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The campus bookstore, a seeming anachronism in the digital age, will soon become history at the University of Massachusetts. Starting next fall, students at the flagship Amherst campus will buy almost all textbooks from Amazon.com. The online retail giant has struck a deal with UMass to replace an on-campus “textbook annex” run by Follett Corp. with a smaller Amazon distribution center. UMass officials hope the arrangement will save students money. “We really recognize that textbooks and course materials are a major expense for students, and those have continued to go up over time,” said Ed Blaguszewski, UMass spokesman. “This is about convenience and saving money for students.” Amazon told UMass that it could save students an average of 31 percent, or $380 annually, compared with prices at the old store. The Amazon system will offer students access to digital textbooks and, for old-fashioned ink-and-paper texts, free one-day delivery to addresses on campus and apartments in nearby towns. Students can also pick up texts, ordered online, at an Amazon-staffed storefront in the campus center that’s set to open in June. The Amazon system will also be integrated into the school’s course-selection software, letting students see exactly which books they need to buy for each class they are registered to take. Under terms of the five-year deal, the online retailer will pay UMass Amherst a 2.5 percent commission on most sales to students through the school’s dedicated Amazon storefront. The company has agreed to pay at least $375,000, $465,000, and $610,000 in the first three years, respectively. This isn’t Amazon’s first foray onto campus. In 2013, the company launched its first textbook partnership with the University of California Davis, followed by Purdue University in 2014. The company said it is negotiating similar contracts with a number of other universities and colleges. “Many schools are feeling pressure to control the cost of education, and textbooks contribute to that,” said Ripley MacDonald, Amazon’s director of student programs. “Many are also seeing revenues in their bookstores flat at best, or even going backward, so they’re looking at ways to stem that trend. We’re trying to reinvent the bookstore experience.” Blaguszewski said Amazon was chosen over five other companies bidding to replace the textbook annex because of its low prices and familiar interface. “Clearly, they’re renowned for their ability to manage technology and deliver prompt customer service,” he said. “We think it’s a great match.” Amazon said it bid for the UMass contract because of the school’s large student body, proximity to existing Amazon distribution centers, and the relative lack of nearby retailers. Follett will continue to operate the university store, which also sells mugs, hoodies, and other UMass-branded tchotchkes.

The ubiquitous online retailer has struck a deal with UMass to replace an on-campus “textbook annex” run by Illinois-based Follett Corp. with a smaller Amazon distribution center. UMass officials hope the arrangement will save students money.

07/07/2015 AT 11:55 AM EDT When his 18-month-old granddaughter's stroller rolled from the platform onto the train tracks at Wentworthville Station in Sydney, Australia, on Sunday morning, this grandfather knew he had to act fast. , the grandfather jumped after the baby girl onto the tracks to save her, very narrowly missing an incoming freight train that zipped by soon after he hoisted himself back up unto the platform, The girl, who fell onto the tracks as her family purchased train tickets, suffered swelling to the forehead and cuts to her knees, police confirmed, though the hero granddad avoided any injuries. "[It was] heroic. He's run down the tracks to the end of the platform," Inspector Paul Reynolds . "Baby [was] very lucky, grandfather just as lucky."

Soon after the man saved his 18-month-old granddaughter from the track, a freight train whizzed by

A Lebanese official says Beirut airport authorities have foiled one of the country’s largest drug smuggling attempts, seizing two tonnes of the amphetamine fenethylline before they were loaded on to the private plane of a Saudi prince. The official said the prince and four others had been detained on Monday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to give official statements. The manufacture of fenethylline pills thrives in Lebanon and war-torn Syria, which have become a gateway for the drug to the Middle East and particularly the Gulf. In a 2014 report, the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime says the amphetamine market is on the rise in the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Syria accounting for more than 55% of amphetamines seized worldwide.

Prince and four others detained after fenethylline pills were confiscated before they were loaded on to private jet in Beirut

MADRID—Support is collapsing for Europe’s mainstream leftist parties, long a pillar of the establishment in countries across the continent. A voter revolt against Italy’s leader marks the latest setback in a downward slide that began before recession hit Europe in 2008 and has accelerated since. Voters are chafing at austerity measures that center-left governments adopted to manage debt crises. Many who once supported Socialists and...

Support is collapsing across the continent for Europe’s mainstream leftist parties, with Italian voters’ rebuke of Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Sunday just the latest instance.

Israeli police arrested a man Wednesday who they suspect hacked into Madonna’s computer late last year and leaked demo versions of songs from her upcoming Rebel Heart album. A month-long investigation from the cybercrime wing of Israel’s Lahav 433, an FBI-like organization, led authorities to arrest a 39-year-old, according to The Hollywood Reporter. A statement from Lahav 433 said it worked closely with the FBI and that the suspect allegedly “broke into the personal computers of several international artists over the past few months and stole” unreleased music that he then traded for money. Police put a gag order on the alleged hacker’s name, though local media in Israel have begun identifying the man as a former reality show contest from one of Israel’s singing competition programs. Madonna, who in December rushed to release six songs from the album on iTunes in the wake of the leak, called the theft “a form of terrorism.” Similarly, Björk announced Tuesday that she would suddenly release her new album, Vulnicura, on iTunes after the record leaked over the weekend, two months ahead of schedule.

The singer called the theft "a form of terrorism"

Paz de la Huerta is attempting a comeback after recovering from a near-death accident — but she’s still up to her old antics. The “Boardwalk Empire” star, no stranger to odd behavior, vented her frustrations with Hollywood to a crowd at club No. 8 on Wednesday, saying, “Some people f— Harvey Weinstein and they get a Golden Globe.” Paz spoke to Confidenti@l at the Meatpacking District hotspot about why she’s been off for the past year. She told us she was hit by a truck while shooting a film in Toronto and “shouldn’t be alive” now. “I’ve been off the radar because I’ve been fighting for my life,” she said at art group The Committee’s event to celebrate her new photo book, “The Birds Didn’t Die Over the Winter.” The kooky actress explained that a stunt gone horribly wrong landed her in the hospital. “The truck was being driven by a stunt driver and he was going 80 miles an hour when he hit me,” she said. “There is no reason why I should be alive today. My tail bone was broken. A lot of things were broken due to that accident.” Since the freak mishap, she says she has been back in the hospital for more than 20 surgeries. But Paz says fighting for her life has lifted her to a higher spiritual place. While recovering physically, she also was nursing a broken heart, having gone through a bad breakup with Stone Temple Pilots front man Scott Weiland. Her book, out this week, was shot by photographer Alexandra Carr and was inspired by the end of that relationship. “I was in a toxic relationship with a musician. We were together almost two years,” she said. She and Weiland dated from 2008 to 2009. “I had just come out of a destructive insane relationship. This toxic human being who came into my life said he was encouraging my work and then he would hide my scripts,” she said Paz said she was in a “really dark place” until she met Carr. “I was heartbroken. I was confused. And then I met Alexandra.” Paz has thrown herself back into her work. She has four films under way, including her directorial debut, and is keen to publish a book of “thousands” of paintings she did as a form of therapy while in the hospital. “I wouldn’t call myself an actress. I would call myself an emoter,” she said. Tell Harvey Weinstein that. “After Earth” co-writer Gary Whitta dishes about what it was like to visit Will Smith’s family compound in Los Angeles before filming with him and his son Jaden. “All the story development meetings were at Will’s house. He likes to work where he’s comfortable,” Whitta said at the Mercedes-Benz-hosted premiere at the Ziegfeld Theatre. As for the food chez Smith, Whitta said it’s a “very different lifestyle.” “I sit in my pajamas at my desk all day writing, so being part of the Will Smith universe is almost like being on a different planet. “Will has his own chef,” Whitta said. “Our first meeting was a breakfast meeting. I didn’t want to ask for anything too ostentatious. I just asked for scrambled eggs, and man, those eggs ... I don’t know where they came from, but they were the best scrambled eggs I’ve ever had in my life. If I ever get rich, the first thing I’m going to do is hire a private chef.” “Jersey Shore” star Vinny Guadagnino talked to Confidenti@l about his former co-star Snooki’s recent confrontation with Gov. Chris Christie about the gov’s hatred of the show. “I was standing right there when it happened,” he said. “She said, ‘How come you don’t like me?’ He doesn’t like ‘Jersey Shore,’ but we’re not from Jersey. We’re from New York, so I don’t know why he would hate us so much.” PHOTOS: SNOOKI'S HOT POST-BABY BODY Jim Carrey is set to publish his first children’s book, “How Roland Rolls,” with Perseus Distribution. The book, out in September, will be sold in the U.S. and in Carrey’s native Canada. The funnyman will appear at Book Expo America and sign autographs for fans in the Perseus Distribution booth Friday afternoon at the Javits Center in New York. One person is upset Bill Hader has retired from “Saturday Night Live.” Without giving away his address, we’ll say the star’s Chelsea-area doorman has nothing but wonderful things to say about the genius impressionist. “He told some people in the building that Bill would give him ‘SNL’ tickets for him and his family once in a while,” says our source. “He’s known to be the sweetest, most down-to-Earth guy.” A HIGH DEGREE OF OPRAH Oprah Winfrey and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino received honorary degrees from Harvard University Thursday. Winfrey was there in person to receive an honorary doctor of laws degree, sparking tweets by students who recalled stories of studio audiences that got shopping trips. The grads joked that they might find something under their seats, too. PHOTOS: 25 YEARS OF OPRAH WINFREY'S STYLE At least one of the “Real Housewives of New York” has a sense of humor about the cast’s season-six salaries. At the NewYork.com launch party at midtown club Arena, Aviva Drescher told Confidenti@l, “Did I try to get more money? That’s like asking me if I went to India, went to go buy jewelry, and if I asked them to lower the price for the bracelets.” She sarcastically added, “No, I asked for the same price as last year.” Jeremy Piven tried to go incognito in a Panama hat, full beard and oversized black-and-white French sailor shirt on Formula One boss Flavio Briatore's 207-foot yacht Force Blue in the South of France recently. Briatore, who’s dated Heidi Klum, had over 100 sexy gals on the yacht and Piven tried chatting many of them up. He also talked to Sanctuary Hotel owner Hank Freid, who told Piven that everyone on his staff calls him “Ari.” PHOTOS: HEIDI KLUM HANGS UP HER 'ANGEL' WINGS Marc Jacobs’ new boyfriend may be using him for the fame. Porn star Michael Lucas is telling pals that porn star Harry Louis — who once worked for Lucas — left his partner of two years for Jacobs and is now working his time in the spotlight. “He is now running his own chocolate company, which is fully funded by Jacobs, and boasting pictures of his new-found ‘friendship’ with celebrities,” Lucas says. You know what they say ... bake it till you make it.

Paz de la Huerta is attempting a comeback after recovering from a near-death accident — but she’s still up to her old antics.

By Douglas Robson, Special for USA TODAY , who sat supine on a sofa for the final in 2009, picked up where he left off two years ago by collecting his second title Sunday. Top-ranked Nadal dominated big-hitting Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 in just 2 hours, 13 minutes to reinforce his current status as the No. 1 player in the game. It was Nadal's eighth major and second in a row after winning Roland Garros. After the final point was secured, Nadal collapsed on his back on the turf at the baseline and covered his face with his hands. After congratulating Berdych, Nadal leaped out of his chair and did a front somersault on the grass, rising to his feet with both fists clenched. Just 24, Nadal joins some elite company. He is now tied with Andre Agassi, Jimmy Connors, Ivan Lendl, Fred Perry and Ken Rosewall in Grand Slam titles. "It was probably one of the toughest moments in my career," Nadal said after accepting the winner's trophy Sunday from the Duke of Kent. "A win here was always my dream. I did it two years ago." Nadal has now won 14 consecutive matches at the All England Club and "defended" the title he won in his last appearance here two years ago. "It was amazing for me after a difficult year last year that I can be here," he said. A year ago, Nadal could not defend his All-England Club crown due to tendinitis in his knees. Instead, he watched the final between Roger Federer and Andy Roddick from his couch back in Mallorca. Since returning to clay in mid-April, the Spaniard has been on a tear, going 31-1 and regaining the top ranking from Federer. He is 8-2 in major finals overall and 5-0 in his last five. It's the second time Nadal has won the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back. Nadal posed with the trophy in the clubhouse next to the green board with his name already etched as the 2010 winner. He cradled the trophy under his left arm as he signed autographs outside the members' entrance, where hundreds of fans gathered to see him. Nadal is the first Spanish man to win Wimbledon twice. Manolo Santana took the title in 1966. "For the Spanish players for the last 40 years it was very difficult to play here," Nadal said. "We are doing better right now. We are very satisfied for that." Berdych was playing in his first Grand Slam final and was the first Czech to reach the Wimbledon final since Ivan Lendl in 1987. He had beaten top-seeded Federer and No. 3 Novak Djokovic en route to the final, but couldn't find a way to take out the second-seeded Nadal as well. Nadal won all the big points against the 24-year-old Czech, who failed to convert any of his four break points. "He was strong," Berdych said. "I think the biggest difference between us was that when he got a chance, he just took it. He gave me one (break point) in the second set, one in the third set, and none of them I can bring to my side and just make a break. That just shows how strong he is." Later Sunday, Berdych pulled out of the Czech Republic's Davis Cup quarterfinal against Chile, which starts July 9, citing an abdominal muscle injury. He did not mention any injury during his post-match Wimbledon news conference and showed no sign of injury during the match. It was typical grass-court Wimbledon tennis, with play dominated by serves and only a few break points here and there making the difference. Nadal lost only 24 points on serve. Nadal played his usual grinding baseline game featuring whippet forehands. Yet it wasn't a vintage performance from Nadal, who had 21 unforced errors compared to 17 for Berdych. Nadal had 29 winners, two more than the Czech. Nadal broke twice in the first set, dropping only four points in his own four service games. Nadal won five games in a row from 3-2 down in the first set to go up 1-0 in the second. Berdych's chances may have evaporated in the first game of the second set, when he failed to convert on three break points. In a game that lasted about 10 minutes, Nadal overcame two double faults and four forehand errors. Berdych will rue his chance on the second break point, when Nadal hit a relatively weak approach shot and the Czech had plenty of time to line up a forehand passing shot but slapped the ball into the net. Nadal broke Berdych at love in the 12th game to go up two sets to love. Nadal saved another break point at 1-1 in the third set, then broke Berdych again in the last game to close out the match. Serena Williams won her fourth women's title Saturday, beating Vera Zvonareva 6-3, 6-2 in a one-sided encounter. The men's final was also a disappointment following thrillers in the last three years — two classics between Federer and Nadal and last year's 16-14 fifth set victory by Federer over Andy Roddick. This year's tournament will be remembered particularly for a first-round match — the record-setting 11 hour, 5-minute marathon between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut that stretched over three days and ended with Isner winning 70-68 in the fifth set. Also notable: For the time since 1995, the tournament was completely rain-free. The Centre Court roof — unveiled last year — was used mainly as a sun shade. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.

Rafael Nadal continued his climb up the Grand Slam ladder Sunday with another Wimbledon title, his second. The top-ranked Spaniard cruised past first-time finalist Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Two 1957 films by Peter Sellers, long thought to be lost, have been found by the building manager of the now-defunct Park Lane Films in London. The master prints of “Dearth of a Salesman” and “Insomnia is Good,” were in 21 film cans that the manager, Robert Farrow, salvaged from a trash can outside the building when the studios were cleared before to refurbishment in 1996. “I took them home, put them in a cupboard and pretty much forgot about them,” Mr. Farrow, said in a statement. When he cleared out his cupboards recently he looked inside the tins and discovered the two 30-minute films, co-written by Sellers, who died in 1980, and the Canadian author Mordecai Richler. It is unclear whether the films were intended for television or cinema. “They’re kind of a pastiche of the public information films at the time,” said Paul Cotgrove, from The White Bus, which runs the Southend Film Festival in Essex, told the BBC. “They’re not riotous comedy, they’re just good fun to look at.” The films will be shown at the Southend festival on May 1 next year.

Two 30-minute films by Peter Sellers, from 1957, are found in London.

A group of 19 immigrant children became American citizens Friday during a unique swearing in ceremony at the Museum of Food and Drink in Brooklyn. “America is lucky to have you. Not only are you becoming American, you are shaping what this country is,” said museum director Peter Kim. The children, who ranged in age from 5 to 17, took their naturalization oath in the main gallery space at the Williamsburg institution, where the current exhibit focuses on Chinese food. The freshly minted Americans hail from 14 different countries, including Algeria, Ivory Coast, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Greece, and Thailand. Immigration waiver could help reunite same-sex couple Nohemie Jean-Pierre, 13, from Haiti, said the museum provided a fitting atmosphere for the ceremony. She said the diversity of cultures, and food, is one of her favorite thing about living in Flatbush with her family. “I’d say the food, because there’s different cultures, and you get to try all different things.” Judge Denny Chin presided over the ceremony. 4 years of asylum good enough to naturalize as U.S. citizen “This is a very special day for me as well,” Chin said. The Princeton and Fordham Law grad became a citizen in 1965, at age 11, after emigrating Hong Kong.

A group of 19 immigrant children became American citizens during a unique swearing in ceremony at the Museum of Food and Drink.

CARNEGIE HALL is the principal New York home for visiting orchestras, and has heard most of the best. This season, there is a slightly smaller proportion of premier national and international ensembles, and a larger proportion of orchestras from more exotic spots. An example is the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, which ended its first American tour there Monday night. The Zagreb group dates back to 1919, and counts now as Yugoslavia's most important orchestra. Its music director in the 1970's was Lovro von Matacic, who turned over the position last year to Pavle Despalj. Mr. Despalj had spent a decade before his appointment as head of the Florida Symphony in Orlando. Monday's concert was a delightful one. The Zagreb Philharmonic is not about to challenge Berlin, Cleveland, Chicago or whatever your own criterion for excellence may be. But this is still an ensemble full of skill and personality. Perhaps its most striking attribute was a refusal to play loudly, and that was especially notable in Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5, the only real orchestral showpiece on the program. Unlike too many American orchestras, which for all their superior virtuosity blast through this music in a vulgar and heartless way, the Zagreb performance seemed almost Schubertian. This was a charming, folkish, intimately shaped performance. Some of the more rousing climaxes did lack impact. But the compensations were audible everywhere. The concert began with a Chorale for Strings (1967) by Stanko Horvat. This eight-minute piece might have seemed imitative of the coloristic experiments of the Poles in the 1960's. But Mr. Horvat brought a welcome delicacy and subtlety to his elaboration and commentary on Gregorian chant. The dissonant elements were introduced as hushed intimation rather than as an assault, and the result was gratifying. The rest of the program consisted of two concertos, Bach's in D minor for two violins (BWV 1043) and Haydn's in D for cello (Op. 101). The soloists for the Bach, Augustin Detic and Branko Kosir, share the orchestra's first-violin desk, and they played admirably: not, again, the absolute acme of virtuosity, but with a sweet authority and nicely contrasting, complementary tonal characteristics. The Haydn cellist was the conductor's brother, Valter Despalj, who studied at the Moscow Conservatory and with Leonard Rose at the Juilliard School. He had a few awkward moments in the upper positions, but otherwise comported himself with the same sensitivity and intelligence evidenced by the orchestra itself.

CARNEGIE HALL is the principal New York home for visiting orchestras, and has heard most of the best. This season, there is a slightly smaller proportion of premier national and international ensembles, and a larger proportion of orchestras from more exotic spots. An example is the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, which ended its first American tour there Monday night.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regions Bank on Thursday announced that Kate Randall Danella has joined the company and will serve as Wealth Strategy and Effectiveness Executive for Regions Wealth Management. This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150827005106/en/ Kate Randall Danella, Regions Wealth Management (Photo: Business Wire) In this role, Danella will oversee the development and implementation of business strategies across Regions’ Wealth Management Group. Regions Wealth Management provides banking, investment, trust and insurance services through four divisions: Regions Private Wealth Management, Regions Institutional Services, Regions Investment Services and Regions Insurance. “Kate brings a unique and impressive level of experience, including strategic planning, client services, business development and operational analysis, all of which will help us continue to build on our momentum,” said Bill Ritter, head of Regions Wealth Management. “She will work with the Regions Wealth Management business groups to make the most of partnerships across the bank to address the needs of our clients and communities. The depth of Kate’s expertise and her passion for excellence directly complement our vision for continued growth.” Prior to joining Regions, Danella served as vice president for Capital Group Companies in Los Angeles. During her career at Capital Group, she was a senior sales and service manager for Capital’s institutional business, senior marketing leader for the global marketing organization, and strategy and business leader for the American Funds mutual fund business. Most recently, Kate was responsible for developing and executing strategic business plans for Capital’s North American businesses. She joined Capital Group in 2002 and served in sales, service, marketing and management roles in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. “Regions Wealth Management is known within the industry for its consultative approach to helping clients identify and tailor solutions designed to meet their individual needs,” Danella said. “I look forward to working with all of our business groups to find areas where we can further our partnerships to reach more clients and deepen existing relationships. By strategically aligning our resources, we can help more clients successfully navigate the evolving landscape surrounding investments and insurance while meeting their individual, long-term goals.” A native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Danella earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. She also holds degrees from the University of Cambridge as well as Vanderbilt University. With $85.5 billion in assets under administration, Regions Wealth Management has experienced strong growth, increasing households, assets under supervision and revenues in 2014. Regions established the Wealth Management Group in June 2011, integrating its Trust, Private Banking, Asset Management and Insurance units within a single group. Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE:RF), with $122 billion in assets, is a member of the S&P 500 Index and is one of the nation’s largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, wealth management, mortgage, and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates approximately 1,630 banking offices and 2,000 ATMs. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150827005106/en/ Regions BankJeremy King, 205-264-4551www.regionsbanknews.comFollow Regions News on Twitter: @RegionsNews

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.---- Regions Bank on Thursday announced that Kate Randall Danella has joined the company and will serve as Wealth Strategy and Effectiveness Executive for Regions Wealth Management. In this role, Danella will oversee the development and implementation of business strategies across Regions’ Wealth Management Group. Regions Wealth Management...

Market confidence worldwide took a hit this week. And in Europe, while fears over sovereign debt were temporarily eased by the European Central Bank's decision to buy Italian and Spanish bonds, there is growing concern not only of more bailouts but also of possible bank failures. Who will pay for all of this? As the situation in Greece shows, a huge part of the cost of more bailouts will fall on the wealthier European countries, especially Germany. But paying for the mistakes of profligate countries -- and their early retirement policies -- can't possibly sit well with the hard-working Germans. And yet, the German taxpayers haven't risen in protest. How much will the Germans have to pay? What effect might the bailouts have on their lives?

Europe binged on debt. Now Germany is stuck with the tab.

We get CEASE & DESIST letters from studios every other week, and generally comply with 99% of them within 24 hours (except for Kat Dennings' lawyer, who was a total asshole!!!). I wonder if they even gave her the chance to remove them? Typical FOX "let's go Dennings stars in Daydream Nation, a film that will be playing at the Whistler Film Festival that runs Dec. 1 - 5. Thursday's WestCoast Life has the scoop on all the events. Please share your photographs of the latest B.C. snowfall Santa Claus parades across however the earning a higher salary part could be a point of contention between the couple." And his ideal girl? Kate Winslet or Kat Dennings. Men can handle a more successful counterpart Disagrees Sonali Sapra (23), MBA student, "I disagree with the survey Dennings stars in Daydream Nation, a film that will be playing at the Whistler Film Festival that runs Dec. 1 - 5. Thursday's WestCoast Life has the scoop on all the events. Please share your photographs of the latest B.C. snowfall Santa Claus parades across Dennings stars in Daydream Nation, a film that will be playing at the Whistler Film Festival that runs Dec. 1 - 5. Thursday's WestCoast Life has the scoop on all the events. Police were negotiating late Tuesday with a suspect... Sign up to receive e-mail 10/20/2009 10:34 AM By Kelley L. Carter, USA TODAY The dish: Katie Holmes chats about daughter Suri's favorite musical; Julie Andrews loves The Rock; Diane Kruger signs on to new film.

Collection of all USATODAY.com coverage of Kat Dennings., including articles, videos, photos, and quotes.

Dr. Carlo Rosen, a doctor originally from Manhattan, is an emergency room physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, which was inundated patients following the bombings at the Boston Marathon's finish line Monday. The hospital treated 24 patients in all, more than half of the number of beds in the ER. When the ambulances began arriving at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on the worst Patriot’s Day the city had ever known, Dr. Carlo Rosen was on the front lines, ready to receive. The emergency room was met with a deluge of wounded innocents Monday, their bodies bloodied and broken. Rosen and a dozen trauma surgeons and doctors specializing in emergency medicine were shocked at the conditions of the patients suddenly in their care. “These were combat injuries you see in a combat zone, not the typical injuries you see in an urban emergency department,” said Rosen, 47, who was raised on the Upper West Side and trained at Columbia University and at Bellevue Hospital. RELATED: POLICE NARROW IN ON TWO SUSPECTS IN BOSTON MARATHON BOMBINGS While the terror strike at the Boston Marathon made the surgeons feel like they were operating in a field aid station during a military battle, they were well prepared, their skills honed in treating countless patients with penetrating gunshot or stab wounds, or limbs mangled or split in car wrecks or falls, Rosen said. They set to work under tremendous duress, applying life-saving measures to remove shrapnel — mostly metal pellets and nail fragments — from patients’ lower extremities. Rosen, a doctor of emergency medicine, said he treated six patients himself from the time the wounded began arriving, during the 3 o’clock hour, until he went home at midnight. He credited the staff’s smooth handling of chaos to practice drills Boston emergency responders have continually undertaken following 9/11. RELATED: SYMBOL OF BOSTON TRAGEDY REVEALED “It’s something that we dread, but we have trained for,” Rosen said. “The toughest part was the large number of patients who came in all at once. It is probably the biggest onslaught of trauma patients to the emergency department at one time.” Doctors and nurses at Beth Israel Deaconess cleared the 46-bed emergency room, sending previously treated patients to hospital rooms to make ready for those who were wounded when twin bombs rocked the area near the marathon’s finish line. The ER received 24 patients in total. Seven of them, critically injured, went straight to the operating room, including two whose legs were severed by the blasts, leaving behind little more than burned skin attached to bloody stumps. RELATED: HUNDREDS GATHER FOR VIGIL ON BOSTON COMMON Others were treated for broken bones and pieces of shrapnel that, in some cases, punctured blood vessels in the legs. Still others needed oxygen and specific medicine to stabilize low blood pressure as doctors searched for internal injuries not visible to the eye. Most of the injured were in their 20s and 30s, athletic, healthy and in the prime of their lives, Rosen said. In all, authorities reported three dead and more than 170 injured and treated at a host of Boston-area hospitals. More than a dozen remained in critical condition Tuesday. RELATED: BOMB SQUAD AT 'INDEFINITELY CLOSED' JFK LIBRARY On a day of misery, patients at least benefitted from the fact Boston is home to several top hospitals, all near to the blast scene. Tufts Medical center treated 19 patients. Seeking forensic clues to the bombs' design and construction, law enforcement instructed doctors to save all foreign material removed from wounds, and place them in specimen jars marked with each patients’ name. One of the most bizarre objects removed was the metal “handle” or pull tab of a zipper, embedded in a woman’s ankle joint, said Dr. William Mackey, chief surgeon at Tufts. RELATED: FATHER OF MAN WHO LOST BOTH LEGS DISCOVERED SON’S FATE AFTER SEEING HORRIFIC PHOTO: REPORT Mackey said the worst injuries were “open fractures, significant nerve, muscle and vascular injuries,” mostly to the lower extremities, owing to the trajectory of the explosions. It was an eery scene at all of the area hospitals, with rifle-carrying National Guard soldiers in army fatigues patrolling the perimeters and hallways, all part of the post-strike lockdown. Nicholas Yanni, 32, who suffered a pierced eardrum, was wearing a hospital gown, an IV attached to his hand, as he spoke to reporters. RELATED: CANO CONNECTS FOR 'CAROLINE' & JACKIE IN 4-2 WIN He said he and his wife, Leann, were cheering on a friend as she crossed the race’s finish line, and were standing roughly 10 feet from where one of the two bombs, a deadly variety of improvised explosive device, was planted. Husband and wife both survived, and are now sharing a hospital room at Tufts. “I looked over at my wife, her lower leg was bleeding and I saw bone,” Yanni recalled of the first moments of shock that followed the twin concussions. “I started freaking out.” Rosen remembered how his mother, who lives in Manhattan, sent him a worried text Monday night. He said he was back at the hospital at 10 a.m. Tuesday, tired but eager to continue caring for the patients. “It was tough getting to sleep,” he recalled. “I think most of our patients will have a good prognosis.”

When the ambulances began arriving at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center on the worst Patriot’s Day the city had ever known, Dr. Carlo Rosen was on the front lines, ready to receive. He tells the Daily News about the pressure-packed hours of urgent care that followed.

The uproar over President-elect Obama's controversial selections of religious leaders for his inaugural events is just one of the problems already besetting our next president. But I believe there is power in the problems and religious leaders have a role to play in unleashing that power. To some, the invitation to evangelical pastor Rick Warren plants a symbol of exclusivity and intolerance smack in the middle of an inauguration that millions have looked forward to as an historic moment of unprecedented inclusivity; to others, inviting the first openly gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, to give an invocation at the Lincoln Memorial affronts their sensibilities. To still others, the pick of pastors seems like small potatoes in the face of the nation's plummeting stock market and soaring unemployment. Passage of California's Proposition 8 is the problem that weighs heaviest on the hearts of others denied the right and dignity of sanctifying their loving, lifelong marital commitments as heterosexual couples can. Bloodshed in Iraq, Afghanistan, and now in Gaza and Israel is the most pressing crisis to many. To others, it's the melting polar ice cap that threatens the globe. Though we have a trillion-dollar deficit in our nation, I know first-hand from a lifetime in the ministry that there is more than a trillion dollars worth of caring, commitment, and courage in American hearts today. How do I know? As the pastor of Riverside Church in New York on the morning of September 11, 2001, I witnessed how in the worst of times we discovered the best in ourselves and in each other. Our city and our entire nation were united in grief as dishwashers and stockbrokers and sons and daughters and mothers and fathers alike perished. And we were united in determination as we moved mountains of cement and steel, donated blood and blankets, searched for survivors and perpetrators, and bravely embarked on rebuilding broken lives, battered hopes, and blasted buildings. There was a new feeling of unity and community and power as we stood together, strong at the broken places. President-elect Obama clearly is wrestling with that challenge of how to bring out the best in our nation in these difficult times, and it is a question that likewise has the attention of our nation's religious leaders. What do we say to our nation to inspire us to find the power in the problems? Just yesterday, Pastor Rick Warren asked me for counsel after being invited to preach the Martin Luther King Day sermon in Dr. King's home church in Atlanta. As the first white pastor invited by the famed Ebenezer Baptist Church to deliver this sermon, Pastor Warren recognizes the need to build bridges and connections with Black pastors; as the first Black pastor of the famed Riverside Church, I understand the challenging dynamics of building authentic community. I'm sure that Bishop Gene Robinson is also praying and pondering: what words can I offer to our nation today that will heal, inspire, and live up to the need and potential of this moment? The Reverend Sharon Watkins, the first woman asked to preach at the inaugural prayer service at Washington National Cathedral, is surely mulling over the same question. As I have prepared to preach and pray at five different events over Martin Luther King Day weekend and the inauguration, I've asked myself as well: What can we say that will help unleash the resources within us to heal our nation? James Weldon Johnson's lyrics for the Black National Anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing" remind us that especially in times of trouble--every voice is needed. Not just the voices of the Black or the White, the rich or the poor, the gay or the straight, the conservative or the liberal, the Christian or the Jew, the elder or the youth, but every voice is needed. There is a song of harmony and liberty that we are called to sing in these times that recalls the problems of the dark past that we've come through by faith and God's grace and that keeps our gaze fixed on the rising sun of a new day begun. At this moment in history, on the eve of the inauguration of our nation's first African American president and just days from the Feb. 1 beginning of Black History Month, it is time to recognize that Black History is Our American History Together. Even as we look back at the history that has already been written, we stand on the brink of writing a powerful and positive next chapter together. Sure, we've got problems. But we've come through worse. Slavery didn't stop us. Segregation didn't stop us. And whatever has been thrown at us in these days won't stop us. There is power in the problems, if we know that God's people are in it and every voice is needed; that God's purpose is in it--to reflect the Beloved Community Dr. King described; and God's promise is in it--that our best days are to come. The Rev. Dr. James Alexander Forbes, Jr., is senior minister emeritus of The Riverside Church is founder and president of the Healing of the Nations Foundation.

A conversation on religion with Jon Meacham and Sally Quinn. Visit http://newsweek.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/guestvoices/

In an excellent show of gentle dog discipline, Twitter user Ben Taylor showed his roommates' dog that actions have consequences. In this case, the action was peeing all over Taylor's bed. The consequence was having to stay home while another dog enjoys a leisurely outdoor walk. But if this video causes you extreme emotional pain, don't lose hope just yet. don't worry, i felt bad and went back and walked both of them. still mad at him though — ben taylor (@coolknifeguy) December 21, 2016

Poor lil guy.

People don’t take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study. Female-named storms have historically killed more because people neither consider them as risky nor take the same precautions, the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences concludes. Researchers at the University of Illinois and Arizona State University examined six decades of hurricane death rates according to gender, spanning 1950 and 2012. Of the 47 most damaging hurricanes, the female-named hurricanes produced an average of 45 deaths compared to 23 deaths in male-named storms, or almost double the number of fatalities. (The study excluded Katrina and Audrey, outlier storms that would skew the model). The difference in death rates between genders was even more pronounced when comparing strongly masculine names versus strongly feminine ones. “[Our] model suggests that changing a severe hurricane’s name from Charley … to Eloise … could nearly triple its death toll,” the study says. Sharon Shavitt, study co-author and professor of marketing at the University of Illinois, says the results imply an “implicit sexism”; that is, we make decisions about storms based on the gender of their name without even knowing it. “When under the radar, that’s when it [the sexism] has the potential to influence our judgments,” Shavitt said. To test the hypothesis the gender of the storm names impacts people’s judgments about a storm, the researchers set up 6 experiments presenting a series of questions to between 100 to 346 people. The sexism showed up again. Respondents predicted male hurricanes to be more intense the female hurricanes in one exercise. In another exercise, the hurricane sex affected how respondents said they would prepare for a hurricane. “People imagining a ‘female’ hurricane were not as willing to seek shelter,” Shavitt said. “The stereotypes that underlie these judgments are subtle and not necessarily hostile toward women – they may involve viewing women as warmer and less aggressive than men.” Hurricanes have been named since 1950. Originally, only female names were used; male names were introduced into the mix in 1979. LINK: The reasoning for hurricane names and their history (keep suggestions to yourself). Given the implications of this work, the study authors’ suggest the meteorological community re-consider the merits of the storm naming practice. “Although using human names for hurricanes has been thought by meteorologists to enhance the clarity and recall of storm information, this practice also taps into well-developed and widely held gender stereotypes, with unanticipated and potentially deadly consequences,” the study says. “For policymakers, these findings suggest the value of considering a new system for hurricane naming to reduce the influence of biases on hurricane risk assessments and to motivate optimal preparedness.” The National Hurricane Center, while declining to specifically comment on the results of this study, emphasized the people should focus on storm hazards, irrespective of their names. “Whether the name is Sam or Samantha, the deadly impacts of the hurricane – wind, storm surge and inland flooding – must be taken seriously by everyone in the path of the storm in order to protect lives,” said Dennis Feltgen, National Hurricane Center spokesperson. ”This includes heeding evacuation orders.” Bill Read, a former director of the National Hurricane Center from 2008-2012, isn’t convinced the gender of the storm name is as big a factor in storm fatalities as the study purports. “While necessary to eke out the gender difference, it leaves me with the need to know is this factor significant, or is it very minor in the mix of all other societal and event driven responses,” Read said. Other voices within the meteorological community believe the study is important but stopped short of recommending an overhaul of the naming system. “I am not ready to change the naming system based on one study, but it may be one more indicator that thinking exclusively about physical science is not enough in 2014 and beyond to save lives,” said Marshall Shepherd, past president of the American Meteorological Society. Gina Eosco, a researcher at Cornell University’s risk communication group, emphasized the storm name is just one of many non-weather factors that behavioral scientists need to better understand in understanding how people make decisions when dangerous storms threaten. “The focus on the gendered names is one factor in the hurricane communication process, but social science research shows that evacuation rates are influenced by many non-weather factors such as positive versus negative prior evacuation experiences, having children, owning pets, whether a first responder knocked on your door to tell you to evacuate, perceived safety of the structure of your home,” Eosco said. “None of these very important variables were factored into this study.” Julie Demuth, a scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research who studies societal aspects of weather information, echoed Eosco’s call for more research into the social and behavioral aspects of decisions people make in the face of a storm. “My hope is that this paper helps continue the dialogue about and support for research on people’s hurricanes risk perceptions and responses and the implications for hurricane risk communication,” Demuth said. Update, 1:30 p.m. Tuesday: Please see my follow-up post: Disbelief, shock and skepticism: Hurricane gender study faces blowback

People don't take hurricanes as seriously if they have a feminine name and the consequences are deadly, finds a new groundbreaking study.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker came to the nation’s capital Friday to attack Washington’s culture, dismiss its wisdom and call for removing its power, offering new clarity on his strategic approach for earning the chance to live downtown by winning the 2016 presidential election. “Washington is kind of this top-down, government knows best,” Walker said to an audience of about a half-dozen supporters and more than 50 members of the media who gathered just a block from the White House. “It’s a tired, old approach that hasn’t worked in the past and I don’t think will work in the future. What I see in the states and for the people outside of Washington is a craving for something new, something fresh.” Walker, who is deep into preparations for an all-but-certain bid for the Oval Office, called for a “transfer of power” from Washington, D.C. to the states. He called the city “68 square miles surrounded by reality,” with six of the 10 richest counties in America, according to the median income. “We need to transfer power, power from our nation’s capital here in Washington back to the cities and states in this country, where the people, where the hardworking people in this country can actually hold their government accountable,” he said. “That’s what Our American Revival is really about: Transferring that power from Washington back to the people,” he said, referencing the name of his new 527 organization that is laying the groundwork for his presidential bid. It was not the first time that Walker positioned himself as a Washington outsider, a strategy that he hopes will give him an advantage over other prospective candidates like Senators Rand Paul, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, who work weekdays in the city. But it was his most muscular expression to date of his role, ready to take on and slay the sacred cows of the beltway power networks. Walker’s tour comes on the heels of a well-received speech in Iowa before Republican activists last weekend, and just days after announcing his new 527 organization. He also took time to criticize President Obama’s State of the Union speech. “That sounded like a person who wants to grow the economy here in Washington,” he said. “I think the rest of America wants to grow the economy in cities and towns all across this great nation.” He also quoted Ronald Reagan’s admonition that The federal government did not create the states, the states created the federal government,” His true guides, he continued, were the nation’s founding fathers, whom he said he always looked up to as a child. “I was a little geeky,” he said. “I actually thought of our founders almost as super heroes. Bigger than life. Walker was introduced by Republican financier Fred Malek, a former Green Beret and aide to Presidents Richard Nixon and George H.W. Bush, who effusively praised the presidential contender. “I can’t think of anybody I’d rather be in that foxhole with our in that firefight than Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker,” he said, calling him a “terrific leader.” Asked by Malek about tackling the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), Walker remained vague. “To me it’s not a matter of if there’s another attempted threat,” he said. “I’d do everything in my power to make sure families in this country would sleep safe.” He added that he would “take the threat to them.”

A rising Republican star carves out a role as the beltway outsider

John A. Williams, a writer whose exploration of black identity, notably in the 1967 novel “The Man Who Cried I Am,” established him as one of the bright lights in what he liked to call “the second Harlem Renaissance,” and who caused a furor with an unflattering biography of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., died on Friday in a veterans’ home in Paramus, N.J. He was 89. The cause was complications of Alzheimer’s disease, his son Dennis said. Mr. Williams, whom the critic James L. de Jongh called “arguably the finest Afro-American novelist of his generation,” excelled in describing the inner lives of characters struggling to make sense of their experiences, their personal relationships and their place in a hostile society. His manifest gifts, however, earned him at best a twilight kind of fame — a reputation for being chronically underrated. “Night Song,” his second novel, published in 1961, caught the attention of critics with its compelling picture of the jazz world of Greenwich Village and the retrospective ruminations of its hero, a dying saxophonist. “He gets close enough to the good novel about jazz that has never yet been written to make one hope he may write a good novel about something,” the British magazine The Spectator said in its review. That novel was “The Man Who Cried I Am,” a look at 30 years of American history through the eyes of a dying black American writer living in Europe who reflects on his life and on his troubled marriage to a Dutch woman. Eliot Fremont-Smith, in his review for The New York Times, called it “a compelling novel, gracefully written, angry but acute, committed but controlled, obviously timely, but deserving of attention for far more than that.” In “The King God Didn’t Save: Reflections on the Life and Death of Martin Luther King Jr.” (1970), Mr. Williams argued that Dr. King, suffering from hubris, was essentially a dupe, bought off with small concessions by the white power structure and blocked from effecting meaningful change. “He did not understand that it had armed him with feather dusters,” Mr. Williams wrote. “He was a black man and therefore always was and always would be naked of power, for he was slow, indeed unable, to perceive the manipulation of white power, and in the end white power killed him.” The negative portrayal, so soon after his assassination, dismayed many of Dr. King’s supporters. By the late 1960s, Mr. Williams had earned a dual reputation, as a scathing critic of endemic racism in the United States and as a writer who, despite the constant comparisons to Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin, had been denied the credit due his talent. “John Williams has so far been luckless,” John Leonard wrote in The Times in 1967. “That peculiar mechanism which transforms writers into celebrities, and their books into preferred stock, just hasn’t worked for him.” Over time, some of the fire abated — “I’m still angry, but you can’t just be angry all the time,” Mr. Williams told Publishers Weekly in 1976 — but his reputation as a supremely talented but undervalued writer remained unchanged. John Alfred Williams was born on Dec. 5, 1925, in Jackson, Miss., and grew up in Syracuse. He left high school to find work, and in 1943 joined the Navy, serving as a medical corpsman in the Pacific. After the war, he completed high school and enrolled at Syracuse University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1950. Unable to break into journalism, he spent time as a foundry worker, a supermarket vegetable clerk and a case worker for the Onondaga County welfare department. He moved to New York City in 1955, working sporadically as publicity director for a vanity press and as director of information for the American Committee on Africa, an organization founded to support African liberation movements. In 1958, he became the European correspondent for both Ebony and Jet magazines. In the mid-1960s, he reported for Newsweek from Africa and the Middle East and from Europe for Holiday magazine. “Night Song” plunged Mr. Williams into a literary tempest when the American Academy of Arts and Letters, impressed by the book, unanimously recommended him for a fellowship at the American Academy in Rome. In an unprecedented decision, the Rome academy rejected the selection, offering no explanation. Mr. Williams said he believed himself to be the victim of a false rumor that he was about to marry a white woman. He was offered a $2,000 grant instead, which he rejected. A prolific writer, Mr. Williams published in a variety of genres. He wrote a travel book, “This Is My Country Too” (1965); a biography of Richard Wright and a picture history of Africa, both for young-adult readers; and, with his son Dennis, the biography “If I Stop I’ll Die: The Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor” (1991). In the early 1970s, he was an editor of the periodic anthology Amistad, devoted to critical writing on black history and culture. His novels include “Sissie” (1963), which narrates the life of a Southern domestic worker as seen through the eyes of her two estranged children, and “Sons of Darkness, Sons of Light” (1969), a thriller about a civil rights activist who turns to murder after losing faith in nonviolence. Mr. Williams confounded critics with “The Junior Bachelor Society” (1976), an unexpectedly heartwarming story about a group of middle-aged black men who return to their hometown to honor their football coach and mentor. It was made into a mini-series, “The Sophisticated Gents,” which was broadcast on NBC in 1981. His own favorite was “!Click Song” (1982), a screed against the publishing industry and the travails that await black writers. Mr. Williams taught at several colleges and universities, most recently Rutgers in Newark from 1979 until his retirement in 1994. He lived in Teaneck, N.J. In addition to his son Dennis, Mr. Williams, whose first marriage ended in divorce, is survived by his wife, Lorrain; two other sons, Adam and Gregory; a sister, Helen Musick; four grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Mr. Williams never much cared for the comparisons to Ellison and Baldwin. The tendency to group black writers together, he theorized in an essay for Saturday Review in 1963, was a way to ensure that only one at a time could become successful. He regarded his peers as E. L. Doctorow, John Updike and Norman Mailer. “I do have faith in myself and my abilities to write,” he told The Washington Post in 1976. “I believe very much in what I have to say. I’m too old to start wavering now.” An earlier version of this obituary misstated the subject of a biography by Mr. Williams. He was Richard Wright, not James Wright.

Mr. Williams, who was often compared to Ralph Ellison and James Baldwin, was the author of “The Man Who Cried I Am” and an unflattering biography of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

That's the story of graduates today. But $100,000? Or more. Any debt counselor will tell you that's insane. It's a choke-hold on young people starting their lives -- It means putting off getting married, having children, and buying that first home. The number is so staggering that it's hard to come to terms with it. Maybe that's why one graduate was a little cavalier about it when talking about it with CNNMoney. Here's how he views his debt and the story of two other young graduates, also with a lot of student loans. William Bowles (pictured above), 27 years old. Bowles is back in school getting a graduate degree despite having had $50,000 of debt after an undergraduate degree. That means he's taking on more debt even as he's putting other big life decisions on hold. His life goals are to start a family, have kids and buy a home. "That seems pretty far off right now with student loan debts staring me in the eyes," Bowles said. But he's optimistic that a graduate degree from Columbia University, where he is enrolled currently, will help him pay off $50,000 in the next three years. How? Bowles muses he could also work for a nonprofit or the government, where he has a chance of his loans being forgiven after 10 years. Related: Loan forgiveness? The student loan hack you don't know about Rhea Shannon (pictured above), 26 years old. During her senior year in college, Shannon's father passed away while on active duty in Afghanistan. "He was the one that cosigned on one of my loans, and he told me it would be okay, that we would pay if off," Shannon said. Now Shannon is not only heart broken, but has to constantly deal with calls from her creditors. Shannon works as a production assistant at a television channel. Her payment on her student loan is $350 a month, which is about half of her weekly paycheck. She said she regularly misses payments and dodges calls from creditors. If she could do it over again, Shannon said she wouldn't take out so much money. "I probably would have taken one or 2 loans, and then I would have hustled. I would have picked up groceries in college, I would have babysat everybody, because they guarantee you a degree, but they don't guarantee you a job, and they still want their money." Related: 5 biggest student loan mistakes Ashley Salvagin (pictured above), 25 years old. Salvagin dreamed about being an actress, and even studied to be one. But she has put aside her dreams, and has taken on two jobs -- as an executive assistant at an advertising agency and at a nonprofit doing events -- to pay off her debt load. She's managed to lighten it a little -- Salvagin graduated with $95,000 of debt. Each month, she tries to pay more than the $800 minimum, but sometimes that's all she can manage. "I've never missed a payment. But, it's a pretty heavy burden," Salvagin said. Besides her dream career, she has put on hold everything that she really wants to do. "I love to travel, so the second I'm done paying off all this debt, I have some big plans," she said. "But, in the meantime, I have to focus on it." Related: Rent vs. buy vs. live with mom and dad Millennials: What's your most pressing money question? Ask Christine Romans your question here, or on Twitter or Facebook using #askchristine and @cnnmoney. Christine Romans is CNN Chief Business Correspondent and author of Smart is the New Rich: Money Guide for Millennials. CNNMoney (New York) March 25, 2015: 1:53 PM ET

Student loans are a choke-hold on young people starting their lives

The absence of ground beef at lunch last week — at Brighton High and 43 other public schools here — could be explained by a peek into the freezer, where 21 boxes of ground beef products sat, cordoned off from the rest of the meat by a clinical-looking cover of white paper reading “Do not use.” This is the frozen mass at the center of growing public concern, stoked by news coverage and social media outrage, over so-called pink slime, the low-cost blend of ammonia-treated bits of cow. It turns out that it constitutes some of the ground beef distributed by the United States Department of Agriculture through its school lunch program, and that it can be found in at least some grocery store beef, though chains including Kroger, Safeway and Stop & Shop have said they will not sell beef that contains it. This year, McDonald’s and other fast-food restaurants also said they would stop using the substance, a filler formally known as lean finely textured beef, in their meat products. And on March 15, as an outcry resulted in hundreds of thousands of people signing online petitions, the Agriculture Department announced that next year it would offer schools a ground beef option that does not contain pink slime. Many school districts said they were planning to sign on. The Miami-Dade school district, one of the nation’s largest, has already said it would opt for pink-slime-free beef, even though it expected it to cost more (exactly how much remained uncertain). State officials in South Carolina said they would procure only the pink-slime-free ground beef once it became available. But for some school districts — with administrators fielding phone calls from concerned parents and fretting about past food scares — next fall is not soon enough. The Boston school district, among others, has taken the step of purging all ground beef from its menus. Other districts, like the New York City schools, have begun phasing out ground beef containing the additive from their lunchrooms. Michael Peck, the director of food and nutrition services for the Boston schools, said the district had decided to hold and isolate its entire inventory of ground beef, leaving over 70,000 pounds of beef — worth about $500,000, Mr. Peck estimated — confined to a warehouse until the district knows more about what is in it. “It’s another example of the alteration of our food supply,” said Mr. Peck, who is concerned about the use of ammonia hydroxide gas to kill bacteria in the product. “Have we created another unknown safety risk?” The district will put the meat back into circulation if it finds that it is free of the filler, but like many districts, it is frustrated by the difficulty of determining what does and does not contain lean finely textured beef, which does not have to be listed as an ingredient. “It does speak to the U.S.D.A.’s ability to trace,” Mr. Peck said. He added that the ground beef would be donated or thrown out if the district found that it contained pink slime. Rick MacDonald, the assistant director for business affairs at the University of New Hampshire, was working last week to phase in ground beef without “pink slime” for the university’s dining halls, but he said that he and his vendors had trouble finding some filler-free products. His goal, he said, was to have all beef with pink slime gone this week. “The hamburger patties — we’re trying to find a brand that doesn’t have it,” Mr. MacDonald said. “But the problem is, this stuff is so prevalent.” In Portsmouth, N.H., it was the memory of an E. coli scare over spinach that led Deborah Riso, the district’s nutrition director, to decide she would take no chances. “You just pull it because you don’t know,” Ms. Riso said from her office, where she was expunging ground beef from the April school menu. “I had a hamburger bar, so I’m going to do a hot roast beef sandwich. I had a beef or chicken burrito — I’m going to go with the chicken and rice burrito,” Ms. Riso said. “You can still make a nice product without beef.” Marge Feinberg, a spokeswoman for the New York City Department of Education, said the city’s schools were already in the process of procuring meat without the pink slime, responding to calls from parents. “They saw the news media, and they were concerned that this was, kind of, throwaway portions,” Ms. Feinberg said. “We’re depleting our inventory, we’re phasing it out.” Still, lean finely textured beef remains approved by the Agriculture Department. The schools’ exodus is grounded less in science than in instinctive revulsion, said Donald W. Schaffner, director of the Center of Advanced Food Technology at Rutgers University. “I don’t see that there is a scientific or health benefit from the point of microbiology or even toxicology,” Dr. Schaffner said of the rush to pull the beef from school menus. “The reason why it’s resonated with people is not so much that it’s unsafe, but the idea that we’re putting ammonia in our food is unpalatable to people.” Even if removing pink slime quells the queasiness of some parents and school officials, it does not mean much to Fernando Castro, 14, who stood outside Brighton High School on Tuesday, waiting to leave school with some friends. “I don’t eat school lunch anyway,” he said. “It looks weird.”

News of the ammonia-treated additive, formally called lean finely textured beef, set off a reaction by schools and an announcement by the Agriculture Department.

Density Isn’t Destiny One of the most common answers in recent decades has been population density: There are simply too many people in places like India, or so goes the conventional wisdom. But Hong Kong is densely populated, too: nearly 6,000 people per square kilometer, compared with India’s 287 people per square kilometer. (Even New Jersey has a population density over three times that of India, and despite all the jokes about New Jersey, few would call it unlivable.) And yet despite some recent woes caused by the Asian currency crisis, Hong Kong is a fast-paced society with a per capita income almost as high as that of the United States. Nothing to Lose But Their Chains One factor that really does make a difference, according to experts at think tanks such as Freedom House, the Heritage Foundation and Canada’s Fraser Institute, is economic freedom — the absence of government regulations. Hong Kong and the United States, they point out, are among the freest nations in the world; countries like India, Syria and North Korea are among the most highly regulated. India does have a free press and a democratic government (elevating its ranking on the less economics-oriented Freedom House survey). But its thicket of business regulations and bureaucratic restrictions is so dense — and wealth so difficult to create there — that Indians endure a standard of living as low as that of communist countries. Hong Kong, on the other hand, has few regulations, low taxes and an entrepreneurial culture. Perched on a barren rock on the Chinese coast, Hong Kong’s citizens enjoy all of the perks of other advanced, affluent societies. In the ABCNEWS Special Report, Is America Number One? John Stossel examines Hong Kong’s freedoms and India’s bureaucracy — and asks how America compares to both. The Open Door Stossel also examines another key indicator of national success: openness to new ideas. “If you had landed on this planet in the year 1400, and you had to send back a report ‘What will be the society that dominates the world?’ it definitely would’ve been China,” says Tom Palmer of the free-market Cato Institute. By A.D. 1400, the Chinese had already invented gunpowder, the compass, the clock, real paper and printing. However, just as Europe was entering an age of exploration, China cut itself off from outside influences. “They burned all of the ships that had been traveling around the world,” Palmer says. “They wanted to make sure they weren’t contaminated by outsiders. They didn’t want all that change that an open, dynamic society brings about.” China closeted itself, while Europe explored. Eventually, Stossel argues, China stagnated as Europe grew wealthy and powerful. Free Thinkers Thrive Stossel also discovers one tangible result of a country’s greater openness: an influx of immigrants, often the bearers of the new ideas that enrich a culture. Italy invented pizza, for instance, but it was Italian-Americans who popularized it by adding diverse toppings. Rock ’n’ roll is derived from the music of Ireland and Africa. Scientists and entrepreneurs often come here to work on ideas that found a less receptive audience back in their countries of origin. As French expatriate businesswoman Martine Kempf tells Stossel: “I designed and built a voice-recognition system to help disabled people control electric functions in cars,” but French red tape made distribution of the product impossible. A move to Silicon Valley changed all that, and within in a year Kempf was distributing her voice-activated cars in nine countries. Her hometown back in France is so proud, “they named a street after me, Rue Martine Kempf,” she says. “But I still don’t want to go back.” France’s loss is America’s gain, a pattern repeated every time people flee a stifling environment for a more open one.

What accounts for some nations’ inventiveness and prosperity? Many believe freedom is the critical factor.

Tesla Motors Inc. ’s top-of-the-line electric car can be delivered in just 20 days, far shorter than the waiting time on the luxury auto maker’s less expensive designs, suggesting it has shifted production to the $105,000 and up sedan to boost revenue. The Palo Alto, Calif., auto maker launched the dual-motor P85D late last year at a price designed to increase its average transaction prices and potentially bring the money-losing company closer to steady profitability. The company missed its reduced fourth quarter delivery goal by about 300 units. Tesla’s online ordering tool this week shows the Model S P85D is available for delivery in late March, while the $71,000 and up single-electric motor Model S is first available in May. A spokeswoman said the company has prioritized deliveries of the P85D. The short wait time—in the past year deliveries have been as long as three months—raises concerns about the strength of demand for Tesla’s pricey cars. It is expected to offer its next model, a sport-utility vehicle called the Model X, in the third quarter. This week, Tesla confirmed it is trimming staff in China amid weaker-than-expected demand there. China is expected to account for up to a third of the company’s global volume, Chief Executive Elon Musk has said. The company’s fourth quarter securities filing shows strong continued interest in its cars despite low gasoline prices. Wall Street analysts believe there is pent-up demand for Model S sedans. Last month, it said the order backlog included 10,000 deposits for its Model S and 20,000 for the Model X. Shares are off 14% since the start of the year. The stock closed off 33 cents at $190.55 in Nasdaq trading on Thursday. Investors hungry for details about the company’s progress toward meeting its 2015 delivery goals aren’t likely to be sated soon. Unlike most auto makers, Tesla doesn’t release its unit sales on a monthly basis, doesn’t disclose inventory of unsold cars available for sale and doesn’t disclose unit sales by geographic region. Tesla has forecast it will sell 55,000 cars globally in 2015, rising to 500,000 in 2020 and more than 2 million by 2025. Hitting the accelerator on sales and revenue is critical this year because it has drastically increased spending and Mr. Musk sees demands on capital investment growing in coming years. One of the biggest question marks facing the company relates to inventory. Credit Suisse auto analyst Dan Galves on Monday estimated inventory of unsold vehicles was 1,000 vehicles at Dec. 31. CVC Research, a financial company, pegs the year-end inventory at 3,000 vehicles. Whatever the level of unsold inventory, the company traditionally has followed a build-to-order model. Last month, Tesla said in a regulatory filing it change how it refers to finished goods. Once only including cars in transit to customers, the term was broadened to include cars available for immediate sale. Barclays auto analyst Brian Johnson called that move “a departure from the past—indicating that Tesla production is not as much a build-to-order model as it has been historically.” The P85D represents a potential boost for the company. Lauded for handling that rivals Porsche or Ferrari sports cars, it has an “insane” button that engages two motors to achieve up to 691 horsepower. Production glitches and other factors slowed initial sales of the model, denting fourth quarter results. Tracking Tesla’s sales progress has been challenging, since the company reports deliveries globally and gives those numbers every three months. General Motors Co. , Volkswagen AG ., Toyota Motor Corp. and other auto makers break out sales for most geographic markets on a monthly basis. That paucity of sales data leads to wild variations in sales estimates for the electric car maker. WardsAuto.Com, for instance, estimates Tesla’s U.S. sales of 997 in February. That number is 17% lower than the 1,200 deliveries estimated by Autodata Corp. For the year, Wards estimates Tesla U.S. sales at 1,793, while Autodata is at 2,200. Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com

Tesla Motors can deliver its top-of-the-line Model S in just 20 days, far shorter than less expensive models, aiming to quickly boost revenue after falling below sales and revenue targets in its last quarter.

There's one particularly troubling tidbit to be found amid Canada's surprisingly strong third-quarter growth: residential investment hit the skids. The annualized 5.5 percent decline in this category was its worst quarterly showing since 2010, notes Macquarie Capital Markets Analyst David Doyle, who views the details of the report as "growing evidence that 2016 will be the year of 'peak housing' for Canada." The prime culprit for this downturn in residential investment, according to the economist, was a subcategory that serves as a proxy for real estate commissions, which had been more than three standard deviations above its long-term average as a share of GDP — right around where the similar U.S. category was sitting eleven years ago. The most important market news of the day. Get our markets daily newsletter. Business Your guide to the most important business stories of the day, every day. You will now receive the Business newsletter Politics The latest political news, analysis, charts, and dispatches from the campaign trail. You will now receive the Politics newsletter Technology Insights into what you'll be paying for, downloading and plugging in tomorrow and 10 years from now. You will now receive the Technology newsletter Pursuits What to eat, drink, wear and drive – in real life and your dreams. You will now receive the Pursuits newsletter Game Plan The school, work and life hacks you need to get ahead. You will now receive the Game Plan newsletter The run-up in residential investment as a whole in years past, and this segment in particular, bears eerie resemblance to what transpired south of the border in the 2000s, Doyle observes. If history repeats itself, moving past this peak in real estate commissions won't necessarily be a harbinger of imminent doom, but rather an early warning sign that a key driver of economic growth has been tapped out — which could foster more widespread weakness further down the road. Ahead of the U.S. housing bust, the downturn in brokers' commissions and other ownership transfer costs started in the fourth quarter of 2005, well before the beginning of the financial crisis. The most important market news of the day. Get our markets daily newsletter. Your guide to the most important business stories of the day, every day. You will now receive the Business newsletter The latest political news, analysis, charts, and dispatches from the campaign trail. You will now receive the Politics newsletter Insights into what you'll be paying for, downloading and plugging in tomorrow and 10 years from now. You will now receive the Technology newsletter What to eat, drink, wear and drive – in real life and your dreams. You will now receive the Pursuits newsletter The school, work and life hacks you need to get ahead. You will now receive the Game Plan newsletter Doyle attributes a portion of the drop-off in this segment to the foreign buyers' tax in British Columbia, but warns of further softness in the future tied to the federal government's macroprudential tightening and corresponding rise in mortgage rates. If Canadian housing is in the early stages of rolling over, the normalization process would see it shrink significantly more as a share of total output, as it currently stands more than one standard deviation above its historical norm. As such, the analyst sees real estate serving as "a significant headwind for 2017 and beyond" for Canada's economy. The implications of weakness in in the housing complex? A softer loonie, says Doyle. "Peak housing in Canada should manifest itself in financial markets via divergent monetary policy and diverging sovereign yields," the economist writes. He calls for the greenback to strengthen to 1.45 against the Canadian dollar by the end of 2017.

Real estate commissions tanked in the third quarter.

The emergence of digital native media outlets and continued growth in online video has not yet drastically changed the face of the U.S. news media. Nearly one third of U.S. adults, including nearly half of people aged 18-49, watch online news video, according to the 2014 State of the News Media study from the Pew Research Center. The rise in popularity of online video news coincides with the headcount growth around digital news ventures, which have added almost 5,000 full-time jobs in the last few years as newspapers have continued to cut back on employees. Though those changes portend a new era digital news, they shouldn't be overblown, said Amy Mitchell, director of journalism research at Pew. "You see build up. You see momentum. You see energy, but there's still these lingering challenges that exist," she told Mashable. The media broadly still relies on advertising, with audience-generated revenue, such as subscriptions. Outside investment is growing, but at a rate that does not appear to mark a significant change in the market. Digital ad revenue has yet to catch up to other areas like the TV market — a fact that online publishers may have to accept. "For the first several years of transition of news to the web in general, people were saying the revenue just has to catch up...if we go there the revenue model will emerge," Mitchell said. "It still hasn't been figured out, and it's challenging." The report from Pew, which is an exhaustive look at U.S. news media, also highlighted struggles from cable news outlets that have been trying to retain audiences. The big three cable news channels — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC — suffered a combined media viewership drop of 11% to levels not seen since 2007. MSNBC was the hardest hit, losing almost a quarter of its prime-time audience. Image: Pew Research Center/Nielsen Media While cable news struggled, local television news experienced a resurgence, adding viewers for the first time in five years. The local TV industry has experienced a significant upheaval, according to the study, with almost 300 stations changing owners in 2013. Local television stations have become a popular target for media companies seeking to diversify holdings and gain exposure to a 2014 political election cycle that is expected to feature heavy spending on local ads. Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.

The emergence of digital native media outlets and continued growth in online video has not yet drastically changed the face of the U.S. news media.

As she rose from her chair at the Calvin Klein fashion show in Midtown Manhattan the other week, Jessica Chastain was all but engulfed by an onrush of journalists and celebrity groupies imploring the lanky, flame-haired actress for a word, a glance, a nanosecond of her time. Stefano Tonchi, the editor of W, embraced her showily as cameras clicked and whirred. Tim Blanks, the editor at large for Style.com, thrust a microphone in her face, pleading for an interview, before a pair of overzealous handlers leapt onto the catwalk to spirit her away. Yes, Ms. Chastain can Hoover that kind of attention. One of Hollywood’s most avidly courted actresses, she is bait these days for the style set as well, having shone in recent months as fashion’s favorite clothes hanger. Reporters’ in-boxes are cluttered with bulletins announcing that she wore Roland Mouret to the Bafta Awards, appeared in Alexander McQueen on the SAG red carpet, and in Dior at the Writers Guild Awards. Before long we’ll be reading she was turned out in Dolce & Gabbana for the opening of a Sicilian breadbox. Twice nominated for an Oscar (she is a front-runner on Sunday for best actress for her role in “Zero Dark Thirty”) and an increasingly high-profile presence on the red carpet, Ms. Chastain has become a paparazzi favorite, yet not one who projects the worldly glamour of a Cate Blanchett or Julianne Moore. But that may change as she takes the next step in her branding as an international star, flaunting her paper-pale skin and monumental cheekbones as the so-called global ambassador for Manifesto, the new fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent, in an advertising campaign that will make its debut in March. That collaboration “seemed like an incredible fit,” Ms. Chastain, in her mid 30s, said by telephone the other day from her suite at the fabled Chateau Marmont on Sunset Boulevard. Properly cued by her publicists, she professed an abiding reverence for the couture house and its founder. “I wish I could have met Monsieur Saint Laurent,” she said, promptly reeling off highlights of his career, applauding his daring in sending Catherine Deneuve onto the catwalk at his final couture show in 2002 dressed in a tuxedo. “So audacious,” Ms. Chastain said breathlessly. A multiyear fragrance or cosmetics contract, customarily reserved for megacelebrities like Beyoncé, can be worth millions, of course. But money is not the only draw. In recent years, such relationships have become a rite of passage for a young actress, an essential part of her star-making portfolio. They confer cachet, said Jenny B. Fine, the editor of WWD Beauty, a trade publication. Ms. Chastain, she pointed out, is treading a path well worn by Julia Roberts, the “face” of Lancôme; Charlize Theron, who has a similar role at Dior; and Keira Knightley, who vamps suggestively in an advertisement for Chanel Coco Mademoiselle. “When an up-and-coming actress signs with such an iconic name, it becomes part of her brand,” Ms. Fine said. “It’s a win-win for both parties.” The timing of the Saint Laurent campaign, which arrives in the wake of the Oscars, could not be more propitious. Ms. Chastain posed for the print advertisements early last year, and she completed the television commercial shot by Nicolas Winding Refn, who directed the movie “Drive,” in June. But all this was serendipity, claimed Stephan Bezy, the international general manager for Yves Saint Laurent Beauté. “When we met Jessica, we didn’t know that she would be nominated for an Academy Award,” he said. “We didn’t even know when the film would be released.” He took on faith that Ms. Chastain would perfectly embody the company’s new jasmine-laced fragrance. Her beauty, he said, is “seductive, glamorous and sometimes even a little bit dangerous.”

Jessica Chastain takes the next step in her branding as an international star, becoming the so-called global ambassador for Manifesto, the new fragrance from Yves Saint Laurent.

A member of the Iraqi military sits on a tank in Fallujah after forces retook the embattled city from Islamic State on Sunday. Haidar Mohammed Ali/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … People sort ballots on Sunday in Saint-Herblain, France, after a referendum was held regarding the Nantes Atlantique airport. Logic Venance/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … British singer Ellie Goulding performs during the Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts at Worthy Farm in Pilton, England, on Sunday. Andrew Cowie/European Pressphoto Agency … Workers retrieved a re-entry module from the Long March-7 carrier rocket after the module landed in Badain Jaran Desert in northern China on Sunday, China’s state-run Xinhua news agency reported. Ju Zhenhua/Xinhua/Associated Press … Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, greet people while marching in the 46th annual New York City gay pride parade on Sunday. Peter Foley/European Pressphoto Agency … Turkish police fire rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators who gathered in Istanbul on Sunday to mark gay pride week. The governor’s office had banned the annual gay pride parade earlier this month. Ozan Kose/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … Tyler Clary competes in a preliminary heat for the Men's 400-meter individual medley during the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials in Omaha, Neb., on Sunday. Al Bello/Getty Images … Muddy boots hang to dry on day five of the Glastonbury Festival in England on Sunday. Andy Buchanan/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … People wash before attending prayers during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in the old section of Kabul on Sunday. Wakil Kohsar/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … A man recovers at a shelter in Pretoria West, South Africa, on Sunday after being attacked in the township of Atteridgeville during a flare-up of political unrest in which several foreign-owned shops were looted. Marco Longari/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … The Kelso Creek subdivision in the mountainous Lake Isabella community, some 30 miles northeast of Bakersfield, Calif., is seen on Saturday in the aftermath of a wildfire. Frederic J. Brown/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images … Riot police enter the Stadium Municipal during the UEFA Euro 2016 soccer match between Hungary and Belgium in Toulouse, France, on Sunday. Ariel Schalit/Associated Press … A man in Madrid prepares his ballot for voting in Spain’s national elections on Sunday. Daniel Ochoa de Olza/Associated Press … Photos of the Day: June 26

WSJ Photos of the Day: Gay pride parades are held around the world, revelers enjoy the Glastonbury Festival, Olympic trials continue, and more.

Most experts agree that it will take years, or even decades, to reform the criminal justice system in Indonesia, which is ranked as one of the world’s most corrupt countries by Transparency International, a Berlin-based anticorruption organization. The 32-year rule of President Suharto, which ended just a decade ago, left behind law enforcement agencies that perpetuate graft, the experts say. Kuntoro Mangkusubroto, the leader of a new presidential task force to reform the justice system, said Indonesia’s criminal justice system was fertile ground for middlemen representing moneyed clients. “We want to have a system that is fair for everybody, not dependent on whether he or she has power or money,” Mr. Mangkusubroto said in an interview, adding that cleaning up the current system would take years. Last month, wiretapped conversations revealed a plot by a prominent businessman, along with police officials and prosecutors, to fabricate a case against officials at the Corruption Eradication Commission, the nation’s chief anticorruption agency. The people heard in the wiretaps spoke of bribing key officials by handing out cash through a network of middlemen. What shocked most Indonesians was not the brazenness of the speakers but the fact that the practices mentioned in the wiretaps seemed routine. By contrast, Indonesians without money have seemed increasingly at the mercy of a legal system that metes out severe punishment for seemingly harmless offenses. “There is no normative standard of punishment in this country,” said Adnan Buyung Nasution, 75, one of Indonesia’s most prominent lawyers. “The punishment is very heavy in some cases, very light in others. That’s why people are disgusted at the justice system.” The investigation, prosecution and judgment of a particular case follow rules dictated less by the law than by the free market of the middlemen. “It depends on how much money you have,” said Mr. Nasution, who recently led a presidential advisory group that recommended far-reaching changes in the country’s law enforcement agencies. He added: “Each stage — the police, the attorney general’s office, the courts — has its markuses. But there are markuses that are so dominant, they can arrange everything in one package.” In dealing with the police, the markuses — who are typically relatives of police officials, lawyers, journalists or anyone with contacts in law enforcement agencies — bribe police officials on behalf of a client in trouble with the law. With money, they persuade the police to change evidence or drop a case, according to watchdog groups, police officials and lawyers. Because the money is usually distributed to the officer’s supervisors, police officers with a good nose for potentially lucrative cases tend to rise quickly in the force, said Neta Pane, executive director of Indonesia Police Watch, a private group. Mr. Pane said that police officers had a strong incentive to engage in corrupt practices from the very beginning of their careers. To get into the national police force, applicants must pay bribes, which here in the capital range from $6,000 to $9,000, he said. Typically, the applicants are in a hurry to repay the sum, which they have borrowed and cannot repay on a low-ranking officer’s monthly salary of $100. “The system requires corruption to survive,” Mr. Pane said. Aryanto Sutadi, 58, a retired official who ran the national police’s legal division until last month, estimated that 25 percent of police officers bent the law to earn extra income. But Mr. Sutadi estimated that 90 percent of police officers accepted some form of “gifts.” “If someone is satisfied with the service he has received and gives gifts to show his gratitude, that is not considered bad,” Mr. Sutadi said. Accepting gifts is an illegal, though commonly accepted, practice among police officers, prosecutors and judges. In fact, many people draw an ethical line between those who actively seek bribes and those who passively accept gifts. Markuses also hand out gifts on behalf of a client or a lawyer. “That’s our culture,” said Otto C. Kaligis, a prominent lawyer whose office walls are adorned with photographs of him standing next to Suharto and President Obama. “Then it’s O.K. No problem if the clients, as a sign of gratitude, are willing to give.” But Mr. Kaligis said a lawyer unwilling to give gifts to judges would not win many cases. “When, for instance, as a lawyer you open a law firm and then you lose 40 percent, then you are not marketable,” he said. So far, attempts to reform or monitor the police, prosecutors and judges have been largely cosmetic, experts say. Created in 2005 to oversee the nation’s judges, the Judicial Commission recently moved into a gleaming, six-story building with the capacity to house a staff far larger than the commission’s 200 employees. Inside, the commission’s posters display mafia-like judges wielding guns and holding stacks of money. The posters urge people to report corrupt judges, saying, “Don’t let them kill justice.” Since its founding, the commission has received 6,555 complaints about judges, said Busyro Muqoddas, the commission’s chairman, adding that Indonesia had 6,900 judges. But with limited powers of investigation and no authority to summon judges for interrogation, the commission has been able to recommend sanctions against only 39 judges suspected of corruption. Indonesia’s Supreme Court, which oversees the conduct of all the nation’s courts, has mostly ignored the commission’s recommendations, choosing instead to protect colleagues, Mr. Muqoddas said. Of the 39 judges suspected of corruption, only 2 have been fired, for accepting bribes. A bill to strengthen the commission’s powers sits in the Parliament, Mr. Muqoddas said, but he added that he held little hope for its passage. Parliament, ranked as the country’s most corrupt institution by Transparency International, recently announced a list of 55 priority bills it planned to take up next year. “We weren’t on the list,” Mr. Muqoddas said. A version of this article appears in print on December 20, 2009, on Page A12 of the New York edition with the headline: In Indonesia, Middlemen Mold Outcome of Justice. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Indonesia’s network of corrupt law enforcement officials and middlemen has gained national attention, prompting calls for reform of the broken judicial system.

Tuesday, November 4th 2008, 4:00 AM Oprah is working O-vertime to get out the vote for her guy Barack. Sen. Obama and the talk queen hooked up on a morning conference call Monday to strategize with prominent African-Americans, including Sean (Diddy) Combs, Donna Brazile, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and the Rev. Joseph Lowery. Obama talked about being on the cusp of history and what it would say to the world to see his daughters play on the South Lawn of the White House, according to one participant. Oprah told everybody on the line they could make America "truly one nation indivisible," Politico.com reports. Oprah, who's due to be with Obama Tuesday night in Chicago, is said to be devoting her entire show Wednesday to the election and, assuming things go according to plan, hosting a party Wednesday night. Jay-Z and Beyoncé are also keeping their eyes on the prize. The star couple was stunned over the weekend to learn about the suicide of their friend Shakir Stewart, who signed Beyoncé early on and later replaced Jay as head of the Def Jam label. All the same, they joined Diddy, Mary J. Blige and Russell Simmons at Obama rallies in Florida on Sunday and yesterday in Pennsylvania and Ohio. "We have to do it for our children. We have to do it for the people that died for us to have the right to vote," said Diddy. Here in New York, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Edie Falco, Lisa Loeb and John McEnroe are among the Obama supporters who've been getting out the vote at phone banks at Touch, 583 Park and Guastavino's, among other venues. Writer Dominick Dunne, who's been battling bladder cancer at New York Hospital, asked his doctors to postpone his surgery so he could vote today for Obama. "This is a momentous time in American history," said Nick, 82. "And I'm not going to miss it." And pretty Amy Flynn at Disrespectacles optical shop on West Broadway turned down the morning shows that did stories on demand for Sarah Palin's Kawasaki eyeglasses. "Actually, women have been asking me not to give them anything rimless that looks like her style," Flynn says. "What they are asking for are Tina Fey glasses - the kind she wears in real life."

Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey hooked up on a morning conference call Monday to strategize with prominent African-Americans, including Sean (Diddy) Combs, Donna azile, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn and the Rev. Joseph Lowery.

'Teen Mom' Star Pathetic Excuses For DUI just admitted to drinking and driving before she was busted for DUI last week ... but she's convinced she's done NOTHING wrong. The 21-year-old called in to TMZ Live moments ago with a litany of ridiculous excuses for getting behind the wheel under the influence last week ... you won't believe how delusional she is. TMZ broke the story ... Abraham was arrested in Nebraska on St. Patrick's Day night -- after blowing a .147 on a breathalyzer, nearly twice the legal limit. And don't forget those crazy back in January ... drinking from the bottle and kissing chicks ... she knows how to get down. Get TMZ Breaking News alerts to your inbox

"Teen Mom" star Farrah Abraham just admitted to drinking and driving before she was busted for  DUI last week ... but she's convinced she's done…

IF you want to see how quickly you can ruin a great credit score, just skip a mortgage payment. Lenders use credit scores to measure how you handle debt. The number you’ll see most often is your FICO score. It runs from 300 to 850. The major credit reporting bureaus developed a rival, VantageScore, with scores from 501 to 990. Missed mortgage payments, serious loan delinquencies, loan modifications, short sales, foreclosures and bankruptcies all drag down credit scores. Because a mortgage is such a big slice of anyone’s credit profile, it carries more weight than other loans. Both FICO and VantageScore have studied and quantified those impacts. They reached similar conclusions: for people with near-perfect records, a single mortgage payment that’s 30 days late reduces a credit score enough to hurt. For anyone, a short sale — selling a home for less than the amount owed — can be almost as destructive as a foreclosure. In contrast, a loan modification — when the lender approves new loan terms — can have a “very, very minimal” effect, said Sarah Davies, the senior vice president for analytics at VantageScore. In some cases, the borrower’s score might drop 10 or 15 points. With a loan modification, said Joanne Gaskin, the director of global scoring solutions at FICO, “the consumer does not have to go delinquent to get assistance.” Modification horror stories abound; some borrowers have been told they can’t be helped unless they’ve already missed payments. That doesn’t have to be the case, said Josh Zinner, the co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, a New York City nonprofit company active in foreclosure prevention. The government-backed Home Affordable Modification Program, known as HAMP, specifically permits modifications for borrowers who can document hardship like a job loss, Mr. Zinner said. “What we advise people in New York to do” he said, “is reach out to a nonprofit loan counselor or to Legal Services in order to get a modification with a servicer.” It’s not a perfect solution — HAMP has been criticized for not helping enough borrowers. There are plenty of paperwork hassles, and points in the process where credit scores are in peril. Still, because of “some really profound consequences” to bad credit, modification is worth pursuing, he said. Employers increasingly check credit. Housing options may be limited. “Virtually all landlords look at credit,” he said, adding that getting a mortgage can be difficult. Car loan and credit card costs jump. In a study last month, FICO looked at how choices would affect three hypothetical mortgage holders: One with a spotless 780 score; another with a good 720, who may have missed a couple of credit card payments three years ago; a third with a not-great, not-toxic 680, who has sometimes fallen seriously behind on credit cards or a car loan. (Most lenders consider poor credit about 650 and below, Ms. Gaskin said.) ¶30 days late: The gold-plated 780 drops to 670-690, the middling 720 becomes 630-650, and 680 is now 600-620. Effects are most significant for the strongest borrower. “A continued progression is going to have less and less impact on a score,” Ms. Gaskin said. ¶90 days late: This is seriously delinquent, and brings the onetime best borrower down to 650-670, the midlevel one to 610-630, and the weakest to 600-620. ¶Short sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure, or settlement, assuming the balance has been wiped out: The result is just a bit less serious. The 780 score deteriorates to 655-675; 720 to 605-625; 680 to 610-630. ¶Foreclosure, or short sale with a deficiency balance owed: For either, 780 is 620-640; 720 is 570-590; and 680 is 575-595. At a certain point it might seem as if there was not much difference between bad and worse, but remember that the lower the score, the longer it takes to climb back.

Missed mortgage payments, serious loan delinquencies, loan modifications, short sales, foreclosures and bankruptcies all drag down scores.

A decade ago, Canggu was just a black-sand beach with one food shack, rice paddies as far as the eye could see and a fantastic reef break for intermediate surfers wanting to take their skill to the next level. The wave is unchanged, though a little more crowded in peak season and there’s now a vibrant cafe scene and some hip places to stay, though it’s kept a laid-back, wellness-crowd vibe with none of the brashness of Kuta or swankiness of Seminyak. The Shady Shack is a great new spot for juices, low-alcohol coolers and tasty vegan food. Canteen Café, where vintage surf and skateboards adorn the walls, does excellent coffee and brunch. The Chillhouse (doubles from €110 B&B) also offers surf lessons from €49, including board hire and a ratio of one coach to two guests. Yoga classes cost €9. If Newquay is the loud, beating heart of the UK surf scene, Sennen Cove is its more peaceful and reflective soul. It takes another hour to get there, almost as far as Land’s End, but it’s worth every minute. The waves are some of the most consistent in the country, with a beach break that works left and right and will suit most abilities, but is far less crowded than many Cornish surf spots. The location feels wild and unspoiled with clear ocean, rolling grassy hills and craggy cliffs. The Sennen Surfing Centre offers lessons from £30, and board and wetsuit can be hired on the beach from £14. Yurt accommodation costs £19pp a night at Whitesands Lodge just inland from the beach. Ben Tunnicliffe’s Sennen Cove family-friendly restaurant is worth a visit for fresh, unfussy seasonal cooking, or a guest ale with a view of the waves at its wooden outdoor bar, the Surf Den. Thanks to recent advances in wetsuit technology, surfing in the icy waters off Norway is not just possible but wholly enjoyable. There are zero crowds and the beaches are wild and rugged – in natural amphitheatres with steep majestic mountains all around. The cliffs also protect the waves from the wind and the swell is remarkably consistent, with breaks to suit all levels. Lapoint Surf Camps runs packages in the fishing village of Hoddevik for beginner and intermediate surfers, including accommodation for seven nights, small-group lessons, board and wetsuit hire and use of the house kitchen from €577. California may be the obvious capital of surfing in the US, but Hawaii, where the sport originated, is its spiritual home. Waikiki, the beachfront neighbourhood of Honolulu, is a great place to learn to surf, as the water is warm, the waves roll in gently and the rides are long, so when you do stand up you really get to enjoy it. With its high-rise backdrop, Waikiki is often dismissed as a tourist trap but it’s now finding fresh favour among visitors wanting a tropical beach holiday with some urban benefits, such as good food and decent coffee. Affordable hotels aren’t easy to come by but Maile Sky Court has doubles from $105. Star Beachboys runs group surf lessons for $40pp. In the south-west corner of the Algarve, Lagos is well-placed to pick up swells from every direction; it has breaks for all levels of surfer within easy reach. The town beach, Meia Praia, is a good beginner’s wave, while Zavial, 20 minutes’ drive west, is a world-class point break for experienced surfers. The attractive old fishing town boasts great sea-themed restaurants such as Escondidinho (Rua do Cemitério 38) and The Blue Door (Rua dos Ferreiros 17), but a big part of the Lagos sell has always been that it is a good place to party. Mellow Loco, run by pro surfers Marlon and Melvin Lipke, is the wildest spot, and Stevie Ray’s has popular live funk and soul nights. Health-conscious surfers will love new juice and salad bar Bora, healthy breakfast gem Fresca and the health store and restaurant Mar D’Estorias.The oldest surf camp provider in town, Surf Experience, is introducing a Girl Fitness Surf Week () by sports coach and surfer Sophie Everard from 24 September-1 October. It costs £800 and includes meals, surfing, yoga, trail running, mountain biking, outdoor fitness classes, accommodation and transfers from Faro airport; flights are not included. Lagos Surf Rentals rents boards from €15 a day. A growing band of travellers are converging on the small fishing village of El Paredón, which offers Guatemala’s most consistent surf at a beach break that never gets crowded and can accommodate most levels of surfer, depending on the tide. Turtles nest on the black sand beach, and mangrove forests grow all around. At Paredón Surf House private surf lessons cost about £12, board hire starts at £10 a day, and dorm beds £8 a night. The surf house supports a social enterprise, La Choza Chula, which has built a secondary school and library in the village, and provides English lessons for children. When the swell is pumping, Hossegor’s pounding beach breaks are not for the faint-hearted, but experienced and strong intermediates revel in some of the best waves in the world, and some of the warmest sea temperatures in the Atlantic. La Sud, at the southern end, is a calmer, more sheltered spot for beginners and improvers. With world-class waves come world-class surfers, and as a result there’s no shortage of relaxed places to hang out and party. Lou Cabana on the naturist Plage des Culs Nus has a tasty daily menu and great music and vibes at sunset. Meg’s Café is the place for coffee and Tante Jeanne the ultimate ice-cream spot. Collective Soul is good for vintage furniture, art and clothes. Local surf shaper Chipiron makes custom boards, offers surf lessons from €38 a day and rents good quality boards from €10. The rental cost is taken off the price for anyone who later buys a board. Hostel h2O Holidays does B&B from €30pp. From a wave-riding point of view, Mozambique is relatively unexplored, yet much of its 2,500km coastline is surfable, with tropical blue waters washing on to palm-fronted white sandy beaches. Tofo, on the Ponta da Barra peninsula, is a pretty beach town with a central market that sells bright sarongs as well as fruit, veg and fish. Small, clean waves are protected by a headland and a reef, so it’s a good place for learners and improvers, though more advanced surfers won’t have to travel far to find challenging reef breaks, and the world-class, right-hand point breaks at nearby Tofinho beach. Errant Surf offers seven nights in a shared house from £78pp, surf lessons from £12 and board hire from £13 a day. On the coast of Cantabria, amid the meadows, dunes, forests, cliffs and beaches of the Oyambre natural park, sits the estuarine village of San Vicente de la Barquera. Merón is its main beach, with great conditions for learning and more difficult peaks for more advanced surfers. San Vicente has many excellent seafood restaurants, such as Boga-Boga, which has been running for 50 years and has a great nautical-themed interior, but the region is also famed for its ham, wine and cheeses. Nácar, an offshoot of the Michelin-starred Annua, does tasty and reasonably priced tapas. Dream Surf Camp offers a week’s accommodation plus full board and surf kit in both normal and glamping tents from €229pp. Ten hours’ lessons costs €95. Yoga, mountain biking and massages are available, and there’s an on site bar with musical instruments to borrow. Lush tropical jungle meets eminently ridable waves for all levels in this former fishing village turned artsy surf town just 40 minutes north of Puerto Vallarta on Mexico’s central Pacific coast. Colourful cafes and bars, and galleries peddling local Huichol tribal art, are plentiful and street food vendors sell original takes on the taco. Lunazul is a family-run surf school, where lessons start at $40pp including equipment, and they’re so confident of their teaching that anyone who doesn’t stand up on their first lesson doesn’t pay. Lunazul also rents high- quality shortboards, longboards and softboards for beginners, and runs trips to nearby secret spots. Petit Hotel Hafa is a colourful boutique hotel two blocks back from the beach, with doubles available from $50.

From Mozambique to Mexico, via Cornwall, here are great places to ride waves, find a bed close to the beach and eat drink and party after a day on the water

IN its 2,700-year history, the port city of Palermo has undergone three golden ages: the Carthaginians, Arabs and Normans all found glory along its rugged shores. And now, after decades of post-War neglect and mafia corruption, the often overlooked Sicilian capital is poised for a fourth — or at least a well-deserved comeback. Crumbling roads are being repaved, landmarks scrubbed clean and a newfound pride can be felt. But the essential charms of this mysterious and intoxicating city thankfully remain intact. There are still seductive old neighborhoods, a delightful patchwork of architecture (what’s the word for Arab-Norman-Spanish-Baroque?), and a belching chaotic mess known as Palermo traffic. 4 p.m. 1) BREAD AND CIRCUS The ancient city is studded with vibrant and raucous outdoor markets. Mix with residents shopping for weekend essentials in the Ballarò, the city’s oldest Arab-style open market in the decrepit yet atmospheric Albergheria quarter. Join the crowds at either end (enter through Piazza Ballarò or Piazza del Carmine) and browse stalls with all types of fish still twitching on trays of ice, alongside crates of squash as long as didgeridoos and capers the size of grapes. If the vendors who perform like carnival barkers aren’t entertainment enough, grab a piping-hot panelle, a street-food fritter made of chickpeas (about 5 euros, or $8 at $1.62 to the euro). 5:30 p.m. 2) DIVINE ARCHITECTURE It wouldn’t be a trip to Italy without a dip into a magnificent church. Make a 10-or-so-minute walk north to Piazza Bellini in the old city’s center and ascend the steps to a pair of famed houses of worship. The Church of San Cataldo (Piazza Bellini 2), a rather nondescript diminutive chapel, is best appreciated from the outside, where one can take in its three Saracen cardinal-red domes. But a few steps away is the Church of Santa Maria Dell’Ammiraglio, a k a La Mortarana, which offers a quintessential blend of Arab-Norman architecture, including an impressive campanile that dates back to 1143. Gorgeous, well-maintained mosaics and frescoes abound; no wonder the space is booked solid for weddings. 8 p.m. 3) MODERN CLASSIC If you’re hankering for a sophisticated take on classic Sicilian fare, head over to Bellotero (Via Castriota 3; 39-091-582-158), a 10-table restaurant in Palermo’s new town that draws a nightly crowd of discerning and lively locals. Settle into a delectable meal of spaghetti with stone bass, sea urchin and lemon zest (12 euros) or lamb with oven-roasted pistachios and a vegetable caponata (12 euros). Top it all off with a glass of regional Marsala (try the Donna Franca from the Florio vineyards; 5 euros). 11 p.m. 4) BAR CRAWL For a city with such an audible heartbeat, Palermo is surprisingly lackluster when it comes to memorable night life. All of the young crowd seem to have received the same text message, as drones of them meet up regularly at the bars lining Via Ruggero Settimo, Via Principe Belmonte and Via Isidoro la Lumia. Wade through the revelry that spills out into the streets or make your way to the more grown-up Bar Malù (Via Enrico Albanese 21; 39-347-820-0870). This duplex lounge with outdoor seating attracts an upscale bunch that flirts to D.J.-spun tunes and sips special cocktails like the Robertino, a nightcap of gin, Angostura bitters and Aperol (5 euros). 9:30 a.m. 5) MORNING MARKETING Forget that espresso. Get a rush by diving into the city’s most frenzied market, the souk-like La Vucciria (between Corso Vittorio Emanuele and Piazza San Domenico). A dizzying maze of narrow streets is filled with food stalls and illuminated with thousands of tiny lights. Slink into Bread Forreria (Via Bonacorso, 29), an adorable old-fashioned bakery, for homemade fettine zuccherate, its signature bread with sesame, raisin or anis toasted to perfection (10 euros a kilogram). 11 a.m. 6) RICH IN BAROQUE Immerse yourself in Palermo’s spectacular Baroque architecture and art in the historic Loggia district. A single pass (5 euros, at any of the sites) gets you into the area’s five architectural treasures, including the Oratorio del Rosario del San Domenico (Via dei Bambiani), a 16th-century chapel with a Van Dyck altarpiece, a Novelli frescoed ceiling and many adorable cherubs. Grab a walking map (in front of any of the sites) and hit the other four, making sure to ponder the faces of the 15 statues representing the Virtues and the Mysteries in the resplendent rococo Oratorio del Rosario di Santa Citta (Via Valverde 3). They belonged to the socialites of the day. 1:30 p.m. 7) SWEET STOP In a city where gelato in a sliced brioche is a legitimate meal option, get the real deal at Pasticceria Alba (Piazza Don Bosco 7/c-d, off Via della Libertà; 39-091-309-016; www.baralba.it), a half-century-old institution with an endless takeout menu and ancient staff. Order a scoop of pistachio bronte (2 euros), take your ice-cream burger outside and watch residents of all ages swing by for their midday delight. 4 p.m. 8) DEAD MAN WALK File under “It Has to Be Seen to Be Believed.” Take the No. 327 bus to the city’s western outskirts for the exceedingly popular but no less creepy Catacombe dei Cappuccini (Piazza Cappuccini, 1; 39-091-212-117). The chilly passageways of this underground tomb are filled with more than 8,000 corpses — fully dressed men, women and children with frozen facial expressions — that were preserved through all sorts of science from the 16th century until 1920. More surreal than scary, this is a momento mori on a tremendous scale. 6:30 p.m. 9) SUNSET DRINKS Pull up a chair on the terrace bar at the Villa Igiea (Salita Balmonte 43; 39-091-631-2111; www.hotelvillaigieapalermo.com), a luxury hotel on the slopes of the charming Monte Pellegrino. This Art Nouveau grande dame is nestled among gardens and courtyards that offer indelible 180-degree views of the Bay of Palermo. Sip a glass of crisp and fruity Donnafugata white (10 euros) while sampling the wide range of tempting snacks at the Bar des Arcades. 8:30 p.m. 10) SEASIDE SUPPER For a nice break from all the seafood in the city, try Bye Bye Blues (Via del Garofalo 23; 39-091-684-1415; www.byebyeblues.it), an award-winning restaurant in the beachy Mondello neighborhood. Incredibly fresh ingredients conspire to create delicious plates like an appetizer of country cheeses served with walnuts and marmalade (13 euros). Follow it up with a delicious serving of pasta alla Norma, an island classic of rigatoni, tomato, ricotta and fried eggplant (12 euros). Pair it with a yummy 2004 Cerasuolo di Vittoria (22 euros), one of the 350 wines on hand. 10:30 p.m. 11) A DIGESTIVE STROLL For dessert, grab a pezzo duro — frozen candylike gelato cones (2.5 euros) — at the sleek Caflisch cafe (Viale di Regina Margherita di Savoia, 2/b; 39-091-684-0444). From there, head to the nearby waterfront and enjoy a leisurely stroll, or passeggiata, along the crystal-clear Tyrrhenian. Take in legions of cabanas on white sand before fleeing the honky-tonk mix of bars, arcades and souvenir stands at the other end. 11 a.m. 12) JESUS ON THE MOUNT There’s a saying in Palermo that goes something like: “He who visits Palermo without visiting Monreale arrives as a donkey and leaves an ass.” O.K., so it’s not going on a T-shirt anytime soon, but that cramped and bustling hill town a few miles west of the city center is well worth a bus ride (No. 389). Beat a path to the 12th-century Duomo (Piazza Gugliemo il Buono) for what might be the most jaw-dropping display of Greek and Byzantine mosaic work anywhere. There are 200 intricately carved columns in the adjoining cloisters, and the 65-foot-high mosaic of Jesus glows like the sun over the central apse. The golden age of Palermo, it seems, never really ended. From July through October, Eurofly (www.euroflyusa.com) flies direct to Palermo from J.F.K. in New York twice a week. A recent online search found very limited availability in August, with fares from $1,447. Other carriers offered connecting service through Milan or Rome, with fares for early August starting at $1,604 on Delta and Alitalia. The 30-minute taxi to downtown Palermo runs about 40 euros, about $65 at $1.62 to the euro. But for 5.30 euros, buses run every half hour (www.prestiaecomande.it). Palermo’s many majestic hotels include the Excelsior Palace (Via Marchese Ugo, 3; 39-091- 790-9001; www.excelsiorpalermo.it). Just renovated, the lovely 19th-century building has 122 elegant rooms, a new restaurant and a diligent concierge. Standard double rates begin at 216 euros, but look for specials online. For a more contemporary spin, check out the cosmopolitan Plaza Opera Hotel (Via Nicolò Gallo 2; 39-091-381-9026; www.hotelplazaopera.com/it) or the boutique Hotel Ucciardhome (Via Enrico Albanese 34/36; 39-348-426; www.hotelucciardhome.com). Their modern doubles start at 230 and 170 euros respectively. Prefer something older? Check into the Palazza Conte Federico (Via dei Biscottari 4; 39-091-651-1881; www.contefederico.com), a torch-lit, antiques-laden castle from the 1100s that is still owned, run and inhabited by aristocracy. In fact, the Count and Countess Federico will toast and assist you upon arrival. Rates range from 150 to 400 euros.

After decades of postwar neglect, the Sicilian capital is poised for a comeback. Crumbling roads are being repaved, landmarks scrubbed clean and a newfound pride can be felt.

Bobby Brown was in "great spirits" Friday as he prepared to make his first public appearance since the start of daughter Bobbi Kristina's coma crisis three months ago, his wife told the Daily News. The New Edition singer, who's been keeping a vigil at Bobbi Kristina's bedside in Georgia, flew to Los Angeles to sing on stage Saturday night after giving a cooking demonstration in a vendor booth at the Kinfolks Soul Food Festival, sources confirmed. "We'll be there. We're excited. He's good. He's in great spirits," wife Alicia Etheredge said when reached by phone Friday. Etheredge confirmed the situation with Bobbi Kristina was stable enough to allow for the travel. "Yes," she said when asked if Bobbi Kristina was hanging in there as she continues to fight for her life. Brown, 46, has been in relative seclusion since his only daughter with ex-wife Whitney Houston was found facedown and unresponsive in a bathtub on Jan. 31. Bobbi Kristina, 22, was treated at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta before her family moved her to an undisclosed rehabilitation center for continued monitoring of her medically induced coma. "She's the same," grandmother Cissy Houston told WBLS-FM in New York on March 25. "We've moved her now to a place for rehabilitation. But you know, there's still not a great deal of hope. We're praying." A source for the Kinfolks Soul Food Festival said Brown had a longstanding relationship with the event and was honoring his commitment. "He's a professional and he's coming through, and we should give him respect for that," event spokeswoman Kimi Rhochelle told The News. "He still has to make a living. It's like any of us going to work when he have difficulties in our lives. You still have to put on a brave face and do what you do. He'll be getting in front of people, but he'll still be feeling what he's feeling." She said Brown was expected to give a cooking demonstration with his personal line of Bobby Brown BBQ seasonings and sauces in the early evening Saturday. His musical performance was set for around 10 p.m., Rhochelle said, adding that the lineup also included Ed DeBarge, Salt 'N' Pepa and Stephanie Mills. A video promoting the event was posted on YouTube.com earlier this week and included a recorded message from Brown — though it was unclear when he taped it. "I'm real excited to be at the Soul Food Festival Saturday. Y'all know where it is," he says in the generic voiceover animated with photos of the festival and his products. "I will be performing, and I will be displaying some of my talented skills as far as on the grill and all my seasonings and BBQs. So come on out. I got a special gift for you." The R&B star asked for privacy shortly after his daughter's medical emergency, but his spokesman issued a statement that was critical of Bobbi Kristina's live-in boyfriend Nick Gordon. Gordon was at the couple's Georgia home when Bobbi Kristina lost consciousness, but it was another friend who found her and called 911. Local police have said they are investigating the matter for possible criminal behavior. Gordon was banished from the hospital and entered a downward spiral fueled by alcohol and Xanax that landed him in an intervention with his mom and TV's Dr. Phil. Gordon entered rehab in early March and now is about a third of the way through his intensive 90-day program, a source close to Gordon told The News on Friday. "Nick is great. He's doing absolutely fabulous. He was a little hesitant about his treatment at first, but now he's all about his wellbeing. He's in a really great place," the source said. The source previously told The News that Gordon was in a "life or death situation" when his worried mom called for the intervention. "It's my prayer that once he's pulled himself back together and gets out, there can be a conversation with Bobby Brown about seeing Bobbi Kristina. At that point, there should be nothing stopping that," the source said.

The New Edition singer flew to Los Angeles to sing on stage Saturday night at the Kinfolks Soul Food Festival.

Maybe Drew Faust ought to run for president. She’s the head of Harvard University and just delivered at West Point a speech praising the military that once would have been unthinkable from Ivy League leadership. And just when we need it most — facing a gathering war while locked in a presidential campaign in which our candidates are slinging insults at each other (and their wives) or hawking socialism and military retreat. The press didn’t give her speech much coverage. But if you’re seeking grounds for optimism that America will eventually find the leadership it needs, it isn’t to be missed. Faust offers a paean to the importance of history and literature and to the value of a liberal-arts education. And she makes a formal tribute to America’s military that is surprisingly personal and moving. Which is no small thing, given that Faust comes from a campus that not so long ago was seething with rage against the Vietnam War. It got so bad back then that Harvard ended its ROTC program, refusing to train our officers. What a blot on Harvard’s name — all the more so because the university has a long, patriotic history. More of its alumni have been awarded the Medal of Honor than any school save West Point and Annapolis. Not that Harvard was alone in banning ROTC. Several top universities shrank from the war against the Communist conquest that cast Indochina’s millions into a dark night of re-education camps, dictatorship and genocide. Instead they left the fighting to draftees without Ivy League pedigrees and college deferments. When America won the Cold War anyhow, our elite universities were shorn of a portion of glory. In 2011, Faust made Harvard the first Ivy League school to lift its ban on ROTC. Others quickly followed, citing the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” which had kept many gays out of the military. It’s no coincidence that Faust seized the lead. It turns out that she’s the great-granddaughter of a West Point graduate, Lawrence Davis Tyson, who appeared in arms against Geronimo. Faust clearly nurses a profound admiration for her famous forebear, whose brigade in World War I, she reminded the cadets, took terrible casualties in breaching the Hindenburg Line. Tyson ended up in the US Senate. “A supreme honor” is the phrase Faust used last week to describe what it meant to her to stand on West Point’s hallowed ground. She talked about the “importance of language to leadership.” She didn’t attack candidates by name, nor even refer to the primary campaign that has shocked so many with its raucous tone. She did praise Ulysses S. Grant, who, she said, devoured novels at West Point. Faust also picked up on Sen. Marco Rubio’s suggestion that we need “more welders and fewer philosophers.” In recent years, Faust said, US students have been taking the hint, with the proportion of bachelor’s degrees in humanities plummeting. What caught her attention is that West Point has been moving in the opposite direction. It has, she said, “transformed its curriculum into a general liberal-arts education.” That means, she said, that West Point is “graduating leaders with broad-based knowledge.” History, literature, philosophy, she suggested, “enable leaders to compel and to connect with others.” Faust quoted General of the Army Omar Bradley on the importance of imagination and Gen. George Patton on the importance of history. She talked about Winston Churchill’s fantastic appetite for history, philosophy, economics and religion. Then Faust spoke of how, in 2008, she met with five Harvard seniors who had worked around the absence of ROTC and were about to be commissioned as officers. “I wish that there were more of you,” she told them. The Gallup poll, Faust said, discovered that “the military is the last institution in which Americans have high confidence. Not organized religion, not government, not newspapers, not banks — you. You and all you represent.” “We need you,” she said, “now more than ever.” What a courageous coda at a time of global jihad. And from a generation in which the so-called best and the brightest turned against a war they had tried to lead — a generation now passing from power. What a gracious bow by Harvard to the institution that stood with the fight.

Maybe Drew Faust ought to run for president. She’s the head of Harvard University and just delivered at West Point a speech praising the military that once would have been unthinkable from Ivy Leag…

It's two legal cases down and three to go before Australia's biggest coal mine, slated for Queensland's Galilee Basin, can start says the Queensland Resources Council. A Federal Court on Monday dismissed a challenge by conservationists to stop the project. The Federal Court threw out an Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF) case against Adani's $21 billion Carmichael mine from going ahead on the grounds the approval of the mine was inconsistent with Australia's obligation to protect the Great Barrier Reef from the emissions of coal. Queensland Resources Council chief executive Michael Roche said the judge's ruling was an "an inevitable result". He said the ACF was trying to make Australians responsible for the emissions of coal generated in other countries. "What the ACF wanted the federal court to agree to was the equivalent to saying Saudi Arabia needs to take responsibility for the emissions of Australian motorists using their oil - that was their case," Mr Roche told reporters after the decision was handed down. "We now have two court cases resolved in favour of the Adani Carmichael coal project in recent weeks, but there are three more to go. "So we have three more cases creating jobs for lawyers, but not creating jobs for regional Queenslanders." The ACF said it would not stop fighting to prevent the coal mine from ever operating. ACF CEO Kelly O'Shanassy said in a statement that Australians would be shocked that the biggest ever coal mine was approved despite the Great Barrier Reef this year suffering the worst coral bleaching on record as "a direct result of global warming". "If the Carmichael mine proceeds, its coal will create 4.7 billion tonnes of climate pollution over the proposed life of the mine, wiping out Australia's efforts to reduce pollution and contributing to more frequent and severe bleaching events on the reef," she said. "Australia's environment laws are broken if they cannot account for the impacts of global warming on the reef, one of our country's most loved national treasures." The Australian Marine Conservation Society's Great Barrier Reef campaign director Imogen Zethoven said the federal government will be to blame if the reef dies. "Regardless of any legal decision, we have a moral responsibility to do everything possible to protect the reef and the communities who rely on it."

Conservationists say a Federal Court decision on a challenge to Adani's Carmichael coal mine could strengthen environmental considerations in Australian law.

Just past noon on a Friday in June, a Union Pacific freight train carrying oil jumped the tracks in a small town in Oregon, not far from a school filled with children, and exploded in flames that burned for 14 hours. Bad tracks were cited as the cause, but federal regulators said a better braking system on the train — based on newer technology — would have contained the disaster. The railroad industry newsletter said the notion that the brake system would have made a difference was “horse manure.” It was another skirmish in a battle over safety standards that often pits federal regulators against an industry. And while such fights are not uncommon, federal officials say this is one that keeps them awake at nights because of the high stakes — what if the next oil train crash happens in a major metropolitan area? [Deadline for train safety technology undercut by industry lobbying] Regulators have mandated a new electronically controlled braking system that would prevent — or lessen the severity of — crashes like the one in Oregon. The railroad industry calls the requirement a classic example of regulatory overreach. Lawmakers responded to the industry complaints by requiring a pair of new studies that could delay the regulation set to take effect in 2021. One congressional requirement, for example, stipulates that a train be wrecked to see how many of its cars derail and leak their flammable contents. “It was deliberate and intentional by the railroad industry to try to make this study as expensive as possible,” said John Risch, who spent 30 years as a BNSF Railway engineer before becoming a rail union lobbyist in Washington. “It’s completely unreasonable. You wouldn’t see that in maritime, you wouldn’t see that in aviation; they do this stuff computer-simulated, without causing this chaotic crash that’s going to cost all kinds of money.” The railroad industry counters that the new regulation would force it to spend billions of dollars on a braking system that research has not conclusively proven to be more effective than what they are already using. With the Trump administration taking office in January amid promises to roll back regulations, the railroads hope Congress will hear their concerns. Included in a post-election message to the Senate from Edward R. Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads, was a plea for “stopping unfounded regulatory efforts.” There have been 19 derailments of trains loaded with flammable liquid — oil or ethanol — in the past six years. Those wrecks have caused 3,272 evacuations, spilled almost 2.8 million gallons and cost an estimated $45 million. A remarkable percentage of those derailments happened in small towns — Plevna, Mont. (population 162), Tiskilwa, Ill. (829), Arcadia, Ohio (590), and Alma, Wis. (781). Federal officials are increasingly concerned that one of the long trains rolling out of the Bakken oil fields, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, will explode in a major city. Oil trains snake through cities such as Seattle, Chicago and Philadelphia on their way to coastal refineries. Chicago officials deemed the risk serious enough that the city did a detailed evaluation of the impact should a train explode in various neighborhoods. Railroads say they have taken every prudent step possible to prevent disasters such as the Lac-Mégantic, Quebec, explosion in 2013 that killed 47 townspeople. They say it is expensive overkill to require electronically controlled pneumatic (ECP) braking systems on trains carrying explosive cargo. The railroads estimate it would cost more than $3 billion to install electronic braking on the required number of engines and cars, and to educate workers to use them. The Federal Railroad Administration says it would cost a still-hefty fraction of that: $493 million. From that simple difference — albeit almost $2.6 billion — the divergence of opinion and calculations between FRA and the railroads spirals rapidly out of control. The FRA estimates 2,500 locomotives would need to be equipped at a cost of $49,000 each. The railroads say 20,000 locomotives — 83 percent of those they operate — would need ECP, at a cost of $88,000 each. The FRA says 60,000 tank cars need the electronic brakes; the railroads say it is 133,000. How many railroad workers would need training? The FRA says more than 51,000, the railroads, 78,000. Even more emphatic is the difference in opinions. “These are not grain trains, these are hazmat trains,” FRA Administrator Sarah E. Feinberg said. “We specifically require the better braking systems on these trains because in the event of an incident, fewer cars will derail and fewer cars will puncture, which means you’re less likely to have a fire that will endanger lives. “The science is there, the data is there,” Feinberg said. “Their argument is, despite that data, [they] don’t want to spend the money on it.” Risch, the former BNSF engineer who has operated trains with ECP brakes, calls them “the foundation of safety in the future of the railroad industry. When a train crew overlooks something, ECP brakes can save the day.” “ECP braking technology will not result in fewer accidents, does not provide significant safety benefits and, after 15 years of limited rail use, has yet to meet service reliability standards,” said Justin E. Jacobs, a spokesman for Union Pacific, the country’s largest railroad. At BNSF, the second-largest, spokesman Mike Trevino has a similar view. “The contention has been that electronic brakes are better, safer, more efficient,” he said. “The challenge is that railroads have been unable to prove that out, to demonstrate that there are those benefits.” Ed Greenberg, spokesman for the American Association of Railroads, a trade group, said, “The ECP brake signaling system has been found to break down more often, while not providing significant safety benefits.” Conventional brake systems on freight trains use air pressure that moves from one car to the next — from the engine to the last car — to engage the brakes and slow the train. On a train of 100 or more cars — and many oil trains are that length or longer — it takes 7 to 8 seconds until the last car’s brakes begin to engage. The cars farther back keep pushing against those in front of them as they await the signal to brake. If tank cars have less than a full load of liquid, the sloshing as the train slows adds to their momentum. With ECP braking, the brakes begin to engage on every car almost the instant the engineer presses a button. “Trains are like giant Slinkies,” said a railroad analyst who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he works in the industry. “When you have that back of the train running into the front of the train, they can actually push cars out, cause a derailment and cause a hell of a mess.” When the brakes are applied electronically to each car at the same time, he said, that takes “the energy out of the train quicker, so when a train does derail there is less energy that has to be absorbed by crushing tank cars.” That push from the rear in the Mosier, Ore., wreck may explain why a coupler pierced through another tank car, causing the leak that sparked the fire, he said. Before the federal mandate last year to require electronically triggered brakes, some railroads were moving in that direction anyway. When Norfolk Southern put the first ECP-equipped train into service nine years ago, it said in a statement that “ECP brakes have the potential to reduce stopping distances by 60 percent.” When freight giant BNSF followed suit six months later, one of its customers applauded, saying, “The use of ECP brakes will provide potential for improved safety.” But once the rule — developed by the FRA and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — was issued 18 months ago, the railroads were less agreeable to the expensive investment. They already were under pressure to fulfill another federal mandate that followed a California railroad disaster. In 2008, a head-on collision between a freight train and a commuter train in Chatsworth, a Los Angeles suburb, killed 25 people and injured 135. Congress ordered that trains be equipped with an automatic braking system that would have prevented the crash. Railroads said they had already pumped $6.5 billion into that automatic system last year, when they begged Congress to extend a looming deadline until 2018. The lawmakers came to the rescue, just as they did for the industry again last year on the issue of ECP brakes. Three key congressional leaders are among the top 10 recipients of campaign contributions from the railroad industry, which has spent upward of $60 million on campaign contributions since 1990. According to federal data compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) has received $566,479, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has received $449,615, and John Thune (R-S.D.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has received $353,885 from the railroads. Congress appended the requirement for the pair of ECP tests to the mammoth five-year transportation bill. One version of the bill would have entrusted the testing to a committee made up primarily of the railroads, but others involved in the talks insisted that the work be done by contractors free of conflicts of interest. “The original study was going to be tainted by the industry, and the House [transportation] committee fixed up the bill to make it more fair,” Risch recalled. The first report requested by Congress came from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) last month. The GAO questioned federal estimates of the cost benefits of ECP brakes. The report also said that limited data shared by railroads with the FRA “hampered its efforts to estimate . . . their potential benefits.” A second round of testing that Congress asked for — including full-scale experiments to see how tank cars derail and get punctured — is underway by the Transportation Research Board at the National Academy of Sciences. In the midst of all that testing, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded in two studies that ECP brakes allow trains to stop in significantly less distance and effectively relieve the energy caused when tank cars crash into one another. In Mosier, (population 433), they say the wind blows at 30 mph from March to October, but on Friday, June 3, the wind took a holiday. The train carrying Bakken crude from North Dakota to a refinery in Tacoma, Wash., derailed and exploded at lunchtime. No one was killed or injured, but schools and some residents were evacuated. Fire Chief Jim Appleton told KGW television that on a typical windy day, the school and the town would have been at risk. “I have a high degree of confidence that the school building would have been at a minimum affected, if not completely incinerated,” he said.

After 19 derailments, debate is roiling over controlling tank cars filled with oil and ethanol.

SANTIAGO, Chile — In broad terms, there are two strains of government in Latin America: the new populism, exemplified by Venezuela or Argentina, and the pro-market model long represented by Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. Will Chile pull back from this paradigm if the Socialist former president, Michelle Bachelet, wins the presidential election as expected on Sunday? Not necessarily. When Ms. Bachelet was president, from 2006 to 2010, she focused on health care and social welfare programs for the elderly and medical care for pensioners. But she was broadly popular and represented a center-left coalition that had held power for two decades and had not undermined free-market capitalism. (She could not run for re-election because Chile’s constitution forbids presidents from serving consecutive terms.) In 2010, Chileans elected Sebastián Piñera, a conservative businessman and economist and advocate of free markets. Now it is he who cannot run for re-election, and polls show Ms. Bachelet on the verge of a crushing victory over Mr. Piñera’s preferred successor, Evelyn Matthei. If Ms. Bachelet wins, the reasons will be likely to have more to do with character, trustworthiness and historical memory than with economic ideology. Let me relate a story from 30 years ago. I was lying on a sunny Pacific beach, having just swum in water so cold that it felt like an electric shock. The people in the water laughed or flailed. Some women stepped into the water gracefully; others dived right into the waves. That day, I saw someone running toward the sea on short, sturdy legs. When he hit the water he continued like a robot, as if there were no waves or cold. And when the water was deep enough, he simply went under. “Who is that guy?” I asked my friend. At the time, Mr. Piñera was an economics professor and banker, who had begun to amass a fortune introducing credit cards to Chile. The determination he showed that day revealed part of the secret behind his ascent to power: sheer strength of will. Sadly, determination and empathy are not the same. Mr. Piñera’s economic record — fiscal responsibility, private investment, stable growth, low inflation, new jobs, cheap imports — has been excellent. As promised, he has governed like a brilliant C.E.O. But his shareholders — the voters — are not satisfied. He has the instincts of a technocrat and makes decisions based on polls. He thinks fast, perhaps too fast. He is shrewd, perhaps too shrewd. He is not universally trusted. One example of Mr. Piñera’s seeming callousness: In 2011, students of mine at the University of Chile were leaving for a demonstration. They felt that the rich were running the government — “The foxes are in the henhouse,” one woman told me — with no counterbalance to protect regular people. The students were protesting the rapid expansion of private universities, which were promoted as a way to increase college access. But poor quality and financial abuses at these profit-making schools — including the bankruptcy of one of them, Universidad del Mar — soured students and parents on them. Another factor harming Mr. Piñera’s legacy is memory. This year was the 40th anniversary of the coup that toppled the democratically elected president Salvador Allende and ushered in the brutal military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. What’s striking is that the presidential contenders, Ms. Bachelet and Ms. Matthei, are both daughters of air force generals who were friends. Ms. Bachelet’s father, after the 1973 coup, was tortured and died of a heart attack. Ms. Bachelet and her mother were briefly imprisoned at Villa Grimaldi, a notorious secret prison. Ms. Matthei’s father was part of the Pinochet junta, an association that has not helped her. An economist and a senator with a strong personality, she has it in her to be Chile’s “Iron Lady,” if only Chileans were in the mood. But when she criticized Ms. Bachelet for including Communists (who praise Cuba and Venezuela) in her coalition and predicted that Ms. Bachelet’s policies would hurt Chile’s chances of joining the club of developed nations, voters didn’t respond. Perhaps they cared more about the concentration of wealth. (The difference in the two women’s personalities was evident recently when Don Francisco, a popular television entertainer, invited Ms. Matthei to play the piano and Ms. Bachelet to dance with him. Ms. Matthei, a gifted musician, didn’t miss a note, but she played the Beatles’ “Let It Be” as if it were Bartok. Ms. Bachelet, meanwhile, danced effortlessly and charmingly.) If she wins on Sunday, Ms. Bachelet’s biggest problem will be high and divergent expectations. She ended her first term on a wave of popularity, having weathered the worst effects of the global financial crisis while providing additional support for Chile’s poor. But her coalition is deeply divided over education, tax policy and constitutional reform, and she risks alienating the middle class if she moves too far to the left. Her best course would be one of moderation: a few, but significant, steps to strengthen the welfare state, but without compromising economic growth. She has the charisma and the reputation for trustworthiness to allow her to muddle through. As for the political right, it must break more decisively with the Pinochet legacy and abandon its adherence to the notion that economics explains everything about human behavior. That is not what Chileans believe. As Hamlet said, “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy.” Arturo Fontaine is a novelist, poet and essayist and a professor of philosophy at the University of Chile. His most recent book is “La Vida Doble: A Novel.”

In the presidential election, Chileans look set to pick trustworthiness and character over economic ideology.

Toronto fans turned out for Jewish Heritage day featuring the Sacramento Kings' Israel-born Omri Casspi. LOS ANGELES—Salih Eroglu prepared carefully for the Los Angeles Clippers' big day-after-Christmas basketball game. The 33-year-old gathered Turkish baklava pastries, sparkling "evil eye" pendants and sunflower seed snack packs. He ordered 1,000 red "Turkiye" baseball caps and 1,000 T-shirts emblazoned with images of Hedo Turkoglu, Istanbul-born forward of the visiting team, the Phoenix Suns. On hand, too, were Turkish dancing girls, a Turkish pop star to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and raffle stubs for an airline ticket to Istanbul. In short, Mr. Eroglu had everything for a successful Turkish heritage event—an occasion meant to boost attendance for the Clippers, one of the National Basketball Association's worst-drawing teams. "We were really, really ready," says Mr. Eroglu, an engineer who organizes the annual Turkish event. Across the NBA, teams with losing records like the L.A. Clippers are turning to events like Turkish Heritage night to fill seats. WSJ's Joel Millman reports. Except for one thing. Just before the event, Phoenix sent the Turkish fans' favorite Sun—the 31-year-old Mr. Turkoglu—to the Orlando Magic. The move left hundreds of ticket holders without a countryman to root for. It's that time of year in the NBA: the deep winter slog when teams with losing records search far and wide for gimmicks to fill seats. That's why many teams are drumming up "Heritage" events, meant to court even the smallest émigré enclaves to NBA courts, and provide just a tad of buzz—and a souvenir trinket or two—to pump up attendance. The Toronto Raptors have Filipino Night set for early next month, arriving on the heels of Serbian, Jewish and Chinese nights in January. The Minnesota Timberwolves are hosting both an Israeli Heritage and a Jewish Heritage event, with a Canadian Heritage Night teed up for late January and a German Heritage night for March. The Golden State Warriors' Latino Night is on Jan. 28, after the team held events saluting fans from Iran and China. Heritage events became popular in the U.S. about a decade ago, when the NBA began signing more talent from overseas. Currently, there are 86 foreign-born players in the NBA. Pitching ethnicity is an easy win for clubs that don't typically draw big crowds. With 41 games on a team's home schedule, most won't sell out. Weak opposing teams can further dash hopes for a strong turnout. But by focusing on visiting ethnic players, heritage events can generate interest, raising the odds of higher ticket sales. With the right plans—such as special foods and autograph signings with the star player—some teams say they can fill as many as 2,000 additional seats. But heritage events can be tricky. Many NBA rosters aren't intact long enough to justify an ethnic night based on a particular athlete—thus, for example, creating Turkish events without a Turkish player. Still, many teams continue with their heritage proceedings even without the ethnic player slated to showcase the event. "1,300 tickets, and counting," exulted Toronto Raptors' media director Jim LaBumbard in anticipation of a Jan. 14 Serbian event arranged to show off Raptors player Peja Stojakovic. This, despite Mr. Stojakovic's absence from the roster since late November due to a knee injury. The biggest heritage star this season is 6-foot-9 Omri Casspi, Israel's lone NBA representative, who plays small forward for the Sacramento Kings. Despite having one of the NBA's worst records, the Kings are a touring sensation this year, packing arenas with Jewish fans eager to greet the lanky Israeli. "I meet a lot of kids who get tickets to a Kings game as a bar mitzvah present," says the 22-year-old Mr. Casspi, who adds he's also fielded several offers of marriage as he tours NBA arenas. This month, Mr. Casspi's Kings lured Jewish fans in Toronto, Washington, Boston and Atlanta. Fans at the Washington Wizards game got Wizards yarmulkes in conjunction with Mr. Casspi's appearance last week. Organizers at the Atlanta and Boston games provided kosher foods at concession stands. While a pre- or post-game opportunity to meet with players like Mr. Casspi drives ticket sales, there's no guarantee that players will oblige. "He's done more than his share," says Troy Hanson, the Kings' spokesman. "We just had to say no to some teams." Some NBA teams have found a safer bet is to showcase others, such as ethnic coaches and retired players—thus eliminating any risk of a celebrity no-show. Raymond Townsend, who last played in the NBA in 1981, has been making a comeback of sorts hosting Filipino Heritage events across the NBA. "When I played, people thought I was just one of the lighter-skinned NBA players with an Afro. No one knew I was Filipino," says the 55-year-old former Indiana Pacers guard, son of an African-American father and a mother born in Batangas, Philippines. Two seasons ago, Mr. Townsend returned to NBA courts as a packager of Filipino Heritage events, starting with the Golden State Warriors and the Clippers in California. "Who knew there were 300,000 Filipinos in Los Angeles? I sure didn't," says Carl Lahr, the Clippers' vice president for marketing. Mr. Eroglu began organizing the Clippers' Turkish events in 2003 while running the Turkish students association at the University of Southern California. "We've tried to do Turkish Night at Lakers games, but it's so hard to get seats together," he says of the city's more successful team and current NBA champion. Back then, Mr. Eroglu says, he might sell 50 tickets to a Clippers game. Nowadays, Turkish events routinely bring over a thousand fans, even when the star player can't be there. Indeed, December's Turkey Day was only the second sell-out the Clippers enjoyed all season. At that event, the Clippers didn't offer ticket refunds after learning Mr. Turkoglu wouldn't be attending. Instead, the team let every Turkish fan who bought a ticket to the Suns game return free on Dec. 29. The Clippers' opponent that night: The Utah Jazz, which also features a Turk, Mehmet Okur. Mr. Okur was injured during the game, but did manage to wave to Turkish fans before leaving the arena.

NBA teams are drumming up Heritage events, meant to court even the smallest émigré enclaves to the courts, and provide just a tad of buzz—and a souvenir trinket or two—to pump up attendance.

Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Ups and downs of Miley Cyrus' 'Bangerz' tour Editor's note: Ruben Navarrette is a CNN contributor, Daily Beast columnist and a nationally syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Follow him on Twitter: @rubennavarrette. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. (CNN) -- What's Spanish for "twerk?" Mexican officials are in no hurry to find out. This is one U.S. import our southern neighbor wants nothing to do with. Ditto for Miley Cyrus, the controversial singer known less for her music than for her over-sexualized on-stage spectacles intended to get attention and shock the senses. Cyrus accomplished both on the Diez y Seis de Septiembre -- better known, on this side of the border, as September 16th. North of the Rio Grande, that day is like any other, as insignificant as the Fourth of July is in Canada. However, in Mexico, the day is awfully important. It's Independence Day. And since Mexicans are a proud people who put a high value on respect, it's probably not a good idea for Americans -- or anyone else for that matter -- to go to Mexico on Mexican Independence Day and show disrespect to, oh, the Mexican flag. That's what Cyrus and fellow performers did last week during a concert in the northern city of Monterrey in a stunt that gives new meaning to the phrase "ugly Americans." As Cyrus "twerked" onstage, while wearing -- yes, you read this right -- a giant prosthetic butt, her backup singers whipped her with rolled up pieces of cloth that turned out to be miniature Mexican flags. It was a trifecta of bad judgment -- the wrong thing to do, the wrong country to do it in, and all of it happening on the wrong day. Before you could say international incident, outraged Mexican state legislators asked the federal government to fine the pop star for desecrating the Mexican flag. Under a law that prohibits abuse of "national emblems, the flag and the national anthem," such a transgression can normally earn someone a $1,270 fine as well as, in some cases, a couple of days in jail. The legislators are asking that Cyrus get locked up for 36 hours. Mexican authorities are investigating. There are those in this country who will claim that the singer is being singled out because she is an American. But actually, in this case, equal treatment would call out for some sort of punishment. It's a good time to send a message. In 2008, Mexican pop star Paulina Rubio was fined $4,000 for appearing in a Spanish magazine, clutching a Mexican flag wrapped around her naked body. What the 21-year-old Cyrus and her crew did was tasteless and thoughtless. And whether or not Mexican officials decide to formally charge her with desecrating the Mexican flag, she ought to apologize -- in person, and on Mexican soil. Having said that, Mexican officials need to be careful not to overplay their hand and protest too much, lest they turn legitimate concerns about professional decorum in the entertainment industry into dinner theater. The initial response was not encouraging. Speaking to CNN, Mexican State Rep. Francisco Treviño said this: "I am truly offended and annoyed by the fact that a foreign artist feels like she can come here and make fun of and mock our national flag on Independence Day, September 16th." Seriously? Trevino can't really believe that the stunt was intended as a direct assault on the Mexican flag. An assault on decency and good manners, maybe. Does he think this was some sort of political statement? He is probably giving Cyrus and her backup dancers too much credit. Finally, is this really an attempt to mock the flag? The dancers used it as a prop, but the idea was clearly to draw attention to Cyrus -- not the flag. As a Mexican-American, I realize that, in Mexico, my grandfather's homeland, the second-most popular sport -- after soccer -- is American bashing. And Cyrus played right into the hands of our neighbors by giving them a weapon to wield against us. But Mexicans don't always have to play that game. Let's hope that they treat this for what it is -- an isolated incident by an immature and attention starved pop singer. Nothing more. The U.S.-Mexico relationship is strong. It has suffered through war, conquest, revolution, migration, xenophobia, gun running, drugs, protectionism, Manifest Destiny, income disparity and more. It can suffer fools. Read CNNOpinion's new Flipboard magazine. Follow us on Twitter @CNNOpinion.

Ruben Navarrette says making rude use of Mexican flag on Mexican independence day in a concert in Mexico was tasteless, but not an international incident.

VICE PRESIDENT Cheney is aggressively pursuing an initiative that may be unprecedented for an elected official of the executive branch: He is proposing that Congress legally authorize human rights abuses by Americans. "Cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment of prisoners is banned by an international treaty negotiated by the Reagan administration and ratified by the United States. The State Department annually issues a report criticizing other governments for violating it. Now Mr. Cheney is asking Congress to approve legal language that would allow the CIA to commit such abuses against foreign prisoners it is holding abroad. In other words, this vice president has become an open advocate of torture. His position is not just some abstract defense of presidential power. The CIA is holding an unknown number of prisoners in secret detention centers abroad. In violation of the Geneva Conventions, it has refused to register those detainees with the International Red Cross or to allow visits by its inspectors. Its prisoners have "disappeared," like the victims of some dictatorships. The Justice Department and the White House are known to have approved harsh interrogation techniques for some of these people, including "waterboarding," or simulated drowning; mock execution; and the deliberate withholding of pain medication. CIA personnel have been implicated in the deaths during interrogation of at least four Afghan and Iraqi detainees. Official investigations have indicated that some aberrant practices by Army personnel in Iraq originated with the CIA. Yet no CIA personnel have been held accountable for this record, and there has never been a public report on the agency's performance. It's not surprising that Mr. Cheney would be at the forefront of an attempt to ratify and legalize this shameful record. The vice president has been a prime mover behind the Bush administration's decision to violate the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture and to break with decades of past practice by the U.S. military. These decisions at the top have led to hundreds of documented cases of abuse, torture and homicide in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mr. Cheney's counsel, David S. Addington, was reportedly one of the principal authors of a legal memo justifying the torture of suspects. This summer Mr. Cheney told several Republican senators that President Bush would veto the annual defense spending bill if it contained language prohibiting the use of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment by any U.S. personnel. The senators ignored Mr. Cheney's threats, and the amendment, sponsored by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), passed this month by a vote of 90 to 9. So now Mr. Cheney is trying to persuade members of a House-Senate conference committee to adopt language that would not just nullify the McCain amendment but would formally adopt cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment as a legal instrument of U.S. policy. The Senate's earlier vote suggests that it will not allow such a betrayal of American values. As for Mr. Cheney: He will be remembered as the vice president who campaigned for torture.

Vice President Cheney has become an open advocate of torture. Congress should reject his proposal and instead prohibit cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners.

An emotional and invigorating Hall of Fame weekend came to a grinding halt on Sunday night when the Packers-Colts game was canceled because of poor field conditions. One day after Brett Favre led the eight-member class of 2016 into the hall, its president, David Baker, announced the cancellation after discussing problems with the turf with both teams. He said it was a safety issue and that all fans would be fully refunded for ticket purchases, which will cost the hall several million dollars. Related: NFL-funded youth program cited incorrect data in safety claims “This is a hard decision, but we know it is the right decision,” Baker said. “In some respects a hard decision because of the impact it has. This is an important game to the people in Canton.” The NFL and NFL Players Association said in a statement: “We are very disappointed for our fans, but player safety is our primary concern, and as a result, we could not play an NFL game on this field tonight.” Baker noted that the field was new and had been approved when inspected after its first installation. But paint congealed at midfield and in the end zone, hardening those areas. Workers used a variety of equipment to smooth the artificial surface. Rubber pellets used in the turf came loose and were scattered in several spots and needed to be removed as well. “We know a lot of you came a long way,” Baker told the crowd, which booed when his name was announced. “Here at the Pro Football Hall of Fame, we have the greatest respect for players and for player safety. As a result of some painting on the field today, some questions arose.” Team physicians also were consulted. “We thought we would be able to remediate it by delaying the game for as much as an hour,” Baker added. “But in the end, if it’s remotely close to unsafe, we conferred with the league, we think the best thing to do is respect the safety of the players. It’s the only thing to do. “I can tell you, I had a son who played in this league. If it happened with him on the field, I would have wanted someone to make the same decision.” This was not the first cancellation of an NFL exhibition game. The Hall of Fame contest was not played in 2011 because of the lockout but it was the most high-profile pre-season match to be called off. In 2001, a new artificial surface at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium was deemed too dangerous for the Eagles to play the Ravens. Both teams walked on to the field at 8pm, moments before the game would have kicked off, and the players saluted the crowd. When the hall’s class of 2016 was introduced the stands remained relatively full. But then many fans departed the stadium even though the half-time show featuring Lee Greenwood was held. The Colts coach, Chuck Pagano, said he was disappointed but understood the cancellation. He was looking to “find out about a lot of these young players”. The Packers coach, Mike McCarthy, saluted the many Packers fans who came to Canton to see Favre inducted into the hall. “We really were looking forward to performing tonight,” McCarthy said. “You get tired of practicing against yourself and you get to play a real game.” Many of the thousands of Packers fans in Canton returned on Sunday to Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. They sat watching highlights of Favre’s speech and of Friday night’s concert featuring Tim McGraw before they were told about the game’s cancellation. Also inducted were Tony Dungy, Marvin Harrison, Orlando Pace, Kevin Greene, Ken Stabler, Dick Stanfel and Ed DeBartolo Jr.

Paint markings cause hardening of new field’s playing surface and NFL Hall of Fame promises full refunds to fans at cost of millions of dollars

Yahoo Screen is no more. The troubled tech giant has killed its highly-hyped and high-spending video division less than four years after its launch. The Yahoo division joins Xbox Entertainment Studios on the growing pile of ambitious video divisions trying to compete with television and failing. Yahoo’s video concern, which boasted more than 1,000 hours of programming and a partnership with MTV and Comedy Central parent company Viacom when it first went live in September 2013, had trouble attracting an audience and ultimately became more famous for its failures than its successes. The main company is undergoing a complex “reverse-spin” uncoupling from its richest asset, a stake in Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba – a move CEO Marissa Mayer announced the day before she gave birth to twin girls. Yahoo Screen was one of the company’s big swings during the push to create more outlets for digital video advertising a few years ago. “At Yahoo, we’re constantly reviewing and iterating on our products as we strive to create the best user experience,” a spokeswoman told the Guardian. “With that in mind, video content from Yahoo as well as our partners has been transitioned from Yahoo Screen to our Digital Magazine properties so users can discover complementary content in one place.” The news was first reported by Variety. The enterprise will probably be best remembered for picking up NBC’s critically beloved, commercially dicey sitcom Community for one more season after NBC dropped the show and just hours before the actors’ contracts were set to expire. The move may have been great for the show’s fans, but it didn’t budge Yahoo Screen’s bottom line. Part of that may be due to Yahoo’s laser focus on its own portal – the content aspired to compete with television but was almost entirely browser-bound, minus a few buggy apps (one on the Xbox, one on the Apple TV, and one on Chromecast). The company took a $42m impairment charge on the value of its video assets in the third quarter of 2015, and CFO Ken Goldman singled out Community and the other two series Yahoo had picked up when pressed by analysts to explain himself. “We’re not saying we’re not going to do these at all in the future, but what we are saying is in three cases at least, it didn’t work the way we had hoped it to work,” Goldman told investors. At its heart, Yahoo Screen was always driven by the need to create more places for video ads to live, and like abortive video divisions at competitors including Microsoft, the group was neither able to out-YouTube YouTube nor eat into traditional TV networks’ audiences. At the time, ad sales executives in the TV world characterized the shift to digital video as more annoying than threatening – big spenders now had a place they could threaten to take their money if they didn’t want to increase their investment in a traditional network that year, but few actually shifted their cash over to TV-ish projects online. When then CEO Ross Levinsohn, who spearheaded the project, unveiled Yahoo Screen in 2012, he was enthusiastic about its potential. “I enjoy watching cats on skateboards chasing laser pointers as much as anybody,” he scoffed. “We’re shooting a little higher than that here.”

Tech company’s video division fades to black after struggling to draw viewers away from the likes of YouTube and traditional TV networks

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- For Lilly Ledbetter, it was a day of vindication over a decade in the making. President Obama stands with Lilly Ledbetter shortly before he signed the bill bearing her name Thursday. More than 10 years after first filing a gender discrimination claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the beaming retired grandmother from Alabama stood in the East Room of the White House, watching the president of the United States sign a landmark piece of pay-equity legislation bearing her name. "I cannot begin to describe how honored and humbled I feel today," Ledbetter said Thursday. "When I filed my claim ... never, never did I imagine the path that it would lead me down." Under the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Restoration Act, victims of pay-based discrimination will now have the right to file a complaint to the government within 180 days of their most recent paycheck, as opposed to within 180 days of their first unfair paycheck. The law's supporters argue the change was necessary because, under the old standard, an employer merely needed to hide unfair pay practices for a few months before being able to continue them, without penalty, forever. Ledbetter's contribution to the long struggle for women's rights and equal pay did not come easily. It took three presidential campaigns, years of arguing and persuasion in the halls of Congress, and seemingly endless rounds of litigation. It also took the help of a stranger. "I did not learn of the pay discrimination until late in my career," Ledbetter, a former employee with Goodyear Tire and Rubber, said during an interview with CNN. "Someone left me an anonymous note in my mailbox at work showing my pay versus three males. And we four were doing the exact same job." Ledbetter retired after 19 years working for Goodyear in Gadsden, Alabama. She filed a complaint with the EEOC in March 1998, alleging that men in her plant doing similar work were paid 15 to 40 percent more. The records backed her up. Ledbetter proved that she was being paid $6,000 less than men doing the same work, including those who were the lowest paid in their job duties. Ultimately, both the EEOC and a jury ruled in her favor. Ledbetter was awarded $360,000 in back pay. Ledbetter's fight, however, was just beginning. A federal appeals court later threw out her claim, limiting her lawsuit to discrimination that may have happened in the six months prior to her initial complaint with the EEOC. A three-judge panel also dismissed the pay discrimination allegations during that 180-day window. Ledbetter's case increasingly gained the attention of politicians and the public as it climbed the legal ladder. By the time the Supreme Court weighed in with a ruling in 2007, the case was a political football. Most Democrats used it to rail against sexual discrimination; many Republicans warned the case could harm employers. In a narrowly divided 5-4 ruling, the high court sided with Goodyear, concluding that Ledbetter had only a federally mandated 180-day window in which to make her initial claim. Such a "filing deadline protects employers from the burden of defending claims arising from employment decisions long past," concluded Justice Samuel Alito. In strongly worded dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg accused her conservative colleagues of being "indifferent" to victims of pay discrimination. If women sued only when the pay disparity became steady and large enough to enable them to mount a winnable case, they would be cut off at the court's threshold for suing too late, Ginsburg argued. Her legal options cut off, Ledbetter turned to Capitol Hill. Democrats pushed for legislation -- bearing Ledbetter's name -- to overturn the Supreme Court's ruling and change the 180-day window. They made little headway with the Bush White House. During the 2008 campaign, the Ledbetter Act proved to be a significant point of contention between then-Sen. Barack Obama and Republican nominee Sen. John McCain. Obama emphasized what he called the plan's benefits to working women, while McCain criticized it as a boon for trial lawyers. When Obama won the presidency, congressional Democrats put a reversal of the high court's ruling near the top of their agenda. On Thursday, that piece of the agenda was completed. The Ledbetter Act was the first bill signed into law by Obama. "It is fitting that with the very first bill I sign ... we are upholding one of this nation's first principles: that we are all created equal and each deserve a chance to pursue our own version of happiness," Obama said at the bill's signing ceremony. "If we stay focused, as Lilly did -- and keep standing for what's right, as Lilly did -- we will close that pay gap and ensure that our daughters have the same rights, the same chances, and the same freedom to pursue their dreams as our sons." First lady Michelle Obama also made clear her support of the new law and Ledbetter personally. "Anyone who meets Lilly can't help but be impressed by her commitment," the first lady said at a reception shortly after her husband signed the bill into law. "She knew unfairness when she saw it and was willing to do something about it because it was the right thing to do, plain and simple." For Ledbetter, the signing was emotional. "To watch (the president) sign a bill that bears my name -- the bill that will help women and others fight pay discrimination in the workplace -- is truly overwhelming," Ledbetter said while standing next to the first lady. "Goodyear will never have to pay me what it cheated me out of. In fact, I will never see a cent from my case. But with the president's signature today, I have an even richer reward. I know that my daughter and granddaughters ... will have a better deal. That's what makes this fight worth fighting." With this win, Ledbetter concluded to a rousing ovation, "we will make a big difference in the real world." All About Lilly Ledbetter • Barack Obama

For Lilly Ledbetter, it was a day of vindication over a decade in the making.

About two months ago, Sean covered here at Mashable the news that an organization named Merlin has become the fifth biggest record label, behind giants like EMI, Warner and Sony. Given that the age of giant labels is dying, it’s odd that 12,000 indie labels (those best poised to be nimble and adaptable to the ever-changing landscape of the modern music business) would sign on to create what is essentially a model of the Old Media record label concept. From Sean’s May coverage: You may remember that we first discussed Merlin all the way back in January 2007, so this success has been a long time in the making for the international rights holder. For those who may not remember what exactly it is the company aims to do, it’s a fairly easy idea: Merlin sees a strength in a centralized, concentrated voice for independent record labels when it comes to negotiating for rights. Merlin sends us a bit of news today that comes hot on the heels of an announcement from Last.FM to their member artists (a program I have participated in the past), announcing that they’ll now be awarding royalties to qualifying independent artists on Last.FM. Shortly after Paul posted on this news, Merlin alerted us that they “have for the last few months been negotiating with Last.fm regarding a non exclusive blanket licence and a settlement agreement on behalf of Merlin members” and that these negotiations “have stalled.” They also accuse Last.FM of having profited off the backs of independent artists illegally up until this point, and that they show no signs of willingness to make restitution for this past sin. We contacted a representative of Last.FM for comment, but the fact that they appeared to have been blindsided by this accusation as well as the fact that it was around 11 PM London time was probably the culprit behind the gruff declaration of “no comment” for this post (though the representative added that start of business tomorrow, they’ll examine the issue and likely have some sort of statement in response). Quite honestly, I’m baffled as to why any indie artist would sign on with a group like Merlin. They appear to have all the trappings of an Old Media label, replete with grubby pawed lawyers, executives and board members all more than willing to claim their chunk of the cash earned by hard working artists. Meanwhile, systems like Last.FM and the Apple store already have mechanisms in place to accept and sell music for and from independent artists. If I had to guess (and given the lack of independent comment at the moment, I may have to), I’d guess this is the reason talks broke down - Last.fm didn’t see a need to deal with Yet Another Intermediary Record Label, and openly invited all the artists to deal directly with them (and ultimately bring home more of their royalty monies in the process).

Merlin, the indie record label, is trying to get money out of Last.FM by extorting them via the press.

In response to graffiti artist Banksy's Gaza tourist video, the territory's parkour team show us what real life is like there and their dreams beyond the border. To the sounds of Palestine's biggest female hip-hop artist, Shadia Mansour, join Abdallah AlQassab and the rest of the free-running team as they flip, somersault and leap their way round the ruined city

In response to graffiti artist Banksy's Make this the Year YOU Discover a New Destination Gaza tourist video, the territory's parkour team show us what real life is like in the ruined city

Toronto’s mayor is believed to have a tumour in his abdomen, says the president of the Humber River Hospital, Rueben Devlin Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, has been admitted to a hospital and is believed to have a tumour in his abdomen, health officials said Wednesday. Rueben Devlin from Humber regional hospital said Ford had been complaining of abdominal pains and that an examination has resulted in a working diagnosis of a tumour. He said Ford had been suffering from stomach pains for at least three months and they had worsened in the last 24 hours. “It became unbearable for him,” he said. Ford, 45, became an international celebrity last year after he acknowledged using crack in a “drunken stupor” following months of denials. The mayor returned to work in June after a rehab stint for drug and alcohol abuse and is running for re-election on 27 October. Devlin said they needed to determine what type of tumour it was by doing a biopsy. He said he could not say how long Ford would be in the hospital. Devlin said the CT scan was “very definitive for the tumour” but a “definitive diagnosis” is still to come. The Toronto Sun reported that Ford was hospitalised in 2009 for a tumour on his appendix, leading to its removal, along with part of his colon. The mayor’s father died of colon cancer in 2006. Doug Ford, the mayor’s brother and campaign manager, said Rob was in good spirits but sidestepped questions about the mayoral race, saying he would speak about the campaign on Thursday. Although campaigning has been underway for months, the official deadline for candidates to sign up is Friday. That leaves time for Doug Ford, a city councillor, to step in for his brother, a possibility some have long speculated about. Doug deflected a question about Rob’s previous health issues but said the mayor had complained of stomach pain while the pair had breakfast together. “He said his stomach was bothering him. He went to the doctor’s and the doctor sent him over to Humber,” Doug Ford said. Dennis Morris, Ford’s lawyer and a family friend, said he spoke to the mayor on Tuesday and he didn’t mention any abdominal pain. Ford appeared well during a debate on Tuesday night. The mayor has steadfastly refused to step down since reports emerged of a video of him smoking crack. Olivia Chow, who is running to replace Ford, tweeted that her thoughts and hopes were with Ford and his family for good news in the days ahead. John Tory, considered the frontrunner in the race, wished Ford a speedy recovery. “My thoughts are with Mayor Ford, Renata, their children and the entire Ford family this evening,” Tory said in a statement.

Controversial Canadian politician who admitted smoking crack is believed to have a tumour on his abdomen

Michael Bublé's son, who is currently undergoing treatment for liver cancer, will get to spend the holidays with his family in Los Angeles. The Mirror and local newspapers in Argentina (where Bublé's wife is from) report that Noah is well enough to go home for Christmas, but that the family will stay in California instead of Bublé's home in Vancouver, Canada. Bublé and wife Luisana Lopilato in November made public that 3-year-old Noah had been diagnosed with cancer. "Luisana and I have put our careers on hold in order to devote all our time and attention to helping Noah get well," Bublé said in an official statement on his Facebook page.

Though still undergoing treatment, Noah is well enough to spend some time at home.

What better way to celebrate #WorldAnimalDay than with an amazing animal rescue from the other side of the world. SPCA Singapore shared a video to their Facebook page of a kitten in desperate need of help. The tiny tabby cat managed to sneak out the window of his owner’s 12th story apartment and get stuck on the ledge below. Thankfully, the blanket wasn’t put to use. An SPCA rescuer equipped with an animal catcher’s pole, which featured a GoPro camera, was able to lower the loop out the window, snag the cat and carefully bring the pet inside. Thanks to the pole’s special accessory, we can watch the entire rescue. The above clip has the tension of a heist movie, the happy ending of a rom com and stars one very concerned kitten. Basically, it’s the blockbuster you’ve been waiting for — unless you’re afraid of heights. After this nail-biter of a rescue, the rattled but unharmed kitten was reunited with his owner, who was advised to add mesh to their windows to prevent further vertigo-inducing incidents. This article originally appeared on People.com

It has the tension of a heist movie

Photo: Scott Strazzante, The Chronicle Nathan Brougher and Andrea Bustard enjoy the late afternoon sun while seated on a park bench along Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Nathan Brougher and Andrea Bustard enjoy the late afternoon sun while seated on a park bench along Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. A gondola from Gondola Servizio glides along on Lake Merritt near the Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill on the western side of the lake. A gondola from Gondola Servizio glides along on Lake Merritt near the Lake Chalet Seafood Bar & Grill on the western side of the lake. Dhanyale Dunbar, center, helps to lead a Lake Merritt Fit Camp session on the shore of the lake in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Dhanyale Dunbar, center, helps to lead a Lake Merritt Fit Camp session on the shore of the lake in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Antonia Mejia Gomez cleans a garage door before painting it at a 42-unit apartment complex on Newton Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The owners plan to put the complex up for sale next week for $7.45 Million. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Antonia Mejia Gomez cleans a garage door before painting it at a 42-unit apartment complex on Newton Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The owners plan to put the complex up for sale Two couples walk along a path on the shore of Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Two couples walk along a path on the shore of Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Link (center) and Xavier join their owners for play time at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Link (center) and Xavier join their owners for play time at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Sidebar Restaurant on Grand Avenue in the Lake Merritt neighborhood Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Sidebar Restaurant on Grand Avenue in the Lake Merritt neighborhood Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Activity along Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Activity along Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Dana Perls and Will Grant enjoy Barlago Italian Kitchen's outdoor patio across Grand Avenue from Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Dana Perls and Will Grant enjoy Barlago Italian Kitchen's outdoor patio across Grand Avenue from Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. A pair of mothers bring their children to the Lake Merritt Pergola in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. A pair of mothers bring their children to the Lake Merritt Pergola in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. A jogger and walker travel in opposite directions on the path along Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing A jogger and walker travel in opposite directions on the path along Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt Worker, Antonio Mejia Gomez, walks by an umbrella on a pool deck of a 42-unit that will be up for sale in the next week in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The complex is being sold by Collier's International and the owner is asking $7.45 Million. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Worker, Antonio Mejia Gomez, walks by an umbrella on a pool deck of a 42-unit that will be up for sale in the next week in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The complex is being sold by Deepiz Shrestha reaches for his daughter Devanshi Shrestha's, 4, hand as they look out over Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Deepiz Shrestha reaches for his daughter Devanshi Shrestha's, 4, hand as they look out over Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more Residents leave the 42-unit apartment at Newton Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Owners of the complex plan to list the complex for sale next week for $7.45 Million. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Residents leave the 42-unit apartment at Newton Avenue in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Owners of the complex plan to list the complex for sale next week for $7.45 Million. Oakland is A gondola from Gondola Servizio and an 8 person shell from the Lake Merritt Rowing Club share the water on Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. A gondola from Gondola Servizio and an 8 person shell from the Lake Merritt Rowing Club share the water on Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Brandon M. Gerardo looks around a recently-remodeled apartment unit for rent in a building he represents for Collier's International in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The 42-unit complex will be up for sale in the following week for $7.45 Million. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Brandon M. Gerardo looks around a recently-remodeled apartment unit for rent in a building he represents for Collier's International in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The 42-unit complex The Lake Merritt Pergola in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The Lake Merritt Pergola in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Brandon M. Gerardo looks out the door of an apartment unit for rent in a building he represents for Collier's International in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The 42-unit complex will be up for sale in the following week for $7.45 Million. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than the Lake Merritt area. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Brandon M. Gerardo looks out the door of an apartment unit for rent in a building he represents for Collier's International in Oakland, Calif., on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The 42-unit complex will be up Dana Perls and Will Grant enjoy Barlago Italian Kitchen's outdoor patio across Grand Avenue from Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Dana Perls and Will Grant enjoy Barlago Italian Kitchen's outdoor patio across Grand Avenue from Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The Lake Merritt Pergola in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. The Lake Merritt Pergola in Oakland, Calif. on Wednesday, September 10, 2014. Malia Wollan runs with her son Oscar Wollan-Tittmann, 5 mos, in his stroller around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Lake Merritt. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Malia Wollan runs with her son Oscar Wollan-Tittmann, 5 mos, in his stroller around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than A jogger runs on the path around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Lake Merritt. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing A jogger runs on the path around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Lake Merritt. Young people are out in expensive Clockwise from left, Ehrin Davis, Amanda (no last name given), Kealan Cronin, Andrea Acuna and Natalie Coriaty enjoy a picnic near Children's Fairyland at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Lake Merritt. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Clockwise from left, Ehrin Davis, Amanda (no last name given), Kealan Cronin, Andrea Acuna and Natalie Coriaty enjoy a picnic near Children's Fairyland at Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September Joggers and pedestrians are seen reflected in the water as they move around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Lake Merritt. Young people are out in expensive running gear, or drinking fancy micro-beers by the shore. Families bring their kids to play by the shore. Once a grimy place you didn't go after dark, the lake is now beginning to represent everything that is changing Joggers and pedestrians are seen reflected in the water as they move around Lake Merritt in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, September 9, 2014. Oakland is booming, and nowhere is that more apparent than Lake Oakland's Lake Merritt drawing new residents, pushing up rents Juan Padilla has sold ice pops from a cart he pushes around Oakland's Lake Merritt for years. He's never seen the lake like this. "Lots of people, lots of popsicles," he said during a recent golden evening at the lake. Joggers with white earbuds and spandex sprinted by while young women sipped wine from paper cups on a blanket near a pile of bicycles. A man stopped to buy two popsicles, handing a crisp $20 to Padilla. "Everyone is here now," said Padilla, a Fruitvale neighborhood resident who said he earned almost twice as much this summer as he did last year selling treats at the lake. The boom around Lake Merritt is due both to the city's multimillion-dollar cleanup of the 155-acre lake and an influx of San Francisco refugees. "In the last 18 to 24 months we've seen an influx of 20- to 35-year-olds who are moving from San Francisco because they are getting pushed out because their rents are too high," said Brandon Geraldo, a vice president at the real estate company Colliers International who specializes in Oakland's rental market. "Lake Merritt is really the driver for them." Oakland invested nearly $200 million since 2002 into rehabilitating the lake, once a stinky, swamp pond filled with trash, bacteria and sewage. The lake is cleaner than it has been in decades and a project to connect Lake Merritt to the bay should finish early next year. Lights twinkle around the edge of the lake at dusk, and the fog that often blankets much of San Francisco in the summer rarely reaches into Oakland. Large, elegant apartments surround the lake, and young couples and families picnic and play on its shores in greater numbers than anyone can remember. Every few weeks, a new restaurant or bar opens along Lakeshore or Grand avenues. Crime is down. Rents are up. Way up. The average rent around Lake Merritt has risen 53 percent since 2011 to $2,398 - a larger increase than in any other neighborhood in the city, according to real estate data. The average rent in San Francisco, in comparison, is $3,229. The changes are welcome by some longtime Oaklanders, but upsetting to others. "This is bigger and beyond what anyone expected and it just keeps growing," said Tora Rocha, a city parks supervisor who oversees Lake Merritt. "The energy level is like nothing I have ever seen and I have been here 34 years." But some longtime residents in rent-controlled units said they're feeling increasingly pressured by landlords to move out and make room for younger, more affluent tenants. In the past three years, more than 200 restaurants have opened in Oakland, according to city data. "As you start to have higher income, more affluent people come into a particular neighborhood, they're going to have certain amenities that they want - restaurants, coffee shops," said Malo Hutson, an assistant professor of city and regional planning at UC Berkeley who has studied gentrification in Oakland. Crime has also fallen around the lake, said Oakland Police Capt. Rick Orozco, who oversees the Lake Merritt area. "It used to be on weekends and even calm nights I used to get complaints about loitering and drug sales," Orozco said. "Now, in the last few months, I get calls about loud music and barbecues. It is a great problem." Robberies in Orozco's police district, which extends into the Fruitvale neighborhood, have fallen by 35 percent since this time last year and shootings have dropped by 32 percent. Jen Butler, 32, who moved with her husband from San Francisco to an apartment in the Adams Point neighborhood near the lake earlier this year, said she was drawn to Lake Merritt because it offered something she couldn't find in other parts of the city. "This is like my front yard, this is so cool," she said as she sat on a bench near the shore of the lake. "San Francisco was fun but it got expensive. It wasn't like this there." The changes are spreading to the east side of the lake, Geraldo said, which, until recently, was more commonly associated with seedy motels, sex workers and garbage. "East Lake, it has really transitioned over the last three years," Geraldo said. "Investors are hot and heavy to acquire property there because you're getting spillover from Adams Point." But that worries Robbie Clark, an organizer with Causa Justa, an Oakland housing advocacy group, who grew up in Oakland and had to move out of the East Lake area after eight years because he couldn't find affordable apartments. "You see a lot of things around the lake that are catering to folks that are coming in and not so much to the existing or long-term residents," said Clark, 33. "Those profits come at the expense of existing and long-term residents." Clark said that while he doesn't track evictions or unfair rent increases around Lake Merritt, he was aware of at least three buildings in the area where new owners are trying to squeeze out long-term tenants so they can raise rents. "It puts a lot of pressure on that area," Clark said. Councilwoman Pat Kernighan, whose district includes much of Lake Merritt, said that while she was concerned about rising rents, she recognized that Lake Merritt was booming. "I love their energy and ability to support our local businesses," Kernighan said. "But the increased demand for a finite supply of apartments is driving up rents for everyone. That doesn't mean we should discourage people from coming to Oakland, but rather that we need to build more housing." Will Kane is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: wkane@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @WillKane

Joggers with white earbuds and spandex sprinted by while young women sipped wine from paper cups on a blanket near a pile of bicycles. "In the last 18 to 24 months we've seen an influx of 20- to 35-year-olds who are moving from San Francisco because they are getting pushed out because their rents are too high," said Brandon Geraldo, a vice president at the real estate company Colliers International who specializes in Oakland's rental market. Lights twinkle around the edge of the lake at dusk, and the fog that often blankets much of San Francisco in the summer rarely reaches into Oakland. Large, elegant apartments surround the lake, and young couples and families picnic and play on its shores in greater numbers than anyone can remember. [...] some longtime residents in rent-controlled units said they're feeling increasingly pressured by landlords to move out and make room for younger, more affluent tenants. The changes are spreading to the east side of the lake, Geraldo said, which, until recently, was more commonly associated with seedy motels, sex workers and garbage. Downside of the boomBut that worries Robbie Clark, an organizer with Causa Justa, an Oakland housing advocacy group, who grew up in Oakland and had to move out of the East Lake area after eight years because he couldn't find affordable apartments. Clark said that while he doesn't track evictions or unfair rent increases around Lake Merritt, he was aware of at least three buildings in the area where new owners are trying to squeeze out long-term tenants so they can raise rents.

Tax expenditures come in many forms, and hardly anyone defends the practice broadly. Various interests avidly defend their particular benefits, though. A sampling: Brian Wynne, president, Electric Drive Transportation Association, on the tax credit for electric cars: Electric drive vehicles, which replace oil with electricity, are essential to solving U.S. oil dependence and the economic, security and environmental threats it creates. As is true of emerging technologies, plug-in cars are currently more expensive than conventional cars. As a targeted and limited-term incentive, the plug-in electric drive vehicle credit helps consumers purchase these revolutionary cars while manufacturers build the economies of scale to bring prices down. By 2012, some 15 different electric vehicles will be available. Today, the U.S. imports 57% of its oil, costing some $1 billion a day. Vehicles fueled by electricity boost our own economy. And by using power from the existing grid, plug-ins can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by one-third. In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico drilling disaster, $4 gas and memories of the oil embargo, it is obvious that investing in consumer choice and clean electric drive cars is both wise and essential. Vicki Cox Golder, president, National Association of Realtors, on the mortgage deduction: Many Americans have built their futures through homeownership, and to a certain extent, the U.S. tax code has helped them do that. The tax deductibility of interest paid on mortgages is both a powerful incentive for homeownership and one of the simplest provisions in the tax code. The capital gains exclusion helps people build wealth through homeownership at the point of sale when their primary home has appreciated in value. People usually don't buy homes because of these benefits. They buy homes to satisfy social, family and personal goals. The mortgage interest deduction and capital gains exclusion do, however, facilitate homeownership, which in turn sustains communities and the nation's economy. Changing these tax code provisions would considerably erode the value of homes, effectively closing the door on the American dream for many who strive to attain it. Janice Tolley Walters, communications manager, National Corn Growers Association, on ethanol: Extending ethanol tax incentives makes sense in today's economy. The U.S. ethanol industry supports nearly 400,000 domestic jobs and in the past year, ethanol added more than $50 billion to the national economy. These are just two examples why the National Corn Growers Association urges Congress to extend the Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, which is set to expire in December. If the tax credit expires, over 100,000 jobs could be lost. Our country needs to continue to invest in a homegrown alternative fuel industry and to encourage automakers to build more flex-fuel vehicles. These incentives are especially important to farmer-owned ethanol facilities, and the rural businesses and communities that rely on them. Corn farmers throughout this country are continuing to meet the need for food, feed and fuel, but Congress must do its part to encourage investment in the future of ethanol. Diana Aviv, president, Independent Sector, which represents non-profits and foundations, on charitable deductions: America has a tradition of voluntarily coming together to help improve lives and advance the common good. Charities and foundations are created and sustained by people who devote their time and resources to solving problems and enriching their communities with the help of charitable donations. Our government wisely encouraged giving by incentivizing donations with tax deductions. In other countries where there is no such incentive, the amount of chartable giving drops radically. The tax code should be used to advance the good in society. In these difficult economic times, it is even more essential that our government preserve vital incentives for all of us to support programs and organizations that improve our lives. You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.

Keep the tax credit for electric cars, mortgage deduction, ethanol and charitable deductions.

Before you go, we thought you'd like these... Voters across the nation have begun to cast their ballots in the 2016 presidential election. Students atBenjamin Franklin Elementary School already think they have a pretty good handle on who the winner will be. That's because for the past 48 years, they have correctly predicted the winner of every presidential election, CBS News reported. The first election they correctly predicted was one year after the school opened, when Richard Nixon secured the presidency in 1969. The Yorktown Heights, New York school spends months teaching students about the candidates' positions, and last week, they went into their mock voting booths to cast their votes. This year, the students chose Hillary Clinton with 52% of votes compared to 43% for Donald Trump. "We have minority groups, students that speak English as a second language, white collar, blue collar," Principal Patricia Moore told CBS News. "It could be representative of the nation," she continued. By the end of the day Tuesday, we'll know if students have pushed their streak to nine correctly predicted presidential elections. RELATED: The presidential candidates with babies The presidential candidates with babies The presidential candidates with babies BALDWIN, IA - AUGUST 26: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets guests during a campaign event at Tabor Home Vineyards and Winery on August 26, 2015 in Baldwin, Iowa. A recent poll has Clinton leading all other Democratic contenders in Iowa by about 30 percentage points. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) MOBILE, AL- AUGUST 21: Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump greets supporters after his rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on August 21, 2015 in Mobile, Alabama. The Trump campaign moved tonight's rally to a larger stadium to accommodate demand. (Photo by Mark Wallheiser/Getty Images) TAMPA, FL - NOVEMBER 05: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump kisses a baby during a campaign rally in the Special Events Center on the Florida State Fairgrounds November 5, 2016 in Tampa, Florida. Trump and his opponent, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, are campaigning in key battleground states that each must win to take the White House. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton holds a baby during a rally at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, October 23, 2016, in Charlotte, North Carolina. / AFP / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images) PORTSMOUTH, NH - FEBRUARY 04: Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump holds a baby the end of a rally at Great Bay Community College on February 4, 2016 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. New Hampshire's primary is next Tuesday, February 9, 2016. (Photo by Andrew Burton/Getty Images) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is handed a baby as she greets people in the audience at a Pennsylvania Democratic Party voter registration event at West Philadelphia High School in Philadelphia,Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster) FOR STORY MOVING SUNADY NOV 6TH 0600EDT/1100GMTRepublican presidential nominee Donald Trump holds babies at a campaign rally in Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S., July 29, 2016. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri/File Photo U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is greeted by a supporter with a baby during a campaign stop on the street in the Bronx borough of New York, April 7, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs the hand of unofficial "Trump Baby" Curtis Ray Jeffrey, 19-months-old, as he walks the rope line following speaking at a campaign rally, Thursday, February 11, 2016, at the Baton Rouge River Center. (AP Photo/Hilary Scheinuk) U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton holds a baby after a campaign event in Charleston, West Virginia, United States, May 3, 2016. REUTERS/Jim Young Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump holds a baby during a campaign rally in Fayetteville, N.C., Wednesday, March 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton greets a baby outside an early voting center in West Miami, Fla.,Saturday, Nov. 5, 2016. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) NOW WATCH: TONY ROBBINS: What you need to do in your 20s to be more successful in your 30s SEE ALSO: Here's who 'insiders' say Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton would choose for secretary of education

Students at Benjamin Franklin Elementary School already think they have a pretty good handle on who the winner of the 2016 presidential election will be.

Highly touted acquisitions often disappoint investors. They just usually take more than a month and change to do so. In late April, AbbVie announced it was paying $5.8 billion for Stemcentrx and its lead lung-cancer drug Rova-T. It was a big payout for a hard-to-evaluate private company. Underwhelming drug-trial data revealed at a cancer conference this weekend -- just days after the deal closed -- make it look like AbbVie might have overpaid. The company's shares were down as much as 4.8 percent on Monday. AbbVie's $5.8 billion deal for private Stemcentrx looks less appealing after new data was presented on its lead drug. Intraday times are displayed in ET. Rova-T is still a promising drug in a deadly and difficult-to-treat form of lung cancer. It stopped tumor growth in 68 percent of patients with small cell lung cancer; tumors shrank in 18 percent of patients. Its effects were even more pronounced in the subset of patients the drug targets. But the median patient in that subset only survived a month longer than they would be expected to on the current standard therapy. Making that result even more underwhelming, a trial by Bristol-Myers Squibb for a combination of two immune-boosting cancer drugs added a median of about three extra months of life by the same metric, according to data released this weekend. Survival data from Rova-T disappoints in comparison to data from a combination of two Bristol-Myers Squibb drugs. 1 mg/kg Opdivo, 3 mg/kg Yervoy. These are small, early trials, which make it tough to draw rock-solid conclusions. But these do not look like results worth nearly $6 billion. And AbbVie owes as much as $4 billion in extra payments if the drugs it has acquired hit certain regulatory and sales milestones. Lowered expectations in treating lung cancer do not bode well for AbbVie's sales projections for Rova-T. The company projects peak annual sales could reach $5 billion, primarily based on the drug being approved to treat later stages of lung cancer, among other cancers. It believes the drug could top $5 billion in peak sales if approved to treat newly diagnosed lung cancer. AbbVie risks creating an unwanted reputation as a serial M&A wastrel. The company is splashing cash in order to make up for the eventual decline of its blockbuster arthritis drug Humira, which accounted for 61 percent of its sales last year. Analysts accused it of overpaying last spring for Pharmacyclics and its blood-cancer drug Imbruvica. That drug produced $754 million in sales last year for AbbVie, after splitting total sales with Johnson & Johnson; analysts expect $1.7 billion in sales going to AbbVie in 2016. But the company paid $21 billion for Pharmacyclics. To reach the $7 billion in peak revenue AbbVie wants for Imbruvica, overall sales of the drug may need to get as high as $12 billion. That's aggressive, requiring the drug to be successful in a variety of diseases. Competition from a potentially more effective drug secured by AstraZeneca looms. In a June 3 presentation for investors highlighting its drug pipeline, AbbVie said it expects $25 to $30 billion in peak revenue from its current roster of late-stage assets. This weekend's news on Rova-T -- which the company expects to be the second-largest seller of those assets -- makes the great AbbVie tower of revenue look a little wobbly: If AbbVie weren't spending aggressively, then investors would be griping about its failure to plan for the future. Just ask Gilead. But the company needs to be better about getting its money's worth. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners. To contact the author of this story: Max Nisen in New York at mnisen@bloomberg.net To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Gongloff at mgongloff1@bloomberg.net

New data suggest it paid too much for another drug.

For Christine Quayle, finding child care for her son, Brian, was no easy task. Diagnosed with hydrocephalus at birth, Brian had fluid around his brain. When he was 3 weeks old, a shunt was inserted to direct the fluid to his abdomen. Later, he was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy with dystonia, a brain injury that happened before he was born. Brian isn't paralyzed, but his movements are uncoordinated, with involuntary twisting. Today, at 5, he uses a wheelchair, has frequent seizures, uses a stomach tube to ingest some food and medications, and uses a communication device operated by a head switch. "We had a sitter for 10 months who I had to train for a few weeks," says Quayle, 37. "Things like how to transfer Brian into a wheelchair, or how to communicate with him. There are so many things you have to train somebody to do." Be clear about your expectations: Know what you want, says Lynette Fraga of Care.com. “Do you want your sitter to have specific training, experiences or credentials? Are you willing to train your sitter on medical or behavior needs your child has?” Experience in special ed is a plus, says Jennifer Aldrich of Specialneedssitter.com. “This could mean the sitter works as a teacher, an aide or a nanny.” Do research. Look up a sitter’s name online to see what comes up. “You can learn a lot about character through a simple Facebook check,” Aldrich says. Get references. Contact past employers to determine exactly how the candidate worked best with children with similar needs, providers say. Ask open-ended questions. Let sitters demonstrate how they would handle a situation with your child, Aldrich says. Willingness to learn is key to finding a great sitter for a special needs child, said Aldrich. Don’t settle. “Find someone who works well with your child,” says special needs sitter Samantha McLeod. But when that sitter had a family emergency, she couldn't keep the job. Quayle turned to Specialized Sitters, a Colorado agency that matches families with child care professionals who have the training and experience to work with kids with special needs. Owner Joseph Ban introduced Quayle to Samantha McLeod, who had just relocated to the Denver area after working for two years in Mississippi as a teacher for children with severe cognitive and physical disabilities. The difference was immediate. "Samantha just had it," says Quayle. "She was able to come in with very little training and take over. We've never had that." Quayle, who works part-time as a registered nurse, says she feels comfortable leaving her son in McLeod's care, either during the week when she works or at night when she and her husband, Ed, want some alone time. "She could just jump in, and it was like any other kid where you show the sitter where the diapers are, and it's like, 'See you later.' We've gone on dates, and that's really nice." A growing number of children are being diagnosed with autism, attention deficit disorder and other developmental or physical disorders, and it can be a challenge for parents to find a babysitter to watch kids whose needs are beyond the norm. But several agencies now offer babysitters who have the appropriate expertise. Denver's SpecializedSitters.com joins Massachusetts-based Special NeedsSitter.com and the special-needs division of national caregiving service Care.com in offering parents some options. Specialized Sitters' Ban, 34, started the company after he and his wife, Nancy, 33, had trouble finding a qualified caregiver for their daughter, now 3½, who has sensory integration disorder, or problems with how the brain processes messages from the senses. "My wife said, 'I wonder what families do with severe or moderate needs.' " They reached out to special-ed teachers, paraprofessionals, and others and began the company earlier this year. Ban says they conduct extensive background checks, and he meets personally with each sitter to confirm that the person is qualified to work with special-needs children. "Families would find people who said they had experience, and they would be vastly under-experienced," Ban says. SpecialNeedsSitter.com also has roots in the special-ed field. Founder Jennifer Aldrich, 28, became a senior special-education teacher after caring for two brothers, one with cerebral palsy, the other with pervasive developmental disorder, years before. Families would contact her seeking care, and she took to making announcements before her education classes at college to find qualified sitters. She launched the company last year and now has about 800 sitters, mainly in Massachusetts. The smaller agencies work in the shadow of national website Care.com, which offers special-needs sitters along with care for elders, pets and children without special needs. "Special-needs sitters have the opportunity to develop extraordinary relationships with amazing children and their families," vice president Lynette Fraga says. "Ultimately, it is the quality of the relationships, based on shared trust and understanding, that will lead to a successful care situation." Care.com, a private company that launched in 2007, helps connect families with caregivers and is the largest and fastest-growing online service of its kind in the USA, says spokeswoman Meredith Robertson. Based in Waltham, Mass., the site has more than 1 million care providers registered with the service and an average of 6 million people seeking care use the site each month. Ultimately, it's the relationship that is the foundation for a great experience. Brian Quayle's sitter, McLeod, understands that. At 24, she has worked as a special-education teacher with severely disabled children for two years in Mississippi and worked at a camp for handicapped adults as a teen. "That's where I fell in love, working with this population," she says. "These families and these kids deserve just as much love and attention as regular kids do. "You can't do it alone. The parents need me, I need them, and the kid needs both of us."

For Christine Quayle, finding child care for son Brian was no easy task. But more and more agencies are easing the daily grind for families.

Anderson, an analyst, and our guest from the j.p. stern's school of business. He specializes in corporate strategy. What does it take for mcdonald's to get its mojo back echo mcdonald's has been struggling with how to communicate with the new generation in a lot of ways -- it is a millennial problem? It is a millennial problem in a lot of ways. They have been spinning their wheels. That has created its own set of problems because they have been very inefficient. But the reality is millennial's do not value mcdonald's products like previous generations do and they do not have the same relationship with the brand. That is extraordinary. But did they ever? Sure they did. Not with millennial's, but young people, no question. Absolutely. But mcdonald's is geared toward low income white males, right? Mcdonald's has been targeting children for generations. My own two children, mcdonald's is one of the top rants that they like. They still go for the happy meal. They still go for the happy meal, but once they turn into between's and teens, i think the relationship -- into tweens and teen, i think the relationship gets broken. If you go back to the basis of cleanliness, efficiency, and speed -- on those mcdonald's can come back. If you look at the menu. -- at the menu, in the 1950's, mcdonald's only had nine menu items. Now they have close to 50. i think that is why there are problems with execution and restaurants. Is mcdonald's trying to do too much, please steal while many people? I think they are. They need to decide if they are going to play to their core, or are they going to play to this new generation with new products? They have been trying to do both, and firms tend to struggle when they try to do two different things at the same time. Do they expand and grow or focus on their core? Why are we hating so much on mcdonald's for being so bad at this when they have good things about them. 25% of their revenue comes from breakfast. They own that market. They're working on customization. That is a good thing for consumers. She mentioned breakfast. In the wake of the tim hortons merger this morning, it will be vital that mcdonald's continue its a game in the breakfast space. Tim hortons, the chain itself, you will probably see a lot more units in the u.s. so it will be important for mcdonald's to keep up its competitive advantage in this space. Should mcdonald's take a page from the big oil playbook? They figured out a few years ago it does not make sense really to be in an alternative energy or renewables play. Do what you are good at. Natural grass -- natural gas extraction. That is what we do. Burgers are going to be here for a long time. We are good at it. Why don't we stick to that? Can i just say for a moment how erik was able to correlate oil and burgers? We have really reached a point where they have the choice between adjusting to adapting to new needs and wants, or bringing consumers to what they are good at. To the extent they can bring to simmer's to the core, that is a great business plan. If they are looking long-term, it is time to look at other options other than expanding in the mcdonald's footprint. Maybe it will be fast casual with mcdonald's word folio is a better option. What does that wind up looking like? I think mcdonald's is top of mind. Off the bat, we see the trends affecting them other -- more than other players. But mcdonald's has so much history and success based on a branding relationship with its consumers. The changing relationships with netflix and streaming video and things like that have interrupted the ability of big random names to build brand reputations, especially -- big brand names to build brand reputations, especially with millennial's. do they need to take a page from five guys? Five guys may be too much of a competitor. Look at fast casual in the same space. Look at aaa five years ago. It makes sense. I understand why aaa did not want to -- chipotle did not want to maintain that relationship. What do you think? Is fast casual the way to go? I am not sure that i agree with that statement. One of the reasons i think they got out of that business was to return to the core in the early 2000's, and that is what you saw a return to same restaurant sales growth by the mid-2000's. we want to see chipotle. Mcdonald's is not going to have that growth. They are not going to be chipotle. So, what will consumers be satisfied with in the quick service space? You want to see strong growth, along with strong same restaurant sales growth. That has to come with a more aggressive or a rethinking of their market strategy. Does that mean get out of the u.s.? certainly if we are looking at growth from a mcdonald's perspective, the best options will be outside the u.s. given the challenges with the younger generations where we have quickly reached over situation with -- oversaturation with mcdonald's in the u.s. -- i think if we are looking at the idea that mcdonald's is entering a mature phase as a company in some ways, that is a harvesting period to some extent. We should be looking at operational effectiveness, returned to the core. Gross maybe does not become the number one priority, especially in the u.s. market. People talk about how good burger king is with operational efficiency. Are they that much better than mcdonald's episode but they have certainly made improvements under three g capital's leadership. It gives them an additional tests. Mcdonald's has catching up to do in that regard. But everyone has the same problem. Where do you grow organically? You can only rely on your product so much. Everyone has the same issue as to who do you go out to. What products do you show? Spending is not what it was coming out of a few years to cover it, so it is really a market share battle. It may be too early to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but at what point do people start pointing fingers at the ceo? I would point to two things. If they continue to try new things and continue to have to scrap them, new products, new marketing strategy, whatever it is, if they continue to have to scrap them, that is a clear sign of a leadership problem. If there is a return to the existing business, but they are unable to amp up the profitability in that environment and show that they are doing it unsuccessfully. One of the things i wonder about mcdonald's is why do people not reward them more -- fc has this problem, right? Why do they not reward mcdonald's more for the "good" things it has try to do. People say -- i am not sure if it is true -- mcdonald's has better quality ingredients. I put salads on the menu. They try to be healthy. They get nothing out of it. The ceo don thompson said that salads do not get much more than 3% of total sales. My question goes back to the issue of menu bloat. If they can go back to the menu items that have worked well for them in the past. Also, the more menu items you have, the longer it takes to make, and it is called fast casual. It is not take 10 minutes and get your food. That is part of the issue. And they did name a new usa president, right? They did. -- they did. And that is returning back to the core. The revolving door is already starting to spend underneath thompson. My question -- he has only been ceo since the middle of 2012. it is perhaps a little bit early. Eventually those questions will start dogging the ceo. Absolutely. A real pleasure to talk. Thank you so much. And of course steve -- and of course, steve anderson. This text has been automatically generated. It may not be 100% accurate.

NYU Sterns School of Business Professor J.P. Eggers and Miller Tabak & Co. Analyst Stephen Anderson discuss their outlook for McDonald’s on “Market Makers.” (Source: Bloomberg)

Dark Chocolate and Pomegranate Bark: Tom Faglon makes homemade gifts for the holidays. His gift to Melissa Clark: a dark chocolate and pomegranate bark with just a hint of ginger and sea salt. Chocolate bark is the workhorse of homemade holiday gifts: easy, crowd-pleasing, expected. But you’ve never seen chocolate bark like Tom Faglon’s chocolate bark. Instead of nuts, or dried fruit, or chopped-up peppermint candy canes, he scatters fresh pomegranate seeds over the surface, where they glisten like rubies. Chewy bits of candied ginger are hidden inside the bittersweet chocolate, lying in wait to surprise you with their spiciness. Then, to make things even more interesting, Mr. Faglon strews the top with crunchy sea salt. His bark is as sweet and juicy as a box of chocolate-covered cherries, but a lot more sophisticated. Even better for the busiest time of the year, a pound of it takes less than 10 active minutes to make. I came across Mr. Faglon’s recipe as I was poring over the nearly 150 messages that Dining section readers sent to us with their favorite sweet homemade holiday gifts. Recipes came in from all over the world. There was an unusual anise-oat crescent cookie from Rome. A recipe for chocolate-dipped, marzipan-covered apricots was sent from Paris. From closer to home, Brooklyn, came a farmers’-market-inspired fruit compote. So I put on my apron and got to work, testing my way through a dozen of the offerings. My methodology for choosing what to test operated on a gut level. If my mouth started to water as I read the recipe, I printed it out. There were plenty of variations on chocolate bark, but none as intriguing as Mr. Faglon’s. Mr. Faglon, a retired phone company employee living in Somerset, N.J., and his wife, Diane, blog about food, antique collecting and the adventures of their 10 cats. He started making chocolate bark many years ago, using dried cherries, almonds, pistachios and the like. He came up with this wonderful innovation a few weeks ago when he was trying to think up something new to do with chocolate bark, and he happened to have a container of pomegranate seeds in need of a home. (I can relate to this method of recipe developing.) The only downside to Mr. Faglon’s recipe is that because the pomegranate seeds contain a lot of moisture, the bark isn’t something you want to keep around for very long. It will start to weep after a day or so. This said, it’s easy enough to make in the morning and give out that afternoon. And it will still taste good days later even if it starts to look a little tear-stained. A more stable homemade sweet that is just as tasty, if not quite as strikingly pretty, is the spiced pecan praline recipe sent in by Elizabeth Choinski of Oxford, Miss. Living in the South, Ms. Choinski has seen plenty of pralines in her time, flavored with the likes of chocolate and coffee. But she had never come upon pralines imbued with the classic spice flavors of the holidays. So she made her own, mixing cloves and cinnamon into the pot. “I thought it would be a good combination,” she wrote in her email. “I was wrong; it’s a great combination.” The pralines are superb: aromatic, creamy as they melt in your mouth, then crunchy from the nuts. I wouldn’t be able to attest to their keeping qualities if I hadn’t stashed a few away in the back of the cupboard and promptly forgotten about them. Three weeks later, on a sugar-craving tear, I unearthed and devoured them, still just as good as when I first made them. They are also very sturdy, and would do well mailed across the country. Both are excellent qualities in a homemade gift. Some of my favorite sweet holiday gifts come in liquid form. We got several recipes for homemade vanilla extract. But because they all needed a minimum of two to three months to mature, I didn’t have time to test them properly. Instead, I chose to make a cranberry cordial submitted by Corey Balazowich of North Canton, Ohio, that required only two weeks of steeping. Scarlet-hued, with just enough sugar to offset the tartness of the berries, this vodka-based spirit was a resounding success. It’s also a good place to use up cranberries left over from Thanksgiving. Your friends will be thrilled to receive any of these homemade holiday gifts. I know mine will be, too. And we all have you, our readers, to thank.

Chocolate bark with pomegranate bite, spiced pralines and a cranberry cordial are among the offerings of sweet homemade holiday gifts from Dining section readers.

Europe is finally showing interest in playing hardball with Vladimir Putin. According to a report from Reuters, leaders from the European Union met Tuesday to discuss stepping up sanctions against Russia in retaliation for Putin’s support of rebel groups in eastern Ukraine and for his refusal to fully cooperate with an international investigation into the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 last week. While E.U. leaders did agree to widen the list of individuals and companies that would face sanctions, they could not come to agreement on a broader set of sanctions, like blocking Russian access to European capital markets and technology. In addition, France has so far refused to renege on a $1.62 billion deal to build and deliver warships to Russia, defying British and American wishes. But it’s not entirely surprising that the E.U. has failed to step up to the plate with tougher sanctions. Unlike the United States, the European Union has deep economic ties to Russia, and taking steps to block Russian access to capital markets could have destabilizing effects on the European economy, which is itself still muddling through a banking crisis that has left the bloc with slow growth and high unemployment. As Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday morning: “If Russia has already been excluded from global capital markets, and if imports of energy-related capital goods and all defense-related transactions have been scratched, Russia loses nothing incremental from walking away from servicing its $720 billion worth of foreign debt. Most of those bonds are held by Western European banks and investment funds. Russia could induce pain well beyond what it is experiencing from these sanctions by simply withholding debt service payments for 120 days, after which most institutions would have to write down the loans.” With European banks already in bad shape, and the E.U. economy just barely growing as it is, it’s no surprise that European leaders are having a hard time declaring full-on economic warfare against Russia, even if they are fed up with Putin’s behavior.

All-out economic war with Russia could destabilize the E.U.

The ECB estimates that a 10 percent depreciation in the value of the euro gives annual gross domestic product (GDP) in the euro zone a roughly 0.4 percent boost and raises inflation by 0.6 percent. Read MoreAnother week, another euro drubbing... That's good news for a region that has suffered lackluster growth for years and been at risk of deflation in recent months. UBS last week lifted its 2015 euro zone GDP growth forecasts to 1.6 percent from 1.2 percent. Meanwhile, data on Tuesday showed consumer prices in the euro area rose 0.6 percent on the month and fell 0.3 percent on the year in February—a decline less sharp than the 0.6 percent year-on-year fall seen in January. Still, economists say there are some important caveats to consider when assessing the soft euro's impact. For one, the benefits of the weak currency are unlikely to be felt throughout the 19-member euro zone, including uncompetitive, smaller countries such as Greece that need economic growth to help tackle their debt mountains. "One thing I would say about this move in the euro is that it really favors those in Europe that really need it the least – Germany and France," Stephen Roach, a senior fellow at Yale University and a prominent economist, told CNBC last week. "They've accounted for over 45 percent of all exports over the past five years. The so called PIGS – Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain - they are less than half of that."

There's little doubt a sharp fall in the single currency could lift the euro zone growth outlook, but the impact is far from clear cut, analysts say.

After more than a year of review, the federal government has finally released its "meaningful use" guidelines for electronic medical records. For the health care field this is particularly meaningful because it's the first step taken toward adding the kinds of consistency and efficiency through IT that most corporations take for granted. Electronic records can eliminate duplication in testing, bring together complete medical histories, disclose adverse drug interactions, reduce errors in patient care, add transparency into a system that has been largely closed to review, and set forth best practices for treating illnesses. The meaningful use regulations allow hospitals and physicians to recoup their IT investments toward this end, at once both modernizing an antiquated health care system and helping to reduce the overhead associated with medical care. All of this makes sense on paper. The whole purpose of IT is to improve efficiency and make information more readily available to those who are qualified to receive it. But it's also about to set off a debate that will likely last years, if not decades, about the trade-offs between efficiency and patient care, patients' rights and what constitutes adequate care. This is the kind of debate that hasn't taken place outside of groups like the American Hospital Association and the American Medical Association; it's now wide open for public review. The players in this debate will include lawyers, health care providers, insurance companies, chief information officers, chief medical information officers, chief security officers, technology companies, drug companies, lobbyists and government and private oversight agencies and committees. They will define the types of records that need to be kept, how that information is used and by whom, how it should be stored and new ways to utilize that information for improving treatment and identifying trends. What's not readily apparent, though, is the effect this will have on the rest of the technology world. Throughout the history of IT there has never been a national debate on how technology gets applied to problems. Decisions typically have been made based upon the needs of a particular company and the capabilities of technology producers to meet those needs. One size doesn't fit all, and best practices often are closely guarded secrets. To be sure, these best practices can be a competitive advantage or disadvantage, depending upon both short-term and long-term outcomes and how effectively technology is applied. Some companies have scored big with technology. Others have not. Witness the widespread use of commodity Intel ( IN TC - news - people )-based servers in the 1990s, which created massive integration headaches and caused energy use to spike unnecessarily. Those problems are only now being addressed through virtualization and outsourcing into clouds. While the meaningful use rules are vague about the exact technology, over time they're going to become very clear about the processes involved in standardizing records so that when a patient visits one hospital the records can be transferred from another hospital or doctor's office. This will foster debate about technology practices that have never been out in the open, including the costs of this technology, acceptable times for implementation, upgrade schedules, as well as what works best with what and for what purpose. In the end, meaningful use will foster meaningful debate, and that debate will reach well beyond the medical field to expose some other closely guarded secrets. Ed Sperling is the editor of several technology trade publications and has covered technology for more than 20 years. Contact him at esperlin@yahoo.com. Choosing Whether To Go Open Source The Other Side Of The Smartphone War

How the rules about electronic medical records will change our perceptions about all information technology.

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey sees its newest coverage plan as a potentially transformative product, just what the health-care system needs to reward successful medical treatment and keep costs down by moving away from the traditional fee-for-service model. But the Omnia Health Plan, along with its payment model, has triggered three lawsuits, five hearings in Trenton, a dozen bills proposed by legislators and a costly...

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey sees its newest coverage plan as a potentially transformative product, but the Omnia Health Plan, along with its payment model, has triggered a dozen bills proposed by legislators and a costly public-relations war.

Donald Trump has made it clear by now that he wants to build a big, beautiful wall along our southern border-- and he wants Mexico to pay for it. In Baja California, Mexico, Cerveza Cucapá figures generosity is a two-way street. The craft brewery set its sights on something much smaller and much more affordable — a beer festival near the end of this month, possibly in Mexico City — and they want Trump to pay for it. But the likelihood of the Republican presidential nominee shelling out for a south of the border fiesta is slim-- so the brewers sought out an unusual source of funding to back their party: his supporters. Cucapá brewed up a batch of blue t-shirts emblazoned with a picture of the presidential candidate, smiling and with his thumbs up, with the words “I Support Donald” beneath it, reports Vice. Earlier this month, Cucapá dispatched a group of street vendors to hawk the shirts in upscale Southern California areas like Venice Beach, Hollywood Boulevard and Huntington Beach, and, predictably, the shirts were a hit. Trump fans out in the hot California sun plunked down cold cash for them and the brewery took a video of the action as it unfolded. But the shirts weren't your average pro-Trump apparel. Not until later did buyers discover that the shirts were heat-sensitive. After a little time in the sun, a large red clown nose appears on Trump’s face, and “I Support” is crossed out, to be replaced with the words El Que Lo Lea at the bottom. Translated literally, that means, “Whoever reads this is Donald.” But Mexicans and Mexican-Americans know that El Que Lo Lea is an “in joke” that refers to the Mexican saying, “Whoever reads this is an a—hole!” The company posted the video of its exploits on Facebook and it's been viewed over 9.8 million times with 200,000 shares. Cucapá founder Mario García told Vice the idea came about “after that infamous clip where [Trump] said, ‘Mexico will pay for the wall, they just don’t know it yet.’ “So we decided, ‘Well, Donald Trump is gonna pay for our beers, even though he doesn’t know it yet.’” “¡Donald nos va a pagar las cheves en un fiestononón!” he said. “Donald is going to pay for the beers at our huge party!” The brewery owners have not disclosed how much money they made from the t-shirts but a party is planned on Oct. 20.

Trump supporters will be paying for an all-out fiesta south of the border.

Forever 21 has pulled a controversial t-shirt after getting a huge backlash from consumers who called the gear "shameful" and "rapey." The graphic tee featured a slogan that seemingly referred to sexual consent: "Don't Say Maybe If You Want To Say No." The Internet response was overwhelmingly negative, with Twitter users accusing Forever 21 of cracking jokes at the expense of rape victims. A rep for Forever 21 tells TMZ it took immediate action to yank the shirt once the feedback came pouring in, and added ... "We sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by the product."

Forever 21 has pulled a controversial t-shirt after getting a huge backlash from consumers who called the gear "shameful" and "rapey." The graphic…

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The Kansas City Royals beat the New York Mets 7-2 in 12 innings to win the 2015 World Series on Sunday in New York. Photo: AP.

09/07/2016 AT 10:00 AM EDT Nearly 40 years ago, Colleen Stan made a fateful decision. On May 19, 1977, she got into a car with Cameron and Janice Hooker, a seemingly nice young couple with a baby, while hitchhiking to a friend's birthday party from her Eugene, Oregon home. She never made it to that party. About 30 minutes after she got into their car, Cameron pulled off onto a dirt road, held a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. He bound her, gagged her and placed a homemade wooden box over her head. "I thought I was going to die," Stan, now 59, and living in northern California, tells PEOPLE in an exclusive interview in this week's issue, on newsstands Friday. Instead, over the next seven years, she found herself living a nightmare some would say was worse than death. The Hookers took her to their home in Red Bluff, California, and imprisoned her in a box underneath their waterbed for 23 out of 24 hours a day. She was brought out only to be beaten, raped and tortured. Patrick Dempsey on the cover of PEOPLE That first night in captivity was one of the most difficult, she says. She was chained up inside a crate-like box in a sitting position (he later built her one that was more like a coffin). Later, Cameron told her he was a member of a group called "The Company," which would hunt her down and kill her if she escaped, and made her sign a slave contract from the group. Stan escaped in August 1984 with the help of Janice, who later testified against Cameron in court in exchange for immunity. Cameron was found guilty of kidnapping and sexual assault and sentenced to 104 years in prison. Addison Timlin plays Stan in the Lifetime movie "Girl in the Box" Darren Goldstein / DSG Photo This Saturday, at 8 p.m. ET, Lifetime will air a movie about Stan's ordeal titled She says she kept her sanity while in the box by focusing on all her happy memories of her family and friends. "I learned I could go anywhere in my mind," she says. "You just remove yourself from the real situation going on and you go somewhere else. You go somewhere pleasant, around people you love. Whatever makes you happy." Today, Stan is married for the fourth time and raising her grandson, who turns 2 at the end of September. Despite all that she's been through, Stan says she has had a wonderful life since her escape and is grateful to be alive. "Your life is just kinda in limbo when you're in captivity, and once you get that freedom back and you have that choice again, it's just like the gates open," she says. "And you just run for it."

Colleen Stan opens up to PEOPLE about her ordeal and story of survival – and the new Lifetime movie about her life

In Romania, politics and art go hand in hand. So much so that there has been a running joke among artists that you can't have a gallery opening without an appearance from Adrian Nastase - the country's former prime minister, unexpectedly removed from office in the elections a fortnight ago. His apparent devotion to the contemporary arts scene was sharply satirised last year, when Vlad Nanca opened his own flat as a temporary gallery: Nanca leafed through the phonebook, found a few Adrian Nastases, and invited one at random. (He went, too.) But for some of the country's leading young artists, this relationship with Nastase's government became significantly more uncomfortable when the new Romanian Museum of Contemporary Art was opened in the same building as the parliament. Their problem isn't just with the gallery's neighbours, but with the building itself. The new museum has been installed in the House of the People, previously the Palace of the People, the unfinished monolith that Ceausescu began constructing in the 1970s as a symbol of everything of which he was capable as dictator. The building is monstrous, a megalomaniacal blend of baroque, neo-Gothic and modernism, sprawling over the middle of Bucharest. Its cruel facade is lined with row upon row of windows: Romanians call them "the big eye of Ceausescu". The critic Ami Barik, meanwhile, describes the Palace as "architectural pornography ... meant to exhibit the organs of power in colossal erection". Twenty per cent of the city, including some of its oldest churches, was torn down to make way for it. Workers died in near-forced labour conditions; others are said to have been killed to protect its secrets. No wonder Bucharest's inhabitants view the House/Palace with a respect tinged with bitterness. When Ceausescu was deposed, 15 years ago this month, in one of eastern Europe's strangest and bloodiest revolutions, there was talk of turning the Palace into a giant casino. The decision to turn it into an art gallery instead has kicked off a spat of back-biting and accusations that may not have been seen on Romania's arts scene since artists had to queue up for Ceausescu's personal patronage. There are many who hope that the presence of the museum might help to soften perceptions of the building. It has certainly helped it architecturally, even though it takes up only about 4% of the space. A gleaming, glass, wood and white concrete exhibition space has been cut into the once-kitsch wing where the Ceausescus used to have their private apartments. Inside, too, it makes a positive stab at redemption. There's no permanent collection on show yet, but there are two exhibitions that chart the strange quantum leap that Romania and Romanian art have made in the past 30 years: a retrospective of work by the 1970s avant-gardists Horea Bernea and Paul Neagu, and the self-examinatory, Romanian Artists Love Ceausescu's Palace?! - a show dedicated to a love/hate relationship with the building that houses it. RALCP?! isn't intended as an overview of contemporary art, but it does make an interesting introduction to the video, installation and photography work happening in the country. More importantly, it presents a fascinating picture of the art world's various views of the Palace. In Iosif Kiraly's Indirect, the building is a picture postcard from the revolution - a "tamed" monster. In Calin Dan's Sample City, it is the background to a Sisyphian urban fairy tale, holding pride of place in a Kafkaesque labyrinth. Daniel Gontz's Trans is a fantasy aid to the building's secret interiors, the spaces the public still can't access. And in Gorzo's Are Jailed Sheep Zebras? - a tribute to the ongoing violence of the Romanian imagination - it is the setting for an urban/rural Transylvanian nightmare. If one thing links all of these works, it is an acknowledgement that the building is there to stay, and to be lived with. Mihai Oroveanu, museum director, has said he hopes its presence in the House will help "purge" the building. For some, this is already happening. "The place is full of bad memories," says Gita Bratescu, the grande dame of Romanian art. "But putting the museum into such an inhuman space has been a positive thing. This art has humour, and it helps." For exhibition curator Ruxandra Balaci, the building is a "challenge - huge, ironic, grotesque, everything!" She is sensitive to feelings about its history, but argues that perceptions of it are changing. "The younger generation is disposed to forget the past," she says, "to look to the future." And yet there are plenty of young, successful Romanian artists who think the installation of the museum in the Palace has turned contemporary art into a government poodle. Among the most vociferous are Dan and Lia Perjovschi. For them, the museum marks a return to the bad old days when the cultural police controlled the arts. "It's a symbol of the past," says Lia Perjovschi. "How can it be a symbol of the future?" The duo are unhappy that, with a whole city to choose from, the House was the only building the Ministry of Culture would consider for the project. This, they argue, has meant other gallery spaces dotted around the more bohemian Calea Vitoria area closing down. The sole focus for contemporary art now, they say, is the Parliament building. "What is that saying? The government has hijacked contemporary art." The line from the museum is that the House was the only site the government could afford. But Vlad Nanca agrees with the Perjovschis that this doesn't make the building any more appropriate, or less irredeemable. "I'm not against the museum," he says. 'There are positive things that have come out of it. But exorcism? No, there is nothing you can do to this building to make it all right." In all the sniping, one man strikes a conciliatory note. Iosif Kiraly - artist, teacher and mentor to many of the younger generation of artists - agrees the House is "not the best place" for the museum. But, he argues, "it's better to put art there than many other things. I had a problem when they put Parliament there. But this is a way of parasiting the building. It's not what Ceausescu would have wanted for it - and that's important."

Tyrant Ceausescu's former palace is now home to a gallery - and Romanians are furious. James Paul reports.

By Ben Leach Published: 8:08PM BST 18 Apr 2010 Rebecca and Magdalena Stenfors take advantage of the warm weather at Kew Gardens Photo: Frantzesco Kangaris A man rests while visiting Kew Gardens Photo: Frantzesco Kangaris Thousands of Britons enjoyed one of the hottest days of the year so far on Sunday as temperatures reached 66F (19C). The south will experience a ten-day heatwave with temperatures reaching 5-6C warmer than normal for mid-April. The coming weekend is forecast to be even hotter with the good weather expected to continue well into the following week. The Met Office said they expected daytime temperatures to remain well above average for this time of year. Forecaster John Hammond said: “We should see mainly dry and sunny weather throughout next week." “Daytime temperatures should be around 59F (15C) or 61F (16C) on average next week but we are expecting chilly evenings – dropping down to 35F (2C) or 37 (3C) in some areas.” Jonathan Powell, of Positive Weather Solutions, said that by next weekend temperatures will be even hotter. “We are expecting a dry and sunny week. Temperatures will be in the mid-teens but by the weekend, we will probably see the warmest temperatures so far. They could well breach 68F (20C) by Saturday. “The good weather should continue in the following week with a decent run of about 10 days for the South.” Sunday brought temperatures of 66F (19C) in Northolt, Middlesex and thousands of sun-seekers headed for the beaches of the south coast. Some had their plans to holiday abroad ruined by the Icelandic volcanic eruption. Amy Watson, 34, of Bournemouth, was visiting the beach with her husband Joe and daughters Alexa, four, and Georgia, two. She said: 'We were supposed to be heading off for a few days in the sun in Lanzarote this week, but we weren't able to fly because of the ash. 'We were really disappointed initially, but actually it has turned out to be a really lovely weekend and I'm glad we stayed. 'The weather has been beautiful and we've had two brilliant days enjoying ourselves on the beach.”

Britain will experience a spring heatwave with temperatures forecast to rise to 68F (20C) by the weekend.

The man arrested in connection with the seemingly random killing of a woman who was out for a stroll with her father along the San Francisco waterfront is an illegal immigrant who previously had been deported five times, federal immigration officials say. Further, Immigration and Customs Enforcement says San Francisco had him in their custody earlier this year but failed to notify ICE when he was released. "DHS records indicate ICE lodged an immigration detainer on the subject at that time, requesting notification prior to his release so ICE officers could make arrangements to take custody. The detainer was not honored," ICE said in a statement Friday afternoon. Kathryn Steinle was killed Wednesday evening at Pier 14 -- one of the busiest tourist destinations in the city. Police said Thursday they arrested Francisco Sanchez in the shooting an hour after it occurred. On Friday, ICE revealed their records indicate the individual has been previously deported five times, most recently in 2009, and is from Mexico. "His criminal history includes seven prior felony convictions, four involving narcotics charges," ICE said in a statement. ICE briefly had him in their custody in March after he had served his latest sentence for "felony re-entry," but turned him over to San Francisco Sheriff's Department on an outstanding drug warrant. At this time, ICE issued the detainer -- effectively asking that he be turned back over to ICE when San Francisco was finished with him. But ICE was not notified. The incident is sure to renew criticism of San Francisco's sanctuary city policies. "Here's a jurisdiction that's not even honoring our detainer for someone who clearly is an egregious offender," an ICE official told FoxNews.com. ICE has since lodged another immigration detainer against the individual, though it's unclear whether San Francisco will cooperate. An attorney for the San Francisco Sheriff's Department told the Associated Press it had no authority to honor the prior immigration hold when it released the suspect. Freya Horne said Friday that federal detention orders are not a "legal basis" to hold someone, so Francisco Sanchez was released April 15. Police Sgt. Michael Andraychak earlier said witnesses snapped photos of Sanchez immediately after Wednesday's shooting and the images helped police make the arrest. Liz Sullivan told the San Francisco Chronicle that her 32-year-old daughter turned to her father after she was shot and said she didn't feel well before collapsing. "She just kept saying, 'Dad, help me, help me,'" Sullivan said. Her father reportedly tried to do CPR before she was rushed to the hospital. The immigration detainer issued against the suspect earlier this year would have initiated the process of removing him from the U.S. once again. "ICE places detainers on aliens arrested on criminal charges to ensure dangerous criminals are not released from prisons or jails into our communities," ICE said in the statement. "The agency remains committed to working collaboratively with its law enforcement partners to ensure the public's safety." The tragedy also surfaced late Friday in the 2016 presidential race. GOP candidate Donald Trump, who has been under fire for controversial remarks describing some Mexican illegal immigrants ‎as criminals, said in a statement that the "senseless and totally preventable act of violence committed by an illegal immigrant is yet another example of why we must secure our border immediately." FoxNews.com's Adam Shaw and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The man arrested in connection with the seemingly random killing of a woman who was out for a stroll with her father along the San Francisco waterfront is an illegal immigrant who previously had been deported five times, federal immigration officials say.

Batus Inc., the American arm of B.A.T. Industries of London, said yesterday that it had reached an agreement with the staff of the Federal Trade Commission that settles the agency's investigation of Batus's continuing acquisition of Marshall Field & Company. The action was seen as clearing the way for Batus to acquire the Chicagobased retail chain. Batus said that the agreement was for settlement purposes only and did not represent any admission on its part that the takeover would violate antitrust laws. The agreement, however, requires that Batus divest itself of some of its stores in the Milwaukee area, where Field also operates. It also precludes Batus from generally acquiring any equity interest or assets of another department, general merchandise or furniture store in the Milwaukee area for 10 years without prior F.T.C. approval. However, the F.T.C. took no restrictive action on the Field or Batus operations in the Chicago area, where Field has its largest division and Batus operates two Saks Fifth Avenue stores. In another development, Batus, which is engaged in a tender offer for Field stock of $30 a share for the common and $54 a share for the preferred, said that it intends to buy all of the Field shares tendered before the expiration date Monday at 6 P.M. Through the end of business yestereday, Batus said that it has been tendered 8.25 million common shares of Field's 10.8 million common shares outstanding and 633,000 preferred shares of 717,000 preferred shares outstanding. In the Milwaukee area, Batus operates several Gimbels Brothers department stores and several Kohl's department stores, but which group would be involved in the divestiture was not detailed in the agreement and Batus would not comment on it late yesterday afternoon. The Batus statement, however, said that the agreement called for Batus to divest itself of Milwaukee-area department stores of not less than 200,000 square feet and to reduce its sales volume in that area by not less than $20 million ''as measured by fiscal 1981 sales.'' The agreement is subject to full commission approval after being placed on the public record for 60 days for public comment.

Batus Inc., the American arm of B.A.T. Industries of London, said yesterday that it had reached an agreement with the staff of the Federal Trade Commission that settles the agency's investigation of Batus's continuing acquisition of Marshall Field & Company. The action was seen as clearing the way for Batus to acquire the Chicagobased retail chain. Batus said that the agreement was for settlement purposes only and did not represent any admission on its part that the takeover would violate antitrust laws.

Creigh Deeds, with son Gus, was released from the hospital Friday. Police believe Gus, who shot himself dead after stabbing his father, had mental health issues. Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds was released from the hospital Friday, four days after the politician was repeatedly stabbed on Tuesday by his 24-year-old son Gus, who then shot himself dead. "I am alive so must live. Some wounds won't heal. Your prayers and your friendship are important to me," he tweeted in a sorrowful message to supporters after he left the hospital, breaking his silence for the first time since the tragedy. Deeds was released Friday morning from the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville. Police say the father and son had an altercation on Tuesday morning, when they believe Gus stabbed his father multiple times in the head and chest. Gus died from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and investigators were “leaning towards it being an attempted murder/suicide,” Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said. The 55-year-old Deeds and his son Gus, one of four children from his first marriage, were the only people at Deeds’ farm in Western Virginia on Tuesday when the attack occurred. RELATED: VIRGINIA STATE SEN. CREIGH DEEDS LISTED IN GOOD CONDITION Though police are still investigating the assault, they believe Deeds had mental health issues. Local media reports indicate that an emergency custody order was issued for Gus Deeds, but he was released because mental health workers could not find him a psychiatric bed. The director of the inspector general program for behavioral health in Virginia has opened an investigation into the matter. Gus Deeds had been an on-again, off-again student at the College of William & Mary studying music since 2007, but he withdrew in October. “He seemed to be really happy in the music department and that’s the only side of him I ever saw,” Brian Hulse, an associate professor of music theory and composition at the college, told the Associated Press. “He was extremely unique in the most positive sense,” Hulse added. RELATED: VIRGINIA STATE SEN. CREIGH DEEDS STABBED BY SON: REPORT Deeds, a Democrat, previously ran for attorney general of Virginia in 2005 and governor of Virginia in 2009. He has served as a Virginia state senator since 2001. "The outpouring of support from throughout the Commonwealth and across the United States has been overwhelmingly kind and comforting," his state Senate office said in a release. "Please keep Senator Deeds and his family in your thoughts and prayers. During this difficult time, we thank you for your continued respect for the family’s privacy." On a mobile device? Watch the video here

Virginia state Sen. Creigh Deeds was released from the hospital Friday, four days after the local politician was repeatedly stabbed on Tuesday by his 24-year-old son Gus, who then shot himself dead.

Turkish police have fired teargas and water cannon at hundreds of stone-throwing May Day protesters in Istanbul, after they defied a ban and tried to march on Taksim Square. Europe’s biggest city was under a security lockdown on Friday, as thousands of police manned barricades and closed streets to halt demonstrations at Taksim, a traditional rallying ground for leftists that saw weeks of unrest in 2013. Related: Femen activists disrupt May Day speech by Marine Le Pen Riot police unleashed water cannon and chased protesters down side streets in the nearby Beşiktaş neighbourhood, where they fired canisters of teargas, according to a Reuters reporter at the scene. Police said that nearly 140 people had been detained, although activists said the number was nearly double that. By the afternoon most of the protests had been broken up and demonstrators drifted away. Citing security concerns, much of Istanbul’s public transport had been shut down and police helicopters circled over the city. Tens of thousands also gathered to march in the capital, Ankara, where the mood was more festive, with dancing and singing. Critics say President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government have become more authoritarian in the buildup to elections in June. “People want to express their problems but the government doesn’t want those problems to be heard ahead of elections,” opposition politician Mahmut Tanal told Reuters. The normally busy Istiklal shopping avenue leading to Taksim was deserted, with shops closed and metal barricades blocking side streets. Police helicopters circled overhead. Taksim, a usually bustling square lined with cafes and hotels, was filled with police buses, ambulances and satellite broadcast trucks. A pair of tourists emerged from a hotel to find the area sealed off as they nervously made their way around police lines. Related: Workers rally on May Day around the world – in pictures The government had said Taksim would be open only to those who came peacefully and not for “illegal demonstrations”. “I wish May 1 to be celebrated in a festive mood without provocations,” Erdoğan said. Opposition parties and unions called on the government to lift the ban. Erdoğan has previously dismissed protesters as “riff-raff” and terrorists, outraged by the unrest in 2013 that brought unwanted international attention and posed the biggest challenge to his AK party since it came to power in 2002. He is aiming for a massive victory for the party in the forthcoming parliamentary polls, which would allow it to change the constitution and give him broad presidential powers. The 2013 Taksim protests began as a peaceful demonstration against plans to redevelop Gezi Park, a leafy corner of the square. After a police crackdown, the demonstration spiralled into weeks of nationwide protests against Erdoğan’s rule. The May Day demonstrations are the first large-scale protests since the government passed a security bill this year giving police expanded powers to crack down on protesters.

Riot police use water cannon and teargas to push back activists from Taksim Square during first major protests since government passed security bill

Numerically significant dates have become something of a phenomenon in the wedding world. Not only are they easy to remember for anniversaries, but many couples believe such patterns are lucky. That's why fellow Vegas venues the Luxor and Excalibur are also peddling special "Lucky in Love" wedding packages this weekend, for $399 apiece. Caesars Palace is offering a chapel ceremony with two buffet lunches for $1,213.14, and MGM Grand Hotel & Casino touts a "Numerology Package" for $1,400 that includes limo service and custom wedding favors. Paul said he began to notice an uptick in wedding demand a few years ago, on July 7th, 2007. Since then, his chapel has experienced jumps in business on dates like 1-3-13 and 11-12-13. "It's a numbers thing," says Paul, clad in a black sequined jumpsuit and gold-rimmed aviators. "I mean we don't question it…as long as the check clears - next!" Nevada's Clark County, where Las Vegas is located, has experienced a spike in marriage licenses heading into other "numerically significant dates," with the busiest block of time being July 4-7, 2007. "This will be the last of these numerically interesting days for us, and so we expect the Marriage License Bureau will be very busy December 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th," said Clark County Clerk Diana Alba in a statement. The clerk's office is encouraging couples to pre-apply for licenses online, to cut down what's expected to belong wait times. Read MoreBuffett can also pick 'em in Vegas The phenomenon extends beyond the so-called "Marriage Capital of the World." XO Group's TheKnot.com says nationally, Saturday's lucky date is five times more popular than any other Saturday this month. The wedding planning hub adds that, according to the 21,000 couples registered on its site for the 13th, the largest number of weddings will occur throughout the Florida, Texas and California. Based on its own internal registry, David's Bridal says more than 11,000 brides walking down the aisle on Saturday. The privately-held wedding apparel retailer says that since one in three brides wears one of its dresses, over 33,000 couples are getting hitched. That is nearly 8,000 more than the last sequential date, 11-12-13, which fell on a Tuesday. According to its "What's On Brides' Minds" survey, 43 percent of brides did or will claim "novelty" dates for their big day. Small businesses are getting a boost too. In New York City, DJ company Scratch Weddings is reportedly experienced a 300 percent jump in requests for his services this Saturday compared to a year ago, according to the New York Post. On the West Coast, Studio City, Calif.-based Gary's Tux Shop has rented out 20 more tuxedos this weekend than the prior one. It usually only sees this kind of business is during prom season, and the May to August summer wedding season. To make the most of the 24-hour window, Graceland Wedding's Paul says he's starting ceremonies at midnight, officiating for two hours and then starting back up for breakfast. He'll then officiate four weddings each hour. "This year we're busier because this is the last one," he said. "There is no next year, there's no 13-14-15. So this is kind of like the last of those number things if you want to look at it that way." It almost gives new meaning to Elvis' famous song, "Now or Never."

Saturday is the last numerically sequential date in the calendar for nearly two decades, sending wedding demand soaring.

A small-time Sydney drug dealer who tasked a kindergarten-aged relative with accepting cash payments for heroin has been sentenced to a minimum of just over two years behind bars. Penrith District Court on Tuesday heard how the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was living with his mother and uncle in a public housing unit in inner-city Woolloomooloo when he was nabbed in a police sting. The 36-year-old pleaded guilty last year to a charge of supplying prohibited drugs on an ongoing basis and was sentenced on Tuesday to three years and nine months, with a non-parole period of 27 months. Acting Judge Norman Delaney said undercover police lined up five heroin deals with the offender over five days in December 2014. In three of the five transactions, the man sent out a five-year-old relative to accept cash for the drugs. The boy turned over the cash to the offender, who would then complete the deal by handing over small balloons containing heroin at a nearby pub. "There is no suggestion that the young boy had anything whatsoever to do with actually touching, handling or possessing any drug," Acting Judge Delaney said. "It is reprehensible that the offender asked a young person living with him to go down and collect the money from the police officer but fortunately he was not exposed to any other aspect of the deal." The judge said the offender had form in dealing drugs but stressed that he was a street-level pusher who sold heroin to feed his own addiction, and that he "can be rehabilitated if he desires to be rehabilitated". With time served, the man will be eligible for release as early as March next year.

A Sydney man caught selling heroin to feed his own addiction has been sentenced to up to three years and nine months behind bars.

Mahoney did not directly address the alleged affair during a news conference but issued a statement taking "full responsibility for my actions and the pain I have caused my wife Terry and my daughter Bailey." "No marriage is perfect," Mahoney said, "but our private life is our private life." He said he never misused campaign funds and was confident he would be cleared of wrongdoing. "I have not violated my oath of office, nor have I violated any laws," Mahoney said in the statement. He did not answer questions. The statement came one day after ABC News reported that Mahoney, 52, had an affair with an aide while campaigning for Congress and then paid her $121,000 to keep her quiet and avoid a sexual harassment lawsuit. After the report, Mahoney called for an investigation into his conduct by the House ethics committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) also called for an inquiry. The FBI has begun reaching out to lawyers involved in the matter, said a high-level Democratic operative who has been involved with Mahoney's campaign. The person declined to be identified because of the FBI's involvement. Late Tuesday, a person close to Mahoney's campaign told the Associated Press that the congressman had an affair with a high-ranking county official in his Florida district after being elected to Washington. That relationship took place, the person said, as Mahoney was lobbying the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse Martin County $3.4 million for damage caused by hurricanes in 2004. FEMA approved the money late last year. Mahoney's congressional staff members declined to comment on the new allegation but noted that the congressman lobbies for FEMA funding throughout his district. Two years ago, Mahoney, campaigning on a promise to return morals and family values to Washington, was elected to his seat after Republican Mark Foley resigned from Congress. Foley had sent lurid Internet messages to male teenagers who had worked as congressional pages; he was cleared of criminal wrongdoing by state and federal authorities. Republicans seized on Mahoney's troubles. The seat is considered to be one of the more competitive House races, and Mahoney had a tough challenge in a district that has traditionally leaned slightly Republican. He faces former Army officer Tom Rooney, a lawyer whose family owns the Pittsburgh Steelers. "We're pleased that an ethics investigation has been called for, but quite frankly, we're not going to know the answers in three weeks unless Congressman Mahoney literally sits down . . . and answers some questions," said Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

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SKIERS in baggy pants and shimmering bibs were slingshotting up the near-vertical walls of the halfpipe at Copper Mountain during this winter’s U.S. Freeskiing Open. High above the lip of the pipe, their skis whirled like old-fashioned eggbeaters. Kevin Moloney for The New York Times Tim Herbert, of New Zealand, hits a jump at Woodward. With Boys Noize and Lil Wayne cranking on the loudspeakers and the Colorado crowd cheering, they threw aerial tricks like off-axis spinning double-back flips and switch 1080s — three 360-degree spins with backward takeoffs. My 5-year-old, Aidan, watched with wide eyes. His assessment: “Totally awesome!” It would stand to reason that the best way to learn gravity-defying halfpipe moves would be in the halfpipe. But many skiers and riders hone their aerial skills on water ramps, trampolines and diving boards. Since the 1970s, skiers have been bouncing on backyard tramps and launching off ramps into lakes, even piles of hay, to work on their aerial maneuvers. Off-snow gymnastic-based programs today are increasingly being used by local skiers and riders, as well as freestyle teams from Sugarloaf to Vail. And dedicated facilities are cropping up to train snow-sliders bent on going airborne. The most comprehensive to date is the brand-new Woodward at Copper, which sits at the base of the ski area, about 75 miles west of Denver. The 20,000-square-foot barnlike facility is filled with artificial ski ramps, foam pits, trampolines, skate bowls and skate ramps. Not coincidentally, its grand opening was celebrated the weekend of the Freeskiing Open. After spinning 540s and 720s in the competition, Jess Cumming headed to the Barn, as it’s known, to bounce on the tramps and work on a 900. “Woodward is going to be a huge benefit to training,” said Ms. Cumming, who lives in nearby Edwards. “From the pro level all the way to beginners, it’s going to help grow the sport.” Aside from the fun of rolling around a skate bowl like a marble in a sink, the main goal of the facility is to teach aerial awareness — to weekenders and professionals alike — in a safe and controlled environment. “The consequences are not as severe if you lose control in a spinning trick and come down on your head in here,” said Phoebe Mills, the Barn’s program manager. She punctuated her point with a double flip into the foam pit. Ms. Mills is a former Olympic gymnast, snowboard coach, and coach at the original Woodward facility. In 1970, Ed Isabelle, a former Penn State gymnast, converted a Woodward, Pa., dairy farm into a gymnastic camp. Today there are three Woodward centers nationwide that cater to action sports like BMX and skateboarding as well as gymnastics and cheerleading. The new camp at Copper is the first Woodward dedicated to skiers and snowboarders. The showpiece of Copper’s new facility is the Big Air jump: a 35-foot-high, 43-degree ramp that descends to three different-sized jumps. Wearing skis or snowboards, campers slide down a white scrub-brush-like surface called Snowflex and launch into an enormous pile of blue foam blocks. In all, 23,000 foam cubes fill three foam pits. Nearby is a more gradually pitched slope called the Jib Run, where snow-sliders can practice the slippery business of sliding on rails, boxes and logs. Coaches will lay padding around the features to make landings softer. In winter, Copper will offer one-day programs for $199, which will include lift ticket, lunch and an evening session. In summer, the weeklong overnight camps will start at $1,399. Coaches, including a former Cirque du Soleil performer, will run campers through a progression that starts with tumbling on a spring floor. Next they will bounce on one of six trampolines, eventually launching from tramp into foam pit. Two smaller ramps that empty into the main foam pit serve as steppingstones to the Big Air. There’s a five-foot ramp for skateboards or in-line skates and an eight-foot Snowflex-covered ramp called the Cliff Drop. Because many of the Barn’s features were built from scratch, designers relied on a certain amount of ingenuity. To determine the necessary speeds for catching air — and thus the pitch of the Big Air in-run — skiers and riders in the halfpipe were clocked with a radar gun. “We’re making this up as we go, to some degree,” Ms. Mills said. On the tramps, snowboarders will either jump in bare feet or on foam boards with strap bindings. “For skiers, we’ll probably grab some small skis, screw on some bindings, and duct-tape the edges,” she added. John Smart, who owns Momentum Ski Camps in Whistler, British Columbia, said, “There’s nothing better than a tramp to teach people to go upside down.”

Woodward at Copper Mountain gives snow-sliders the chance to go airborne by training on artificial ski ramps, foam pits and skate bowls.

A 100-metre sprint can last just 10 seconds. A javelin throw is also finished within a minute. And though the 50-kilometre race walk might seem long when compared to other long-distance events, these moments represent a sliver of what happens in the life of Canada's top track and field athletes competing in the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China. There's a lot that happens Here are 13 things you didn't know about the lives of our Canadian track and field athletes. 1. As a Canadian track athlete, you may need to defend your decision not to pursue a more traditional sport. My face when the espn lady asked me why I decided to run instead of playing hockey..... #canadianproblems pic.twitter.com/fQZPo9Npgm 2. Once you're on Team Canada, popping bottles takes on a different meaning. How we pop bottles. Haha #glass #Evian #nonalcoholic #healthy #boring #nationalteam #waiversigned pic.twitter.com/V0lDKs0lZP 3. Protein is a necessity. It also fights back. 4. Travelling comes with its own trials, and you need to adjust to different cultures. I don't think there are any traffic rules in China. Everyone just does what they want. pic.twitter.com/hjH6bVAL8a 5. Some planes just aren't built for an athlete's frame. It's kinda sad that @SAS doesn't accommodate those over 6 feet. #soreneck pic.twitter.com/Ez5lLXIVoO 6. As a track athlete, you may occasionally see yourself on the side of the subway. Patrollin the #subway #ttc @Toronto #parapanam #panamgames @TO2015 #olympian #paralympian #racing #canada #athlete pic.twitter.com/ihOWfHp3FX 7. Sometimes, the biggest competition is with yourself. Personal records are a big deal. This week in track and field pic.twitter.com/mDXkCZvSjo 8. Battle scars can happen on and off the track. 9. As a track athlete, you want to conserve your energy, which means taking any mode of transportation that isn't your feet. The swag champ @ALLORN0THIN ridin to practice lol pic.twitter.com/jaMJue4j6Q 10. Track athletes reach a whole new level of multi-tasking. When foam rolling before training, I become a rollercoaster ride for Isabella. #mommyproblems #minitrainingpartner pic.twitter.com/raspFrYZ7g 11. When it comes to blisters, the struggle is real. You know it's a solid block of training when your blisters have blisters #notforthefaintofheart pic.twitter.com/f1PwwwkSJO 12. Sometimes office life can carry over into your personal life... Every time I hear a knock at my door in the morning, I think it's doping control... #itwasonlyfedex #whydidhebangsohard 13. You also wear weird leg sweaters (also commonly known as compression or recovery boots). “@Cupcakedujour: Post #Modo8k chicken & waffles @scandilicious1 with @LJM5252 & her @RecoveryPump #winnersgetwaffles pic.twitter.com/SBWYT4gn8U” For coverage of the IAAF world championships in Beijing, follow @CBCOlympics. You can find the broadcasting schedule here.

Twitter lets us in on the realities of a track and field athlete's life on days they're not competing.

A victim of the Orlando gay nightclub massacre captured the moments the first gunshots rang out in a Snapchat video before she was shot dead. Amanda Alvear, 25, was at the Pulse nightclub dancing to Latin music with friends when gunman Omar Mateen killed her and 49 others in the worst mass shooting in US history. Amanda Alvear, 25, was at the club with friends. (Facebook) She documented her entire evening in a series of videos but her final post ends with chilling footage that was posted online by a friend. The video starts with Ms Alvear and her friend raising their glasses and dancing. Later she is facing the camera as a burst of gunfire cuts through the loud music. (From top left) Edward Sotomayor Jr, Luis Omar Ocasio-Capo, Juan Ramon Guerrero, Luis S. Vielma (From bottom left) Eric Ortiz-Rivera, Stanley Almodovar, Kimberly Morris, Peter Ommy Gonzalez-Cruz. Finally she clutches her face and looks at the camera with fear and confusion in her eyes and utters the words "shooting". The videos were first shared to Facebook by a user named Stichs Nbc, identified by Buzzfeed as Mykol Marte. "Found out thru (sic) Snapchat my friend Amanda Alvear was there at Pulse last night," he wrote alongside the video. "Tried calling and texting and still haven't gotten a reply." Ms Alvear was among the first group of victims named after the tragedy. Before Ms Alvear's death was confirmed, her brother, Brian Alvear, said the last he heard was that she was hiding in a bathroom as the gunman shot at patrons indiscriminately. Family and friends of victims trapped in the nightclub have waited anxiously to find out whether their loved ones are among the 50 people killed and 53 wounded. Overnight, the FBI and other law enforcement authorities were poring over evidence that could explain the motives for the rampage, a massacre that President Barack Obama denounced as an act of terror and hate. Mateen, 29, a New York-born Florida resident and US citizen who was the son of Afghan immigrants, was shot and killed by police who stormed the club with armoured cars after a three-hour siege. Mateen had called emergency services during the shooting and pledged allegiance to the leader of the militant Islamic State group, officials said. His father said on Sunday his son was not radicalised, but indicated Mateen had strong anti-gay feelings. His ex-wife described him as mentally unstable and violent toward her. Islamic State reiterated overnight a claim of responsibility for the attack. "One of the Caliphate's soldiers in America carried out a security invasion where he was able to enter a crusader gathering at a nightclub for homosexuals in Orlando, Florida ... where he killed and injured more than a hundred of them before he was killed," the group said in a broadcast on its Albayan Radio. Although the group claimed responsibility, this did not necessarily mean it directed the attack: there was nothing in the claim indicating coordination between the gunman and Islamic State before the rampage. The attack reignited the debate over how best to confront violent Islamist militancy, a top issue in the November 8 presidential election campaign. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and her Republican rival Donald Trump were both expected to address the issue on Monday. 'This guy was pretty screwed up The shooting began just after 2am on Sunday at the crowded Pulse nightclub in the heart of Orlando, about 25km northeast of the Walt Disney World Resort. Some 350 patrons were attending a Latin music event at the club, a well-known gay nightspot in the city, and survivors described scenes of carnage and pandemonium as the shooter took hostages inside a bathroom. Nearly 24 hours after the rampage ended, authorities had publicly named only 21 of the victims, half of whom were in their 20s. Family and friends waited for news outside a centre in Orlando where authorities were gathering details about people still missing. Despite Mateen's 911 call expressing support for Islamic State, US officials said on Sunday they had no conclusive evidence of any direct connection with foreign extremists. "So far as we know at this time, his first direct contact was a pledge of bayat (loyalty) he made during the massacre," said a US counterterrorism official. "This guy appears to have been pretty screwed up without any help from anybody." Authorities said Mateen had been twice questioned by FBI agents in 2013 and 2014 after making comments to co-workers about supporting militant groups, but neither interview led to evidence of criminal activity. Ronald Hopper, the FBI's assistant special agent in charge on the case, said Mateen was questioned in 2014 about his contacts with Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a US citizen who also had lived in Florida and became a suicide bomber in Syria that year. Mateen's former wife, Sitora Yusufiy, said he was emotionally and mentally disturbed, yet aspired to be a police officer. Yusufiy told reporters near Boulder, Colorado, that she had been beaten by Mateen during outbursts of temper in which he would "express hatred towards everything". But his father Mir Siddique, who saw Mateen on Saturday afternoon, said he saw nothing out of the ordinary. "Everything was normal," Siddique told ABC News, saying his son was not radicalised. "He was just a regular person who went to work, coming back and take care of his wife and his kids," he said. "If he was alive, I would ask him one question: why?" In an interview with NBC news, the father described an incident in downtown Miami in which his son saw two men kissing in front of his wife and child and became very angry. Mateen and his family regularly attended a Florida mosque. On Sunday night, federal agents combed through Mateen's apartment in the Atlantic coast town of Fort Pierce, about 190km southeast of Orlando, as numerous evidence vans sat parked outside.

A victim of the Orlando gay nightclub massacre captured the moments the first gunshots rang out in a Snapchat video before she was shot dead.

It’s a safe bet that advisers to Hillary Clinton spend more time than they would like batting away the suggestion that their candidate must be hiding something. This is what Joel Benenson, Clinton’s chief campaign strategist, had to do on CNN one morning in late August, when the anchor Chris Cuomo confronted him with questions about Clinton’s meetings with donors to the Clinton Foundation, in the years when she was secretary of state. The subtext was whether Clinton had been forthcoming enough about the influence of her private connections on her exercise of official power. Benenson, like any good surrogate, tried to change the subject. “Let’s talk about Donald Trump,” he said. “The man who said, ‘I will release my tax returns if I run for president.’ Who knows what we’ll find if he releases those tax returns? I think if you want to be hammering somebody in this race day in and day out about disclosure,” he added, it should be Trump. Political campaigning is, on one level, the business of transforming the private into the public, and many candidates in American history have accused their rivals of shirking this responsibility — of failing to disclose enough even as they have closely guarded their own secrets. Still, there is something particularly striking about the resolute nondisclosures of Clinton and Trump, two of the most thoroughly known quantities in American public life. Trump is an unscripted and relentless media presence even as he refuses to make the most standard disclosure for a presidential candidate (those tax returns). Clinton, conversely, has opened her finances for inspection but hasn’t held a news conference in nine months and has gone to unusual lengths to protect her privacy while holding public office (that email server). It’s not clear that the voters will pick the candidate they see as more open. But the argument matters, because a degree of disclosure is fundamental to governance in this country, and it’s possible — if not historically inevitable — that a secretive campaign will give way to a secretive presidency. Clinton and Trump, in different ways, are questioning the basic assumption of transparency and perhaps undermining it. Until the middle of the 20th century, the finances and personal lives of presidential candidates were typically treated as their own business. Then came Richard Nixon. Selected as Dwight Eisenhower’s vice-presidential nominee in 1952, he was dogged by headlines about a “Secret Rich Men’s Trust Fund” created to pay for his travel and other campaign-­related expenses. Eisenhower asked Nixon to make a public accounting of all the money. Nixon gave a speech in which he argued that the fund allowed him to run for office as a man of modest means. His family had received one gift, he allowed: a dog his daughter named Checkers. It was a brilliant bit of deflection. But Nixon, of course, turned out to be a less-than-ideal advertisement for allowing politicians to write the rules for self-disclosure. After Watergate, it seemed dangerous and foolish to let them set their own boundaries. These new expectations fed Jimmy Carter’s open-book campaign four years later. Carter was the first winning candidate to release his full tax returns during the campaign; in office, he proposed and signed a law mandating financial disclosure for high officials in the executive branch, members of Congress and federal judges. But if the mid-1970s was a high-water mark for disclosure in American politics, since then the norms for what presidential candidates should disclose, and how much the press should pry, have become unsettled again. Were reporters doing their job or going too far when they staked out Gary Hart’s townhouse in 1987, following rumors that he was having an affair? What about the appointment of a special prosecutor to dig into Bill Clinton’s various infidelities, among other things? There’s no consensus answer to those questions. And tellingly, the legal mandate for disclosure has also eroded. The last few election cycles have been awash in money from undisclosed donors. And the 1970s ethos that the public has a right to know how its government is functioning has given way to classifying more documents to hide them from view.

And what exactly are we looking for?

Lindsay Lohan Alleged Hit-and-Run Case No One is Cooperating Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... both and the man who claims she struck him while she was driving her Porsche last week are refusing to cooperate with police. We're told Lindsay and the alleged victim -- ) -- have both refused to sit down with the detectives for an interview. Important to note ... neither has an obligation to sit for an interview, but it's unlikely cops will even refer the matter to prosecutors if the alleged victim is uncooperative. But it gets way more interesting ... Sources tell us an investigator from an insurance company contacted Lindsay's lawyer and said they were investigating the alleged victim for 6 - 8 cases of insurance fraud -- allegedly staging car accidents and filing phony claims. And the plot thickens ... although the insurance investigator told Lindsay's lawyer he believed the person accusing Lindsay of hit-and-run was the same person they were investigating ... sources at the insurance company tell us the alleged fraudster's first name is Amr -- not Thaer, and the last name is different as well. We do not know if Thaer -- a former soldier in Iraq -- used such an alias. But we do know that Thaer has hired famed lawyer , who has already made a settlement demand to Lindsay. We contacted Geragos about the allegations and he said his guy was not involved in insurance fraud, but when we called back regarding the alias Geragos did not pick up. And the final twist -- Lindsay is in court next week for her final probation progress hearing. If the hit-and-run case goes haywire on her, it could jeopardize her freedom. We could not reach Lindsay's lawyer,

Law enforcement sources tell TMZ ... both Lindsay Lohan and the man who claims she struck him while she was driving her Porsche last week are refusing to…

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — North Korea is warning that its military forces will respond if the U.N. Security Council questions or condemns the country over the sinking of a South Korean navy ship — an act it vehemently denies. North Korea's U.N. Ambassador Sin Son Ho told a news conference Tuesday there is "a touch-and-go situation that war may break out at any time" because of South Korean accusations that the North torpedoed the ship and killed 46 sailors. Sin accused South Korea and the United States of cooking up the accusation against the North and demanded that a military investigation team from Pyongyang be permitted to go to the site of the sinking, which the South has refused to allow.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The U.N. Security Council is expressing grave concern at the impact of the sinking of a South Korean ship on peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. ...

Shock news from across the Channel: French women do get fat, they have brattish, fussy-eater children, chipped nails, they sometimes sleep on their own wearing big cotton knickers and they do mind if their husband is enjoying cinq-à-sept trysts with his mistress. President François Hollande's affair – alleged – with an actor and betrayal – alleged – of his "official" partner, Valerie Trierweiler, has revived some hoary old stereotypes concerning the French female. Until now, les françaises were seen as effortlessly stylish, enviably slim and usually able to treat their partner's dalliances with impressive sang-froid (though not in the case of Trierweiler), and have been the subject of a host of self-help books aimed at their less fortunate sisters in other countries. French Women Don't Get Fat and this year's follow-up, French Women Don't Get Facelifts, are just two examples of the genre that has proved extremely popular around the world. In a recent article debunking the whole "French women are perfect" myth, daily newspaper Le Figaro wrote: "We could maintain the mystery, feed the myth; but French women are known for being frank, they don't mince their words, so it's time to re-establish a few truths. It could be called: 'The Truth about French Women written by a French woman who is far from perfect and very much representative of her kind'. " The Observer decided to give a helping hand to that project with a series of short interviews. And our preliminary conclusion? French women have the same problems, hopes and desires as the rest of us. Faiza Allalou, 38: a saleswoman in a women's clothes store in Paris; married with two children, aged 10 and five"Keeping in shape is a struggle. I've been on diets, and was on the high-protein Dukan diet and lost weight, so I'm careful what I eat. I smoke, as I find it helps in coping with stress. I come to work on a Vélib bike to keep in shape – I don't have the time or money to go to the gym. Because of my work I have to be presentable, so I spend what I need to. But cosmetics cost money, and we're being squeezed like lemons. Prices are going up and we're paying more taxes. As for raising my children, I'm fairly firm with them. I make sure they do their homework and get enough sleep. My five-year-old is in bed at 8.30pm every night and the other one half an hour later." Veronique Lambert, 52: a tax inspector in Lyon; divorced with three children: twin daughters, 21, and one son, 16"When I was younger, I bought into being a kind of superwoman, having perfect children and a toned body, but now I'm more relaxed about my image. I don't spend much on makeup or read women's magazines. I'm full of energy, so sport is a necessity for me, not a social thing: I go running, I go to the gym and I dance. I'm doing west coast swing and rock 'n' roll. How did I bring up my children? As a working single mother, it wasn't easy. Children need to know who's in charge. I learned that communication is important, particularly with girls." Francine Desnos, 50: a regional union rep from Angers in the Loire Valley; lives with her partner and has a daughter, 28, and son, 25"Is it effortless to be a French woman? I exercise by going ballroom dancing with my partner, because we enjoy it, and sometimes go to the swimming pool. I don't go on diets. I'm careful about my appearance, and set aside a budget for makeup. I'm lucky because we have two salaries coming in, but we need to be careful. I know lots of people who are afraid of the future, and worry about having enough money to get by. Both my children are grown and have jobs, but I was strict: I believe that you have to set boundaries." Estelle Le Roux, 37 (above): a saleswoman in Brest, Brittany; separated, one son, 13"What do I think about the idealised British view of the French woman? Here's my answer: the book I'm reading is called The Perfect Woman is a Silly Cow (La Femme Parfaite Est Une Connasse). I spend quite a lot on cosmetics and creams, but I don't diet. I took up jogging about 10 years ago to keep fit. I'm a strict mother. My son looks after himself until I get home at about 7pm. He's been trained to make the beds and do the washing up. I couldn't afford to have help. My ex-husband and I share custody but as a woman raising a child on my own, I'm always anxious about losing my job."

Anne Penketh and Kim Willsher: French women defy their chic stereotypes in face of Francois Hollande's alleged affair

WASHINGTON -- Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again" hats tout they are "Made in USA." Not necessarily always the case, an Associated Press review found. The iconic, baseball-style hats are indeed stitched together at a small factory in the Los Angeles area. But at least one of the hats in a small sample tested by AP and an outside expert did not contain the specific type of American-made fabric the hats' manufacturer insists his factory always uses to make each one. The true origin of the fabric in that hat remains a mystery -- whether U.S.- or foreign-made and by whom -- and a striking example of how difficult and murky it can be to verify something is actually "Made in USA." The Republican presidential candidate has made it a cornerstone of his campaign that U.S. companies and individuals should aim for that standard to bring back American jobs, even if it means paying more. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump signs a hat for a supporter after a campaign rally on April 11, 2016 in Albany, New York. Eduardo Munoz Alvarez, Getty Images Informed of the AP's findings, Trump said any misrepresentation would be unacceptable. "I pay a good price for that hat. If it's not made in the USA, we'll bring a lawsuit." The AP review included a microscopic analysis of five hats bought from Trump's campaign website, which showed the fabric in one was of a different type than that made by the supplier the manufacturer told the AP provides all his hat fabric. In addition to the fabric analysis, two of the manufacturer's employees, including a top sales agent, said the hats' fabric, bills and stiffeners were imported. The factory's owner, Brian Kennedy of Cali-Fame of Los Angeles Inc., said the two employees were wrong, but he refused to explain the fabric discrepancy. Federal law requires that items labeled "Made in USA" be made from materials "all or virtually all" from the United States. "I'm not using imported materials," Kennedy told the AP. "We're playing by the rules." On a broad level, the tale of Trump's hats shows the challenge of revitalizing U.S. manufacturing, which has been ravaged by cheap competition from overseas. Trump has accused Asian countries of unfairly manipulating their currencies to boost exports. Labor costs in Asia are so low that hats or other clothing can cost less than half the price of products made in the United States. Asian fabric prices are also lower, though less dramatically. While Trump has tried to get Made in USA hats for his campaign, knockoffs of those hats, clearly made in China, do a brisk business for other vendors. And Trump's private companies and the clothing line run by his daughter, Ivanka, routinely sell clothes and other products made in China and other Asian countries. Trump has warned Ford Motor Co. that he would place a 35 percent tax on cars sent to the U.S. from a planned plant in Mexico, and he has pledged to "get Apple to start building their damn computers and things in this country." "All it takes is a commitment to winning and making 'Made in America' a badge of honor like it used to be," Trump wrote last year. But the Trump campaign's experience shows how difficult it can be to be utterly certain of a product's provenance. Trump told the AP that his staff had visited Cali-Fame's factory and reviewed paperwork guaranteeing the hats qualified for Made in the USA labeling. "It was very important to us that these hats be made in the USA," he said. The fabric tells a complicated tale. Kennedy, the factory owner, provided the AP with a copy of a certificate dated March 24, 2016. It shows the purchase of 1,488 yards of U.S.-origin, red polyester-cotton blended fabric, called Saxtwill, from Carr Textile Corp. of Fenton, Missouri. Kennedy later provided copies of three other certificates from Carr Textile, dated September 2015, for components of black and white hats of U.S. origin. Kennedy declined to comment further after the AP told him that a microscopic analysis of the fabric in a red cap the AP purchased directly from Trump's campaign website did not match the red Saxtwill material that the AP obtained directly from Carr Textile. He said providing any further detail would reveal proprietary information. To do the microscopic analysis, the AP obtained samples directly from Carr of the same red polyester-cotton blended fabric that Kennedy said was in the hats: one type imported and one U.S.-made. The AP asked Deborah Young, a professor of textiles and clothing at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles, to compare two Trump hats that the AP had purchased from the campaign website with the fabric samples. The AP did not identify the fabric samples to prevent bias. Her conclusion: The material in one Trump hat was inconsistent with either Carr sample. The pattern of the weave was noticeably different, later confirmed by the AP using a school-grade microscope: All Carr-made Saxtwill fabric is a 2/1 weave; the other Trump hat was a 3/1 pattern weave. "I am completely confident of this outcome," Young said. "There's no way this hat was made out of either (Carr) sample." The analysis was not able to determine where the fabric in that hat actually came from. Young said the other "Make America Great Again" hat that the AP had also purchased from Trump's campaign could have come from either the U.S.-made Carr fabric, from Carr's cheaper imported fabric, or from an entirely different source. After receiving Young's opinion, the AP bought an additional three hats from the Trump campaign for review. Those were also compatible with either Carr's Saxtwill or the cheaper fabric that Carr imports. In addition to the fabric analysis, two of Cali-Fame's employees, Andy Meade and Angela Olague, told the AP and a product distributor, separately, that the hats were made from imported fabric and other components. The AP asked Kevin O'Brien, the president of Ethix Ventures Inc. of Boston, a distributor specializing in U.S.-produced, sweatshop-free merchandise, to call Meade, Cali-Fame's top sales agent, on the AP's behalf to ask about the company' hat prices and the origin of the hats' materials. The AP asked O'Brien to call so that the company's employees would respond as they would to a regular industry customer. "It's domestic made of imported," Meade said. An AP reporter separately called Olague in the company's sales department to ask which materials were imported, disclosing that he worked for The Associated Press when asked. The hats "are made in the USA, but all the materials are not," Olague told the AP of the company's Made in America product line. Pressed further, she said the factory could hypothetically produce hats from American-made fabric -- but only if the customer supplied domestic fabric with the same specifications of the material Cali-Fame used. Meade and Olague declined subsequently to speak to the AP. Kennedy, the factory owner, said the two employees had their facts wrong. Closely policing all U.S.-made claims would take considerable bureaucracy and expense. The Federal Trade Commission considers a product made in the U.S. only when "all or virtually all" the product is U.S.-made. It defines that as cases where "all significant parts and processing that go into the product are of U.S. origin." The FTC generally requires Made-in-USA labeled products to be assembled or "substantially transformed" in the U.S. and to contain "negligible" foreign content. Under the FTC rules, if a hat were made from imported fabrics, the maker could comply with the law by using a different, more qualified label, such as "Made of U.S. and imported fabric" or "Made in U.S. of imported fabric." The FTC can punish violators in an administrative process that prohibits unfair or deceptive practices. The agency can and sometimes does investigate such cases when it receives a formal complaint. Through a spokeswoman, the FTC declined to comment on Trump's hats specifically, referring the AP to its guidelines requiring all significant components to be domestically made. State law also regulates Made in USA claims. Under California law, 95 percent of a "Made in the USA" product's value must come from U.S. sources unless key components are unavailable domestically. Foreign fabric is often in greater supply, but domestic fabric is available. Ironically, even as the Trump campaign strives to provide Made in USA hats, unofficial knock-offs of Trump hats, made in China and not endorsed by Trump's campaign, are widely available. Trump's campaign sells its hats for $25 to $30 each on its website. It was unclear how many it has sold, but the campaign has paid Cali-Fame nearly $1.5 million for hats through the end of last month. The knockoffs, sometimes worn by Trump supporters at his rallies, can be had for as little as $6 on Amazon.com. Trump acknowledged there appeared to be a demand for the cheaper, foreign hats. He said he was unsure whether supporters buying those hats ever checked the tags. "I don't know if they know," he said. Trump said his organization has been writing letters trying to force the knockoff makers to stop. "Maybe we'll end up suing companies," he said. "Who knows where they are?" © 2016 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The ubiquitous red head gear is assembled in an LA-area factory but an analysis of the fabric tells a more complicated tale

Greek yogurt maker Chobani is considering replacing Chief Executive Hamdi Ulukaya with its President and Chief Operating Officer Kevin Burns, the New York Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter. One of the primary reasons for the removal of Ulukaya, founded the company, is a product recall in 2013 that led to negative EBITDA of $87 million in the fourth quarter, the paper reported, citing internal documents it reviewed. The recall was a result of bad design and layout incorporated during the construction of the company's $450 million Idaho factory, and due to lack of training for workers, the Post reported. Read MoreGo Greek! Disney, Chobani aim for the kids market Ulukaya, who built the factory, kept a lot of his key executives in the dark as they continued to spend freely amid mounting losses and increasing chaos at the factory, the report said. Private-equity firm TPG invested $750 million in the New Berlin, New York-based company last year to save it from the cash crunch arising as a result of the problems at Idaho. TPG declined to comment. Chobani could not be reached for comment outside regular business hours.

The Greek yogurt maker is considering replacing CEO with its president and COO, the New York Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Apple wants to push consumers further into a wireless world. Its tactics: Eliminate the standard headphone jack in its newest iPhones and market new "AirPods'' - tiny wireless earbuds that the company claims greatly improve on standard Bluetooth technology. But that strategy has some risks. Start with the AirPods themselves. These are a pair of earbuds, each with an inch or so of protruding plastic, and nothing else - no wires to hold them together, no dangling cords. If they live up to Apple's claims, they're a technological marvel, tiny and expensive. And, perhaps, also easily dislodged or misplaced. Analysts at IHS Technology say that Apple used a smooth-surfaced design that doesn't conform to the shape of the ear, and note the risk of the AirPods falling out while running or cycling. As Bob O'Donnell, a veteran consumer tech analyst at Technalysis Research, puts it: "You start losing those things at $US160 a pair, you're going to go crazy.'' Apple senior vice president Philip Schiller made it clear on Wednesday that the company sees a future where its sleek gadgets are no longer encumbered by cords at all. "It makes no sense to tether ourselves with cables to our mobile devices,'' he said during the company's annual product event. Eliminating the standard analog jack freed up some space inside the new iPhones, allowing Apple to increase the battery size and add another speaker as it redesigned the interior of the device. Despite some earlier rumours, Apple didn't use the extra space to make the iPhone 7 or 7 Plus any slimmer than last year's models, the 6S and 6S Plus. Apple did make an effort to improve on standard Bluetooth technology, which can be unreliable and obstinate when used to "pair'' wireless headsets with phones or other devices. The new AirPods are based on Bluetooth standards. But in addition to special sensors, a microphone and noise cancelling technology, they have a processor chip designed by Apple, combined with software that Apple says will make it simple to sync them with an iPhone, Apple Watch and other Apple gadgets. The result allows a "seamless connection between you and your devices,'' said Apple chief design officer Jony Ive in a promotional video. "We're just at the beginning of a truly wireless future we've been working towards for many years.'' The new "AirPods'' will work with Bluetooth-enabled devices made by Apple's rivals, but they won't have the ease-of-pairing that comes with Apple's software. Schiller didn't mention rival devices during his presentation, nor did he even use the word "Bluetooth.'' Analysts say Apple clearly wants to promote its own brand of wireless listening gear, including new headphones from its own "Beats'' division, since the market for such accessories is growing at a time when sales of iPhones - and other smartphones - are slowing. Some early reviewers are already captivated by the AirPod. "They fixed Bluetooth headsets,'' said tech analyst Patrick Moorhead, of Moor Insights & Strategy, after trying a pair. "I think Apple has a real winner here.'' But mobile tech analyst Carolina Milanesi of the Creative Strategies firm thinks Apple has a bigger goal in mind -to make it easier for consumers to use one set of wireless earpieces with a variety of Apple's products. "It's not just about your iPhone anymore,'' she said. "It's about getting consumers thinking more about that ecosystem of Apple products - and how they all play nicely together.'' It's an expensive ecosystem: Buying a new iPhone 7, Apple Watch and a set of AirPods will cost over $US1000 ($A1300). Apple is hoping its new iPhone and an updated Apple Watch, known as Series 2, will help reverse a recent decline in sales. While the company sold nearly 92 million iPhones in the first six months of this year, that's about 15 per cent fewer than the same period last year. Industry analysts say the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus, which Apple introduced last year, didn't offer many compelling new features over the previous year's models. With the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, Apple may face a similar challenge. O'Donnell, considers the changes from last year's iPhones "modest'' overall. A new dual-lens camera in the iPhone 7 Plus may be impressive, he said, but it's only available in the larger and more expensive phone, limiting its appeal. Other smartphone makers are also having trouble dazzling consumers with new advances. But Forrester Research analyst Julie Ask believes consumers will appreciate the faster chip and other improvements once they try the new iPhones. And she's not worried about any backlash over elimination of the hardware jack. "Apple has a very long history of removing features we all thought were necessary, and then convincing us that we didn't need them,'' said Ask, noting that Apple paved the way in phasing out the use of floppy discs and optical drives in computers. ``Three months later, it will be, `Why did we ever have that?'''

Apple is trying to push consumers into a wireless world, but the strategy has some risks.

The presenting duo returning to the ITV show after the summer break THEY were only back on air a few minutes before Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield got into a fit of giggles on This Morning. The presenting duo have just returned to the small screen from their summer break and started laughing as they welcomed a new puppy into the fold. The duo explained that their resident dog Clover has gone off the train as a guide dog and so they've replaced her with another "dog with a purpose". Holly couldn't contain her excitement as Phillip brought the adorable Labradoodle on set. The pup looked like she was trying to wriggle out of Phillip's arms at one point and Holly went to fetch a toy but Phillip managed to settle her by scratching her ears. Holly then explained that the beautiful puppy didn't have a name and viewers had to submit ideas of what to call her. She said: "It must begin with the letter 'L'. Have two syllables, and not sound like any commands." The blonde beauty then tried to come up with some ideas and suggested the names "Lovely" and "Licky" before Phil interjected: "Can you imagine shouting Licky across the park?!" Viewers took to Twitter in their droves to suggest names for the gorgeous pup with Luna winning out in the end. Holly said: "I love the name Luna, it's lovely and she's the colour of the moon." Meanwhile, This Morning viewers were delighted to see the pair back on screen after their summer break. Holly stunned in a beautiful navy dress and Phillip was matching in a light blue shirt. One viewer wrote: "It's so good to have Holly and Phillip back on #ThisMorning. Nothing better than these two in the mornings!" Another added: "#This Morning just isn't the same without Holly and Phil, so good to have them back!" Someone else wrote: "Normal service has resumed!" I don't think anyone will understand how happy it makes me to see Phillip and Holly back! I hate it when they're on holiday! #ThisMorning — Miss Rebeckii???????? (@RebeckiiPowell) September 5, 2016 As the pair got back to their day job, they explained to viewers how they ended up wearing matching heart tshirts a la Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston while frolicking in the sea. The TV hosts poked fun at the celebrity couple by wearing special customised tops emblazoned with each others' initials. Phillip explained: "Our editor Martin gave us a present before we left, he gave us these tshirts and said: 'See if there's anything you can do with these'. "And of course we did, it was a little nod to Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston." Meanwhile, Holly kept fans updated on her son Chester's potty training. She explained: "Chester, who turns two at the end of this month, one day decided he was done with the nappies. "He kept pulling the tabs off, so I decided to potty train him and he's done it, the boy has done it. "We are a nappy free zone apart from at night. He takes after his mother, he's very quick." Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220

THEY were only back on air a few minutes before Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield got into a fit of giggles on This Morning. The presenting duo have just returned to the small screen from thei…

The State Department is conducting three separate investigations of the shooting, and on Monday the F.B.I. said it was sending a team to Baghdad to compile evidence for possible criminal prosecution. Neither the State Department nor Blackwater would comment on Monday about the 15-page report, but both said their representatives would address it on Tuesday in testimony before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, whose Democratic staff produced the document. Based on 437 internal Blackwater incident reports as well as internal State Department correspondence, the report said Blackwater’s use of force was “frequent and extensive, resulting in significant casualties and property damage.” Among those scheduled to testify Tuesday are Erik Prince, a press-shy former Navy Seal who founded Blackwater a decade ago, and several top State Department officials. The committee report places a significant share of the blame for Blackwater’s record in Iraq on the State Department, which has paid Blackwater more than $832 million for security services in Iraq and elsewhere, under a diplomatic security contract it shares with two other companies, DynCorp International and Triple Canopy. Blackwater has reported more shootings than the other two companies combined, but it also currently has twice as many employees in Iraq as the other two companies combined. In the case of the Christmas Eve killing, the report says that an official of the United States Embassy in Iraq suggested paying the slain bodyguard’s family $250,000, but a lower-ranking official said that such a high payment “could cause incidents with people trying to get killed by our guys to financially guarantee their family’s future.” Blackwater ultimately paid the dead man’s family $15,000. In another fatal shooting cited by the committee, an unidentified State Department official in Baghdad urged Blackwater to pay the victim’s family $5,000. The official wrote, “I hope we can put this unfortunate matter behind us quickly.” The committee report also cited three other shootings in which Blackwater officials filed misleading reports or otherwise tried to cover up the shootings. Since mid-2006, Blackwater has been responsible for guarding American diplomats in and around Baghdad, while DynCorp has been responsible for the northern part of the country and Triple Canopy for the south. State Department officials said last week that Blackwater had run more than 1,800 escort convoys for American diplomats and other senior civilians this year and its employees had discharged their weapons 57 times. Blackwater was involved in 195 instances of gunfire from 2005 until early September, a rate of 1.4 shootings a week, the report says. In 163 of those cases, Blackwater gunmen fired first. The report also says Blackwater gunmen engaged in offensive operations alongside uniformed American military personnel in violation of their State Department contract, which states that Blackwater guards are to use their weapons only for defensive purposes. It notes that Blackwater’s contract authorizes its employees to use lethal force only to prevent “imminent and grave danger” to themselves or to the people they are paid to protect. “In practice, however,” the report says, “the vast majority of Blackwater weapons discharges are pre-emptive, with Blackwater forces firing first at a vehicle or suspicious individual prior to receiving any fire.” The report cites two instances in which Blackwater gunmen engaged in tactical military operations. One was a firefight in Najaf in 2004 during which Blackwater employees set up a machine gun alongside American and Spanish forces. Later that year, a Blackwater helicopter helped an American military squad secure a mosque from which sniper fire had been detected. Blackwater has dismissed 122 of its employees over the past three years for misuse of weapons, drug or alcohol abuse, lewd conduct or violent behavior, according to the report. It has also terminated workers for insubordination, failure to report incidents or lying about them, and publicly embarrassing the company. One employee was dismissed for showing signs of post-traumatic stress disorder. The Senate on Monday gave final approval, 92 to 3, to a defense policy bill that included the establishment of an independent commission to investigate private contractors operating in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill, which must be reconciled with a House version, faces a veto threat because it includes an expansion of federal hate-crimes laws. James Risen, David Stout and David M. Herszenhorn contributed reporting. A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A1 of the New York edition with the headline: REPORT SAYS FIRM TRIED COVER-UPS AFTER SHOOTINGS. Order Reprints| Today's Paper|Subscribe

Employees of Blackwater USA have engaged in nearly 200 shootings in Iraq since 2005, according to a new report from Congress.

Today's column: Larry David and 'Curb Your Enthusiasm,' kicking it up a notch for TV Guide run Shales, The Washington Post's chief television critic for 30 years, is the author of several books, including "On the Air," "Legends" and "Live From New York." His column, "Shales on TV," appears in the paper every Tuesday. washingtonpost.com: Tom is being delayed due to technical problems. Hopefully he will join us soon. Please stand by. Tom Shales: Hello, 13 minutes late, coming to you from either the Guatemalan Sink Hole or the surface of the sun, I am not sure which... I was supposed to be using a new Mac but guess what, the new Mac turns out to be a complete piece of crap. Everything you want to do requires seventy-two additional steps. I hate it, I loathe it, I despise it. I won't even go see Justin Long's lousy movies any more. Onward, and yes, I AM CRANKY!!!!!!!!! Arlington, Va.: I find both Curb and Seinfeld extremely cringe-worthy in many of their episodes. I suppose it all comes from the David-Seinfeld motto of "No learning," as the characters keep digging themselves into holes of their own making. One Seinfeld episode that reflected some strange priorities was the one where Jerry accidentally drops his girlfriend's toothbrush in the toilet, doesn't tell her, but no longer likes her when she innocently uses it. Blaming other people is part of the game. Tom Shales: Yes, I see exactly what you mean and every now and then, I watch a Seinfeld rerun, even a favorite one, and I think, "Aw-oh, the tipping point! I can't find this funny any more. George is too big a selfish imbecile, Jerry is too mean, Elaine is too self-obsessed, Kramer is too pathetic an idiot --" Of course they are all selfish to a hideous extreme which was part of the premise of the show, so I really can't complain about it -- but is there a central meanness at its core? And its corps? Herndon, Va.: Mr. S: Larry David has perfected being obnoxious and funny. There are so many great episodes from "CYE," but my favorite bit is his fight with the handicapped/disabled/crippled man about use of the handicapped stall in the men's room. An absolute classic. Tom Shales: A great one, yes. I loved the whole season in which he played host to a poverty-stricken family victimized by the New Orleans floods, Hurricane Bush, and the mom was played by the great wonderful electrifying Vivica A. Fox whose first name I have probably mangled. Staff?! Staff?! Research department?!?! I think they are out dangling their tootsies in a fountain........ Anonymous: I like dry humor. I love satire. But I've never liked "Curb" or "The Office." In both cases I got the impression the writers, and actors, were saying, "We are so clever! And funny!" Maybe it's because I'm no fan of Ron Howard (absolutely loathed "Beautiful Mind"). Tom Shales: Whoa, I am getting lost in these comparisons. Hard to imagine Ron Howard and "dry humor" in the same sentence because of course he appeared for years on "Happy Days," not exactly the driest sitcom in the world - more of a soggy boggy mess. But I know what you mean about dry comedy, it is becoming absolutely the prevailing standard. I think commercials have done much to popularize it; they don't have room for punch lines so they threw them out; the humor is very flippant and a big smug -- well this is a very large subject. Too large for such a hot day maybe. Did I mention the Mac is a mess??? Obviously the quality and success of Seinfeld was dependent on several people, not just Jerry and Larry but the other Larry (Charles) and the excellence of the cast itself. But looking at the two principals and their post-Seinfeld efforts, I'm inclined to believe that Larry David was a much greater reason for its success than the eponymous Seinfeld. Curb is a work of genius and that Bee Movie and the Marriage Ref is more like a piece of "dung." Tom Shales: Good point(s). Episodes of Seinfeld with a Larry David writing credit - and his name alone, not teamed with anyone else - tend to be the best, I think. He won an Emmy for "The Contest," the famous or infamous episode about the four friends joining in a bet to see which of them can resist temptation the longest. That's about all the explaining it needs or can get here. At his best, David comes up with some fairly brilliant insights into human character - through characters that often seem all-too-human. Oh and perhaps like me you are awed by the supporting cast of Seinfeld and of Curb -- not that regulars but the actors who come in for one episode and just blow you away -- I wish I could remember his name but if you go way way back in Seinfeld history, the actor who played the doctrinaire library detective (tracking down overdue book borrowers) was just sensationally funny..........and so on through all seven or eight seasons. No "Enthusiasm": I just don't like cringe-comedy anymore, even though I loved "Seinfeld" in its era. Maybe we're all a little less full of ourselves these days? Tom Shales: Do the times shape the comedy or does the comedy shape the times or is it a little bit of each? Probably a little bit of each. Well not probably - obviously. I am enthralled: by BRAVO's new commercial for its network. It has an array of its reality show stars partying to a tune ("Kissed It" by artist Macy Gray, as I found out) that is absolutely riveting. Has another network ever done such a commercial for its brand v. discrete shows? I can't think of one. Way cool commercial. It's got me thinking BRAVO in more ways than one. What do you think about the insidious(!) trend this might presage? Tom Shales: You were enthralled, I am impressed -- but with your take on the promos, not the promos themselves since, I confess, I haven't seen them yet. I will make it a point to watch Bravo, painful as that may be, in search of these innovative promos. If there as good as you say, it seems inevitable that nearly everyone else will be imitating them, and soon. If you have just joined us, ladies and gentlemen, my apologies for being late and let me tell you about my experience with a new Mac -- oh, no time right now. Maybe later...... Arlington, Va.: Over the years you have gifted me hundreds and hundreds of hours, I could have used to watch lousy TV shows, but I did not, because I learned early on that when you said a show was no good, it definitely was no good. You were always right. Your response to my next question, if you choose to answer it, may be "a gift" to my wallet: Is subscription to HBO and whatever else comes in that package worth the $$$? I had it for a while, years ago, when I first got cable TV, but I cancelled it because in those days HBO never had anything I wanted to watch. However, things change. I felt a bit left out reading your review this morning. Tom Shales: First, thank you for the extremely kind comment. I honestly can't imagine that I am that consistent or reliable - what critic could be? I admired and adored Pauline Kael, she was so much fun to read, but a quarter of the time I thought she was absolutely batty -- as when she championed that goofy Bertolucci thing with Marlon "butterfingers" Brando - what WAS the title -- oh yeah LAST TANGO IN PARIS. But her review was great reading. Anyway, what you said from there in good old Arlington has given me chills and boy did I need 'em today, heh heh. And I really do think HBO is worth the money - for "Curb" and "Entourage" and that bloody vampire mess, and for the documentaries on Monday nights (or whenever) which are 8 times out of 10 very well done - absorbing, disturbing, or both. I think TV would have a harder time justifying itself without HBO in the mix. Oh boy are you gonna be mad at me if you take my advice and then hate HBO. By the way -- when it comes to my advice, generally speaking, my advice is, don't take my advice....... Original Ludditte speaking: Once you get knack for Mac, you will looooooove it. It took me a while, but now that I got it, I'll never go back to PC again. Tom Shales: Thank you for the encouragement. This is what i thought would happen. Even unpacking the thing is sort of inspiring, as opposed to the junkiness of PC's. The Mac box does have lovely graphics and all that, it's a beautiful piece of industrial design - but then that cute keyboard, for starters, is a dainty little nuisance, it seems to me, not impressive or very ergonomic, though I suppose a large gaggle of scientific wizards spent hundreds of hours putting it together -- well the bottom line is that even if I love the Mac, there'll still be AOL to contend with....thanks! Chattanooga, Tenn.: Maybe you should make a video where you treat your computer the way it deserves to be treated and send it in to Tosh.0. Tom Shales: Tosh dot what? This isn't a naughty joke of some kind, is it? I am proud of having destroyed a computer or two in my time. It's the only revenge possible against these monstrous machines. Bethesda, Md.: I've never read anything about Larry David's local connections. I heard that he received his bachelors degree in history from U of MD College Park. Any story there? Is he a local boy? If not, how did he end up a Terp? Tom Shales: Yes he did go to the University of Maryland. I'm not sure if he graduated since he has a history of bailing on things. It doesn't seem like the esteemed academicians of the U of M take much pride in Mr. David, though they certainly should. As far as journalism goes, it's a good school to avoid, but David wasn't there to learn journalism.... Germantown, Md.: You mentioned getting tired of Seinfeld episodes (reaching the tipping point regarding the characters' foibles). I wonder how much of that is because you can now watch a show every day (at least once) as opposed to once a week. Tom Shales: Yes, they were of course designed to be watched once a week. Now I sometimes think, Did I really make a Seinfeld episode one of the absolute highlights of any given week's existence? Hey, I can remember when NBC's Thursday night, virtually the whole thing, was absolute stay-at-home material. Of course -- that got to be a tradition, one which, in the current climate, is pretty well kaput, and has been I guess since Seinfeld tippy-toed off into the wings.......Remember LA Law? That was a smart, spiffy show, just part of the NBC Thursday -- and of course E.R. which hung in there for, what, 14 years or so? (just a guess, don't get mad if I'm wrong)...... Seinfeld vs. CYE: I loved Seinfeld but could never get into CYE and I'm totally sure why. Maybe the stuff Seinfeld covered is more relatable to my own life. Seinfeld never really did topics that I could never find funny under any circumstance? (i.e., child abuse) Or maybe it's just how the show was presented. Seinfeld's opening standup introduction to every show put me into a comedy mood? I don't know, but something about Seinfeld felt lighter to me. CYE is more on the darker side. Tom Shales: Yes, CYE is more on the darker side but I'm not clear on whether that makes you like it or hate it - oh, I see, somewhere in between. There are times when the situations become too outlandish and strain credulity (or maybe stain it rather than strain it). Like the episode in which an NBC executive risked angering Larry and losing out on a planned Seinfeld reunion (which would huge in the ratings, whatever you may think of Seinfeld) by giving Larry atrocious seats at a Lakers Game. Silly - not plausible. Your MAC: I am blessed by my parents with a name that is also identified by the initials "MAC." I have had great fun (as have my friends) with this over the past few years and collect "MAC" references for a future scrapbook that has famous(!) people referencing MAC. Keep it up. In this chat alone, I have probably filled several pages. Tom Shales: I will think of you when the mac WORKS, not when it fails miserably. When it fails miserably, I will think of myself and the 1200 bucks I flushed merrily away. Reston, Va.: My issue with shows like Curb and Seinfeld is that they use the characterizations as an excuse to be mean. Doesn't matter who they offend, because the characters are "supposed to be offensive". It's just a lazy excuse for bad writing. Tom Shales: Maybe it's as you say. I don't know if it's really bad writing though or lazy writing either, because it isn't easy to do. If it were easy to do, everybody would try to do it. Seinfeld wasn't all THAT imitated, I think because that kind of writing is hard to master. Maybe it boils down to a few tricks as so much sitcom writing seems to - but I think there's more to it, and that it takes a certain kind of unusual talent to concoct those stories and that dialogue........ Great Falls, Va.: My question is not in line with the comments you have received nor with your column this morning. What I would like to know is why was there almost a total lack of coverage this Memorial Day weekend of the Korean War? That war began 60 years ago and has never ended. The fighting lasted about 3 years with over 30,000 KIA compared to, say the 5,000 lost so far in Iraq and Afghanistan or the 50,000 lost in Vietnam. Once again the mad man in the capital of North Korea is rattling the saber and taking lives. Just what is it with TV that producers, etc., ignore the ungoing hostilities in Korea? Tom Shales: A good question to which I regret I do not have a satisfactory answer. What was Korea officially characterized as -- a "police action" or something like that? Perhaps because, as with Vietnam later, there was no feeling of victory once it reached its uneasy conclusion (arguably no conclusion at all). But on a day set aside to remember those who died in service to their country, there's no excuse, as you say, for ignoring what happened in Korea.... D.C.: Is there a backstory on you and the UMCP Journalism School. You're among friends, Tom. I bailed from the Journalism School there as a freshman and went over to the English Department. Never regretted it. Tom Shales: A backstory? Some nut at the Journalism School edited a loathsome little magazine there years ago, a magazine supposedly about good journalism yet itself a pathetically poor excuse for it. There were some unpleasantries that gave me the impression the Journalism Department was run by a sorry lot - but I'm sure all that has changed by now. This was somewhere between the Pleistocene as Messozoic, ages, or is it Plasticene and Mezzo-soprano? As you can tell, it's all a trifle cloudy.... Chattanooga, Tenn.: Tosh.0 is a program on Comedy Central where comedian Daniel Tosh cracks wise over the funniest/most brutal video clips his staff can find on the Internets (it's not a truck, it's a series of tubes). He's another one who pushes the envelope toward mean sometimes, but he's not afraid to include himself as part of the joke, and I never fail to find his show entertaining. Tom Shales: Thanks Chattanooga. I think you may be our first Chattanoogan. Pardon me boy, is that -- oh Lord, you've heard that more than enough times, I'm sure. Now I forgot your question -- oh it was an ANSWER, about Tosh. I will search him out. Thank you! College Park, Md.: Yes, Larry David did receive his degree from here. But what I don't understand is why they don't celebrate the fact. I like Jim Henson, but David gives the place such an artistic edge that's hard to ignore. Can you imagine him delivering a commencement address? That would be priceless. Tom Shales: How right you are - though he may not be willing to do it. Conan O'Brien's commencement speech at Harvard a couple of years ago is really a masterpiece of that genre. Google it if you can........ Philip Baker Hall: Mr. Bookman, the Seinfeld library detective. Tom Shales: And another answer, much appreciated. Philip Baker Hall, very versatile, just great in the role of the library gumshoe...... Pauline Kael: Nice to see Ms. Kael (RIP) referenced here in your chat. While she and I differed mightily on a number of films, I never underestimated her intelligence or integrity when it came to reviewing. I read you because I feel the same. Think you are waaaay off the mark sometimes; but, by golly, I respect your opinion. End of lovefest for film critics. Resume chat. Tom Shales: Oh come on, we can chat any time. Let's resume the lovefest for critics. Hello? Hello? Anybody there? Okay, resume chat then! And thanks for the note re Ms Kael. UHF: My one problem with Seinfeld is that I thought Jerry was the least talented actor of the ensemble. It always seemed like he was saying his lines knowing they were jokes and smiling inappropriately, as opposed to the rest of the cast, who were really superb actors. Tom Shales: And yet I kind of got a kick out of that -- those shots of Seinfeld where you can see him fighting valiantly to keep from laughing at Michael Richards. Or you can tell that this is maybe the 6th or 7th or 20th take or something and that all the preceding takes were ruined by Seinfeld laughing. He was never an actor, no, but did it really matter? Baltimore, Md.: The uniqueness that was "Seinfeld": What I thought was so gutsy about that show (and gutsy for NBC for sticking with it after the first year) was that none of the characters were totally sympathetic. The sitcom formula had long been predicated on the sensible guy (or couple) around whom all the dizziness occurred. Mary Tyler Moore and the first Newhart show were prime examples. "Seinfeld" dared to give us a quartet of characters (quintet, if you count Wayne Knight's Newman) who all had very serious shortcomings. For the poster who thinks "The Office" is too "dry" -- for heaven's sake, never watch the original with Ricky Gervais. Its ability to create uncomfortable, cringe-worthy moments makes "Seinfeld" look like "Full House." Tom Shales: Yes, The Office did lose much of its punch on the trip over from the UK, don't you think? (Of course you do, you just said so, sorry). Even so, the Americanized office has served up a fairly healthy bounty of those cringe inducers you appreciate. And what you say about Seinfeld rings true; the best things about it were the rules it broke. So it's foolish of me to complain that the characters were such bastards -- and yet I still feel there were times when they crossed over into utter contemptuousness - and should have been shot by a character visiting from a cop show.... Standing the test of time....: Seinfeld no longer holds -- especially the last few seasons. Have never been able to stomach CYE. Meh. And while I love your writing (Stuever's got nothing on you), in our house, we don't necessarily use you as a barometer for good and bad. Just more for how you might eviscerate a network for subjecting us to such drivel. P.S. -- Arlington -- Save the $$ on HBO. Eventually that stuff is available via Netflix. Tom Shales: Hmmm. I guess that's pretty good advice on HBO, even though mine was precisely the opposite. It seems more convenient to me, whatever, to have HBO there whenever you want (or need) it rather than to go off exploring in search of individual programs. Early Seinfeld Chronicles: I thought that the early version of the Seinfeld show was much better than the later. Early Jerry was more of a commentator on his friends, less of a jerk himself. Tom Shales: I find the VERY earliest episodes unwatchable -- I like the show once it went to the multi-story-line format, following two or three plotlines at a time. Elaine being kept awake by a dog, Jerry dating a girl with "man hands," Cosmo Kramer trying to entertain mystified Japanese tourists - these were not all from the same episode but they could have been. Sometimes I marvel that three or four of my favorite arcs ARE in the same episode. An embarrassment of riches. Seinfeld's Library Cop: That was the great Philip Baker Hall as Lt. Bookman. (Pun intended.) Tom Shales: Thanks to you, too - I don't think it hurts to repeat the name...... Centreville, Va.: Seriously, you can't use a MAC? I was using mine 5 minutes after I had it out of the box. What extra steps are you talking about? Tom Shales: Well I can't get to AOL for one thing. It refuses to download it and advises me to go looking for an "administrator" IN MY OWN HOUSE?!?! And since I use it mostly for word processing AKA WRITING, I keep stumbling on steps and measures and -- oh I don't know. I do know that at exactly 11:59 a.m. when I need it most, it completely plotzed. No AOL within sight and instead of that infernal blinking hourglass, I got an infernal blinking color wheel, just sitting there on the screen LAUGHING IN MY FACE! (then again, that IS the usual reaction.......) Herndon, Va.: Mr. S: No mention of Korea over Memorial Day? Well, my dad was in WWII and Korea, I'm a Vietnam vet, and I agree Korea seems to fall through the cracks on occasion. The solution? No doubt if Hanks and Spielberg do an HBO series on the Korean War, it will get the attention it deserves. If that sounds cynical, it's because I am. Tom Shales: Good point. They need a miniseries. Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg seem to have appointed themselves Arbiters of Which Wars Matter...... Dry Humor vs. Funny: Dry humor makes critics love those NBC comedies like The Office and 30 Rock, yet no one else watches them. Yet traditional sitcoms like Big Bang Theory are funny and popular (IMO). So dry humor only appeals to certain segments of the public. I agree with the smugness factor. Tom Shales: There you go, another issue settled! Thanks to the erudite and generous chatters of the Tuesday Noon Society, formerly the Wednesday Afternoon Fine Arts League. Curb in syndication: Tom... there is nothing --NOTHING-- more unfunny to me than the Toned Down Cuss Word Replacement (e.g., your cited "dung" in Suzie's tirade in "The Doll" episode of CURB). Why don't they just BLEEP the words? Comedically it's much funnier. Tom Shales: They did do a lot of bleeping but the beep that covers the bleep I find hugely annoying at least if meted out in excess, as it is on MTV all the time - and on shows they produce themselves, the dopes. I'd rather have silence but then you see moving lips on the screen and people think their cable system is having another outage. Censoring is ALWAYS bad yet often the most reasonable option.... Alexandria, Va.: I don't believe I have ever, in my whole life, seen a single episode of "Seinfeld" all the way through. I have, however, probably seen most parts of most episodes, many times over. Have I lost something, or were they in fact intended to be viewed that way (which is why they are ideal daily re-run fodder, as video Muzak to be played on TV in those off-hours when you aren't really watching TV). Tom Shales: Television programs have become more and more modular, so that you need only watch parts of shows -- perhaps the shows are insidiously designed this way (?) or perhaps it just seems they are. In other words, this is not one of those weighty issues were will solve in one session. Evolution: I only saw the first two seasons of "Curb..." because we stopped getting HBO after that, so I'm curious to know if the show, in your opinion, has stayed at the same comedic level, or gotten -- say -- more or less sophisticated, or if maybe it's running out of ideas (like I thought Seinfeld was in its last year or two...). Thanks. Tom Shales: It varies, like most things. David himself said he didn't think the first season was very good and that subsequent seasons featured shows that were more "dense" and had more going on. I think the season in which Larry was duped by Mel Brooks into taking over a major role in "The Producers" on Broadway was very cleverly conceived and consistently funny throughout. And that's only one example. I really think it's improved but last season made me restless and if he had decided NOT to continue, I would not have been bereft. Just a trifle irked. Curbing Ron: I thought Howard narrated "Curb" and had ties to its production. Tom Shales: Are you joshing? Ron Howard? Must be someone with a similar name? Must there is NO Narrator on the show. I wonder where we've gone wrong in this discussion, because we can't be talking about the same thing .. In fact, I will retire now to my own private Guatemalan Sink Hole in an effort to sort this out. Oh and as little as I enjoy Sink Holes, I do hope this one turns out to have been real and not another PhotoShop trick (no one has been reported seriously injured as a result). Thanks, drive safely, be kind to each other and please come back! ......... Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.

Post Style columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Tom Shales discusses television, its cultural impact and his columns.

ATLANTA TIM MAZZETTI is a party-loving soccer player from Brazil and an inspiration to every bartender who ever filled a martini glass so it bulged. For two and a half seasons, he has been kicking footballs crosswise for the Atlanta Falcons, and twice in that span the team has been in the National Football League playoffs. Far and away the leading scorer on the team, he is one of the main reasons the Falcons were playing the Dallas Cowboys yesterday for the half-championshipof the National Conference. Going into the team's second postseason tournament, Mazzetti stood second among the league's place-kickers during the season with 46 extra points in 49 chances and 19 field goals in 27 attempts for 103 points. Lynn Cain, a running back, and Junior Miller, a pass-catching tight end, were next for the Falcons with 54 each. After half a season as a newly minted demigod and one autumn on the edge of despair, the only professional barkeep in professional football came back this year to make good his escape from Smokey Joe's bar on the University of Pennsylvania campus in Philadelphia. In the Brotherhood of the White Apron, this is deemed a proper reward for geniality, a steady pouring hand and giving good measure. It is also a deserved dividend on the patience of Leeman Bennett, the Atlanta coach, who clung to his faith in Mazzetti when it looked as though Tim had lost his touch irretrievably. It is a fact of life, not easily explained, that place-kickers can suddenly and mysteriously lose distance, accuracy and the gift of concentration. Inevitably, they also lose their jobs. It's something like a golfer whose nerve control falters, his short game loses its edge and he gets the yips on the green. A golfer, though, plays for himself. When the kicker sets his sights on the goal posts, the fortunes of the whole team may depend on him alone. ''Kickers don't have to run fast,'' a man said to Pat Summerall, who did the kicking for the New York Giants before radio-television hired his pear-shaped tones. ''He doesn't take hard hits. Why should he lose it?'' ''The legs lose strength as he grows older,'' Pat said. ''Before I retired, I knew I'd lost 4 or 5 yards on kickoffs . But mostly it's mental, I think. Concentration slips, he starts going bad and worries about it, and then it all comes apart.'' Mazzetti knows what happened to him in 1979, or thinks he does. At first, he said, he got the blame for Atlanta defeats, and being made the scapegoat upset him. He couldn't keep his mind on the job. Then,after the Falcons' final game of 1979, in which he kicked a field goal and 4 extra points, he came up with a different explanation. ''Somebody made a casual remark, 'You sure line up close to the ball,''' he said, ''so I checked the films. I was setting up six inches too close to the ball. On my approach, I'd stop instead of swinging through. It destroyed my rhythm.'' The Falcons plucked Mazzetti out of Smokey Joe's in mid-October 1978. A native of Greenwich, Conn., he had grown up in Brazil, where his father was in the import-export business. Like all healthy young Brazilians, he played soccer. Returning to the United States to attend the Wharton School of Commerce at Penn, he played varsity soccer and did some kicking on the football squad. No pro team drafted him but the New England Patrtiots gave him a physical examination and turned him down because he had a hernia. Then he flunked trials with the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas and the New Orleans Saints. Broke, he took a job tending bar in Joe's, an undergraduate hangout. He also served briefly as a bouncer, though at 6 feet and 175 pounds, he isn't big for that job. He is affable and cooperative, and he thrives on the tavern atmosphere. He was making $50 a night when the Falcons, desperate for a kicker, telephoned. His first attempt was blocked but he made good on two subsequent kicks in that first game, and from that point he rode a skyrocket. The Falcons put on a nine-game winning streak and in five of those games the winning points started with a sideswipe from Mazzetti's foot. Sponsors ran at him with offers for commercials and endorsements. He painted his kicking shoe and made a footprint on paper for a woman who wanted it for a birthday gift. In one game he kicked five field goals to beat the Los Angeles Rams, 15-7. Qualifying for the playoffs as a wild card, the Falcons beat the Eagles in the first round, 14-13. They lost to Dallas in the next round by a touchdown. Illustrations: Photo of Lynn Cain

Red Smith Bartender's Comeback ATLANTA TIM MAZZETTI is a party-loving soccer player from Brazil and an inspiration to every bartender who ever filled a martini glass so it bulged. For two and a half seasons, he has been kicking footballs crosswise for the Atlanta Falcons, and twice in that span the team has been in the National Football League playoffs. Far and away the leading scorer on the team, he is one of the main reasons the Falcons were playing the Dallas Cowboys yesterday for the half-championshipof the National Conference. Going into the team's second postseason tournament, Mazzetti stood second among the league's place-kickers during the season with 46 extra points in 49 chances and 19 field goals in 27 attempts for 103 points. Lynn Cain, a running back, and Junior Miller, a pass-catching tight end, were next for the Falcons with 54 each.

NEW YORK (AP) — Maybe men had it right all along: It doesn't take long to satisfy a woman in bed. A survey of sex therapists concluded the optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse was 3 to 13 minutes. The findings, to be published in the May issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, strike at the notion that endurance is the key to a great sex life. If that sounds like good news to you, don't cheer too loudly. The time does not count foreplay, and the therapists did rate sexual intercourse that lasts from 1 to 2 minutes as "too short." Researcher Eric Corty said he hoped to ease the minds of those who believe that "more of something good is better, and if you really want to satisfy your partner, you should last forever." The questions were not gender-specific, said Corty (who, it must be noted, is male). But he said prior research has shown that both men and women want foreplay and sexual intercourse to last longer. Dr. Irwin Goldstein, editor of the Journal of Sexual Medicine, cited a four-week study of 1,500 couples in 2005 that found the median time for sexual intercourse was 7.3 minutes. (Women were armed with stopwatches.) It's difficult for both older men and young men to make sexual intercourse last much longer, said Marianne Brandon, a clinical psychologist and director of Wellminds Wellbodies in Annapolis, Md. "There are so many myths in our culture of what other people are doing sexually," Brandon said. "Most people's sex lives are not as exciting as other people think they are." Fifty members of the Society for Sex Therapy and Research in the U.S. and Canada were surveyed by Corty, an associate professor of psychology at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, and student Jenay Guardiani. Thirty-four members, or 68%, responded, although some said the optimal time depended on the couple. Corty said he hoped to give an idea of what therapists find to be normal and satisfactory among the couples they see. "People who read this will say, 'I last five minutes or my partner lasts 8 minutes,' and say, 'That's OK,'" he said. "They will relax a little bit." Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Conversation guidelines: USA TODAY welcomes your thoughts, stories and information related to this article. Please stay on topic and be respectful of others. Keep the conversation appropriate for interested readers across the map.

Maybe men had it right all along: It doesn't take long to satisfy a woman in bed. A survey of sex therapists concluded the optimal amount of time for sexual intercourse was 3 to 13 minutes. The findings, to be published in the May issue of the...

Deepening income inequality across the U.S. is dividing the housing market into winners and losers among renters and owners, the middle class and wealthy, and racial groups. An annual report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies, the State of the Nation’s Housing, reveals that even while the housing market begins to recover and regain solid footing, large parts of the country are being left behind. The number of American households spending more than 30% of their incomes on rent — a number that economists consider sustainable — ticked up to nearly 40 million in 2014.  That is particularly concerning because that number had been trending down for three years, suggesting the rental affordability crisis persists despite recent income growth. Middle-income families are increasingly losing ground, facing housing affordability challenges that were once largely limited to the poor. In the 10 highest-cost housing markets, half of renters earning $45,000 to $75,000 a year in 2014 paid at least one-third of their incomes in rent. One reason middle-income renters are struggling to find an affordable apartment: Developers are catering to a growing number of affluent renters. While newer rentals have always commanded higher prices than older units, the premium for new apartments has risen sharply, the Harvard report finds. The median asking rent for new apartments built in 2015 was $1,381 per month, more than 70% higher than the overall median rent. The rent premium for new studio apartments was even more stark, at 90% above the overall price for a studio. “It is just astounding how universal it seems to be” that the majority of new rental apartments in cities across the country are at the high end, said Chris Herbert, managing director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies. The report also finds that the number of families living in poor neighborhoods has more than doubled since 2000, to nearly 14 million. A quarter of poor blacks live in poor neighborhoods and 18% of poor Hispanics, compared to just 6% of poor whites. Last year marked the largest single-year jump — 1.4 million — in new renter households. That is good news for developers, who are planning to build the most new apartments in three decades. But it is also a sign that even as the housing market recovers, many households are still renting rather than buying due to the lack of availability of mortgages, challenges saving for a down payment and a shortage of affordable starter homes. Income growth is picking up, especially among young adults, which could bode well for their ability to save for a down payment and afford a house. Overall, the real median income for all workers rose 1% in 2014, the third year of increases. Young adults ages 25 to 34 saw an even bigger jump of 2.3% and 4.1% for workers ages 35 to 44. Nonetheless, incomes for young adults remain 9% to 18% below previous peaks. The share of 25– to 34-year-olds living in their parents’ homes rose to about 22% in 2014 from 17% in 2008, according to U.S. Census data. In the 25 most expensive metro areas, such as New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia and Fresno, California, the share of young adults who are the head of a household is 10 percentage points lower than in the most affordable metros. Rising U.S. Rents Squeeze the Middle Class No Relief in Sight for Minimum Wage Renters Rents are Booming, But for How Long? More Young Adults Living with Parents Than a Romantic Partner The U.S. Homeownership Rate Fell Again, Nearing a 48-Year Low

Deepening income inequality across the U.S. is dividing the housing market into winners and losers among renters and owners, the middle class and wealthy, and racial groups. An annual report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies reveals that even while the housing market begins to recover and regain solid footing, large parts of the country are being left behind.

Farris Barakat, center, remains on his knees after prayer during a funeral service for his brother Deah Shaddy Barakat, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, in Raleigh, N.C. Deah Shaddy Barakat, his wife Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha were killed Tuesday at a condominium in Chapel Hill, N.C. Craig Stephen Hicks was charged with three counts of first-degree murder. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Corey Lowenstein) (The Associated Press) Women mourn near the graves of Deah Shaddy Barakat, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha and Razan Mohammad Abu-Salh, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2015, in Wendell, N.C. Craig Stephen Hicks was charged with three counts of first-degree murder for their deaths near the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus Tuesday. (AP Photo/The News & Observer, Chuck Liddy) (The Associated Press) DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned the killing in North Carolina of three American Muslim college students as a "heinous terrorist" act, and called for an end to incitement against Muslims. The statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency also condemned as a "terrorist" act the recent attacks that killed two people in Denmark, one at a panel discussion that included an artist who caricatured the Prophet Muhammad and the other outside a synagogue. In neighboring Qatar, several thousand people held a march Sunday in the capital Doha in solidarity with the families of the North Carolina victims. The marchers appealed for protection against hate crimes for the tens of thousands of young Arabs studying in the United States on scholarships funded by the energy-rich governments of the Gulf. Deah Barakat, 23; his wife, Yusor Abu-Salha, 21; and her sister, Razan Abu-Salha, 19, were killed on Tuesday by their neighbor Craig Hicks, 46, an avowed atheist who was a vocal critic of all religions. Family members say all three were shot in the head at the newlywed couple's home, though police aren't saying exactly how the three victims died. The victims' relatives are pressing for hate-crime charges against Hicks, and the FBI is now involved and investigating possible motives. Local police initially said a parking dispute sparked the murders and the U.S. attorney for the region described it as "an isolated incident." However, the day after the attack, the pre-eminent institute of Islamic learning in the Sunni Muslim world, al-Azhar, described the murders as a "cowardly terrorist act." Al-Azhar, which is based in Cairo, said it was deeply concerned that the killings appeared to have been prompted by "racism and Islamophobia." Similarly, the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the world's largest bloc of Muslim countries, said the murders heightened international concerns about "rising anti-Muslim sentiments and Islamophobic acts" in the United States.

Saudi Arabia on Sunday condemned the killing in North Carolina of three American Muslim college students as a heinous terrorist act, and called for an end to incitement against Muslims. ...

We are driving down to Durham, NC on Sat. morning and heading to Emerald Isle, NC on Sunday afternoon for a week's vacation. It looks like we'll get to the beach after the storm has hit. What are the chances we'll have bad weather driving down on Saturday morning? OK, I know this is silly at a time when people are worried about losing power or worse, but...what will the weather feel like by Sunday afternoon? Still warm and sticky, or will it be more blustery cool? My birthday is Saturday and I wanted to invite people over to my apartment in Dupont. Is this a hunker down hurricane or a lots of rain/annoying hurricane? Hi! Submitting early so hope you can answer. I am packing up my apartment Saturday morning/early afternoon and early Sunday driving up to NYC. What's the speed of the storm after Saturday night? At 7:30 am, am I chasing and driving into it up the East Coast? Thanks! I have a flight scheduled to leave early Sunday morning (8 am) from Dulles to Providence. What are the odds that this will take off as scheduled? Should I anticipate a few hours delay or cancellation? Also, we have an outdoor party planned on the Cape for Sunday evening. Would it make sense to move it to Monday? Hi there - My kayak is tied to a wooden kayak rack about 5 feat above ground on the western side of Assawoman Bay in Selbyville, DE (just across the Bay from Ocean City, MD). Should I be planning to drive there tomorrow and bring the boat home? How much wind and storm surge is likely to cross the dunes and enter the bay? Hi there! I have a flight tomorrow morning out of DCA and then a flight into DCA (from Chicago) on Sunday night. It will be very challenging for me professionally if my flight gets canceled and I can't get in for another day or two. What do you think the likelihood is of flights being canceled on Sunday night? Thanks!! I know forecasts will probably change dramatically over the next few days. That being said, what's your best estimate of when different cities along the East Coast are going to feel the effects of the storm? I'm supposed to drive from Lancaster to Philadelphia very late Saturday night (leaving around 11 pm or midnight) and am wondering if it'll be unsafe to drive by then or if the bad storms will hold off until Sunday morning. I'm leaving out of DCA for a trip to Seattle at 7:55 am on Saturday morning. What are the chances that it will be affected by the hurricane? What is the prediction for max and sustained wind speeds in the DC metro area? And when are they predicted to occur? All the news reports about the potential impact of Hurricane Irene on area beaches only talk about the beaches on the Delmarva peninsula. What about Virginia Beach? The track forecasts show Irene passing much closer to Virginia Beach than to the ones further north, so it will obviously get hit harder, but how much harder (potentially)? Also, any word on possible evacuations in the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area? The hurricane looks like its getting worse as of now but should it get weaker as it heads towards NY? Will there be major damage in NY? Will RI get hit badly specifically Providence County? How prepared do we really need to be? Whenever a hurricane makes landfall, instead of retiring the name, we rename it for a famous villain in history? My first thought was picking the name of a serial killer, but that may be too macabre... I live in southcentral Pennsylvania, right on the Maryland border. If the storm continues on it's expected route, what should I expect from the storm and how should I prepare? How far in to NC do you think the this hurricane will come? Hi Greg, With the storm growing and becoming more ominous, my gut is telling me to get as far out of town as possible. But I feel a little silly running away like Chicken Little. Would you say that we in DC are likely to be safe if sheltered in place and prepared? Thanks! I live in Moyock Nc and my husband feels like I should evacuate myself and our children. I feel as though he is way over reacting. Moyock is about 45 minutes to an hour from the Outer banks. What are your thoughts? Many college students are returning to area schools this weekend. Do you have any tips or recommendations for a safe, if not dry, move-in day? When will the ruling be made that triggers the airlines' willingness to change flights into North Caroline without charging change fees? Approximately when is the highest surge expected? Last report said 8 on Sunday. I have a boat in Edgewater MD and wonder when I need to go and make sure lines are tied properly. What causes such a large storm to change course. For example, currently heading in a north westerly direction to become north easterly? Is it safe to be in a basement during the hurricane? Irene bears some striking similarities to the 1821 Norfolk and Long Island Hurricane (as well as others such as Hurricane Carol (1954) and Gloria (1985). Do you see potential in this to gain and maintain major intensity up the coast similar to the 1821 hurricane (estimated to be at Cat 3-4 when striking NJ)? If you had a trip planned to the South Jersey shore this weekend, would you still go or skip it? I live in Salisbury. Weather forecasts mention the beaches and the cities, but we're often left out. I don't have to worry about storm surge, obviously, but from the looks of things, I need to make some serious preparations. Realizing that storm tracks shift and are generally difficult to predict, can you give me any idea of what we should prepare for in parts of Delmarva areas which are *not* the beach? How far in advance are evacuation orders usually issued? My top floor (4th floor) apartment has floor to ceiling windows. I was wondered if I should be worried about them, and what I should do with the furniture and electronics in the rooms that have these windows. I live in a basement apartment on Capitol Hill- - never flooded to my knowledge, with an effective drain in front of the door. How worried should I be about flooding? Could you talk a little bit about why there's so much uncertainty in the modeling, even just a few days out? Is there something specific about the way hurricanes behave that causes the uncertainty? What is expected for the Chesapeake Bay, specifically Deale to Annapolis in terms of storm surge (how many feet) and how high will the wind be overnight Saturday into Sunday? Thanks. Many boaters along the shore are holding their breaths. Perhaps a question to lob to both Dr. Gridlock and the CWG: I have to drive from DC to NYC in the next 48 hours. What should one expect with regard to traffic on I-95 over the next few days? (And, yes, I do have to make this trip & have to make it in a car.) My family live in Newport News and Hampton Virginia just the other side of the Norfolk tunnel. What kind of impact is expected there? Is Irene moving unusually slowly? Does slow movement make it more dangerous than a faster moving storm? What is your likely (and worst case) wind speed prediction for the DC area? How is the saturation/rain today going to effect likelihood of trees falling? Anything we can do to help protect our trees? How likely do you think widespread power outages will be? Where is the best place to be on the East Coast (the least threatened) on Saturday night? What are the chances of the hurricane changing directions? Will the cold front passing through virginia Thursday have any influence on pushing irene away from the coast...perhaps pushing it more to the east? Can this hurricane spark tornados in the area? LAST QUESTION: How will Irene compare to Hurricane Isabelle in 2003? We were without power for over a week then, and if it is likely to cause more damage, that would be helpful to know. I understand that the path of the hurricane can change, but a best guess would be great.

Capital Weather Gang's Jason Samenow discusses the massive heat wave hitting the DC area.

Several women who have accused Bill Cosby of sexual assault are outraged that a new national museum celebrating black history will recognize the actor’s work without mentioning the dozens of allegations against him. The small exhibit at the National Museum of African American History and Culture will showcase only his accomplishments, including a few objects that recognize Cosby’s work in the entertainment industry, when it opens on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in September, the New York Times reports. At least three women who have accused Cosby of assault told the Times they didn’t think he should be celebrated by the museum.“If they just speak about the contributions, there will be this enormous presence that is not talked about,” Patricia Leary Steuer, one of Cosby’s accusers, told the newspaper Saturday. The museum said in a statement posted to Twitter that the exhibit did not focus on Cosby, but that he was just one of many figures being featured: Cosby has denied the allegations against him.

Accusers angry at the National Museum of African American History and Culture

It is not always so peaceful here in Israel’s only real resort town, located at a strategic juncture of Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Loud booms rocked the night sky above Eilat two weeks ago as the Israeli military used its Iron Dome missile-defense system to safeguard the city, intercepting a rocket that had been fired from Sinai. The small airport here closed for two hours because of terror alerts originating from Sinai, where Egyptian forces are battling Islamic militants. In northern Sinai, near the border with Gaza and Israel, militants killed 25 Egyptian police officers in an attack last week on their minibuses. But there was no sense of menace here recently, only crowds of vacationers, mostly Israelis, who flock here every year at the height of the summer season. “If there had been another rocket, we would have considered canceling,” said Sagit Winter, 37, who was staying with her husband and children at the Princess hotel near the border with Egypt, even though her mother suggested she not go. Eilat is “one of the symbols of summer,” she said. The visitors mostly lazed under beach umbrellas in the 106-degree afternoon heat. Campers packed a strip of sand a few yards from the Taba border crossing. Children jumped off a jetty into the refreshing water, unfazed by the looming presence of a steely gray Navy patrol boat. Across the road a soldier guarded a steep path leading to a new border fence that Israel is hurrying to complete, with forces here on high alert for more rocket attacks or infiltrations. Yet Israelis said they had come here to switch off, by now inured to possible dangers and displaying the kind of stoicism that Israeli leaders praise as “national resilience.” Others would call it a numbness. “A rocket fell by our house in Rishon LeZion,” said Anat Cohen, 34, a vacationer who works at a high-tech company, referring to a rocket fired by Palestinians from Gaza during an Israeli offensive there last November. “So what, should we not go away anywhere?” she said, as she posed for a family photograph on the deck of the boat with her husband and three children. “We thought about it, there’s no reason to deny it, but we are here anyway,” said Ori Harel, 27, a software developer from Kfar Saba, north of Tel Aviv. “If you rule out every place that has had rockets,” he said, “you’d end up staying at home.” Many visitors said they were not following the news because they were in holiday mode. “You come here to get away from the usual pressures,” said Roei Nehemia, 39, from Jerusalem, adding that he trusted in the Israeli military and in God for protection. Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz, the chief of the Israeli military, was also vacationing in Eilat with his family but had to rush back to Tel Aviv for consultations after several rockets fired from Lebanon hit northern Israel last week. The economy of Eilat, which has about 60,000 permanent residents, is highly dependent on tourism. When the hotels are full the city’s population nearly doubles, according to city officials. The other main source of income is a commercial port mainly used for trading with the Far East, which together with the naval base takes up a chunk of the resort’s limited coastline and is something of an eyesore. In a survey on internal tourism commissioned by Israel’s Ministry of Tourism in 2012, many Israelis complained that Eilat was hot, crowded and expensive. But it was also the first holiday destination that came to mind for many of those surveyed, who said it was far enough away to almost give the feeling of being abroad. According to the ministry’s statistics, almost three-quarters of Israel’s population of eight million have taken at least one vacation in Israel per year. About 90 percent of the summer influx to Eilat is Israeli, according to city officials. Foreign tourists tend to visit more in the winter; the city is trying to encourage more of them with a series of music festivals planned for the winter months. During a recent visit to Eilat, Israel’s tourism minister, Uzi Landau, said his staff would continue to promote Eilat internationally. But any planning seems somewhat precarious. Against the background of the domestic turmoil in Egypt, Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai, the chief military spokesman, said that the threats along Israel’s southern border were increasing and that elite Israeli forces were operating in the area. There have been several rocket attacks against the resort in recent months and years. So far those that have struck have landed harmlessly in open areas in and around the city, though in 2010 a rocket likely aimed at Eilat slammed into the adjacent Jordanian resort of Aqaba, killing a taxi driver. Two years ago, eight Israelis were killed and more than 30 were wounded near Eilat when gunmen opened fire on Israeli vehicles carrying soldiers and civilians traveling along Route 12, which runs along the Egyptian border. Now, other than the Israeli military camps and Egyptian positions dotting the striking desert landscape, Route 12 seems almost deserted. After this month’s rocket interception, which caused only momentary panic in the resort, two international artists canceled their participation in Eilat’s annual Red Sea Jazz Festival that took place over the last few days. At a news conference, the festival’s artistic director, Dubi Lenz, called one of them “chicken.” Tzigi Proper of the Eilat Hotel Association said there had been “two or three” cancellations after the rocket was intercepted here. But she said that Eilat was almost fully booked for Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year that falls in early September, with hotel occupancy at 98 percent. On Eilat’s North Beach, lined by luxury hotels, some French tourists were soaking up the sun. “You know the risks before you come here,” said Sara Sitruk, 23, who works in marketing in Paris and was sporting a bright orange bikini. “I have been coming here every summer for the last 10 years. We try to have an Israeli mentality.”

Vacationers continue to flock to Israel’s only real resort town on the Red Sea, even with regional tensions rising.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Big banks are having trouble restarting the foreclosure process after this fall's "robo-signing" scandal, and the once booming market for foreclosed homes has been hit hard as a result. According to ForeclosureRadar, the number of properties coming to auction in hard-hit western states -- Arizona, California and Nevada -- has dropped more than 30%. In San Diego, according to broker Scott Cheng of Cheng Realty, who puts investors together with foreclosed properties, the number of auctions scheduled has fallen from 500 a day, to 300. "That part of my business has dried up," Cheng said. "A lot of my investors have stopped looking." Cheng used to be able to find about three or four suitable homes a month for investors looking for a bargain. Now, he hasn't done one of these deals since August. "The ones who are really upset are the investors, who buy on the courthouse steps," said Kevin Berman, a broker with Bankers Realty Services in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. "There used to be sometimes 700 sales a day. Now there are like, seven." In September, several banks -- including Ally, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase -- acknowledged problems with their foreclosure procedures. Employees had been signing as many as several hundred documents a day in which they sometimes attested to facts that they had no personal knowledge of, calling into question the legitimacy of the foreclosures. (See "I was a Robo-signer") The banks initiated foreclosure moratoriums, promised a full review of all cases, and to resume foreclosures quickly. But the review process has been slow-going. Investors had been doing brisk business, buying distressed properties on the cheap, sprucing them up and flipping them. But now they are being far more cautious. "Their concern is that homeowners will be more aggressive in fighting foreclosures even after the auction sale," said Sean O'Toole, CEO of ForeclosureRadar. For vulture investors, speed is essential -- they do not want to tie up investments for months while attorneys argue. They are also worried about being able to unload the property. Berman represented one investor who had purchased at auction, fixed the home up and went to contract with a buyer, who then backed out of the $240,000 deal. "His attorney told him he could find out the foreclosure wasn't done right," said Berman. Pressure on the market for distressed properties could last if delinquent borrowers are less likely to give up on their homes, according to Duane LeGate, CEO of Georgia-based House Buyer Network. Troubled borrowers go to LeGate for help selling their homes in short sales, in which they sell for less than the price of their mortgage. LeGate says his business dropped more than 30% the week after news of the robo-signing scandal broke, and has stayed down since. His theory: homeowners think the bank will have a tough time kicking them out in this environment, and that they can live for free for a while. He says he's got two friends who intend to do just that. "After that, they'll just take their medicine," said LeGate. In the meantime, they can pay off other debts and build up nest-eggs. O'Toole believes the legal issues involved in robo-signing will ultimately be settled in favor of the banks. "The fear that has been created in based more in hype than in law," he said. Whether the hype is to blame or not, the last thing the weak housing market needed was to shake the confidence of already nervous consumers.

The robo-signing scandal has prevented some repossessed homes from coming back onto the market, but it also may have emboldened some homeowners toward default.

His name is Oscar López Rivera, a 72-year-old Puerto Rican who on May 29 marked 34 years in U.S. federal prisons, 13 of them in solitary confinement. His crime? Fighting for independence for his homeland. A growing number of people of every political persuasion and many different nationalities believe it is high time for him to be freed — and are actively seeking his release. On May 30, López Rivera’s only daughter, Clarisa López Ramos, 44, joined thousands of New Yorkers who, under the banner “One voice for Oscar,” marched through the streets of Harlem demanding his release. “Oscar long ago paid his debt to society. He is not a terrorist and he didn’t harm anyone. After 34 years, it is long past the time to release Oscar and allow him to return to his home, his family and community,” said Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.), who addressed the marchers. Rep. José Serrano (D-N.Y.), City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito, and state Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan) also raised their voices to ask for López Rivera’s freedom. A Vietnam veteran who earned a Bronze Star for his bravery, López Rivera lived most of his life in Chicago, where he was a housing activist and established the first Latino cultural center. He was not accused of harming any person, only of “seditious conspiracy” — the same shapeless and gelatinous charge foisted on Nelson Mandela — related to his connection to FALN, a Puerto Rican nationalist group. He was not charged with participating in any of the bombings attributed to the FALN in the 1970s and 1980s. “Oscar López is an obvious example of a political prisoner in the United States. If the President wanted to pardon him today, he can do it,” said López Rivera’s attorney, Jan Susler, in a recent interview with CNN. “He has been punished for his bravery. He’s serving a 70-year sentence but he never killed anybody. There is no blood on his hands.” Yes, hard as it may be to believe, one of the oldest political prisoners in the world is not in China, Russia, Syria, Iran or Venezuela, but in a prison in Indiana, an injustice that President Obama can begin to right by freeing him. Puerto Ricans of all ideologies, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, world leaders, who include five Nobel laureates, and even the governor of Puerto Rico have asked Obama to grant clemency to López Rivera.

A growing number of people of every political persuasion believe it is high time for the 72-year-old to be freed.

Sara Moonves, Fashion Editor “The Balenciaga boots are my all time favorite. I got them so many years ago and still wear them every winter,” says Moonves. “They are incredibly warm and although they look impossible to walk in, they are actually quite comfortable. It’s freezing this week and I’m always cold, so I pile up on shearling!” Moonves is also wearing: Givenchy coat, J. Crew T-shirt, Balenciaga skirt, motorcycle bag and boots. Chelsea Zalopany, Fashion Writer “I live in jeans and fashion week is no exception,” says Zalopany. “I love these skinny cropped ones by Resin denim. It makes life so much easier since all I have to do is change my sweater (Jonathan Simkhai) and coat (Balenciaga motorcycle) to fit my mood. And, it’s guaranteed to be comfy and a bit chic.”

Moonves incorporates pieces by Givenchy and J. Crew Park while Zalopany pairs Jonathan Simkhai with Balenciaga in their fashion week wardrobe.

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. on Thursday said it would cut up to 1,000 jobs this year as sluggish economic conditions weigh on some of its key freight volumes. CP Chief Executive Hunter Harrison announced the job cuts following the release of fourth-quarter results that missed analyst expectations on a slump in revenue related partly to lower...

Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit that missed analyst expectations and said it would cut up to 1,000 jobs this year.

The storm’s assault on North Carolina extended into Sunday, and the governor said at least seven people had been killed in the state. “I wouldn’t assume that there aren’t people clinging for life right now in houses that are underwater that we have yet to reach, especially in lower-populated areas,” Gov. Pat McCrory told reporters in Raleigh, the state capital. “That’s what my major concern is.” Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina urged caution as Hurricane Matthew continued to hit the northeastern part of the state. Heavy rain was still pounding parts of the state as the governor spoke, and Mr. McCrory said floodwaters could rush through North Carolina for days. The fallout, he said, “is going to be a prolonged event.” “This is still an extremely dangerous situation,” Mr. McCrory said. “And I cannot stress it more especially in the areas of Rocky Mount, Kinston, Greenville, Goldsboro and other eastern towns, cities. We’re going to have major issues with rivers and flooding.” Mr. McCrory said 58 boat crews had rescued nearly 900 people by Sunday morning. More than 4,000 people were in shelters on Sunday, Mr. McCrory said, and about 760,000 homes and businesses were without electricity. Parts of Interstate 40 and Interstate 95 were shut down. — ALAN BLINDER The storm lashed South Carolina’s Lowcountry with rain and sent the sea surging upward. It turned roads into rivers and ripped trees from the inundated ground before making landfall north of Charleston. More than 430,000 people around the state had been left without power as of late Saturday. Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina said on Sunday that she had lifted evacuation orders for four counties, including Charleston. But residents in four other counties — Beaufort, Georgetown, Horry and Jasper — were still urged to stay away. “We had a lot of rain, for many hours,” said Capt. Bob Bromage, the public information officer for the Sheriff’s Department in Beaufort County, southwest of Charleston. “We had flooding, we may have had some surge that we’re not aware of yet, we have downed trees, we have reports of downed trees on houses already.” Hurricane Matthew made landfall on Saturday morning about 30 miles northeast of Charleston, S.C., as a Category 1 storm with winds of 75 miles per hour. It was pushing toward North Carolina. Looks like water is flowing down Market St., into Charleston. High tide is not 'til the afternoon, so this is likely storm surge. pic.twitter.com/9UK9GJ24Nf — JESS BIDGOOD, in Charleston The American Red Cross has published a list of safety tips for homeowners returning to property damaged in hurricanes. Once cleanup begins, taking photographs of damaged or destroyed property before it is discarded provides a record for use in making insurance claims, says Ann Carrns, who writes the Your Money Adviser consumer finance column for The Times. Gov. Rick Scott of Florida said on Saturday that the state had suffered “unbelievable amounts of beach erosion,” as well as damaged roads, flooding and felled trees. But Mr. Scott, who flew along the coastline to survey storm damage, said the storm’s consequences could have been far worse. “The first thing we can say is we are all blessed that Matthew stayed off our coast,” he said. “I worried the whole time that even though the track was off our coast, that it would turn in and have a direct hit at some point.” State and local officials said they were trying to expedite recovery. “We’re going to ride each other hard,” said Lenny Curry, the mayor of Jacksonville. “We’re going to ride our utilities, we’re going to ride all of our workers to get this community back together as quickly and as safely as possible. Still, Mayor Charlie Latham of Jacksonville Beach asked for patience. “We’re working diligently, and to be honest with you, we’re doing our very best just to get people home and provide safe access,” Mr. Latham said. — ALAN BLINDER, in Orlando Surveying more damage from #HurricaneMatthew at Jacksonville Beach. @NYTNational @nytvideo pic.twitter.com/HYg7Q5XQi2 In Haiti, the Bahamas and Florida, the storm left behind stories of disaster and of disaster narrowly averted. Here are some of them » John Schwartz, a New York Times reporter who covers climate change and the environment, is answering reader questions about the storm. He rode out his first hurricane, Carla, in his hometown, Galveston, Tex., at age 4. He has covered the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, as well as other storms for The Times. Ask your hurricane questions here. Why do weather agencies and the news media keep getting the forecasts so wrong and overstate the severity of hurricanes? Is this some kind of insurance liability issue, where they are afraid of getting sued if they don’t paint a ‘doomsday’ picture? — Jim The conservative approach isn’t about liability, Jim, it’s about saving lives. The storm track that Matthew has followed has been well within the range of possibilities that the National Hurricane Center has been talking about all along. This is still a dangerous storm, and just because some stretches of the Florida coast have not been hit as catastrophically as was possible, that does not mean the rest of Florida or Georgia or South Carolina are in the clear. Marshall Shepherd, the director of Atmospheric Sciences Program, University of Georgia, has been fiercely defending the warnings on Twitter, and I’ll let him do the talking here: Go back and look at virtually every @NHC_Atlantic discussion for past 3 days. Were very clear about paralleling coast scenario w/#Matthew With ridiculous complaining I am seeing, some seem disappointed there isn't tragic loss of life/apocalypitc. I am thankful #Matthew #notover the smoke alarm worked and I got my family out of the house safely...That stupid, overhyped alarm #WhatMatthewComplainingSoundsLike Chris W. Landsea, science and operations officer for the National Hurricane Center, said that while the storm has weakened somewhat, it is now spread over a larger area, and “a larger hurricane can cause more storm surge,” and a larger wind field; the wind damage, in other words, can be felt over a larger area. So a slightly weaker but larger storm is “kind of a wash, as far as impacts,” he said.

North Carolina’s governor said the death toll from the storm had reached eight in a state still saturated from heavy rains in September.

Last summer at Normandy music festival Beauregard, Florence Welch, frontwoman of Florence + the Machine, took to the mic between songs and recognised two teenagers in the crowd. “She spoke to us between the lyrics, asking what we were doing in France,” said Leah Moloney, “[Then she] told the crowd we were special guests and got us up on stage.” What makes the scene particularly unusual is that the musician and the fans had already met, having got to know each other online through a shared love of literature. Welch announced to the crowd that the girls ran her online book club, waving a sign with the words Between Two Books on it. These days, it is not unusual for a book club to be hosted on social media – or led by a celebrity. Emma Watson has just kicked off her feminist club Our Shared Shelf on Amazon-owned Goodreads, while Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg had a go at a year-long one on his own social network – with mixed results. Oprah Winfrey’s own became “2.0” in 2012, with a new focus on social media. But the likelihood of a fan’s tweet getting through the online clutter and not only reach, but convince a rock star to take on her own idea are small, at best. When a 14-year-old Moloney tweeted at Welch in 2012, she never expected a book club – and relationship – to form; but Between Two Books now counts more than 26,000 followers on Instagram. In July 2012, Welch tweeted a picture of herself in front of Portland’s independent bookshop Powell’s, with the caption ”Booksbooksbooksbooks”. “I always looked up to her and knew she was very literary … I thought it would be cool if she had a proper book club,” says Moloney. “I responded to her tweet and said we should start a book club, where fans read books on her recommendation.” “I wasn’t entirely serious, and knew it was a far-fetched idea. She was very elusive and not even that active on social media,” said Moloney, who started the project with friends Abbie Whitehead and Heather Hale. To her surprise, Welch took her up on it, messaging her and offering to help. Within a week, the star was promoting the club at a gig in Indianapolis, flaunting the book on stage in the city where, coincidentally, the first club choice – Opposed Positions by Gwendoline Riley – was set. She announced the name – Flow’s Book Club, or Between Two Books. “I don’t understand the internet, so I could get that a bit confused,” joked Welch. Three-and-a-half years later, the book club lives on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Welch and fans have read 18 books together, ranging from John Kennedy Toole’s A Confederacy of Dunces to Patti Smith’s memoir Just Kids, and have taken part in projects like a bookmark design competition judged by the musician. “So shall we do this poetry thing, then?” asked Welch on a post inviting followers to read young LA poet Mira Gonzalez alongside Ted Hughes. “Honored to be the current subject of @betweentwobooks … Maybe I should join the club once it’s a book I haven’t already read:) Hello kids!” Instagrammed Lena Dunham when her memoir was the book of choice. “It’s all very fluid and organic collaboration,” said Moloney, adding that this arrangement matches Welch’s own personality. Despite the size of the project now, it lacks a specific structure and remains fan-run, adapting to the star’s erratic schedule. Everyone posts when they are available, and Welch’s involvement ranges from posting pictures of what she’s reading to hosting charity fundraisers or interviewing Donna Tartt (taking readers’ questions). Moloney, who is in frequent communication with Welch and posts on her behalf from Dublin, where she is a student, has become aware of the power of the club in promoting literature. “[Welch] has always been so into it. It’s a really lovely thing for me too – I’ve always been into reading. When I was eight or nine, reading was not something you would admit to. It wasn’t seen as cool. This is so good because we can use her name to promote reading. I definitely think that reading has become a more ‘hip’ thing to do lately.” Reflecting on the last few hectic years, Moloney, now 19, highlights how Between Two Books has affected readers’ lives. After the France gig, she “wanted to give something back” to Welch and asked book clubbers to write what the club had done for them. “Many got back to me saying that they were in a bad place, and knowing Florence was reading the same book as them made them feel more connected. I have felt that too about reading with someone else – knowing that someone else has read the same exact lines can really help.” For now, it’s time to read Haruki Murakami’s The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, on the recommendation of fellow musicians the Maccabees – as well as Patti Smith.

A teenager’s fantasy to read whatever Florence + the Machine recommended has become an online group with more than 25,000 Instagram followers – in collaboration with the star herself

Former Formula One driver Mark Webber will return to Britain later this week after crashing in Sao Paulo during the final race of the World Endurance Championship season. "Mark spent the night in a local hospital in Sao Paulo where he underwent further checks," a statement on his website said. "He sustained bruising and concussion in the accident he suffered in Sunday's six-hour race." The Australian was quoted as saying: "I'm quite sore this morning and am pretty bruised and have got a stinking headache. "I've got no recollection of the accident or how it happened - the team is looking into the details to find out more. "Thanks to the medical team at the track and here at the hospital who did a great job and are looking after me very well." On the last lap of the race in Brazil, the 38-year-old Webber's Porsche crashed into a concrete barrier after a collision with the Ferrari of Matteo Cressoni, who was not seriously hurt. Webber skidded into the pit lane and the rear of his car caught fire. He was able to wave to the crowd as he was carried into an ambulance. Do you have any news photos or videos?

Mark Webber says he has no recollection of the fiery accident which put him hospital overnight, leaving him with bruising and concussion.