) act claiming to be an autonomous entity, feels the COA is to be blamed for the setback which hit the Board on Monday evening.
"I believe there has been wilful negligence on part of the COA in botching up BCCI's right to legal representation," a senior BCCI official, while talking about the legal ramifications of the CIC order, told Tuesday.
"There was a CIC hearing on July 10 when it was asked as to why BCCI shouldn't come under the RTI? The BCCI didn't even file a reply and sat on the show-cause notice. Now the only way is to challenge the order in High Court and take it from there on," the official said.
"We hear that BCCI wants to partially come under the RTI and not reveal things like team selection and all? Is it a joke? If BCCI challenges, there won't be any half measures. It will be all or nothing," he said.
He then went on to give a few sample questions that will be asked first up if the BCCI comes under the RTI.
"It could be about team selection processes and whether IPL franchises are having a role in it. The share-holding patterns, the investments made," he said.
"The second question will be about personal conduct of certain officials and issues like harassment of women at workplace," he added.
"The third question will be even more telling. Is there a case that a junior cricketer in the Indian team is getting a long rope because of his tie-up with certain management firm of a senior player that has landed them multi crore endorsement with a particular sports brand??"
The official said: "I am not sure if the COA is ready to answer these tough questions. More so it is the office-bearers who should be given powers to take legal recourse. It is unfortunate that honourable Supreme Court's orders are being misused by COA."
When he was asked that even the Law Commission has recommended bringing the BCCI under the RTI, he explained: "Law Commission's recommendation is not binding. Secondly, the premise of their recommendations is based on certain conjectures which are debatable."
Repeated calls to COA chief Vinod Rai to seek a response from him went unanswered.
Another senior office-bearer close to COA said lawyers will be studying the CIC judgement and appropriate legal recourse will be taken.


Jared Kushner will face grilling by Senate investigators over possible ties between Trump's associates and Russian officials in advance of last November's election.
A Russian bank under Western economic sanctions over Russia's incursion into Ukraine disclosed on Monday that its executives had met Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top White House adviser, in December.
A U.S. Senate committee investigating suspected Russian interference in the election wants to interview Trump associates, including Kushner, 36, who is married to Trump's daughter Ivanka Trump and has agreed to testify.
It said roadshow meetings took place "with a number of representatives of the largest banks and business establishments of the United States, including Jared Kushner, the head of Kushner Companies." VEB declined to say where the meetings took place or the dates.
Allegations by U.S. intelligence agencies that Russian actors were behind hacking of senior Democratic Party operatives and spreading disinformation linger over Trump's young presidency. Democrats charge the Russians wanted to tilt the election toward the Republican, a claim dismissed by Trump. Russia denies the allegations.
But there has been no doubt that the Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergei Kislyak, developed contacts among the Trump team. Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, was forced to resign on Feb. 13 after revelations that he had discussed U.S. sanctions on Russia with Kislyak and misled Vice President Mike Pence about the conversations.
Gorkov was appointed head of VEB in early 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin. He graduated from the Federal Security Service, or FSB, Russia's internal security agency. He was awarded the Medal of the Order of Merit for Services to the Fatherland, according to the bank's website.
It received 150 billion roubles ($2.6 billion) in support from the Russian budget in 2016, when its senior management was sacked and replaced by a team of executives from Russia's biggest lender Sberbank.
Forbes did not provide a specific estimate for Jared Kushner's net worth on his own.
"Throughout the campaign and the transition, Jared served as the official primary point of contact with foreign governments and officials ... and so, given this role, he volunteered to speak with Chairman Burr's committee," Spicer told reporters at his daily briefing.
Evgeny Buryakov, 41, a Russian citizen who worked at Vnesheconombank and whom U.S. authorities accused of posing as a banker while participating in a New York spy ring, pleaded guilty to a criminal conspiracy charge on Friday. Buryakov admitted in federal court in Manhattan to acting as an agent for the Russian government without notifying U.S. authorities. He was prosecuted by the office of the U.S. attorney in Manhattan under Preet Bharara, who was among several chief prosecutors fired or asked to resign earlier this month by the new administration.


Q. Back in the 1990s, before 529 education plans were created, I opened Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) accounts for both my children as a way to save for college.
I'd now like to shift that money into 529 plans. Is it possible to do so without paying taxes or fees?
-- Curious dadA. There are consequences to making the change from a UTMA to a 529 plan.
The first: taxes. You can't transfer the investments in a UTMA to a 529 plan. You need to sell, then transfer the cash to the 529. Depending on how your UTMA investments have fared in the market, you may be selling at a gain or a loss. If the investment has gained value, you may have a tax liability on the gains.
"Under the 'kiddie tax,' children with incomes in excess of $1,900 get taxed at the parent's tax rates," said Jerry Lynch, a certified financial planner with JFL Consulting in Fairfield.
529 plans can offer better tax benefits than UTMAs, Lynch said. Money invested in a 529 grows tax-deferred and can be used income tax-free for college, and some states offer tax incentives.
Ownership is another big difference between UTMAs and 529s, depending on how you set up the account. Lynch said if the child decides not to go to college, 529 money can be used for another child or you can get the money back by only paying a 10 percent penalty and taxes on the gain.
But a 529 plan created with UTMA funds is treated somewhat differently.
"The dollars you are transferring from the UTMA accounts must be transferred to a 'custodial' 529 plan and will continue to be subject to the same rules and restrictions as the UTMA account," said Diahann Lassus, a certified financial planner and certified public accountant with Lassus Wherley in New Providence.
"Unlike regular 529 plan accounts, the UTMA account does not allow you to change the beneficiary. The funds are considered your child's funds and pass to him/her at the legal age defined by state law."
There's another big advantage if your child is looking for financial aid. Custodial 529 plans are treated as a parental asset rather than as the child's asset for financial aid purposes, Lassus said, so a 529 won't count as heavily in aid calculations.
One note on your question about fees: If the investments within your UTMA are "B" shares, you could be subject to back-end surrender charges which are charged when you sell, Lynch said. Take a look at your investments and make sure you're out of the fee window if you own "B" shares.


Rumors are swirling the upcoming games in the eternally-warring Call of Duty and Battlefield franchises will both contain a battle royale mode — and I have no doubt they’ll both find some way to ruin it.
Polygon yesterday broke the news that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 might not have a single-player mode, and sources later corroborated that with Kotaku, adding the news about a potential battle royale mode.
This, in and of itself, would just be news of a game developer jumping on a trend. Then, today, VentureBeat reported Battlefield 5’s developers were also testing a battle royale mode, and suddenly both companies are starting to look a little desperate.
Two of the most popular games on Earth right now are PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and Fortnite, both battle royale games. In case you’ve missed either the games or the millions of hours of Twitch streams, battle royale games involve players scavenging for weapons and armor inside a shrinking safe zone, hunting each other down in order to be declared the last man standing. Think “Hunger Games” if it was a spaghetti Western.
While I think the format is a little over-hyped, battle royale games create tense and rewarding gameplay. To be played well, they demand stealth, ingenuity, patience, and daring. Both of the aforementioned games have mastered the formula. ADespite superficial similarities, this formula is doesn’t seem to fit the Call of Duty/Battlefield mold of fast paced action, which has been honed to a mirror sheen over the last several years.
It reeks of companies jumping on a bandwagon, and I’m not convinced either franchise could do more than a lazy copy of Fortnite and PUBG.
I can’t say I blame them, though. By latest estimate, almost a third of PC gamers play battle royale games, and I’m willing to bet both EA and Activision are belatedly kicking themselves for not building the bandwagon to begin with.
Read next: Pornhub promised to ban 'deepfakes' videos. And it failed miserably.


Santa Claus, sleigh bells, reindeer. Snow falling, icicles forming, Christmas music playing. Christmas lights, Christmas trees, Christmas presents. Shopping, planning, cooking, eating, visiting with friends and family. This is what Christmas is all about... isn't it? Somewhere in the midst of the hustle and bustle of all the festivities, the real meaning of Christmas is lost.
What's it all about? We all know the Christmas story — the birth of Jesus. But is that it? Is the real meaning of Christmas reduced to a sweet story about a baby that we faintly hear through the noise of the lights, the packages and the ribbons? What is the true meaning of Christmas? In Luke 4:16-21 Jesus answers our question. He quotes Isaiah 61 and defines his ministry. Surely this is what Christmas is all about. Not just a birth story, but the celebration of one whose ministry sets people free!
The ministry of Isaiah 61, which Jesus applies to himself is a ministry of liberation, offering a joy-filled existence to its recipients. The joy of salvation is echoed again in 61:8-11. But what does this have to do with Christmas? Christmas is the celebration of the One whose life and ministry changes others. As followers of Jesus, we are the recipients of this grace as well as the body of Christ which bestows this grace on others.
I once heard a story of a missionary who angrily chased thieves out of his pineapple field almost every day. One day, his anger, yelling and chasing stopped. Curious, one of the thieves inquired about this and was told that the missionary-farmer realized that God owned the pineapple field and it did not belong to him. In awe, the thief responded, "Oh... he became a Christian!" You see, he was claiming Christ all along, but not living Christ.
Are we experiencing the joy-filled existence that characterizes the ministry of Jesus? Are we allowing the life of Jesus to touch others through us? Or, are we too caught up in the commercialism of it all this Christmas season? How can we experience and express the real meaning of Christmas as defined by Isaiah 61 and Luke 4? Let's take a look at specific verses in Isaiah 61.
Isaiah 61:1. Verse 1 makes it clear that we must first begin by surrendering to the leadership of the Spirit of the Lord each day. Through prayer, we can also ask the Lord to reveal areas of our lives where we need healing and deliverance, and commit those to His care. We can also ask for opportunities to bestow healing and deliverance upon others.
Isaiah 61:2-3, 10-11. How can we experience joy versus mourning? We need to put on the "garment of praise." Spend time each day singing praise songs and hymns either acappella or with accompaniment. Wonderful, worshipful CD's are available in Christian book stores and on line. Praise sets us free from ourselves and our problems and focuses our attention on the Lord, empowering us to be vessels of light and love for others.
Isaiah 61:4. While the returning exiles were to rebuild their cities, we can rebuild our ruined lives and help others to do so. We can begin by putting basic biblical principles into practice, such as those found in Psalms 37 or Colossians 3.
Isaiah 61:8-9. What are we doing to fight for justice? The OT covenant was a covenant that upheld truth and justice. Are there ways in which we can make a difference in local, state, national and global decisions that uphold justice and truth? Countless websites provide information and opportunities to take action. You may also wish to contact your denominational headquarters for information.
Do you want to experience the true meaning of Christmas this year? Let's begin by following Jesus' example and putting Isaiah's "to do" list into practice.
Sermon brief provided by: Paula Fontana Qualls, Associate Professor of Religion at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, NC.


OAKLAND — Collin McHugh has had a few close calls on the mound — nothing like this line drive he somehow dodged with an acrobatic maneuver that allowed the Astros to turn a nifty double play behind him.
Estrada fell behind from the start on a night Nick Hundley earned a rare start catching the right-hander despite starter Josh Phegley's hot bat. Phegley, with his nine-game hitting streak, will be back in the lineup today.
A BREAK AT LAST: The A's whirlwind opening stretch has finally gotten a little easier. After opening the season in Japan last month and returning home, they just had their first true off day Monday following what was supposed to be 18 straight games before Saturday's rainout at Texas. Oakland gets another day off Thursday.
TRAINER'S ROOM: Oakland 1B Matt Olson, injured in the Japan series and nearing the one-month mark since undergoing right hand surgery, took his first swings with a fungo bat. The next progression in his rehab will be using a regular bat, followed by hitting off a tee. "It'll be a progression from this point, soft toss and tee, but I think we're right on schedule with him," manager Bob Melvin said. "I know he's pretty eager to start swinging a bat and face some pitching, but it's going to be a little bit more time before we do that." ... OF Nick Martini (sprained right knee) is doing baseball activities and will begin taking more live batting practice on the field.
SAFE HAVEN: With April as World Autism Month, the A's on Tuesday unveiled a sensory room in one of the center-field suites. The quiet, peaceful space provides fans of all ages with autism, Down syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, dementia or other conditions a calming and soothing spot where they can deal with sensory issues.


MUMBAI: Vivek Dhande, 26, who comes from the droughtprone Ghansawangi taluka of Jalna district in Marathwada, is a double graduate - a BSc degree and a diploma in education degree. Yet, he is among the 1.7 lakh applicants vying for 959 posts of audit clerks in the finance department.
"I am desperate for a job now. I am banking on this opportunity," said Dhande, who completed his last degree in 2012 and is yet to find a job. He lives in a joint family with his farmer father, stay-at-home mother, younger brother and a grandmother and they are barely able to meet their basic needs.
Reported on Friday that for the 4,410 jobs that the government had advertised, it received 7.9 lakh applications. All these jobs are entry level, and of Class III and Class IV rank, and many over-qualified youths are pinning their hopes on this opportunity.
When TOI spoke to a few of these applicants, they said that in the absence of a stable private sector market, the government jobs are high in demand. Some said that government jobs, though clerical in nature, come with a 'status' symbol for the youth, especially from the smaller towns.
Ganesh Pol, 25, a civil engineer from Vadgaon in Kolhapur, is one of the 58,000 applicants for the 405 junior engineer posts in the PWD. Pol, who finished his graduation a year ago and has been struggling to find a 'stable' job, said for him and many like him, the advertisement for these entry-level jobs is a ray of hope.
These are the first installment of the 72,000 posts the BJP-led government plans to fill as part of its mega recruitment drive ahead of the election.
"The average pay in the government job is Rs 15,000, which is much higher than some of private sector jobs that came my way," he added. The salary range for the post is between Rs 9,000 and Rs 35,000. The insecurity in farming is another factor driving youths to government jobs.
"Farming is the main source of income for our family, which is also rapidly dwindling," said Dhande. "For people from the rural areas, the family occupation of farming is not an option anymore as it is loss-making. So parents want their children to study, but even after studying, there are no jobs," he said.
Umesh Chorghade, 30, (name changed), is a BA in English Literature and stays in Pathardi in Ahmednagar district with his mother, a teacher who will retire soon. He has also done a diploma in education degree, and only last year got a job as a temporary primary teacher for Rs 3,000 per month.
Hemmed in from all sides, he learnt to type to increase his chances of a government job. "I have a speed of 30 words per minute in English and 40 words per minute in Marathi, a criterion for the post of junior clerk I have applied for," he said.


Rodriguez made his major-league debut in 1991 at age 19 and in 1992 started a streak of 10 consecutive Gold Gloves and All-Star appearances. He spent the first 12 seasons of his career with the Rangers before joining the Florida Marlins in 2003 and helping them win the World Series.
Rodriguez, affectionately known as “Pudge,” also played for the Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees and Astros before returning briefly to the Rangers in 2009. He finished his career with the Washington Nationals in two seasons.
Ivan Rodriguez became the 19th catcher elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the second in two years after Mike Piazza was in the 2016 Hall class.
Rodriguez will become the 18th catcher in the Hall of Fame and only the second first-ballot catcher after he collected 2,844 hits in a 21-year career and finished with a .296 batting average, 311 home runs and 1,332 RBIs. He also threw out 42 percent of attempted base stealers.
He notched 1,747 hits, 352 doubles, 217 homers and 842 RBIs with the Rangers while batting .304, and he helped lead them to the first three playoff appearances in franchise history as AL West champions in 1996, 1998 and 1999.
In his MVP season, Rodriguez batted .332 with 35 homers, 113 RBIs and 116 runs, and is the only catcher in MLB history with a season with a .330 average, 35 homers, 110 RBIs and 110 runs.
Rodriguez remains the all-time MLB leader in games caught (2,427) and holds the record for most All-Star Game starts (12).
He is also only one of five players to achieve a .294 average, 2,800 hits, 550 doubles, 300 homers and 1,300 RBIs. The others in the group are Hank Aaron, Barry Bonds, George Brett and Stan Musial.
Those credentials would seem to make Rodriguez any easy choice for Hall voters, but some were swayed away from him because of alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs.
Jose Canseco wrote in his autobiography, Juiced, that he injected Rodriguez with steroids while Rangers teammates in the early 1990s. Rodriguez also showed a dramatic weight loss in 2005 after MLB started testing for PEDs.
“He’s the best catcher of all time or in the top two,” Rangers catcher Jonathan Lucroy said. “Watching the game, he was one of those guys that was just the best at what he did. From my perspective, he was a guy you watched because he was just a Hall of Fame-caliber player.
Rangers legend Pudge Rodriguez excited and honored to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility (Video by Stefan Stevenson).


Marty Mornhinweg sat down for his weekly news conference and was all set to open with a review of the Jets' last game.
Without saying a word about the 49-9 loss to Cincinnati on Sunday, the offensive coordinator kept a straight face.
"All right," Mornhinweg deadpanned Thursday, "let's get to New Orleans."
When you have a loss that ugly, not much needs to be said. It was brutal, and Mornhinweg knows it. Coach Rex Ryan even opted out of the usual team film session Monday so the Jets could move on quickly.
"Look, we took some steps backward," Mornhinweg said. "Now, we've got to take some steps forward. It's just that simple. I've got to do a better job, period, putting the guys in a little bit better spots."
The Jets put up 240 total yards of offense against the Bengals, and rookie Geno Smith was 20 of 30 for 159 yards and two interceptions, both of which were returned for touchdowns.
Smith and the offense have been a roller coaster through the first eight games, a consistent inconsistency that has led to a 4-4 record. The Jets have the 17th-ranked overall offense, which includes being the No. 13 rushing team and 22nd passing.
"We've played probably some decent, pretty good, solid offensive football and then we've played some really poor offensive football," Mornhinweg said. "And then we've come back and played some good, solid football. So, we're looking for that good, solid offensive football really consistently.
"It seems like we've been up and down and up and down, so there you go."
Mornhinweg pointed the finger at himself, adding that he's not "beating myself up" about the way the offense performed last week. But he also acknowledged that the game got away quickly as the Bengals jumped to a 14-0 lead and were ahead 28-6 by halftime.
"We've just got to do a better job, especially at the start of the game, because as you know we were completely out of the plan very quickly," Mornhinweg said.
The Jets haven't lost — or won — consecutive games this season, and now they face one of the NFL's toughest defenses in the New Orleans Saints.
They're the 12th-ranked defense, and they disrupt quarterbacks on a regular basis. The Saints have 24 sacks, including at least one by 12 players. They also have nine interceptions and 10 forced fumbles, six of which they've recovered.
"Yeah, we've got to protect the ball," Smith said. "I've got to protect the ball. They have caused a few turnovers and that's kind of the mentality of the defense. They try to throw a lot at you and get you out of rhythm, get you to rush some things. So, just staying patient, knowing where I'm going with the ball and just being sharp."
That's been much easier said than done for Smith. He has eight touchdowns and 13 interceptions, a total that ranks third in the NFL and first in the AFC. Smith has also been sacked 28 times, a total that is second in the NFL only to the 32 by Miami's Ryan Tannehill.
Some of the sacks have come because of Smith's tendency to sometimes hold onto the ball a bit too long, but there have also been occasional breakdowns on the offensive line. He was sacked three times by Cincinnati on Sunday before being replaced by Matt Simms.
"I know we're way better than that," right guard Willie Colon said of the team's performance. "I know that we're capable of playing a lot better and doing a lot better."
Smith has been saying that of himself ever since his first practice with the Jets. He's a tantalizing talent: a big-armed quarterback who can also make plays with his legs. Smith also is the first rookie since the merger in 1970 to lead a winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime four times in his first seven games.
But, there have also been the handfuls of mistakes, including the three interceptions returned for touchdowns in the last two games. Five of his 13 interceptions have come in the fourth quarter, and Smith has just one game in which he hasn't had a turnover.
"I do understand that there's lots to learn, but I know what I'm capable of," Smith said. "For me, it's just about sticking to it, just continuing to work hard, staying level-headed. That comes naturally. So, (I'm) just going to stick to my guns, just work hard and try and improve every single day."
Mornhinweg has been mostly encouraged by the quarterback despite the mistakes. Part of it has been Smith's refusal to blame anyone other than himself for his struggles. There's also his motivation to be better — and make the offense better in the process.
"Very few days go by," Mornhinweg said, "where I'm not impressed with the man."


Turkey is determined to further enhance bilateral relations with Kyrgyzstan while rescuing it from "the shadow of FETÖ", President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Sept.2.
"We are resolute in further enhancing our relations in the upcoming period while saving it from the shadow of FETÖ," Erdoğan said at a ceremony at Manas University in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.
Erdoğan warned Kyrgyzstan about FETÖ, saying it is a "treacherous and sneaky" organization.


The Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA), completed a three-day training course on digital security in Ramallah, as part of the Center’s constant efforts to protect digital rights, privacy and digital security.
The training was aimed towards a group of media professionals specialized in digital media and information technology working in Palestinian NGOs, the training focused on the digital characteristics, social media, privacy, digital safety for institutions and also it focused on the tools that could be used to help us avoid hacking, information theft, comprehensive safety and auditing information systems for media and human rights organizations, and security in the transmission of information via the Internet.
The training was provided by two specialized trainers in digital security and the preservation of information via the Internet and social media, and was funded by Deutsche Welle and in collaboration with PYALARA Foundation.
At the end of the training course the participants expressed the importance of implementing such training and the extent to which, the three days of intensive training in the protection of information and digital security have benefited them and the need to apply the training topics to the work of journalists and technicians within their institutions, and called for more similar courses to build their capacities in this field.


(WBIR) Fake Luke Bryan tickets for Friday's concert at Maple Lane Farms are making the rounds across East Tennessee, leaving some victims out hundreds of dollars and no ticket to the sold-out event.
(WBIR-MARYVILLE) A man who was shot after confronting a police officer with a BB gun now faces charges.
Fuller walked out to the street in an attempt to calm the man, later identified as Jason Halfacre, 40, who was in a relationship with the woman and lived at the home.
(WBIR-MARYVILLE) A Maryville man is accused of assaulting his roommates because they wouldn't turn out the lights.
Deputies were called to the residence on Meade Street in Maryville on Saturday just after 10 am.
The two victims told investigators that Greg Houghes walked into his roommate's room and started hitting and strangling him. When the other roommate tried to intervene, the incident reports says that Houghes shoved and hit him.
(WBIR-Townsend) A popular Townsend landmark opened its doors Friday for the first time since a devastating fire.


« Are you prepared if an emergency happens on your farm?
Assemblyman John Salka represents the 121st Assembly District, encompassing all of Madison County and portions of Oneida and Otsego counties.
“While I believe the motive behind the DREAM Act is noble – to expand access to higher education – I believe those who voted in favor of it have done a disservice to the citizens of New York state, especially those who are college-bound or currently paying student loans. This legislation allows the use of our tax dollars to provide college tuition assistance to illegal immigrants, while legal residents find themselves crushed under the weight of burdensome student loan debt.
Assemblyman Miller represents the 101st District consisting of parts of Delaware, Herkimer, Oneida, Orange, Otsego, Sullivan and Ulster counties. For more information, visit Miller’s Official Website.
Thankfully, John Salka’s caveman views are not representative of all of his constituents. He should remember that before the next election.


Artist’s rendering of the recently discovered planetary system Trappist-1. Via Wikipedia.
Yesterday, following the incredible news that astronomers had discovered seven Earth-sized, and possibly Earth-like (i.e. life-supporting), planets orbiting a star just thirty-nine light years away from Earth, we here at MobyLives decided, given humanity’s long history of responding to such discoveries by imagineering, westward-hoing, and all-around boldly-going-where, that it’s about time we turned our attention to the serious question of space libraries: namely, what to stock them with (space books, natch, but which ones?), how those space books might be delivered (by space rocket), and who will frequent these space spaces of free and independent thought (judging by the available data, this will likely be current entrepreneur and noted non-Peter Thiel, and future space patron, Elon Musk).
Getting the books to the aspiring Mars colonizer’s new vacation home in TRAPPIST-1, which is what the newly discovered planetary system is called, will be pretty easy, we think. We’ll just blast them. Into space. Willy-nilly. Like rockets—idea rockets, you could say—in the general direction of Musk’s space house.
Once the books are there, we can rely on Musk to fetch them from the space roof of his space home, probably using a space broomstick or space ladder or whatever. He’ll then take them to the library, and properly shelve them.
But perhaps we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before we can stock Elon Musk’s space library for him, we must first ask: what books does Elon Musk like to read? And what books were essential to “launching his history-making career”? Thankfully, NBC’s Marguerite Ward has already done this work for us, giving us more time to focus on what’s really important: shooting some of these highly influential books into outer space.
Since Musk has been holding up his end of the deal, we thought we’d share these fresh design plans from MelvilleXLabs, where the future of spacefaring literature is being born as we speak. We have devised a mathematically rigorous flight proposal for each of Musk’s favorite books, and we are proud to share them with you here. Enjoy, friends — and welcome to the future.


In an oddly “presidential” speech today, House Speaker Paul Ryan denounced Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and the “ugliness” of the Republican primary race. Paul Ryan has denied that he would accept a presidential nomination at a contested convention, and he’s stated that he would support Donald Trump if — and only if — he won the Republican nomination. But after remarks today, some commentators are speculating if Paul Ryan’s attempt to bring an end to the infighting could be a sign of his own plans for the future.
“If someone has a bad idea, we tell them why our idea is better. We don’t insult them into agreeing with us, we try to persuade them. We test their assumptions. And while we’re at it, we test our own assumptions too,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan today, speaking to an assembly of about a hundred Capitol Hill interns.
Paul Ryan’s “State of American Politics” speech was hastily cobbled together, announced, planned and executed with only about one day’s notice, but by most accounts it was a decent speech – and it was remarkably even-handed, reports the Atlantic. In particular, Ryan took aim at the very personal feud currently ongoing between Ted Cruz and Donald Trump – the two men are arguing over their wives. Specifically, over a series of ads that a Ted Cruz-allied SuperPAC ran in socially conservative Utah which showed off early modeling photos of Trump’s wife, Melania Trump, in a state of undress. The Inquisitr reported previously that Ryan’s speech today could have been a presidential announcement — unfortunately for Paul Ryan supporters, the speech wasn’t quite an announcement, but it may have been “presidential” in tone.
“This has always been a tough business and when passions flare, ugliness is sometimes inevitable. But we shouldn’t accept ugliness as the norm,” House Speaker Paul Ryan urged a more diplomatic tone during his speech today.
According to Esquire, Ryan has had his eye on the nomination for a while now. Speaking at AIPAC earlier this week, he addressed some powerful delegates and lobbyists with another speech which illustrated his foreign policy chops — which could signal that he’s at least thinking about the nomination. And for some in the Republican party, a Paul Ryan presidential nomination could be the only thing standing between the Donald Trump and what many republican commentators fear will be a defeat in the general election.
“Instead of playing to your anxieties, we can appeal to your aspirations. Instead of playing the identity politics of ‘our base’ and ‘their base’ we unite people around ideas and principles, and instead of being timid, we go bold,” said House Speaker Paul Ryan today, in his aspirational speech to Capitol Hill interns.
The Washington Post has a different perspective, that Paul Ryan’s speech today, which by their account was “all about” Donald Trump, could be some subtle political maneuvering. Maybe Paul Ryan isn’t looking at being president in 2016, he’s looking at 2020, speculates the Washington Post.
“Personalities come and go, but principles? Principles endure. I’ve made it my mission as speaker to raise our gaze and aim for a brighter horizon,” said Speaker Paul Ryan today.
Paul Ryan might not have to stop Trump at a contested convention — as he’s said before that he doesn’t want to do — he might simply wait, the Post speculates, until a potential Donald Trump loss in November. At that point, maybe Paul Ryan will have distanced himself from the chaotic Republican primary that he’ll be seen as a reasonable alternative. In any case, the speech Paul Ryan gave today was certainly a change in tone for the Republican primary, and even though he didn’t criticize Cruz or Trump by name, he certainly criticized their tactics and the “ugliness” they’ve brought to this year’s campaign season.
“It did not used to be this bad, and it does not have to be this way,” Paul Ryan said today.


Why have suicide deaths increased so dramatically?
The Centers for Disease Control reported last week that suicide rates have increased -- dramatically -- across the country from 1999 to 2016. The CDC said suicide rates went up in 49 states. Nevada had a 1% decrease during that time period and was the only state without more suicides.
The suicide rate increased more than 34% in Pennsylvania during those 17 years. That's a substanial number of people taking their own lives. About 2,000 Pennsylvanians die from suicide each year.
It's a topic that should be discussed more, but often doesn't get attention until a well-known person takes their own life. Last week, designer Kate Spade and chef Anthony Boudain died by suicide and that has prompted a national conversation.
On Tuesday's Smart Talk, we'll ask why suicide rates have increased, the signs that someone may be thinking of ending their life and how and where to get help.
Appearing on the program are Govan Martin, Chair of the Board of Directors of the organization Prevent Suicide PA, Kelly Gollick, Executive Director of CONTACT Helpline in Central Pennsylvania and Perri Rosen, who is a school psychologist and Project Director of the Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention Grant. She is employed by the Office of Mental Health Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) under the Department of Human Services.
1-800-273-TALK (8255) or in Central PA, call 2-1-1.
Sometimes you just need a friendly ear and someone to listen.


This month, people from all over Michigan will be coming to Charlevoix to compete in the sport of bass fishing at the 2007 Johnson Outdoors Northern Championship Bass Tournament.
Sponsored by the Competitive Anglers Tournament Trail, based in Kalamazoo, the event will take place from Wednesday, Sept. 12 to Saturday, Sept. 15. The tournament will be based at the city boat launch at Ferry Beach on Lake Charlevoix.
"We're an amateur, semi-professional trail," said Jerry Bastian, president of the tournament. "Bass fishing is the second-largest growing sport next to NASCAR."
Practice days for the tournament are Sept. 12 and 13. Registered anglers fishing from now until the official practice day will be automatically disqualified from the event.
The actual competition spans over two days, Sept. 14 and 15. Bastian said approximately 150 participants in 75 boats will be fishing Lake Charlevoix's waters for the highest weighing bass. Lake Michigan will be closed to the competition in order to ensure fairness. Those with the highest total weight for two days receive the grand prize of a $25,000 Nitro/Mercury boat package.
The package and other awards will be presented at the city ramp on Saturday.
Chamber of Commerce President Jacqueline Merta, who invited the tournament to Charlevoix, is anticipating additional revenue for area businesses from tournament participants.
"I think it will be a revenue-generator for Charlevoix's business community," Merta said. "The tournament will be headquartered at Charlevoix Inn & Suites and participants will also be staying at other accommodations throughout the city."
She said this additional revenue will improve the shoulder season. The shoulder season is a time of year when the local economy is slower than during the peak tourist season but not as slow as the off-season. She said this is usually during the months of September, October, May and June.
Bastian said the tournament will be "catch and release." All boats have live wells pumped full of water and contain a chemical called Rejuvenade. Rejuvenade, he said, preserves the life of the bass and the protective antibiotic layer of their skin.
The fish are weighed and released into the water.
"We take care of the fish better than anyone else out there," he said.


We've discussed greener credit cards in the past at TreeHugger. Major credit card companies offer cards that provide donations to nonprofit organizations whose logo or image is featured on the card. But that's not what we're talking about here at all. Discover is boasting a new "biodegradable" credit card made from biodegradable PVC. But can PVC really degrade and what is it anyway?Discover has introduced its first biodegradable credit card, which will supposedly break down when exposed to landfill conditions. According to Discover, the green credit card is made of biodegradable PVC, 99 percent of which can be absorbed back into the environment given the right conditions. Discover contends that, with exposure to soil, water, compost, and other microorganisms, the card will degrade completely within nine months to 5 years. Discover also claims that the card leaves no toxic residue when it degrades. The company is not clear, however, on what conditions must exist to have the card totally degrade or how often these conditions exist.
PVC in Biodegradable Credit Cards?
But how can PVC be biodegradable? Or does it just degrade to microscopic pieces and never fully break down? Under what 'conditions' would it truly degrade and how would the average consumer come across these conditions? After all, one of the main reasons why PVC presented such a problem is because of its inability to degrade, even in a landfill setting. While it's unclear whether Discover is using BIOflex's biodegradable PVC technology, according to an article Green Living Tips, John Sulano of Biotech Products has commented that the biodegradability of BIOflex has been tested successfully under the "standard test method for determining anaerobic biodegradation of plastic materials under accelerated landfill conditions." We've seen this biodegradable PVC before on TreeHugger when April wrote about in billboards last month. It's made of PVC resin, limestone, plasticizer, and 20 percent petroleum. BIOflex also makes claims that the materials are all non toxic. This is, however, pretty new technology so I presume we'll know more later on about its true toxicity.
But all this has little to do with the overarching issue that makes credit cards an eco-demon. Americans continue to fall victim to these enticing pieces of plastic (whether biodegradable or not). In turn, they contribute to our nation's vast over consumption. According to Transunion, a credit and information management company, the total outstanding balance of bank-issued credit cards per consumer was $5,710 in December 2008. This could be a bit inflated for the holiday season however.
Biodegradable Credit Card or No Credit Card?
While I certainly applaud the pursuit of biodegradable credit cards, sticking to a simple life and staying away from unnecessary debt is the best way to keep stress low on both you and the environment. That's why I keep the majority of my credit cards in a drawer under a pile of socks, hopefully never to see the light of day again.
Wal-Mart CEO Calls for Reduced Consumption?


RENSSELAER FALLS -- Rachael Cougler of Rensselaer Falls was named to the President's List for the fall 2018 semester at SUNY Morrisville. She is majoring in business administration.
To be named to the president's list, a student must achieve a perfect 4.0 average for the semester and complete at least 12 credit hours.


CINCINNATI - Mat Latos fanned a personal-best 13 batters in his second career complete game and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Monday night.
The NL Central leaders won for only the second time in seven games. The Brewers, who won the division last year, have dropped eight of 13, falling 7½ games back - one shy of their season high.
Latos (6-2) gave up four hits, including a drive by Norichika Aoki that made it 63 straight games at Great American Ball Park with at least one homer. Latos also singled twice, matching a career high.
He finished it off by fanning Rickie Weeks with his 109th pitch. Eighty of his pitches were strikes.
PHILADELPHIA - Joe Blanton threw seven effective innings and Jimmy Rollins homered for the fourth time in five games for Philadelphia.
Blanton (7-6) allowed three runs - two earned - and seven hits, striking out eight.
The Phillies are 15-2 against the Pirates in their last 17 meetings at Citizens Bank Park.
Jeff Karstens (0-2) gave up seven runs - six earned - and 11 hits in five innings in his first start since April 17. Karstens was on the disabled list with hip and shoulder issues.
CHICAGO - Joe Mather homered and Travis Wood outpitched Johan Santana, leading the Chicago Cubs to a victory over the New York Mets to snap a four-game skid.
Wood (2-3) struck out six and scattered five hits over seven scoreless innings to earn his second straight victory.
The Cubs scored four unearned runs in the seventh inning with help from three Mets erorrs, including three-base miscues by third baseman David Wright and right fielder Lucas Duda.
DENVER - Todd Helton hit a tiebreaking sacrifice fly in the sixth inning and the Colorado Rockies cooled off Stephen Strasburg with a victory over the Washington Nationals.
Jeff Francis pitched five effective innings as the Rockies won for just the fourth time in 18 games. Dexter Fowler had two hits and Carlos Gonzalez delivered a tying RBI single.
Strasburg (9-2) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He was bidding to become the first Washington-based pitcher to win seven straight starts since Bob Porterfield did it in his final seven starts for the Senators in 1953.
MIAMI - Rafael Furcal and pinch-hitting pitcher Joe Kelly drove in runs in the 10th inning and the St. Louis Cardinals, who scored four runs in the top of the ninth, held on to beat the Miami Marlins for their fourth straight victory.
Yadier Molina hit a two-run homer off Heath Bell in the ninth to cap the four-run inning and tie the game at 6.
In the bottom of the 10th, John Buck hit an RBI single off Jason Motte to bring the Marlins within 8-7. Motte got Jose Reyes to fly out with two on and two outs for his 15th save in 19 chances.


A Clarksville man was killed in a drive by shooting Tuesday night on Treeland Drive.
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — A Clarksville man was killed in a drive-by shooting Tuesday night on Treeland Drive.
Dalenzo Russell, 22, died after he was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, said Officer Natalie Hall, spokeswoman for Clarksville Police Department.
At 6:27 p.m., officers were dispatched to a call in the 300 block of Treeland Drive.
Hall said the victim suffered a single gunshot wound.
One witness said a car pulled up to the house before the shooting.
"I was walking through here and heard one gunshot," said Corey Batson of Clarksville, who lives near Treeland Drive. "A car pulled up, a male hopped out and shot Dalenzo."
He said the victim is a man he knows.
"There was a bunch of people around him holding him, telling him, ‘Stay with me, stay with me, it’s going to be all right,’ ” Batson said.
Hall said police were looking for unknown suspects.
As of 7:30 p.m., police had blocked off the road at the intersection of Treeland Drive.
Anyone with information is asked to call the CPD Detective Chris Nolder at 931-648-0656 Ext 5341 or the CrimeStoppers TIPS Hotline at 931-645-TIPS (8477).


1 person dead, 2 others taken to hospital in Roslindale.
One person is dead after Boston EMS responded to an attached five-unit condo building in Roslindale, Massachusetts for elevated carbon monoxide levels.
Authorities were called to 741 Hyde Park Avenue at 9:47 a.m. Saturday.
One man and two women were treated and transported to area hospitals. One person was taken to Faulkner and two people were taken to Brigham and Women's.
The man was pronounced dead at the hospital. His cause of death has not yet been determined, and an autopsy will be be conducted.
The two women have very high levels of carbon monoxide in their systems, and their condition is not known at this time.
Investigators say that carbon monoxide was found in every condo in the building and that there were also no working CO detectors in the units. Fire officials say they also found several smoke detectors that were disabled.
It's unclear how many people in the condo building may have been displaced by this incident. One resident says she was woken up by a doorbell and told to get out.
"A police officer said that a couple of people had passed out next door and that we needed to open the doors and windows and air the house out," said Lisa Chin.
A stove in the unit was determined to be faulty. Boston fire says it was the source of the CO.
National Grid was on scene Saturday and will determine if carbon monoxide was coming from anywhere else.
Now that a cause has been determined, officials have an obligation to not allow the building to reoccupy until they come into compliance with smoke and CO detector laws.
People will not be allowed back in their homes until they have working carbon monoxide and smoke detectors.


Troy Wolverton’s Tech Files column incorrectly reported that Facebook might target ads to users based on their visits to adult-themed sites. Facebook says that it separates out data from such sites and does not use it for ad-targeting purposes.
Facebook users beware: The company has — yet again — unilaterally changed its mind about its data collection practices. As users should know, that’s not a good thing for their privacy.
Earlier this month, the dominant social network announced that it’s altering the way it determines which ads to show users of its site. In the past, the company based its ad choices on what users were doing on Facebook — what pages they liked, what links they clicked on.
Now, in addition to using that data, the company will also be taking into account the things users do online or on their smartphones outside of Facebook’s website and apps. So if Facebook sees you shopping for laxatives at an online drugstore, visiting an adult-themed site or using an exercise app to track your workouts, it might use that information to serve up ads while you’re on Facebook.
The change is only the latest example of the company pushing the boundaries of users’ privacy concerns, either by collecting more data from them or by taking more liberties with what it does with their data. It also represents just the latest example of the company crossing a line that it had set out in the past to reassure users concerned about the extent of its data collection practices.
Facebook declined to make available a spokesman who could comment on the change. But in a post on its website, the company pitched the move as a benefit for users, saying that it would allow the company to offer users more relevant ads. The company also said that the move would give users more control over what ads they see.
But the change pointed out just how much data Facebook is collecting on its users, much of it likely without their knowledge. It also highlighted — yet again — how Facebook’s privacy practices are never set in stone.
And it illustrated just how difficult it can be for Facebook users to protect their personal information and habits — even when they are aware of the company’s ravenous data collection.
This is a company, after all, that three years ago agreed to 20 years of oversight to settle a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission that alleged that the social networking giant repeatedly misled users about its privacy practices.
Facebook has long tracked users’ movements off its site through the use of the “like” button and invisible files embedded in many Web pages. But when consumer advocates in the past raised concerns about what the company would do with that data, the company reassured them by saying it wasn’t using the data for targeting ads. But that was then. Facebook has now changed its mind.
The problem with the new program, privacy advocates say, is not just that Facebook might use the information to target you with potentially embarrassing ads. It’s also that the type of fine-grained information that Facebook is collecting — which is then tied to the personal information users have given to the site about things such as their age and marital status — can be used by advertisers to potentially make inaccurate conclusions about people. It also can be used without consumers’ knowledge or awareness to discriminate against them, offering higher prices to some people or not offering particular services to them at all based on inferences drawn about their finances.
“Decisions are being made about us that we don’t necessarily understand or have any control over,” said John Simpson, the director of the Privacy Project at Consumer Watchdog, an advocacy group.
To be sure, Facebook has provided users a way to opt out of the targeted ads, but it’s not terribly user-friendly. The company has chosen to ignore the “do not track” feature found in all the major browsers.
Instead of simply turning on that feature — or just flipping a switch on Facebook itself — the company is directing users to a site run by the Digital Advertising Alliance, an industry trade group. From there, users can opt out of any number of online ad networks or all of them at once.
That sounds easy enough, but because the opt out choices are set with a cookie — a small file saved in the browser — users will have to repeat that step for each browser on every computer they use to access Facebook. What’s more, if they follow the advice given by many privacy advocates and clear their cookies, they’ll have to remember to go back to the DAA site and opt out again, because its cookie will have been wiped out with the rest.
To avoid the targeted ads on Android or Apple smartphones or tablets, users will have to wade into their settings and find the option to limit ad tracking or opt out of “interest-based” ads. Even if users take those steps, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Facebook won’t continue to track them — it just means the company promises not to use that information to serve targeted ads.
“The options provided” for avoiding targeted ads “are hugely insufficient,” said Julia Horwitz, consumer protection counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, an advocacy group.
But Facebook users can take other precautions that can potentially block the company’s tracking. Browser plug-ins such as Adblock Plus, which is available for both Google’s Chrome and Mozilla’s Firefox, can be configured to block tracking by social networks. Privacy Badger, a plug-in from digital rights advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation, blocks such tracking by default. The trade-off? For better or worse, you may no longer see the Facebook “like” button on your favorite websites.
Consumers can also potentially avoid long-term tracking of their surfing habits by using the Tor browser, which has been configured to not only block tracking tools but also to give users anonymity. Unfortunately, Tor can slow Web surfing to a crawl.
But if you’re like me and concerned about what Facebook knows about you, what it’s doing with your data and how much more it wants to glean, that may be a small price to pay.
Opt-out cookie: Users can visit www.aboutads.info/choices, which is a site run by a digital advertising industry trade group, to opt out of receiving targeted ads from a wide range of ad networks, including Facebook. But they’ll have to go through the same process, which is built around an opt-out cookie on their computers, for each browser on each computer they use. And they’ll have to remember to repeat the process if they ever delete all their cookies. What’s more, the opt-out cookie doesn’t block advertisers from continuing to track users’ online movements.
App block: To block ads based on app usage, users will have to go to the settings areas of their smartphones or tablets. On iPhones and iPads devices, they’ll have to go to the advertising section of the privacy area of the settings app and turn on the option to “limit ad tracking.” On Android devices, they’ll have to go to the ads area of the Google settings app (not the main Android settings app) and tap on the “opt out of interest-based ads” setting.
Plug-in power: At least on your computer, a potentially more effective way to block Facebook’s tracking and targeting is through ad-blocking plug-ins such as Adblock Plus and Privacy Badger, which are both available for Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome. With Adblock Plus, users will have to specifically turn on the feature to block social media tracking, which they can do through the plug-in’s website at https://adblockplus.org/en/features#socialmedia. Privacy Badger has the option turned on by default.
Anonymize yourself: The Tor browser — available at www.torproject.org — not only blocks ad tracking but anonymizes users by routing their traffic through a series of computer relays, obscuring their Internet address and geographic location. Unfortunately, all that relaying can slow browsing considerably.


WASHINGTON (AP) — An internal watchdog at the Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday it will review whether federal and state officials kept the public appropriately informed last year about potential air quality threats after Hurricane Harvey ravaged southeastern Texas.
The office of EPA Inspector General Arthur Elkins issued notice of the audit, which will scrutinize the agency’s response following several high-profile accidents and spills following the August 2017 storm and the resulting flooding in the Houston metro area.
But The Associated Press and The Houston Chronicle reported in March that government records revealed far more widespread toxic impact than authorities publicly reported in the days and weeks after the storm. Massive amounts of benzene, vinyl chloride, butadiene and other known human carcinogens were among the toxic substances released into surrounding neighborhoods and waterways following Harvey’s torrential rains.
Kaplan said the review will encompass the response to the explosions and fire at a Arkema Inc. chemical plant in Crosby, a big benzene spill at Royal Dutch Shell PLC ‘s Deer Park complex, spills of sodium hydroxide and benzene from a Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. plant in Baytown, and a huge gasoline spill at Magellan Midstream’s Galena Park terminal east of Houston.
David Gray, spokesman for the EPA region that includes Texas, said Thursday it isn’t unusual for EPA’s inspector general to review the implementation of the agency’s programs.
“We have a longstanding practice of participating in their reviews,” Gray said.
The latest audit is in addition to a separate review EPA’s inspector general announced in December involving the agency’s 2017 preparedness and response efforts during the hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria as it related to contamination of waterways and drinking water supplies.


CAMP LEJEUNE � Reaction to the attacks on Pearl Harbor led to the rapid construction of the Marine Corps� largest base on the east coast.
The attacks on Dec. 7, 1941, consisted of Japanese forces attacking the United States Naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, about 7:48 a.m. The base was attacked by 353 Japanese fighters, bombers and torpedo planes which came in two waves off of six Japanese aircraft carriers. More than 3,600 Americans were wounded or killed and 188 U.S. aircraft were destroyed while four ships were sunk. Because of the attacks on Pearl Harbor, the United States entered World War II in both the European and Pacific campaigns.
Because of the United States� entrance into World War II, increased construction efforts aboard Camp Lejeune, which was formerly known as the Marine Barracks, New River, began. The Marine Barracks had been identified months prior to the attacks as the most advantageous location for a Marine base on the eastern seaboard.
Published in the News and Views of Jacksonville on Dec. 16, 1941, officials announced that �enlargement of the Marine Barracks tent camp and a stepping-up of work at the main barracks �have been started as a result of the war with the Axis powers.� According to the article, no determination was made as to how much the tent camp would be enlarged. Construction, according to the article, was being done 12 hours per day all week long. A separate article on the same date announced that the Marine Barracks had designated seven firing ranges.
On Dec. 18, 1941, a Washington, D.C., article was reprinted in Jacksonville stating that more than $23 million of federal funds was being allocated for the construction of the New River Marine Base and the Cherry Point Air Base as part of the government�s �all-out for victory� program. Prior allotments of funds brought the total allocated for the tent camp to $35 million and funds for Cherry Point�s Marine Air Corps training facilities amounted to $21 million.
Aboard Marine Base New River, according to the Dec. 18 article, more than $10 million was allocated for a regimental enlisted and officer billeting, a mess hall, ranges, a naval hospital and storage facilities. In addition to these facilities, millions were set aside for a steam plant, recreational facilities and more aboard the tent camp and necessary land improvements, structures and flight platforms aboard Cherry Point.
A Christmas Eve News and Views article reported that �Marine Barracks construction has been thrown into extra high gear,� and that additional workers were being employed on a now-24 hour basis. Less than one month after the Pearl Harbor attacks, employment aboard the bases doubled from 4,000 to more than 8,000 workers �and more will be employed as needed.� Because of the high demand of workers needed, the Farm Security Administration constructed 200 trailers to house those working on the base � an incentive to bring more people and their families to the Onslow County area, according to a second Christmas Eve News and Views article.
Referenced articles were found at the Onslow County Museum, which is where the history of Onslow County is documented and available to the public. The museum is located at 301 S. Wilmington St. in Richlands and can be reached at 910-324-5008.


Oil still dominates the fortunes of commoners and kings alike in the Middle East. So when oil prices rebounded from last year's lows, the region's rich got richer. So far, the New Economy in the Middle East denotes telecom, since computer and Internet penetration remain low compared with Europe and the U.S. But telecom is sizzling. Egypt's first billionaire, Onsi Sawiris, struck gold at home with wireless phone concessions. Lebanon's Rafik Al-Hariri--eyeing slow growth in construction--is hoping to do the same in South Africa. In Turkey, the billionaire Sahenk and Sabanci families joined to bid for a mobile-phone license but came up short. Also in Turkey, Mehmet Emin Karamehmet and his family--who parachute onto our list at a whopping $8 billion--look set to reap possibly billions more when their Turkcell goes public later this year. Lots for some in the region to talk about. See full list, "Billionaires The Middle East".