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Book News: Hippies Were Dirty And Liked Music By Satanists, Louisiana Textbook Claims : The Two-Way Also: Sarah Palin is writing a book about Christmas; Rachel Aviv on the literary genius of Julian Jaynes; author Sarah Manguso on memoir. ||||| FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2012 file photo, Sarah Palin, the GOP candidate for vice-president in 2008, and former Alaska governor speaks in Washington. Palin has a deal with HarperCollins for "A Happy Holiday... (Associated Press) FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2012 file photo, Sarah Palin, the GOP candidate for vice-president in 2008, and former Alaska governor speaks in Washington. Palin has a deal with HarperCollins for "A Happy Holiday... (Associated Press) Sarah Palin has a new book coming, this time about Christmas. The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor has a deal with HarperCollins for "A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas," scheduled for November. HarperCollins announced Monday that the book will criticize the "over-commercialism" and "homogenization" of Christmas and call for a renewed emphasis on the religious importance. "Amidst the fragility of this politically correct era, it is imperative that we stand up for our beliefs before the element of faith in a glorious and traditional holiday like Christmas is marginalized and ignored," Palin said in a statement released through her publisher. "This will be a fun, festive, thought provoking book, which will encourage all to see what is possible when we unite in defense of our faith and ignore the politically correct Scrooges who would rather take Christ out of Christmas." Financial terms were not disclosed. Palin was again represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who negotiated deals for Palin's "Going Rogue" and "America by Heart." Both books were released by HarperCollins. According to the publisher, the book will advocate "reserving Jesus Christ in Christmas _ whether in public displays, school concerts (or) pageants. Palin also "will share personal memories and traditions from her own Christmases and illustrate the reasons why the celebration of Jesus Christ's nativity is the centerpiece of her faith."

– Sarah Palin's message-broadening campaign is apparently up and running. Her next book, a defense of traditional Christmas values, is slated to hit shelves this November, reports the AP. A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas, published by HarperCollins, will be a critical look at the "overcommercialism" and "homogenization" of Christmas. Palin promises her "fun, festive, thought-provoking book" will urge readers to "unite in defense of our faith and ignore the politically correct Scrooges who would rather take Christ out of Christmas." NPR reminds us that we're still waiting for Palin's fitness book, too.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor has a deal with HarperCollins for "A Happy Holiday IS a Merry Christmas," scheduled for November. HarperCollins announced Monday that the book will criticize the "over-commercialism" and "homogenization" of Christmas. Financial terms were not disclosed. Palin was again represented by Washington attorney Robert Barnett, who negotiated deals for Palin's "Going Rogue," and "America by Heart"

Russia spied on foreign powers at last month’s G20 summit by giving delegations USB pen drives capable of downloading sensitive information from laptops, it was claimed today. The devices were given to foreign delegates, including heads of state, at the summit near St Petersburg, according to reports in two Italian newspapers, La Stampa and Corriere della Sera. Downing Street said David Cameron was not given one of the USB sticks said to have contained a Trojan horse programme, but did not rule out the possibility that officials in the British delegation had received them. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "My understanding is that the Prime Minister didn't receive a USB drive because I think they were a gift for delegates, not for leaders." Asked if Downing Street staff were given the USBs, he said: "I believe they were part of the gifts for delegates." Delegations also received mobile phone recharging devices which were also reportedly capable of secretly tapping into emails, text messages and telephone calls. The latest claims of international espionage come on the heels of allegations that the United States’ National Security Agency spied on friendly European powers, including Germany, France, Spain and Italy, by covertly monitoring tens of millions of telephone calls. The alleged attempts by Moscow to access secret information from foreign powers at the G20 came at a time of high tension between the US and Russia, in particular over Syria and the Russian granting of asylum to former NSA systems analyst Edward Snowden. Suspicions were first raised about the Russian spying campaign by Herman Van Rompuy, the President of the European Council, according to Corriere della Sera, which carried the story on its front page. He ordered the USB pen drives and other devices received by the delegates in St Petersburg to be analysed by intelligence experts in Brussels, as well as Germany’s secret service. A memorandum was then sent out to G20 members, the Italian daily claimed. “The USB pen drives and the recharging cables were able to covertly capture computer and mobile phone data,” the secret memo said. The devices were “a poisoned gift” from Vladimir Putin, claimed La Stampa, the Turin-based daily. “They were Trojan horses designed to obtain information from computers and cell phones,” the paper said. The investigations into the alleged spying devices were ongoing, the reports said. It was not known if every foreign delegation and head of state had been given the covert spying devices. But Brussels sources said they were baffled by the allegations and expressed total confidence in the security of devices used by EU delegates, including at the St Petersburg summit. A diplomat said it would be a “schoolboy error” to put a free memory stick into a computer at such a summit because of obvious security concerns. He said any security-trained diplomat would be alert to such unvetted “freebies”. “We've not found any evidence of a problem," said the European Commission’s official spokesman. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin's spokesman, flatly denied the allegations, describing the Italian stories as a poorly disguised effort to divert attention

– Amid the uproar over NSA spying come reports that Russia gave G20 delegates at last month's summit an unexpected surprise in their gift bag: malware. That's according to two Italian newspapers, which report that among the swag handed out to guests were USB sticks and cellphone recharging cables that were actually surveillance tools. "They were Trojan horses designed to obtain information from computers and cellphones," La Stampa reported, per the LA Times. The papers say the true nature of the gadgets was discovered after the president of the European Council ordered an investigation into them. The Telegraph reports that David Cameron, at least, did not receive one of the covert spy tools. "My understanding is that the prime minister didn't receive a USB drive because I think they were a gift for delegates, not for leaders," his spokesman says. But Russia outright denies the allegations, with a spokesman for Vladimir Putin calling them "a clear attempt to divert attention from a problem that really exists: the US' spying, which is now a subject of discussion among European capitals and Washington," the Guardian reports.

Reports in two Italian newspapers claim devices were given to foreign delegates, including heads of state, at the summit near St Petersburg. Downing Street said David Cameron was not given one of the USB sticks, but did not rule out the possibility that officials in the British delegation had received them. Delegations also received mobile phone recharging devices which were also reportedly capable of secretly tapping into emails, text messages and telephone calls. The alleged attempts by Moscow to access secret information from foreign powers at the G20 came at a time of high tension between the US and Russia.

WASHINGTON — Senate Judiciary Committee staff interviewed two men who said they believed that they, and not US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, had "the encounter" with the woman who accused Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers, according to new information released Wednesday night by committee Republicans. The revelation — which came on the eve of much-anticipated public testimony from Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of attacking her, Christine Blasey Ford — included few details. The committee didn't identify the men, offer details about what they said, state whether committee staff found their accounts credible, or indicate whether there would be any further follow-up. The committee released a timeline describing how committee chair Chuck Grassley and his staff had responded to misconduct allegations against Kavanaugh, starting with Ford's account of being attacked at a party in the summer of 1982. On Sept. 24, the committee said that staff interviewed "a man who believes he, not Judge Kavanaugh, had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982 that is the basis of his complaint." Committee staff interviewed the man again the next day, on Sept. 25, according to the timeline. "He described his recollection of their interaction in some detail," according to the committee. On Sept. 26, the committee received "a more in-depth written statement" from the man they had previously interviewed. Committee staff also spoke by phone "with another man who believes he, not Judge Kavanuagh, had the encounter with Dr. Ford in 1982 that is the basis of her allegation. He explained his recollection of the details of the encounter." A spokesperson for Grassley did not immediately return a request for comment. Lawyers for Ford also did not immediately return a request for comment. A Democratic aide told BuzzFeed News in an email that committee Democrats were not told about the allegations, which was a violation of committee rules. The aide called the release from the Republican side "shameful and the height of irresponsibility." Ford and Kavanaugh are scheduled to testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee; Senate Republicans have brought in Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to ask questions on their behalf. Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations. In written remarks submitted in advance of Thursday's hearing, Kavanaugh said that he "never did anything remotely resembling what Dr. Ford describes." "I categorically and unequivocally deny the allegation against me by Dr. Ford. I never had any sexual or physical encounter of any kind with Dr. Ford. I am not questioning that Dr. Ford may have been sexually assaulted by some person in some place at some time. But I have never done that to her or to anyone. I am innocent of this charge," Kavanaugh wrote. Ford has stood by her accusation. In her prepared remarks, she recounted her claims that at a party while the two were in high school, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed, groped her, and tried to take off her clothes. He covered her mouth with his hand when she tried to scream, she said. Ford said that another high school

– In a late-night development, Sen. Chuck Grassley revealed that two men have told the Senate Judiciary Committee they were the ones who had the alleged 1982 encounter with Christine Blasey Ford. The details are scarce and come via a news release issued by Grassley, reports USA Today, which notes "it's unknown whether the men's claims are being taken seriously." Neither man was named and BuzzFeed News notes the release gave no indication of whether the committee would follow up further with the men. The first was interviewed Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday provided "a more in-depth written statement." The second man "explained his recollection of the details of the encounter" on Wednesday as well. More: Politico separately reports on an ex-boyfriend's accusation that third accuser Julie Swetnick is "not credible at all. Not at all." That man, Richard Vinneccy, filed for a restraining order against Swetnick on March 1, 2001, claiming that after their four-year relationship ended she threatened his wife and child. The case was dismissed two weeks later. When asked about it, Swetnick attorney Michael Avenatti called it "complete nonsense" and described Vinneccy as the problematic one. "Her ex-boyfriend fraudulently used her resume to apply for and obtain jobs and was caught by her. Why are you all attacking a sexual assault victim? Would that be appropriate in a court of law?" The Wall Street Journal digs into Swetnick's background and reports that she worked as an agent for New York Life Insurance from 2006 to 2008. She filed a sexual-harassment complaint against the company that ultimately earned her a financial settlement. She was repped by Debra Katz's firm; Katz is now representing Ford.

The revelation came on the eve of much-anticipated public testimony from Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of attacking her. The committee didn't identify the men, offer details about what they said, or indicate whether there would be any further follow-up. A Democratic aide told BuzzFeed News that committee Democrats were not told about the allegations, which was a violation of committee rules. Ford and Kavanaugh are scheduled to testify Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee; Senate Republicans have brought in Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to ask questions.

Bear kills hiker in West Milford Photos Photo submitted by Shane Morgan This mother bear was seen over the summer on Macopin Road with her cubs. A 22-year-old hiker was killed over the weekend by a black bear, according to West Milford Police. Darsh Patel of Edison and four friends were hiking in the Apshawa Preserve on Sunday afternoon when they encountered a black bear in the woods, according to a release from West Milford police Chief Timothy Storbeck. The bear began to follow them and they ran in different directions. Four of them were able to locate one another and called police for assistance at around 3:45 p.m. after they couldn't find Patel. The West Milford Search and Rescue unit searched the area and located Patel's body at about 7:54 p.m. Storbeck said evidence at the scene indicated that Patel had been attacked by a bear. A bear was located at the scene and immediately euthanized, Storbeck said. The matter is under investigation by the New Jersey State Medical Examiner, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Fish and Wildlife and the West Milford Police Department. In a statement, Mayor Bettina Bieri sent condolences to the victim's family and friends, calling it a tragic event. She said the township will work with state and county officials to determine the circumstances. "In the interim, we are reminded of the importance of learning to live with wildlife," said Bieri. "Bear attacks against humans are extremely rare; they are generally gentle creatures that avoid human interaction. Bears are nevertheless wild animals with an element of unpredictability, as proven in this very unfortunate situation, so taking appropriate precautions is imperative." Several groups in the township have come together and are hosting a talk Monday night at town hall from 7 to 9 p.m. about living with black bears in New Jersey. It was planned prior to this incident. The Passaic County Sheriff's Department and the Passaic County CSI unit assisted with the search and investigation, as well as the Passaic County Sheriff's Search and Rescue, West Milford First Aid Squad and the West Milford Fire Department Company 1. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered. MUST READ NEWS VIDEOS ||||| A Rutgers University student was killed by a black bear over the weekend, the police said on Monday, the first such recorded death in New Jersey. The student, Darsh Patel, 22, and four friends were hiking on Sunday in the Apshawa Preserve in the northern part of the state, about 40 miles from New York City. They encountered a black bear, which began to follow them, according to the police in West Milford, a township that includes the preserve. The friends told the police they scrambled to get away from the bear, all running in different directions. Four of the men later found one another, and they called the police to help search for their missing friend, according to the authorities. Mr. Patel’s body was found about two hours later. “Evidence at the scene indicated that the victim had been attacked by a bear,” the

– A 22-year-old Rutgers University student became the first person to be killed by a bear in New Jersey since 1852 after an attack Sunday afternoon just a few dozen miles west of Manhattan. Police say Darsh Patel was hiking with four friends in the Apshawa Preserve when they encountered the black bear, the West Milford Messenger reports. The friends scattered when the bear started following them and they called police when they couldn't find Patel after they regrouped. Police say they found the 300-pound bear "lingering" near his body and they killed it with two blasts from a rifle after the search-and-rescue team was unable to scare it away, reports the New York Daily News. But while the student from Edison, NJ, is the first bear fatality in the state in more than 150 years, there have been 146 dangerous encounters with bears recorded in New Jersey so far this year, up from 99 last year. A state Department of Environmental Protection spokesman tells the New York Times that the bear population is "out of control" in the north of the state. "People confuse black bears with grizzly bears, and black bears are not generally as aggressive," the spokesman says. "But they are still wild animals that need to be treated with respect and distance."

Darsh Patel of Edison and four friends were hiking in the Apshawa Preserve on Sunday afternoon when they encountered a black bear in the woods. The friends told the police they scrambled to get away from the bear, all running in different directions. Four of the men later found one another, and they called the police to help search for their missing friend, according to the authorities. Patel’s body was found about two hours later. A bear was located at the scene and immediately euthanized.

She's got a name! Christina Aguilera and fiance Matt Rutler have named their daughter Summer Rain Rutler, the singer announced late on Sunday, Aug. 17 via Twitter. PHOTOS: Nude, pregnant stars As Us Weekly reported previously, the happy couple welcomed their daughter into the world on Saturday, Aug. 16, when Aguilera gave birth to the little girl at Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. And barely 24 hours after the arrival of their child, proud mom Aguilera, 33, took to Twitter to share their new daughter's name with fans. PHOTOS: Christina's body evolution "So proud to welcome our beautiful daughter Summer Rain Rutler into the world," the Grammy winner wrote. Us broke the news in February that Aguilera and fiance Rutler, 28, were expecting a child together. The "Beautiful" singer already has one son, Max, 6, by her first husband Jordan Bratman, but baby Summer Rain is Rutler's first child. The happy couple announced on Valentine's Day this year that they were engaged to be married, after meeting on the set of her 2010 film Burlesque. PHOTOS: Christina's life as a mom Aguilera has stayed out of the spotlight for most of her second pregnancy, something the new mom has relished. She tweeted in April about how excited she was for the months to come. "So blissful in taking this time for creating all things blossoming new on the horizon…album, baby & beautiful music to come," she wrote. Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter to get breaking celebrity news, hot pics and more delivered straight to your inbox! Want stories like these delivered straight to your phone? Download the Us Weekly iPhone app now! ||||| Add a location to your Tweets When you tweet with a location, Twitter stores that location. You can switch location on/off before each Tweet and always have the option to delete your location history. Learn more

– Christina Aguilera and fiance Matt Rutler became parents Saturday, announcing the birth of their daughter last night on Twitter. "So proud to welcome our beautiful daughter Summer Rain Rutler into the world," Aguilera tweeted. Aguilera, 33, has a 6-year-old son, Max, with her first husband, Jordan Bratman, Us reports, but this is the first child for Rutler, 28.

Christina Aguilera and fiance Matt Rutler have named their daughter Summer Rain Rutler. She gave birth to the little girl on Saturday, Aug. 16. The singer already has one son, Max, 6, by her first husband Jordan Bratman. The happy couple announced on Valentine's Day that they were engaged to be married.

Story highlights A forensic audio expert says at least 10 shots are fired in the recording Lawyer: The FBI questioned a man whose audio might contain the Michael Brown shooting The audio was recorded during a video chat with a friend CNN cannot independently confirm whether the shots heard were from the Brown incident Could a newly released audio provide more clues on what led up to Michael Brown's shooting death The FBI has questioned a man who says he recorded audio of gunfire at the time Brown was shot by Ferguson, Missouri, police on August 9, the man's attorney told CNN. In the recording, a quick series of shots can be heard, followed by a pause and then another quick succession of shots. Forensic audio expert Paul Ginsberg analyzed the recording and said he detected at least 10 gunshots -- a cluster of six, followed by four. "I was very concerned about that pause ... because it's not just the number of gunshots, it's how they're fired," the man's attorney, Lopa Blumenthal, told CNN's Don Lemon. "And that has a huge relevance on how this case might finally end up." JUST WATCHED New audio of Michael Brown shooting? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH New audio of Michael Brown shooting? 02:25 The man, who asked that his identity not be revealed, lives near the site of the shooting and was close enough to have heard the gunshots, his attorney said. JUST WATCHED What could audio of shooting reveal? Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What could audio of shooting reveal? 01:05 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Michael Brown's casket arrives at St. Peter's Cemetery on Monday, August 25, 2014 for his funeral. Brown, 18, was shot and killed by police Officer Darren Wilson on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown's death sparked protests in the St. Louis suburb, and a national debate about race and police actions. Hide Caption 1 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Michael Brown Sr. yells out as the casket holding the body of his son, Michael Brown, is lowered into the ground during his funeral service in St. Louis. Hide Caption 2 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Family members touch the copper top of the vault containing Brown's casket. Hide Caption 3 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Mourners fill the pews for the funeral service at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis. Hide Caption 4 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Lesley McSpadden, Brown's mother, sits during the funeral. Hide Caption 5 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown The Rev. Al Sharpton speaks during the funeral. Hide Caption 6 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown A Brown family member wears a tie with Michael Brown's face on it. Hide Caption 7 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown People sing during the funeral for Brown. Hide Caption 8 of 17 Photos: The funeral of Michael Brown Brown's casket sits inside Friendly Temple

– Might these be the gunshots that killed Michael Brown? CNN has posted audio inadvertently recorded around the time of his shooting by a Ferguson man who was video chatting with a friend. A forensic audio expert tells the network that he hears a succession of six shots, then a pause, then four more shots. The authenticity of the audio hasn't been confirmed, though the FBI has interviewed the unidentified man who recorded it, says his attorney, Lopa Blumenthal. "I was very concerned about that pause," she tells CNN's Don Lemon. "Because it's not just the number of gunshots, it's how they're fired. And that has a huge relevance on how this case might finally end up." Assuming the shots are legit, it "doesn't sound good for Officer Darren Wilson," observes a headline at Daily Intelligencer. CNN's report, however, includes another attorney's opinion that Wilson could argue Brown kept advancing toward him after the first shots. The teen got shot six times, according to an autopsy.

A forensic audio expert says at least 10 shots are fired in the recording. In the recording, a quick series of shots can be heard, followed by a pause. CNN cannot independently confirm whether the shots heard were from the Brown incident. Brown, 18, was shot and killed by police Officer Darren Wilson on August 9 in Ferguson, Missouri. The man, who asked that his identity not be revealed, lives near the site of the shooting and was close enough to have heard the gunshots, his attorney says.

Two days after the Haiti earthquake, outside help has started to pour into Port-au-Prince as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the death toll may be in 'tens of thousands.' A US carrier is steaming toward Haiti, and British, Brazilian, Chinese, and other aid teams are already on the ground. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks on the Haitian earthquake during a press conference at PACOM, the US Pacific Command, on Wednesday in Honolulu. Two days after the devastating earthquake that left tens of thousands homeless on the streets of Port-au Prince and an as-yet uncounted number of dead, international aid teams began to arrive en masse in the stricken capital on Thursday. United States states troops helped clear damaged runways and got the country's main airport up and running again by Thursday morning. Members of the US Air Force were dispatched from Florida Wednesday night to set up an emergency air traffic control system to handle what is expected to be a burgeoning airlift of food, water, medical supplies and aid workers in the coming days. The International Red Cross says a plane with 40 tons of emergency supplies is on its way to Port-au-Prince from Geneva, and rescue teams from Brazil, Cuba, the US, China, and other nations are already on the ground or scheduled to arrive shortly. Cuba dispatched 30 doctors who have already arrived. Among the teams sent from America was a group of about 70 search-and-rescue experts from the Fairfax County, Va., fire department. Acute need The need is clearly grave. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, speaking on ABC Thursday morning, said: "There are about 3 million people affected. Thousands and thousands – I don’t want to put a number, but tens of thousands we fear are dead, many thousands more are injured." Haitian officials say that upward of 100,000 people may have lost their lives. Among the crews arriving are search-and-rescue teams with sniffer dogs that will be searching the rubble of homes and buildings. The first two days since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck have been chaotic, with almost no organized search-and-rescue efforts from the Haitian government. "The population in Port-au-Prince and other earthquake-affected areas has spent a second night in the open. Frantic search and rescue activities have been continuing as international relief operations grind into action,'' the International Committee of the Red Cross wrote in a situation report on Thursday morning. "Efforts to assess the extent of this huge disaster are ongoing. While no accurate figures are yet available, the number of dead and injured is expected to be in the thousands, and as many as three million people appear to have been affected in one way or another." The United Nation's World Food Programme (WFP) said it's currently airlifting 86 metric tons of food from an emergency hub in El Salvador, which it says will be enough to feed 30,000 Haitians for a week. It also said that it's setting up a longer-term emergency program that could feed up to 2 million people over the next six months. The WFP and

– In addition to pledging $100 million to Haiti relief efforts, President Obama is calling in some familiar names for help. He's asked former presidents Clinton and the younger of the Bushes to lead US relief efforts, reports Politico. Clinton is currently the UN special envoy to the nation. In other developments: US Special Operations forces have reopened Port-au-Prince's airport to allow relief planes to land, the Wall Street Journal reports, and a 2,000-member Marine unit will arrive tomorrow, along with possibly 5,000 Army soldiers. A hospital ship is also on the way. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton weighed in on the death toll, the Christian Science Monitor reports. "Thousands and thousands—I don’t want to put a number, but tens of thousands we fear are dead, many thousands more are injured," she said. She described the US relief effort as a "full-court press."

US carrier steaming toward Haiti, and British, Brazilian, Chinese, and other aid teams are already on the ground. Among the crews arriving are search-and-rescue teams with sniffer dogs that will be searching the rubble of homes and buildings. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "There are about 3 million people affected. Thousands and thousands – I don’t want to put a number, but tens of thousands we fear are dead, many thousands more are injured." Haitian officials say that upward of 100,000 people may have lost their lives.

Detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Homicide Branch have announced an arrest has been made in the fatal shooting that occurred in the 800 block of Southern Avenue, Southeast on Thursday, May 19, 2016. At approximately 2:41 am, members of the Seventh District responded to the location for a shooting. Upon arrival on the scene, members located an adult male, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a local hospital, where all life-saving efforts failed and the victim was pronounced dead. The decedent has been identified as 44-year-old Dana Hamilton, of Oxon Hill, MD. On Friday, June 17, 2016, at approximately 6:10 pm, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 34-year-old Quincy Green of Southeast, DC, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with Second Degree Murder while Armed. ||||| Man commits murder after removing prosthetic leg with ankle GPS News Man commits murder after removing prosthetic leg with ankle GPS A review is underway at the District’s Pre-Trial Services agency after a GPS monitoring device was incorrectly placed on a man’s prosthetic leg. That man, 34-year-old Quincy Green, took off his leg and committed a murder. - A review is underway at the District’s Pre-Trial Services agency after a GPS monitoring device was incorrectly placed on a man’s prosthetic leg. That man, 34-year-old Quincy Green, took off his leg and committed a murder. Dana Hamilton was shot to death on Southern Avenue last month and police had no suspects for six days until someone dropped a dime on Green. He was fitted with the GPS device after he had been arrested for carrying a pistol without a license. After receiving the tip on Green, police checked camera footage from the surrounding area and according to a nine page affidavit the gunman was spotted, with an obvious limp. Authorities filed a search warrant and inside Green’s residence officials recovered a box from the living room, inside the box was a prosthetic leg with a GPS tracking device. A device record showed that it had barely moved in a 72 hour period. “Very simply it was human error,” said Cliff Keenan, the Director of the Pre-trial Services Agency for the District of Columbia. This agency monitors defendants facing charges in court. "The contract through which we have contracted for services includes putting onto the individual defendants the actual GPS bracelet and one would assume that the person doing the installation would know not to put it on to a prosthetic device, we don't know what the company has been able to find out about how this happened under these particular circumstances other than it was a violation of protocols," said Keenan. The district did away with cash bond years ago and instead defendants are released on their own recognizance or fitted with one of the GPS tracking devices from Sentinel Services of California. "With this company over the last three years we have had nearly five thousand placements of GPS devices on individuals,” said Keenan. “As of today we have about 480 people in

– After Quincy Green was arrested on a gun charge in April, he was supposed to be on house arrest while waiting for his trial. But a tech at the company that supplies and fits ankle bracelets on pre-trial detainees in Washington, DC, put the bracelet on over Green's sock—that's "absolutely not" protocol, per an exec at the company, who says regulations require the bracelets to be placed directly on skin—and apparently didn't realize that sock was covering a prosthetic leg. So, police say, Green simply took off the leg, replaced it with another one he had, and was able to leave his house. That's how, they allege, he was able to go to an area that Fox 5 DC reports he had specifically been ordered to stay away from and where he allegedly shot and killed Dana Hamilton around 2:40am on May 19. "That man was supposed to be in his house," Hamilton's mother tells the Washington Post. Authorities haven't disclosed a possible motive. Hamilton, who lived with his mother, was on disability due to heart problems. He had told his mother he was going to distribute religious pamphlets, got into a van with some friends, and ended up at an apartment complex in DC where his family had lived decades ago and where his 22-year-old brother had been shot and killed. Surveillance video shows Green, 44, with two men near that complex, drinking alcohol, on the morning of the shooting, police say, and it allegedly also shows him holding a gun and shooting a few times at a fleeing man. But, after a witness identified Green as the suspect, police were told the GPS readings from his ankle bracelet showed that he had been home, a mile away, at the time. After getting a search warrant, they found the bracelet on the prosthetic leg in a box. He has been charged with second-degree murder, the police department says. (This woman got fired after uninstalling a GPS tracking app.)

An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting that occurred in the 800 block of Southern Avenue, Southeast on Thursday, May 19, 2016. On Friday, June 17, 2016, at approximately 6:10 pm, members of the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested 34-year-old Quincy Green of Southeast, DC, pursuant to a DC Superior Court arrest warrant charging him with Second Degree Murder while Armed. A review is underway at the District’s Pre-Trial Services agency after a GPS monitoring device was incorrectly placed on a man's prosthetic leg.

SOUTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida police officer went above and beyond the call of duty when she lent a helping hand to a struggling single mother she stopped for shoplifting. Jessica Robles admitted she made a decision to shoplift groceries out of desperation. She said she found herself in a situation where she looked at her the children, 12-year-old Anais and two younger boys, and realized she had no money left for food. "Not fun, to see my brother in the dirt hungry, asking for food, and we have to tell him, 'There is nothing here,'" said Anais, fighting back tears as she recalled how she had to tell her little brothers, ages 2 and 6, that they were out of food. Robles said she went to a Publix on 207th Street and South Dixie Highway at the end of September. According to police, she walked out pushing a cart filled with $300 worth of groceries for which she did not pay. Miami-Dade Police Officer Vicki Thomas was the law enforcer who stopped Robles. "I asked her, 'Why would you do that? What would make you do that?' And she said, 'My children are hungry,'" said Thomas. Instead of taking Robles into custody, Thomas ran her criminal history and found nothing major. The officer saw Robles was not a habitual shoplifter, so she charged her with a misdemeanor and a notice to appear in court. Thomas also took an extra step to help Robles and her children. "I made the decision to buy her some groceries because arresting her wasn't going to solve the problem with her children being hungry," she said. "She asked, 'Do you even have food at the house?' And I looked at her in her face, and I told her, 'Not at all.'" Robles said. "So I went in and bought her some groceries," said Thomas, who purchased $100 worth of groceries for Robles. Thomas said, looking at Robles' sons rummaging through the bags was more than reward enough for her act of generosity. "To see them go through the bags when we brought them in, it was like Christmas," she said. "That $100 to me was worth it." Robles said her boyfriend's loss of employment led to her money woes. He was receiving federal assistance for food, and due to a paperwork issue, the aid stopped. Robles said she is currently going to a local food bank and is desperately looking for work. She expressed her gratitude to her guardian angel in uniform. "All I wanted to tell her is thank you from the bottom of my heart," she said. Tears streamed down Anais' face as she echoed her mother's comments. "Thank you so very much for doing it for us, and we're very thankful," she said. Thomas did have one favor to ask of Robles. "The only thing I asked of her is, when she gets on her feet, that she help someone else out," she said, "and she said she would." (Copyright 2013 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material

– The routine part of this shoplifting story out of Miami is that police stopped a woman trying to leave a supermarket with $300 worth of unpaid-for food. The not-so-routine part: Upon hearing that the accused was a mother of three in dire straits, the arresting officer went back in the store and shelled out $100 from her own pocket to buy the woman groceries, reports WSVN. "I made the decision to buy her some groceries because arresting her wasn't going to solve the problem with her children being hungry," says officer Vicki Thomas. She still charged Jessica Robles with a misdemeanor, but she also educated her about local food banks and other sources of help. "She asked, 'Do you even have food at the house?' And I looked at her in her face, and I told her, 'Not at all,'" recalls Robles. For the record, the Miami-Dade department has no problem with Thomas' actions. "Police officers do have discretion, and what Thomas did was completely in bounds," a spokesperson tells AOL.

Jessica Robles admitted she made a decision to shoplift groceries out of desperation. Miami-Dade Police Officer Vicki Thomas was the law enforcer who stopped Robles. Thomas purchased $100 worth of groceries for Robles and her children. Robles said she is currently going to a local food bank and is desperately looking for work."To see them go through the bags when we brought them in, it was like Christmas," Thomas said. "Thank you so very much for doing it for us, and we're very thankful"

For the first time, families head to the nation's largest mass grave to visit where their loved ones are buried. The potter's field on Hart Island is located off City Island in the Bronx. It's the resting place of more than a million people who couldn't afford burial or whose bodies were unclaimed. Earlier this month, the Department of Correction—which runs the gravesite—settled a lawsuit with the New York Civil Liberties Union...allowing monthly grave visits to family members of those buried on the island. Before, visitors could only go to a memorial area. A handful of families visited Sunday. "I'm glad I saw where my baby's buried, and I'm glad we've opened it up for people to go to the gravesites," one visitor said. "It's very pleasant, surprisingly so, you hear 'potter's field' and you think the worst, but this was something else," said another. "I felt really bad that my mother wound up buried in a pauper grave, but now that I've experienced it—it is beautiful. It is as beautiful as any cemetery anywhere. Now I'm at peace," another said. Advocates say they want to turn Potters Field into a park. The next visits are set for sometime in August. ||||| Welcome to The Hart Island Project. Since 1980, 68,113 people have been buried in mass graves on Hart Island. The Traveling Cloud Museum is a collection of their stories. Through this interactive map we invite you to explore the island with all its stories. By clicking on a plot number you can access records of individuals buried at that location. Each person has a clock measuring how long they have been buried on the island. You can stop their clock of anonymity and restore their history by adding a story to The Traveling Cloud Museum. Plot numbers in red indicate that a person with AIDS has been identified at that location. Find out more about Hart Island and the interactive map by watching this short video. Watch Video ||||| Rosalee Grable holds a bouquet of flowers she planned to leave at a gravesite of her mother before taking the ferry to Hart's Island in New York July 19, 2015. A ferry headed towards Hart's Island leaves from a dock in the Bronx borough of New York, July 19, 2015. Rosalee Grable, (L) walks off the ferry to Hart's Island with Melinda Hunt in New York July 19, 2015. NEW YORK It takes a mere 10 minutes by boat to navigate to New York City's Hart Island, one of the United States' largest paupers' cemetery. But it took Rosalee Grable more than a year to reach the gravesite where her mother was buried on the uninhabited strip of land off the city's Bronx borough. Grable, 64, was one of a few dozen mourners who for the first time walked across the barren island on Sunday. The trip marked the end of the long isolation of the site, where about 1 million people are buried. "I'm so grateful to be able to go there and stand at her grave," she said, holding

– A few dozen mourners made history yesterday by riding a ferry to Hart Island in New York City. Their dead loved ones, buried in paupers' graves, had been legally inaccessible for years until a recent federal class-action lawsuit forced the city's Correction Department to let people visit, the New York Times reports. "I just want to see the site—I just want to be there," says obstetrician Laurie Grant, 61, whose daughter all but vanished after being born dead in 1993. "It’s part of everybody’s rites and rituals." She was among those who navigated the island's old asylum ruins, signs warning "Prison—Keep Off," and many white posts that number mass graves. There's also a tall monument engraved with the word "Peace" and a cross standing over the dead, Reuters reports. The city has buried about a million people there since 1869, using it when loved ones lacked the funds for a regular burial. But officials also denied access, saying the site was unsafe. "Of course it’s unsafe," says filmmaker Melinda Hunt, who started the Hart Island Project. "This is open-pit burials [done by inmates], and they leave them open for months. The city just hasn’t re-examined its burial process since the Civil War." Family members fought the city for years, culminating in last December's lawsuit and yesterday's visit. "This is a momentous day," says lawyer Christopher Dunn, who filed the suit. At least one visitor agreed, telling NY1 that she "felt really bad that my mother wound up buried in a pauper grave, but now that I've experienced it—it is beautiful. It is as beautiful as any cemetery anywhere. Now I'm at peace."

Since 1980, 68,113 people have been buried in mass graves on Hart Island. For the first time, families head to the nation's largest mass grave to visit where their loved ones are buried. Advocates say they want to turn Potters Field into a park. You can stop their clock of anonymity and restore their history by adding a story to The Traveling Cloud Museum. Through this interactive map we invite you to explore the island with all its stories. By clicking on a plot number you can access records of individuals buried at that location.

Among issues cited in 28 health and safety complaints filed against fast-food giant are understaffing and pressure to work fast without proper safety gear McDonald’s workers who have suffered severe burns in their workplace filed 28 health and safety complaints against the company in 19 cities over the past two weeks, a labor group announced on Monday. The complaints, which were filed with the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration as well as state safety and health authorities, allege that many of the injuries occurred because of understaffing and the pressure to work fast. After such accidents occurred, management often lacked first-aid supplies to treat the injuries and instead often told the workers to treat their burns with condiments. McDonald’s said in a statement that it is “committed to providing safe working conditions for employees in the 14,000 McDonald’s Brand US restaurants” and will review the allegations. A McDonald’s spokeswoman, Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem, said: “It is important to note that these complaints are part of a larger strategy orchestrated by activists targeting our brand and designed to generate media coverage.” The complaints were filed with the assistance of labor organizing group Fight for $15, which is pushing for a higher minimum wage and union representation for fast-food workers. On Monday, Fight for $15 also launched a petition asking the US Department of Labor to investigate health and safety hazards in the fast-food industry. “My managers kept pushing me to work faster, and while trying to meet their demands I slipped on a wet floor, catching my arm on a hot grill,” Brittney Berry said on a conference call on Monday. Berry has worked at McDonald’s in Chicago since 2011; when she slipped, she suffered a severe burn on her forearm and nerve damage from the accident. “The managers told me to put mustard on it, but I ended up having to get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.” Afterward, Berry missed three weeks of work without pay. Using condiments to soothe workplace burns is more than just a one-time occurrence at McDonald’s. According to a survey by Hart Research Associates, 33% of fast-food workers who were burned at work were told by their manager to use condiments such mustard, butter or ketchup instead of burn cream. Martisse Campbell works at McDonald’s in Philadelphia and is often tasked with emptying the grease traps at his store. “One of my coworkers and I have to empty the grease trap without protective gear, and since we were never given the proper equipment or training, we just dump the hot grease into a plastic bag in a box of ice,” said Campbell. “Once, my coworker got badly burned, and our manager told him: ‘Put mayonnaise on it, you’ll be good.’” Campbell too has burned his hand with boiling grease from a fryer. Both he and Berry say that accidents such as these are “exactly why workers at McDonald’s need union rights”. Our first-aid kit is just an empty box McDonald’s closely monitors all aspects of its franchisees’ operations, but when it comes to health

– Instead of being offered burn cream, McDonald's workers who suffered severe burns on the job were asked if they wanted mustard or ketchup on that, according to recently filed safety complaints. In some of the 28 safety complaints filed in 19 states over the last couple of weeks with the help of the Fight for $15 labor group, workers say McDonald's restaurants were short of first-aid kits and other safety equipment, reports the Guardian. The workers say conditions were made even more unsafe by pressure to work too fast and a lack of proper training on dealing with things like grease traps, the Christian Science Monitor reports. The complaints say condiments like ketchup or mayonnaise—but apparently not special sauce—were suggested as treatment when workers suffered burns. “My managers kept pushing me to work faster, and while trying to meet their demands I slipped on a wet floor, catching my arm on a hot grill," a McDonald's worker in Chicago tells the Guardian. "The managers told me to put mustard on it, but I ended up having to get rushed to the hospital in an ambulance." The organizing director of Fight for $15 accuses McDonald's of turning a blind eye to safety issues while closely monitoring everything else about franchisee operations. And it's not just McDonald's: According to a Hart Research survey, a third of fast-food workers who suffered a burn injury on the job say managers suggested using condiments as treatment, the BBC reports. (Last month, a therapy kangaroo was kicked out of a McDonald's in Wisconsin.)

McDonald’s workers who have suffered severe burns in their workplace filed 28 health and safety complaints against the company in 19 cities. The complaints allege that many of the injuries occurred because of understaffing and the pressure to work fast. After such accidents occurred, management often lacked first-aid supplies to treat the injuries and instead often told the workers to treat their burns with condiments. McDonald's said in a statement that it is “committed to providing safe working conditions for employees in the 14,000 McDonald's Brand US restaurants”

Paul Ryan endorsed presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on June 2, but the two haven't always seen eye-to-eye. (Peter Stevenson/The Washington Post) House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) ended a month-long holdout by formally backing his party’s presumptive presidential nominee: Donald Trump. On Thursday, the speaker penned a guest column for his hometown newspaper in which he trumpeted the controversial real-estate mogul as someone who could support the speaker’s conservative agenda. The move consolidated Trump’s backing from Republican congressional leaders and most party leaders, leaving a small-but-influential bloc of conservatives who have vowed to never support the real-estate mogul isolated and without a significant leader carrying their flag. Like many senior Republicans, Ryan’s endorsement came with its share of caveats about the speaker and the presumptive nominee’s remaining policy differences. It did not signal any level of comfort with Trump’s sometimes bombastic style compared to the Midwestern values the speaker tries to embody. Instead, Ryan’s decision came down most squarely to attempting to prevent another Democrat from claiming the Oval Office. “It’s a question of how to move ahead on the ideas that I—and my House colleagues—have invested so much in through the years. It’s not just a choice of two people, but of two visions for America,” Ryan wrote, citing the “bold” policy agenda that he will begin rolling out next week and contrasting that with Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton’s platform. “Donald Trump can help us make it a reality,” Ryan said. [How Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell took such different approaches to supporting Trump] The move marks a big about-face for Ryan, who four weeks ago declared he was “not there yet” in terms of endorsing Trump and questioned whether the controversial businessman was even a conservative. According to Ryan’s team of advisers, the speaker made the decision to support Trump earlier this week — and by late Wednesday, his senior staff began working on the op-ed for the Gazette in Janesville, Wis. Trump responded to the announcement on Twitter: So great to have the endorsement and support of Paul Ryan. We will both be working very hard to Make America Great Again! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 2, 2016 Ryan and Trump met once in person in mid-May when the billionaire crisscrossed Capitol Hill for meetings with House and Senate leaders. The speaker’s advisers said they spoke by phone several other times, with the last call coming last week. Senior Ryan advisers have also remained in close contact with Trump’s campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, a Republican lobbyist with longtime ties to influential GOP leaders. Throughout the talks, neither side agreed to switch any of their policy positions, Ryan’s advisers said, and one aide suggested that Thursday’s endorsement should not be construed as the sort of “real unification” of Republicans that Ryan has called for repeatedly since first announcing he was not ready to endorse Trump. Indeed, it’s still not clear if Ryan will ever campaign side-by-side with Trump — his focus remains on helping elect House Republicans. And at the moment, Ryan still has no formal speaking

– A month after saying he wasn't ready to do so, Paul Ryan endorsed Donald Trump Thursday via a guest column in the speaker's hometown newspaper, the Washington Post reports, noting that the move likely signals Ryan's desire to unite the GOP in order to ensure the House and the Senate stay in the Republican party's hands after the coming election. House Republicans have spent months putting together "a policy agenda that offers a better way forward" for the USA, Ryan explains in his Janesville Gazette column. That agenda involves "a better tax code," an ObamaCare replacement, national security and foreign policy changes, regulation reforms to give the economy a boost, proposals for decreasing poverty, and more, Ryan says. "To enact these ideas, we need a Republican president willing to sign them into law. That’s why, when he sealed the nomination, I could not offer my support for Donald Trump before discussing policies and basic principles," Ryan writes. The two men have now had many such discussions, and now Ryan says he feels confident Trump would help the GOP enact its policy agenda. "It’s no secret that he and I have our differences. I won’t pretend otherwise. And when I feel the need to, I’ll continue to speak my mind. But the reality is, on the issues that make up our agenda, we have more common ground than disagreement." Ryan, who doesn't actually use the word "endorse" in the column, says he'll be voting for Trump. As the Post notes, Ryan is "the last senior Republican congressional leader to throw his weight behind Trump’s candidacy."

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) ended a month-long holdout by formally backing Donald Trump. On Thursday, the speaker penned a guest column for his hometown newspaper in which he trumpeted the controversial real-estate mogul as someone who could support the speaker's conservative agenda. The move consolidated Trump’s backing from Republican congressional leaders and most party leaders, leaving a small-but-influential bloc of conservatives isolated and without a significant leader carrying their flag. Like many senior Republicans, Ryan's endorsement came with its share of caveats about the speaker and the presumptive nominee's remaining policy differences. It did not signal any level of comfort with Trump's sometimes bombastic style compared to the Midwestern values the

After helping propel several upstart Republican contenders to recent primary victories, Sarah Palin said Friday that it's time for Republicans to unite now that primary season is over. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks during the Republican Party of Iowa's Ronald Reagan Dinner, Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Associated Press) Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin speaks during the Republican Party of Iowa's Ronald Reagan Dinner, Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, in Des Moines, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Associated Press) The former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee delivered a fiery speech to about 1,400 people at the Iowa Republican Party's Reagan dinner, the party's largest annual fundraiser. She noted that the general elections are less than two months away and stressed that Nov. 2 should be the focus of all Republicans. "This is our movement, this is our moment," she said. "The time for unity is near. It is time to unite and make government work." Her appearance in the state where precinct caucuses traditionally launch the presidential nominating season drew intense attention, but she found time to joke about it. If she laced up her running shoes, she said, the headlines would read: "Palin in Iowa, decides to run." Palin has been coy about her presidential intentions and masterful at keeping her name in the news since she abruptly resigned as Alaska's governor in 2009. She's mixed political fundraisers and candidates' campaign events with speeches in which she commands fees as high as $100,000. A string of Palin-endorsed candidates won during recent primary elections, including a double win Tuesday in Delaware and New Hampshire. On Friday, she stressed that Republicans needed to come together after a tough primary season. "Did you ever lose big growing up?" she asked the crowd. "You lose some and you win some. For the sake of our country, America's primary voters have spoken and those internal power struggles need to be set aside." She also attacked what she called a media establishment that wouldn't give conservatives a break. "It's been made abundantly clear that those who hold some pretty common-sense views won't be heard," she said. State Republican Chairman Matt Strawn said attendance at the annual dinner spiked after it was announced that Palin would be speaking at the event. Palin is far from alone in taking early steps to court Iowa activists. Former House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich has made multiple trips to the state, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty has put a staff member in Iowa and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania all have visits in the works. President Barack Obama's spokesman said Friday that he believes Palin was testing the waters in Iowa for a possible presidential run. Press secretary Robert Gibbs said this is the time of year when potential candidates head to the politically important state to gauge the likelihood of a campaign. Gibbs said it's clear that Palin can rally the very conservative elements of the Republican base and she may be

– Add this to the will-she or won't-she debate: Sarah Palin tells Fox News that she'd be willing to "give it a shot" if the public wanted her to run for president in 2012. "If the American people were to be ready for someone who is willing to shake it up ... and if they happen to think I was the one, if it were best for my family and for our country, of course I would give it a shot." This comes, of course, on the same day Palin traveled to Iowa to address a GOP fundraiser. She used most of her speech there to tell Republicans they have to stop whining and unite behind the winning insurgent candidates, notes Politico. “The time for primary debate is over," she said. "It’s time for unity now.” Palin didn't address her 2012 plans, except as a joke, adds AP: If she put on her running shoes, she said, headlines would read, "Palin in Iowa, decides to run." Earlier today, none other than Robert Gibbs speculated that she's in Iowa mainly to test her presidential prospects. More Palin news here.

Former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee delivered a fiery speech to about 1,400 people at the Iowa Republican Party's Reagan dinner. She noted that the general elections are less than two months away and stressed that Nov. 2 should be the focus of all Republicans. Palin has been coy about her presidential intentions and masterful at keeping her name in the news since she abruptly resigned as Alaska's governor in 2009. President Barack Obama's spokesman said Friday that he believes Palin was testing the waters in Iowa for a possible presidential run.

Australia news Crocodile stalked New Zealand kayaker on remote island in Western Australia Six-metre 'monster' kept traveller isolated with few supplies until he was rescued by passing local A New Zealand solo kayaker was a harassed by a six-metre saltwater crocodile. Photograph: AAP A New Zealand kayaker has had a lucky escape after becoming trapped on a remote West Australian island for more than two weeks by a six-metre crocodile. The man, known only as Ryan, was last month exploring the northern coast of Western Australia near Kalumburu, which is between Derby and Kununurra. After he was left on remote Governor Island, he realised he didn't have enough supplies and tried to paddle the four kilometres or so back to the mainland by kayak. But he immediately caught the eye of the six-metre saltwater crocodile who has lived in the area for years. Every time he tried to leave, the crocodile would make his presence felt, leaving the adventurer stranded for a fortnight. On Saturday, a Kalumburu resident, Don McLeod, spotted a light on the island, and when he checked it out, the hatless, shirtless and desperate visitor approached. "When I came round through Red Bluff opposite Governor Island I saw a flash in the scrub," McLeod told ABC radio. "I went across and Ryan came out looking a bit distraught. He came down the beach, he had no hat on and no shirt on. "He was relieved and shocked, and thankful someone had come along because he was running out of options pretty quickly. "He is a very, very lucky man." Ryan travelled to Governor Island from Queensland. Part of his voyage was on a yacht whose owner was jailed en route in the Northern Territory, leaving his passenger stranded for two months. After hitching a lift with a solo yachtsman from the Northern Territory to Western Australia, he was dropped on Governor Island with 160 litres of water, some flour and dry stores. But after realising he was unprepared for the Kimberley wilderness, his first attempt to reach the mainland was thwarted by the crocodile. McLeod said the story was incredible. "He said every time he got in his little kayak, which was only 2.5m long, this crocodile – who has lived there for many years and is a monster – has chased him," McLeod said. "He was desperate for water when I trotted up. We gave him a cold beer, which was probably the wrong thing, and then he went to sleep about three-quarters of the way home." The New Zealander has been given a bed at a mission on the mainland as he recovers. ||||| Image caption Saltwater crocodiles can grow up 7m (23ft) long and weigh more than a tonne A New Zealand tourist has returned to safety after being menaced by a crocodile off Western Australia for two weeks, an Australian report says. The man became stranded on an island because the reptile stalked him when he tried to leave by kayak, rescuer Don Macleod told broadcaster ABC. Mr Macleod said he rescued the man on

– Talk about a vacation gone wrong: A New Zealand kayaker spent two weeks trapped on an island about 2.5 miles off Western Australia's far northern coast because he feared a 20-foot crocodile would eat him. The man, named only as Ryan, told his eventual rescuer that he was "stalked" by the creature, which seemed to follow him in his 8-foot-long boat each time he tried to depart Governor Island, reports Australia's AP. He was stuck on the island until Don MacLeod noticed a light on the island, leading him to the tourist. MacLeod, who lives on the mainland near the island, recounts the man's experience to Australia's ABC. "He said every time he got in his little kayak ... this crocodile has chased him. ... So he made it back to the island and pulled his kayak up as far as he could get it and headed cross country back to his camp. So he was reduced then to trying to conserve his water and signal [for help]." The BBC notes that MacLeod knew of the crocodile in question, saying he had seen it "several times" and that it was as long as his 20-foot boat. As for the rescued kayaker, "he wouldn't have made it much longer without water," says MacLeod, "because he seemed to be a bit distressed when we found him." (Another recent encounter with a crocodile ended less positively in Australia.)

The man, known only as Ryan, was exploring the northern coast of Western Australia near Kalumburu. He realised he didn't have enough supplies and tried to paddle the four kilometres or so back to the mainland by kayak. But he immediately caught the eye of the six-metre saltwater crocodile who has lived in the area for years. Every time he tried to leave, the crocodile would make his presence felt, leaving the adventurer stranded for a fortnight. A passing local spotted a light on the island and when he checked it out, the hatless, shirtless and desperate visitor approached.

Video games are extremely popular, with one report suggesting that as many as 1.2 billion people worldwide play them each year. We know a lot about how playing these games influences your health and even how you view the world, and now we've got some insight into how they affect your sex life. A new study shows men who play video games are less likely to suffer from premature ejaculation, but they also have a lower sex drive. Read: Video Games Featuring Action Can Improve Cognitive Functions Like Attention And Brain Processing For the study, published online in The Journal of Sexual Medicine, the team surveyed 396 men, asking them questions about their erectile function as well as their gaming habits and general lifestyle choices. The men were between the ages of 18 and 50. While the researchers could not deduce from this study alone the reason for the correlation between men’s gaming habits and their sex lives, the team speculated that decreased sex drive in gamers may be related to overstimulation of dopamine, a pleasure hormone released both when a man plays video games and when he has an orgasm. The research hypothesized that producing large amounts of dopamine while playing video games may cause gamer guys to build a tolerance to the hormone, which may lead to less interest in sex. "I think that video games might be similar to physical exercise in these regards: occasional use might have beneficial effects, but when some threshold between 'occasional use' and 'chronic abuse' is crossed, ill effects might occur," the study’s lead researcher Dr. Andrea Sansone told Broadly. "We are just scratching the surface of this new field of research: I hope that sooner or later we will be able to produce more solid results. In the meantime, I'll keep playing!" Playing video games isn’t always bad though, as other research suggested that the habit may help to improve cognitive functions, such as attention and brain processing. One article published in the Sage Journals suggests that playing video games that require players to focus on fast-moving targets require players to make quick decisions, which in turn helps to strengthen their cognitive function. The study authors compared video games to “brain games,” games specially designed to help build and strengthen cognitive function. However, brain games themselves are a controversial topic. Although scientists acknowledge that certain activities, like doing crossword puzzles and Suduko, can help keep players mentally sharp, other games such as those created by the company Lumosity, have less solid scientific evidence to back their validity. Source: Green CS, Seitz AR. The Impacts of Video Games on Cognition (and How the Government Can Guide the Industry). Sage Journals . 2017 See Also: Brain Games For Adults Do Not Prevent Memory Loss, Cognitive Decline; 3 Proven Ways To Become Smarter In Old Age Brain Games: 3 Video Games That Have Been Scientifically Proven To Benefit Your Brain ||||| In a post-Gamergate world, playing video games often comes with a bad connotation. There are, of course, plenty of men (and women!) who innocuously pretend

– For guys who game, researchers have good news and bad news. The good news is that guys who play video games "chronically," which at least for the purpose of one new study is defined as more than an hour a day, are less likely to ejaculate prematurely than their non-chronic gaming counterparts. The bad news, researchers report in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, is that they're also less likely to be interested in sex. Researchers can't fully explain what's happening—it might have something to do with increased stress levels from playing—but they suspect both findings are related, reports Vice's Broadly. "I think that video games might be similar to physical exercise in these regards: occasional use might have beneficial effects, but when some threshold between 'occasional use' and 'chronic abuse' is crossed, ill effects might occur," says the lead author. In the study, researchers surveyed nearly 400 men between the ages of 18 and 50 in Italy about their gaming habits and lifestyle in general. They found that as sex drive goes down, premature ejaculation becomes less likely, per Medical Daily. One theory is that gamers tend to experience an overstimulation of the pleasure hormone dopamine, which helps stimulate orgasm, so they build up a sort of tolerance to it that makes them less interested in having an orgasm and also less likely to do so prematurely. (Women are just as strong gamers as men.)

A new study shows men who play video games are less likely to suffer from premature ejaculation, but they also have a lower sex drive. The decreased sex drive in gamers may be related to overstimulation of dopamine, a pleasure hormone released both when a man plays video games and when he has an orgasm. The research hypothesized that producing large amounts of dopamine while playing video games may cause gamer guys to build a tolerance to the hormone, which may lead to less interest in sex. Playing video games isn’t always bad though, as other research suggested that the habit may help to improve cognitive functions, such as attention and brain processing.

Civilian group patrols for freeway shooter [ ] Hide Caption [ ] Show Caption This map illustrates the seven confirmed freeway shootings in the valley. Arizona News Civilian group patrols for I-10 shooter There are a group of civilians that have decided to take matters into their own hands. - There are a group of civilians that have decided to take matters into their own hands. They call themselves 'Bolt Force' and they are armed and out looking for the shooter. The leader of the group was questioned by DPS officers after a passerby reported them as being suspicious. DPS issued a statement saying, "We would prefer they let us handle this investigation." The group gathered Wednesday evening near 35th Avenue and Roosevelt, their goal to find the serial freeway shooter who has been terrorizing this community. They're dressed in all black, wearing external vest body armor and armed with semi-automatic weapons. The group says they plan to do foot patrols in this community. Many of the group members are former military, body guards, security, or bounty hunters, and some have law enforcement training. While surveying the area earlier in the day, someone got concerned and called the police who ended up temporarily detaining "Bolt" and frisking him. "The communication error caused resources to be drawn to me instead of the shooter which is bad, and it wasn't a result of me, it was a result of a breakdown of communication," said Bolt. "Today I was out alone scouting and looking for shell casings, but I relayed that to law enforcement agencies, someone is going to get hurt or killed, and we are adding another element to this, I believe our presence at night in the dark can be effective," said Bolt. The group says they will be in a group doing foot patrols; they'll even be going to some of the overpasses where a shooter might be hiding. They say they've alerted Valley law enforcement agencies. ||||| ​​​​​- Bolt Force is made up of unpaid volunteers. ​​- We carry semi-automatic weapons and non-lethal weapons. ​- Bolt Force was created in 2010. While working for a security company Bolt couldn't chase criminals off from properties because of liability reasons. Out of frustration Bolt created "Bolt Force" so he could fight crime as a citizen without any limitations other than the laws of the land.​ - Our primary objective is to observe and report illegal activity to local law enforcement agencies.​ - In certain situations we will detain or execute a citizens arrest in accordance to local laws. ​- People ask how we catch criminals instead of the police. The Police are easily visible in patrol vehicles and therefor can easily be hid from. Police are more reactive than proactive to crimes. Few cities have foot patrols nightly and if they do it's only in areas like Times Square or Las Vegas Strip. Bolt Force targets the high crime areas of a city and is stealthy, dressed all in black body armor. We are like shadows in the night and the criminals have

– They bill themselves as "the nation's first and only armed volunteer crime fighting force that specializes in law enforcement and preservation of order." And this week, members of Bolt Force are turning their attention toward solving an Arizona mystery that's been frightening residents and puzzling police: a spate of shootings along a stretch of Interstate 10 in Phoenix, reports the Arizona Republic. "If they're trying to kill somebody, they're a horrible shot," Bolt himself (real name: Tony Rowley) tells the paper. "If they're trying to scare people, they're doing a good job." A good enough job, anyway, to have spurred the homespun vigilante group—whose unpaid members include ex-law enforcement, security, and military workers who dress in all-black body armor and sport semi-automatic and "non-lethal weapons"—to patrol Phoenix neighborhoods near the I-10 freeway. Among Bolt Force's advantages over regular law enforcement, per the group's website, is that police's patrol vehicles "are easily visible," meaning suspects are more apt to hide, as well as the fact that cops are "more reactive than proactive" in handling crime. Bolt Force members also assist non-criminals in need (e.g., someone with a broken-down car), and Rowley tells the Republic his organization is simply designed to enhance police efforts, not compete with them. "We prefer law enforcement handles [arrests]," he says. But their help can backfire, such as on Wednesday, when a "concerned" citizen who saw Rowley patrolling the streets called the cops, who detained and frisked him, KSAZ reports. A curt statement from the Arizona Department of Public Safety cited by KSAZ simply says, "We would prefer they let us handle this investigation."

The group gathered Wednesday evening near 35th Avenue and Roosevelt. They're dressed in all black, wearing external vest body armor and armed with semi-automatic weapons. The leader of the group was questioned by DPS officers after a passerby reported them as being suspicious. DPS issued a statement saying, "We would prefer they let us handle this investigation" The group says they will be in a group doing foot patrols; they'll even be going to some of the overpasses where a shooter might be hiding.

Their romantic break, which comes 10 days after their Westminster Abbey royal wedding , was confirmed by St James’s Palace. A spokeswoman for the Indian Ocean country's department of tourism said the royal couple landed at the country's main airport at 7.20am local time this morning. They were then transferred by helicopter to a private island where they were expected to spend 10 days at a secluded villa. The name of the island where they are staying has not been confirmed. On Monday, the couple were seen leaving their Anglesey home with large amounts of luggage Prince William and Kate were expected to go on honeymoon on April 30, the day after the wedding attracted more than a million people to the streets of London. However, the prince returned to work as a search and rescue helicopter pilot, while the Duchess was seen pushing a trolley around their local supermarket. The couple only have a few weeks to squeeze in their romantic break before they begin their first joint tour. They are due to visit Canada and California for 10 days. Prince William, 28, and his 29-year-old wife have previously enjoyed holidays together in the Caribbean island of Mustique. It is understood that the second in line to the throne had kept the honeymoon destination a secret, but that it was going to be somewhere warm. Earlier this week, a judge praised Prince William for helping to save his life after suffering a heart attack on Snowdonia. Nick Barnett, 70, said he hadn't planned to be rescued by the prince, he merely wanted to "have a nice day on the hills". ||||| Palace officials say Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton have departed on their delayed honeymoon. William's office declined to say where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have traveled and for how long, but stressed on Tuesday that the couple has requested that their privacy is respected during their honeymoon. The couple decided against an immediate overseas honeymoon after getting married in London at Westminster Abbey on April 29. They opted instead to spend their first weekend of married life at their home before William returned to military duty. The palace says the prince has taken two weeks leave, but would not specify how much of that time will be spent on his honeymoon. British media on Tuesday widely reported the honeymoon had kicked off in the Seychelles islands. ||||| Royal Couple Finally Jets Off for Official Honeymoon Email This After months of intense planning and the huge spectacle of a wedding, According to the "We are not confirming, and we are not commenting, on speculation on where they may be going on their private honeymoon, we are just confirming that they have gone," a spokesman said, adding, "The couple have asked that their privacy be respected during their honeymoon." Though the exact location of their getaway will not be released, the UK's After months of intense planning and the huge spectacle of a wedding, Prince William and Kate Middleto n have officially left for their romantic honeymoon.According to

– They delayed their honeymoon, but not by much: Prince William and wife Kate Middleton are currently experiencing (we assume) newly wedded bliss. Palace officials today confirmed the royal couple left on their post-nuptial vacation, but would not say where, the AP reports. A spokesperson for the Seychelles tourism department confirms, however, that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge landed at that country's main airport this morning. The couple, who left on a private jet last night, is now at a secluded villa on a private island, the Telegraph reports. Officials also wouldn't say how long the honeymoon will last, but did acknowledge the prince took two weeks leave from his job; he and Kate are rumored to be on holiday for 10 days. Click for more details on the royal getaway.

Royal couple landed at Indian Ocean country's main airport at 7.20am local time this morning. They were then transferred by helicopter to a private island where they were expected to spend 10 days at a secluded villa. The couple decided against an immediate overseas honeymoon after getting married in London at Westminster Abbey on April 29. The palace says the prince has taken two weeks leave, but would not specify how much of that time will be spent on his honeymoon. It is understood that the second in line to the throne had kept the honeymoon destination a secret.

Rice: White House Summit To Show Africa's Potential To Investors DAVID GREENE, HOST: Think of a summit meeting in Washington this week is part of a new scramble for Africa. STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: That's a phrase from the colonial area, when European nations scrambled to own most of that continent. GREENE: This new scramble is different - independent African nations, for all their problems, have growing economies. INSKEEP: And great powers from around the world are competing for access to African resources and markets. GREENE: And the United States is hosting African leaders in an effort to get more seriously in that game. INSKEEP: Now, in our reporting this week, we're hearing the voices of African presidents, African business leaders and right now, a U.S. official who wants U.S. companies to play a bigger role. She is President Obama's national security adviser, Susan Rice. How is it Ambassador Rice, that China and Europe are seen as so far ahead of the United States when it comes to investing in Africa? SUSAN RICE: Well, Europe of course has the history of its colonial relationship with Africa that has led it to have long-standing economic ties. Chinas are much more recent. China has largely gone in and invested heavily in minerals, oil, other resources. It has also invested in infrastructure. But typically the nature of China's engagement is it brings in thousands of Chinese workers and uses Chinese to build roads, build buildings, rather than giving jobs and opportunity and capacity building for Africans, which is a real distinction between the American approach and the Chinese approach. The American approach is not to bring in a bunch of foreigners to take jobs from Africa, but it's actually to build Africa capacity. INSKEEP: Well, let me try to clarify that if I can because we're hearing from Tony Elumelu (ph) - he's a Nigerian businessman, very prominent part of this summit and known to you at the White House. And he said for better or worse, we know what China wants. They want resources, they're willing to give infrastructure. He went on to say we don't know what America wants. Why is there such confusion in Africa about what the United States really wants out of this relationship? RICE: Well, I don't know Steve if there's confusion - what we want is for Africa to thrive, for Africa to create jobs for its own people, for Africa to live in peace and security. Why do we want that? Because it's in the United States interest, and it's in the interest of the wider international community. A strong Africa that can tend to itself is able to deal with the threat of terrorism, the threat of international criminal organizations or infectious disease as we are even seeing today with respect to the Ebola challenge. INSKEEP: Is part of the problem that you're dealing with individual American investors and individual American companies and they say well, that's a place that has Ebola, that's a place that has terrorism, that's a place that - perhaps most gravely from

– This week, Washington is hosting most of Africa's leaders for the White House's US-Africa Leaders Summit, which aims to forge stronger ties between the US and the continent, CNN reports. The event will address issues ranging from trade to security, the Wall Street Journal notes. A business forum is at the center of today's activities, the Hill notes, and the CEOs of Walmart, Coca-Cola, and IBM will be on hand as firms look for new investment opportunities. Says John Kerry: Africa's "resources are the people, the know-how, the capacity, the desire—and if that is harnessed properly there is no limit in the rapidity with which growth can take over." Coke is among the US and African companies that will announce $7 billion in new funds today to help develop agriculture on the continent. The White House has sought the support of private companies in its development effort, the Washington Post reports, and the focus on private cash rather than federal funds "is working," says the head of the US Agency for International Development: "We have been able to do some extraordinary things to dramatically reduce hunger through the commercialization of the agriculture sector." Coke, for instance, is working to source more products from Kenya and Malawi. Europe and China are already far ahead of the US in African investment, NPR reports, and the US is working to catch up.

Susan Rice: White House Summit To Show Africa's Potential To Investors. Rice: China and Europe are seen as so far ahead of the U.S. when it comes to investing in Africa. She says the American approach is not to bring in a bunch of foreigners to take jobs from Africa, but it's actually to build Africa capacity. The United States is hosting African leaders this week in an effort to get more seriously in that game. security adviser Susan Rice: A strong Africa that can tend to itself is able to deal with the threat of terrorism and infectious disease.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court struck down the Federal Communication Commission's net neutrality rules. The argument was a technical one: The FCC claimed it could regulate broadband providers under its authority to regulate "common carriers," but the courts noted that, in other contexts, the FCC doesn't define broadband providers as common carriers. To some, like Columbia law professor Tim Wu, this is "a FEMA-level fail" for the FCC. But John Blevins sees it differently. Blevins, a law professor at Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, submitted a pro bono amicus brief in support of the FCC’s open Internet rules on behalf of various Internet engineers and technologists. So he was disappointed in the ruling. But he also thinks it's being misinterpreted -- and, in the long run, it could actually strengthen the FCC's authority to protect the internet. He sent along these comments. No, Verizon can't just do whatever they want now. (Peter Morgan/Associated Press.) The reports of network neutrality’s death have been greatly exaggerated. Yes, the D.C Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the heart of the FCC’s open Internet rules. But it also, more quietly, ruled that the FCC has authority to regulate broadband providers to protect Internet openness. In doing so, the court may have handed the FCC — and the public — a victory that goes well beyond network neutrality. The specific legal dispute is arcane, but the stakes are high. In 2010, the FCC adopted rules to protect the open Internet. These protections are essentially nondiscrimination requirements that apply to Internet access providers who physically connect end users to the Internet (i.e., telephone and cable companies). Nondiscrimination rules are necessary because Internet access providers have a unique type of monopoly — a monopoly over you, the end user. When you choose to watch Netflix on your computer or smartphone, Netflix’s data can only reach you through your specific access provider. In effect, the access provider owns the only “driveway” to your house and can block content from entering. Or, it can decide to selectively impose additional tolls on the sites you request, which drives up the costs of those services and stifles new entrants who are less able to pay them. The FCC’s open Internet rules quite sensibly prevented Internet access providers from engaging in blocking and other unreasonable discrimination. The D.C. Circuit, however, struck down these rules, which has led to criticisms that network neutrality is dead. Fortunately, it’s not. The court vacated only these particular rules, not the FCC’s ability to act in the future. Specifically, it concluded that the FCC could regulate Internet providers under a statute known as Section 706, which authorizes the FCC to take various steps to promote broadband deployment. The court correctly recognized that prohibiting blocking and discrimination can lead to greater broadband deployment by increasing consumer demand. For instance, the introduction of the World Wide Web (which required no permission or toll payments) fueled the network investments of the 1990s. The growth of online video is driving modern investment today. The court objected to FCC’s current versions of

– Much of the reaction to a federal court's decision to gut net neutrality has been of the we're-doomed variety, with critics worried that Internet service providers such as Verizon will be free to mess up our ability to stream movies and surf the web the way we want. But another camp is urging everyone to calm down because the FCC still has the potential to keep ISPs in check: Yes, the court "vacated the heart of the FCC’s open Internet rules," writes law professor John Blevins in the Washington Post, but it did not curb "the FCC’s ability to act in the future. Specifically, it concluded that the FCC could regulate Internet providers under a statute known as Section 706, which authorizes the FCC to take various steps to promote broadband deployment." In fact, "the court may have handed the FCC—and the public—a victory that goes well beyond network neutrality." Much of the decision deals with how the FCC classifies ISPs, as "information services" rather than "telecommunication services," writes Jon Terbush at the Week. "It's not that the FCC can't impose anti-discrimination regulations on ISPs; it's that they can't do so unless they classify ISPs as 'telecommunications services,' which would then subject them to common carrier regulations." The agency could change the classification, as many reformers have long suggested. But "even failing a common-carriers declaration, net neutrality isn’t buried," writes Tim Fernholz at Quartz. "Both its opponents and proponents believe the court decision has unintended consequences that will empower the FCC to enforce the essentials of net neutrality without re-classifying ISPs. Even if they aren’t considered common carriers, the FCC is empowered to regulate them under a different statute." In short, Verizon shouldn't celebrate just yet.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court struck down the Federal Communication Commission's net neutrality rules. The argument was a technical one: The FCC claimed it could regulate broadband providers under its authority to regulate "common carriers" But the courts noted that, in other contexts, the FCC doesn't define broadband providers as common carriers. In doing so, the court may have handed the FCC — and the public — a victory that goes well beyond network neutrality. The court correctly recognized that prohibiting blocking and discrimination can lead to greater broadband deployment by increasing consumer demand.

Mrs James said it is a "mystery" how he found his way back home, after being sent to the Cumbrian farm for a trial. “He obviously wasn’t happy in his new home, the farmer said he could see he didn’t settle. He was shy,” Mrs James, 48 said. “He took him to gather some sheep and that was the last time he saw Pero, he was going across the field and not thinking of turning back.” "I thought someone would get in touch because he had a microchip, but on Wednesday night after supper my husband went out and there he was on the doorstep waiting for him. “He was jumping up at him he was going mad, just jumping around in circles. It’s just a mystery as to how he has turned up on the doorstep. “They say dogs can find their way home but it’s quite a distance from Cockermouth. My sons go up there every year to shear and they have to use a sat-nav to get home so for a dog it’s quite remarkable.” ||||| A sheepdog originally from a farm in Ceredigion appears to have made the 240-mile solo journey back to its birthplace from its new home in Cumbria. Pero, a four-year-old working sheepdog, escaped from Cockermouth on 8 April only to reappear on the doorstep of Alan and Shan James's farm near Aberystwyth a fortnight later. His previous owners have no idea how he found his way back. They now plan to keep Pero. Mrs James said: "The farmer in Cockermouth was looking for a dog that could round sheep and follow a quad bike, and we thought Pero would be ideal for the job. "We told the farmer to take him away and see if he'd be willing to work for him on his farm up north. And so Pero left us at the beginning of March." But it seems Pero would not settle in his new home, and while out working on the farm, he bolted across the fields. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Shan James: "It was big surprise to us all... Pero was on the doorstep" "We'd been told that Pero had disappeared, and was nowhere to be seen " said Mrs James, who lives with their five children on the sheep farm in Penrhyncoch. "But then, last Wednesday evening, April 20, my husband Alan went out to check on the animals after supper and there was Pero on our doorstep. "It was a bit of a shock, and the dog was going crazy after seeing Alan. "No-one called us to say that they'd dropped the dog off, and even though he has a microchip no-one's been in touch either to say that they've found him. "It's a total mystery as to how Pero has managed to find his way back to us. We know that dogs can find their way home, but 240 miles is a long way to travel." Now the family wish to find out if anybody has had an unfamiliar black and white

– A sheepdog sent away by its Welsh owners to work on a farm in Cumbria didn't like his new assignment and ended up back at his original home—after apparently making the 240-mile trek back on his own, the Guardian reports. Pero made a run for it on April 8 and turned back up at the home of Alan and Shan James on April 20. "We'd been told that Pero had disappeared, and was nowhere to be seen," Shan James tells the BBC. "But then, last Wednesday evening … my husband Alan went out to check on the animals after supper and there was Pero on our doorstep." The family has no idea how Pero made the long trip or how he managed to sustain himself during his journey. "He wasn't hungry or weak, so he must have managed to find food somewhere," Shan James notes. A dog behaviorist tells the Telegraph that such a feat, while it doesn't happen every day, isn't unheard of, as working dogs like Pero have "amazing spatial memory" and "some sort of tracking mechanism to where they live," as well as the ability to put in dozens of miles a day thanks to their work ethic. At any rate, Pero is now staying put with the Jameses. "I don't think it would be fair for us to send Pero away again," Shan James says. "He obviously enjoys his home." (A dog lost at sea turned up weeks later.)

Pero, a four-year-old working sheepdog, escaped from Cockermouth on 8 April. He reappeared on the doorstep of Alan and Shan James's farm near Aberystwyth a fortnight later. Mrs James said it is a "mystery" how he found his way back home, after being sent to the Cumbrian farm for a trial. "It's a total mystery as to how Pero has managed to find his way home, but 240 miles is a long way to travel," she said.

Health USDA shutters Foster Farms poultry plant over cockroaches Jan. 8, 2014 at 8:36 PM ET Rich Pedroncelli / AP The U.S. Department of Agriculture shut down a Foster Farms poultry processing plant in Livingston, Calif., Wednesday, saying it was infested with live cockroaches, which can pose a threat to public health. The move comes even as that site and two other California chicken plants remain under heightened USDA scrutiny following two outbreaks of salmonella food poisoning in the past year, including one that is ongoing and has sickened at least 416 people in 23 states and Puerto Rico. "Today our inspectors observed insanitary conditions in the plant," said Adam Tarr, a spokesman for the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service. USDA officials said they couldn't confirm how many cockroaches were found or where in the fresh chicken production plant they were located. But a letter from the USDA to Foster said cockroaches were observed at a hand wash sink near an inspection station. The agency pulled the inspectors from the plant, which effectively shuts down the operation. Foster Farms officials confirmed the shut-down in a statement Wednesday, saying they temporarily stopped operations "to allow for enhanced sanitizing to take place." "The plant treatment took place this afternoon and the company expects to fully resume operation once approved for inspection by FSIS," officials said in a statement. Company officials later issued an updated statement in which they acknowledged cockroaches were discovered at the plant on Wednesday and four other incidents going back to September 2013. The statement said the company maintains an ongoing pest control program. "No other facilities are affected. No products are affected. Product production has been transferred to the company’s other facilities," the updated statement said. Cockroaches are considered pests that can carry bacteria, including salmonella. Tarr said that Wednesday's shutdown was not related to the ongoing outbreak. FSIS in October threatened to close the Livingston plant and two others in Fresno, Calif., but agreed to allow the firm to remain open while officials put a new multi-step process in place for salmonella control. Throughout both salmonella outbreaks, Foster Farms officials issued no recalls of potentially tainted products, instead advising consumers to handle chicken properly and to cook it thoroughly to a temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. ||||| A US chicken factory, linked to a recent salmonella oubreak, has been shut down after inspectors found live cockroaches for the fourth time in five months. US Federal inspectors halted processing at the Foster Farms plant in California following the discovery of "an infestation of live cockroaches," a suspension notice sent by the United States Department of Agriculture said. The letter, addressed to Farm Foods CEO Ron Foster, said the latest find demonstrated that the firm had "failed to maintain an effective pest control program ... to assure that wholesome, unadulterated meat and poultry products are produced." It said the insects had been discovered at the Livingston plant on four separate occasions between August 1, 2013 and January 8, 2014. They were found in several areas including a sink used for

– "Cockroach" and "infestation" are two words you don't want anywhere near your dinner, but the USDA says it encountered just that at a California poultry plant that it wasted no time in shutting down yesterday. Foster Farms said that it immediately conducted "enhanced sanitizing" at its Livingston plant, and said it "expects to fully resume operation" as soon as the USDA can re-inspect the facility. It added that it was "committed to a zero tolerance policy" and that this was an "isolated incident." Ick factor aside, cockroaches are known to carry salmonella and the plant in question is one of three Foster Farms facilities linked to a salmonella outbreak that sickened hundreds of Americans last year, NBC reports. Maybe not so "isolated:" Food Safety and Inspection Services inspectors said they found the bugs on four different occasions between August and yesterday, notes Sky News. In a letter, the USDA said Foster Farms "failed to maintain an effective pest control program ... to assure that wholesome, unadulterated meat and poultry products are produced." Foster Farms is the nation's No. 6 poultry processor; NBC notes that it issued no recalls during last year's salmonella outbreak. Rather, consumers were warned to properly handle and cook their chicken.

USDA shutters Foster Farms poultry plant over cockroaches. Cockroaches are considered pests that can carry bacteria, including salmonella. Company officials later issued an updated statement in which they acknowledgedcockroaches were discovered at the plant on Wednesday and four other incidents going back to September 2013. No other facilities are affected. Product production has been transferred to the company’s other facilities," the updated statement said. The move comes even as that site and two other California chicken plants remain under heightened USDA scrutiny following two outbreaks ofsalmonella food poisoning.

Watch out for moose who like to lick vehicles. That's a warning from the Alberta government for people visiting Peter Lougheed Provincial Park about 130 kilometres west of Calgary. Alberta Parks says moose are on the trails at Chester Lake and Burstall Pass and are coming into the trailhead parking lots to lick salt off the sides of vehicles. The government advises people to sound their horn to try to get the salt-lickers away from their vehicles. It also warns to not try to push a moose away from the vehicle. In Canada, a female moose weighs an average of 750 to 926 pounds and a male moose averages between 992 and 1,102 pounds. Alberta Parks issued the warning Tuesday and ask people report any aggressive moose encounters to them. ||||| The closure includes: the paved bicycle trail from the campground road to the store, the Whiskey Jack Trail from loop A to the store, the paved bike path east of the store, and the entire active construction zone during the creation of a new campground loop.See the map for more info.

– Oh, Canada! The Alberta government is warning motorists to beware of moose that lick. That is, don't physically try to stop them. The Peter Lougheed Provincial Park west of Calgary has experienced an influx of moose who enjoy sampling the salt caked to the windows and doors of parked vehicles, reports CBC News. If you had the idea of getting between a 1,000-pound moose and its pleasure, think again. Do not to "attempt to push moose away from your vehicle while on foot," says Alberta Parks. Instead, sound your horn or activate your key fob's panic button. A number is provided to report "all aggressive moose encounters." (It's illegal to ride a moose in Canada.)

Alberta Parks says moose are on the trails at Chester Lake and Burstall Pass. The government advises people to sound their horn to try to get the moose away from their vehicles.

In this photo provided by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, the remains of a trailer lie where a woman and her 3-year-old daughter were killed during a severe storm, in Breaux Bridge, La., Sunday,... (Associated Press) In this photo provided by the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office, the remains of a trailer lie where a woman and her 3-year-old daughter were killed during a severe storm, in Breaux Bridge, La., Sunday, April 2, 2017. A tornado flipped the mobile home Sunday in Louisiana, killing the mother and her... (Associated Press) BREAUX BRIDGE, La. (AP) — A tornado flipped a mobile home Sunday in Louisiana, killing a mother and her 3-year-old daughter as a storm system with hurricane-force winds crawled across the Deep South, damaging homes and businesses. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards put the entire state on "high alert" and warned residents to stay off the roads. He urged people to keep their cellphones charged and close by so that they could get severe weather alerts through Monday. "It is an extremely dangerous weather event," he said. Parts of Arkansas and Mississippi were also under a threat of tornadoes, but the bullseye was on much of Louisiana. The system packed heavy rain, large hail and sparked flash flooding. Up to 6 inches of rain could fall in some areas. A tornado with peak winds of 110 mph (180 kph) traveled for nearly 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) on the ground in the rural community of Breaux Bridge, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) west of Baton Rouge, the National Weather Service reported. St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Maj. Ginny Higgins told The Associated Press that the tornado touched down soon after a warning was issued. "Seconds later it hit," Higgins said. "It hit the trailer, flipped it and tore its side off. There was a mother and daughter inside and both were killed." Higgins said 38-year-old Francine Gotch and 3-year-old Nevaeh Alexander were pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses told KLFY-TV that the father was at the store when the storm hit and returned home to find the bodies amid the splintered debris. Relatives described those killed as a fun-loving pair who smiled frequently. Nevaeh "was the sweetest little girl," said Sheryle Rubin, who's engaged to the girl's uncle. "She was only 3 years old but was the smartest girl in the world. She would've started school in August." The weather agency warned that it was a "particularly dangerous situation" in Louisiana, which the governor noted was a rare high-level warning. Straight line winds could reach upward of 80 mph (130 kph) winds. Hurricanes have at least 74 mph (120 kph) winds. "This is a statewide weather event," the governor said. "It's likely to be an all-night event. We don't expect the weather system to leave the state of Louisiana until sometime tomorrow morning." Another hard-hit area in Louisiana was the city of Alexandria, where winds blew off the roof of a gas station and knocked out power to thousands, KALB reported. Customers and storm employees sought shelter in a beer cooler.

– A tornado flipped a mobile home Sunday in Louisiana, killing a mother and her 3-year-old daughter as a storm system with hurricane-force winds crawled across the Deep South, damaging homes and businesses. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards put the entire state on "high alert" and warned residents to stay off the roads. He urged people to keep their cellphones charged and close by so that they could get severe weather alerts through Monday, the AP reports. "It is an extremely dangerous weather event," he said. Parts of Arkansas and Mississippi were also under a threat of tornadoes, but the bull's-eye was on much of Louisiana. The system packed heavy rain and large hail and sparked flash flooding. A tornado with peak winds of 110mph traveled for nearly a mile on the ground in the rural community of Breaux Bridge, about 50 miles west of Baton Rouge, the National Weather Service reported. St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Maj. Ginny Higgins tells the AP that the tornado touched down soon after a warning was issued. "Seconds later it hit," Higgins says. "It hit the trailer, flipped it, and tore its side off. There was a mother and daughter inside and both were killed." Higgins says 38-year-old Francine Gotch and 3-year-old Nevaeh Alexander were pronounced dead at the scene. Witnesses told KLFY-TV that the father was at the store when the storm hit and returned home to find the bodies amid the splintered debris.

A tornado flipped a mobile home Sunday in Louisiana, killing a mother and her 3-year-old daughter. The storm system with hurricane-force winds crawled across the Deep South. Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards put the entire state on "high alert" Parts of Arkansas and Mississippi were also under a threat of tornadoes, but the bullseye was on much of Louisiana.. The system packed heavy rain, large hail and sparked flash flooding. Up to 6 inches of rain could fall in some areas.

Play Facebook Twitter Google Plus Embed Feds Reach Criminal Settlement With GM Over Defective Ignition Switches 2:07 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog The Justice Department has reached a settlement with General Motors over the issue of faulty ignition switches that led to over 100 deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to officials familiar with the case. The Justice Department will announce the settlement Thursday at a news conference in New York. It will include a fine of hundreds of millions of dollars, the officials say. The agreement will settle charges that the company failed to obey federal laws that require prompt disclosure of safety problems. Last year, GM began recalling two-and-a-half-million cars with ignition switches that could suddenly shut off the engine — disabling the airbags and cutting off the power steering and power brakes. Related: Criminal Wrongdoing in GM Ignition Defect: Feds Prosecutors say the company knew about the problem for more than a decade before reporting it. GM has determined that the switches led to accidents resulting in 124 deaths and 273 injuries. Victims and families have accepted compensation from GM of at least $1 million each. Officials familiar with the settlement say GM will pay the government a fine of more than half a billion dollars — getting some credit for cooperating with the federal investigation. Separately, victims and their families have accepted compensation from GM of at least $1 million each. — With Joe Valiquette ||||| General Motors Co. is expected to reach a criminal settlement with federal prosecutors as soon as Thursday, a punishment for the auto maker’s botched handling of an ignition-switch defect that led it to recall millions of vehicles and was linked to more than 100 deaths. The settlement will help put a bookend on one front of a safety crisis that tarnished GM’s recovery from bankruptcy, reduced its coffers and damaged its reputation among consumers. ...

– Officials expect General Motors will be fined hundreds of millions of dollars in a settlement over faulty ignition switches that resulted in 124 deaths and 273 injuries, NBC News reports. A settlement between GM and the Justice Department could come as early as tomorrow, though the Wall Street Journal—citing "people familiar with the matter"—warns any deal could still fall apart. Last year, the government accused GM of taking too long to disclose the ignition switch problem in violation of federal law, NBC reports. The government alleges GM knew about defect—which could shut off the car's engine without warning, disabling airbags and power steering and brakes—for more than a decade before finally reporting it. The Journal reports the settlement will likely come with a charge of criminal wire fraud against GM for making misleading statements and hiding information about the problem. For example, a government report found GM avoided using the word "stall" when discussing the issue to avoid people thinking it was a safety problem. According to sources cited by the Journal and NBC, GM will be fined somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion. The amount is expected to be less than the $1.2 billion Toyota was fined in a similar case last year because GM cooperated with the government investigation, the Journal reports. According to NBC, GM has already paid out at least $1 million to each victim or victim's family.

The Justice Department will announce the settlement Thursday at a news conference in New York. The agreement will settle charges that the company failed to obey federal laws that require prompt disclosure of safety problems. Last year, GM began recalling two-and-a-half-million cars with ignition switches that could suddenly shut off the engine. The switches led to accidents resulting in 124 deaths and 273 injuries.

Iowa lawmakers on Wednesday passed the strictest abortion legislation in the U.S., sending the legislation to Gov. Kim Reynolds's (R) desk. The legislation, known as the heartbeat bill, aims to block abortions once a heartbeat is detected, which would essentially ban the procedure for most by the sixth week of pregnancy. ADVERTISEMENT The legislation has faced fierce opposition, with critics saying the measure would make a woman unable to get an abortion before they even know they're pregnant. If signed into law, the measure is expected to be legally challenged on whether it goes against past Supreme Court rulings, such as Roe v. Wade, which legalized the procedure. Reynolds has not indicated whether she will sign the legislation. The passage of the bill comes as the Trump administration has taken a hard-line stance on abortion, spurring a slew of abortion laws across the nation. Nineteen states adopted a total of 63 restrictions to the procedure in 2017, which is the highest number of state laws on the issue since 2013, according to the Guttmacher Institute. State legislatures have proposed 15 bills that would ban abortions after 20 weeks and 11 bills that would ban abortions if the sole reason is a genetic anomaly like Down syndrome. ||||| CLOSE The law, which goes into effect on July 1, will require physicians to conduct an abdominal ultrasound to test for a fetal heartbeat on any woman seeking an abortion. If a heartbeat is detected, a physician cannot perform an abortion. Des Moines Register Buy Photo Representative Shannon Lundgren of Dubuque speaks on the floor of the Iowa House Tuesday, May 1, 2018. (Photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes/The Register)Buy Photo With a middle-of-the-night vote that followed hours of heated debate, Iowa Republicans have approved a measure that would ban most abortions in the state and give the state the strictest abortion law in the nation. The move came in the final days of the legislative session, after mounting pressure from the Legislature’s most ardently anti-abortion corners to pass the so-called heartbeat bill before adjournment. It was accompanied by legislative threats and predictions — even hopes — the resulting law will be challenged in court. Senate File 359, if signed into law, would ban nearly all abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected. That can occur about six weeks into a pregnancy and often before a woman realizes she’s pregnant. The House narrowly approved the bill 51-46 late Tuesday night. It immediately advanced to the Senate, where Republicans approved it with a vote of 29-17 at about 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The legislation now goes to Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican. She has not said whether she will sign it into law. "When we get the bill, we have our team sit down and we review it," she told reporters. "Sometimes, there’s things in there we weren’t anticipating or didn’t know about. And so we take the time, whoever the policy person is in that area, and the team goes through it," the governor said. "Then we make the decision.” Senate threatened to hold up budget The Iowa Senate

– Iowa legislators on Wednesday passed a bill that would ban abortions as soon as a heartbeat is detected—meaning most women would not be able to get an abortion by the sixth week of pregnancy. The Des Moines Register says most abortions would be banned under the legislation; critics say many women wouldn't even know they're pregnant at that point. It would be the nation's strictest abortion law, and if Gov. Kim Reynolds signs it, legal challenges are expected that could go as far as the Supreme Court. "This law, if signed, I believe could very well be the very bill that overturns Roe v. Wade," said one Republican state Senator. Reynolds, a Republican, hasn't indicated whether she'll sign, the Hill reports. The so-called "heartbeat bill" passed during a middle-of-the-night vote after hours of what the Register calls "heated debate." The bill allows exceptions in cases where the mother's life is in danger; the mother was raped and reported it within 45 days; the mother was the victim of incest and reported it within 140 days; a physician certifies the fetus is incompatible with life; or the mother miscarries and not all products of conception are expelled. "Gov. Reynolds is 100% pro-life and will never stop fighting for the unborn," said her spokeswoman Wednesday morning. "The governor's office has not received the bill from the legislature to review it. The governor does not comment on any bill until she sees it in its final form." Currently, Iowa law bans most abortions after 20 weeks.

Iowa lawmakers on Wednesday passed the strictest abortion legislation in the U.S. The legislation, known as the heartbeat bill, aims to block abortions once a heartbeat is detected. If signed into law, the measure is expected to be legally challenged on whether it goes against past Supreme Court rulings, such as Roe v. Wade. The law, which goes into effect on July 1, will require physicians to conduct an abdominal ultrasound to test for a fetal heartbeat on any woman seeking an abortion. Gov. Kim Reynolds, a Republican, has not said whether she will sign it into law.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has directed all of the services to review their hairstyle policies in response to a letter from the Congressional Black Caucus. The lawmakers wrote to Hagel on April 10 in response to an online controversy sparked by the Army’s new grooming regulation. The revised Army Regulation 670-1, published March 31, bans most twists, dreadlocks and large cornrows — styles predominantly worn by African-American women. Though it’s meant to help make soldiers’ appearances consistent, some black military women have criticized the update as racially biased. “I want to assure you that, while none of the Army’s revised grooming and appearance policies were designed or intended to discriminate or disparage against any service members, I take your concerns very seriously,” Hagel wrote in his response, sent Tuesday. Hagel also directed the service secretaries and military chiefs to review their respective policies, specifically: ■ Each service will review the definitions of authorized and prohibited hairstyles contained in each of their policies and revise any offensive language within the next 30 days. ■ During the next three months, each service will review its hairstyle policy “as they pertain to African American women to ensure standards are fair and respectful of our diverse force, while also meeting our military services’ requirements,” Hagel said. The results from these reviews will be submitted to Hagel for potential “appropriate adjustments” to Defense Department policy, he wrote. In a statement, Rep. Marcia Fudge, the chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus, thanked Hagel for his “thoughtful” response. “Secretary Hagel has committed to careful review of each service’s language and grooming policies to ensure both are clear of offensive language and are respectful of the diversity within our armed forces,” Fudge said. “Members of the CBC appreciate Secretary Hagel for his prompt response to our letter and for seriously considering our concerns.” In their original letter to Hagel, the women members of the Congressional Black Caucus wrote: “Though we understand the intent of the updated regulation is to ensure uniformity in our military, it is seen as discriminatory rules targeting soldiers who are women of color with little regard to what is needed to maintain their natural hair.” They also said that while Army officials have said the regulation applies to all soldiers, regardless of race, references in the rule calling hairstyles worn mostly by black women “unkempt” and “matted” are offensive and show a lack of “cultural sensitivity.” ||||| Advertisement Continue reading the main story WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel on Tuesday ordered the American military to review its policies concerning hairstyles popular with black women, telling critics of new Army regulations banning large cornrows, twists and dreadlocks that he takes “very seriously” concerns that military rules on hair have unfairly targeted black women. Responding to a complaint lodged by the 16 women of the Congressional Black Caucus, Mr. Hagel said he had given the secretaries and military leaders of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines three months to review comprehensive military regulations as they pertain to black women “to ensure standards are fair and respectful

– The military increasingly has abandoned its one-size-fits-all haircut as the face of the American soldier has diversified, but new rules on hair sparked a furor amid concerns that they unfairly restricted black women. Now Chuck Hagel has ordered a review "to ensure standards are fair and respectful of our diverse force," the New York Times reports. The new rules largely barred women from wearing their hair in twists, large cornrows, and dreadlocks, the Military Times notes. But the review is more overarching than just the new Army regulations, the New York Times notes: It will look at existing rules across all military services after years of complaints of racial bias. The review comes after a request by the women in the Congressional Black Caucus. "I want to assure you that, while none of the Army’s revised grooming and appearance policies were designed or intended to discriminate or disparage against any service members, I take your concerns very seriously," Hagel replied. Over the next 30 days, services will review hairstyle definitions and remove offensive language, the Military Times reports; the full review will last three months, with Hagel making "appropriate adjustments" based on the findings.

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says he takes "very seriously" concerns that military rules on hair have unfairly targeted black women. Army Regulation 670-1, published March 31, bans most twists, dreadlocks and large cornrows. Some black military women have criticized the update as racially biased. Each service will review its hairstyle policy “as they pertain to African American women to ensure standards are fair and respectful of our diverse force, while also meeting our military services’ requirements,” Hagel said.

Iris Canada’s fight to stay in the home she had lived in for more than 50 years became a symbol of the city’s housing crisis Iris Canada, a 100-year-old woman whose eviction became a symbol of San Francisco’s housing crisis, died on Saturday, one month after she lost her home. Canada, who died after a stroke, has struggled with serious health complications since the San Francisco sheriff’s office evicted her on 10 February, according to housing activists and Canada’s family. “Iris Canada was betrayed by all the systems that were supposed to protect her,” Iris Merriouns, Canada’s niece, told the Guardian on Tuesday. “She would have lived longer had she not had to suffer so much. It was such a long, arduous fight.” The death of the centenarian marks the end of a protracted battle that received international attention as a representation of gentrification and income inequality in San Francisco amid California’s growing housing shortage. 'This is killing me': 100-year-old woman fights eviction in San Francisco Read more Canada’s fight to stay in her first-floor two-bedroom apartment – her home of more than 50 years – began in 2014 when the owners first sought an eviction. Carolyn Radisch; her husband, Peter Owens; and his brother Stephen Owens had purchased the six-unit property in 2002 and granted Canada a “life estate” agreement, allowing her to remain until she died at a fixed rate of $700 a month. The owners claimed that Canada eventually stopped living in her unit and failed to maintain the property, but Canada and her family vehemently denied the accusations and said she wanted to remain in the unit until her death. The lengthy court fight – which included a judge granting more than ten requests for an eviction delay – came to a close when a court recently ruled in the owners’ favor and ordered the San Francisco sheriff’s office to proceed with the eviction. Officers subsequently changed the locks on Canada’s door, prompting intense protests at the office of Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, who told activists that she was acting at the direction of the court. Canada’s health worsened after the eviction, and she spent most of her time in recent weeks at the hospital, according to Merriouns. “Her heart rate never returned to normal.” Facebook Twitter Pinterest Iris Canada in the bedroom of the home in San Francisco where she lived more than half her life. Photograph: Josh Edelson for the Guardian By many measures, San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the country, and low-income renters, particularly longtime residents of color, have struggled to stay in the region as the technology industry has continued to exacerbate wealth disparities. “It was clear all along that this woman was not going to survive this eviction,” said Tommi Avicolli Mecca, director of counseling programs with the Housing Rights Committee, a local advocacy group. “Something needs to be done to stop our seniors from being evicted. There’s a lot of frustration, a lot of anger and a lot of sadness.” Merriouns was in tears recounting her final conversations

– A sad end to the long life of Iris Canada: The 100-year-old San Francisco woman has died the month after she was evicted from the apartment that was her home for more than 50 years. A final eviction notice was delivered to her residence and the locks were changed on Feb. 10 following a long and bitter legal battle with the landlords who bought her six-unit building in 2002 and sought to turn it into condos, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. They gave her a 'lifetime lease" at $700 a month allowing her to stay until her death—but as her lifetime turned into a very long one, they sought to evict her, arguing that she had violated the terms of the lease by spending much of her time living with a niece in Oakland as her health declined. Iris Merriouns, Canada's niece, says her aunt's health never returned to normal after the eviction. She says her aunt insisted until the end that she wanted to go back to her home at 670 Page Street, which a Facebook post from the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco suggests still held her possessions. "In her last hours, she asked family members if they at least were able to recover some of her things," it reads. Merriouns recalls her aunt's "dignity and pride," telling the Guardian, "she was not yelling and screaming. She was just simply saying, 'I want to remain in my home.'" Her case became a focal point for housing rights campaigners in the city. "Something needs to be done to stop our seniors from being evicted," says Tommi Avicolli Mecca, director of counseling programs with the HRC. (This 88-year-old woman's eviction story has a different ending.)

Iris Canada, a 100-year-old woman whose eviction became a symbol of San Francisco's housing crisis, died on Saturday. Canada, who died after a stroke, has struggled with serious health complications since the San Francisco sheriff’s office evicted her on 10 February. The death of the centenarian marks the end of a protracted battle that received international attention as a representation of gentrification and income inequality in San Francisco. By many measures, San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities in the country, and low-income renters have struggled to stay in the region.

Kentucky owns the Bluegrass State. Now it can concentrate on the rest of the country Louisville's Angel Nunez, left, and Jared Swopshire, right, sit in the locker room after an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game against Kentucky Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New... (Associated Press) Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) slam dunks over Louisville center Gorgui Dieng (10) during the second half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday, March... (Associated Press) Louisville guard Peyton Siva (3) walks off court as Kentucky celebrates after beating Louisville 69-61 in an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New... (Associated Press) Louisville head coach Rick Pitino reacts during the second half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game against Kentucky Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark... (Associated Press) Louisville guard Russ Smith (2) and forward Chane Behanan (24) pursue Kentucky forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday,... (Associated Press) Kentucky head coach John Calipari reacts during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game against Louisville Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Mark... (Associated Press) Kentucky forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts after defeating Louisville 69-61 in an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Charlie... (Associated Press) Louisville head coach Rick Pitino talks to guard Peyton Siva (3) during the second half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP... (Associated Press) Kentucky's Anthony Davis reacts at the end of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game against Louisville Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) (Associated Press) Louisville forward Chane Behanan (24) drives to the basket in front of Kentucky forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (14) during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament... (Associated Press) Kentucky forward Anthony Davis (23) and Louisville forward Chane Behanan (24) battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday,... (Associated Press) Kentucky forward Anthony Davis (23) leaps off the court during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game against Louisville Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans.... (Associated Press) Louisville guard Russ Smith (2) shoots over Kentucky forward Anthony Davis (23) during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New... (Associated Press) Kentucky forward Anthony Davis (23) reacts during the second half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game against Louisville Saturday, March 31, 2012, in New Orleans. Kentucky... (Associated Press) Anthony Davis and top-seeded Kentucky will play for the national title Monday night after finally putting away pesky Louisville 69-61 in the Final Four on Saturday night. It will be Kentucky's first appearance in the title game since

– The Final Four are down to the final two, with Kentucky and Kansas advancing to Monday night's championship game. Kansas 64, Ohio State 62: The Jayhawks won a thriller after trailing by 9 points at the half. They took the lead with under 3 minutes remaining, then came out on top in a seesaw finish. Tyshawn Taylor made two big free throws and Thomas Robinson finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. Elijah Johnson, whose layup won an equally dicey game against Purdue in the regional semifinals, made one with 1:12 left to put the Jayhawks up 62-59—their biggest lead of the game. More game coverage here. Kentucky 69, Louisville 61: Underdog Louisville and coach Rick Pitino made their in-state rivals work hard deep into the second quarter, but the top-seeded Wildcats and star Anthony Davis proved too dominant. It will be Kentucky's first appearance in the title game since winning a seventh NCAA crown back in 1998 and gives coach John Calipari another shot at the title that has eluded him. More game coverage here.

Top-seeded Kentucky will play for the national title Monday night after finally putting away pesky Louisville 69-61 in the Final Four on Saturday night. It will be Kentucky's first appearance in the title game since 1996. Kentucky forward Anthony Davis and Louisville forward Chane Behanan battle for a loose ball during the first half of an NCAA Final Four semifinal college basketball tournament game Saturday. Louisville guard Russ Smith (2) shoots over Kentucky forward. Anthony Davis (23) leaps off the court during the second half.

THE OBAMA administration on Monday announced that it was delaying, once again, enforcement of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) “employer mandate.” Yes, Republicans have done everything they can to impede implementation of this law. Yes, their “solution” — gutting the individual mandate — is an awful idea. And, yes, their public response to the administration’s action was predictably over-the-top. But none of that excuses President Obama’s increasingly cavalier approach to picking and choosing how to enforce this law. Imagine how Democrats would respond if a President Rand Paul, say, moved into the White House in 2017 and announced he was going to put off provisions of Obamacare he thought might be too onerous to administer. The Treasury Department released rules Monday for medium and large employers, which under the ACA are supposed to chip in for their employees’ health care. The law says they were supposed to have provided health coverage to full-time employees by Jan. 1 or pay fines to help defray the government’s costs of covering them. Last summer, in response to business concerns that the rules weren’t ready, Treasury delayed these requirements for a year. That was already a stretch of governmental discretion, but it was defensible given the law’s complexity and the relatively small consequences of delaying this particular mandate. This week, Treasury changed the rules again: medium-size businesses will get another year before they must comply, and large businesses will have a softer coverage target to meet next year. This delays any bad press or bad feelings engendered by the mandate beyond the 2014 election. The administration claims legal wiggle room in the Internal Revenue Code, which allows the Treasury secretary to make “needful rules and regulations” about tax collection, including those “as may be necessary by reason of any alteration of law.” Treasury has used this provision to justify smoothing out the phase-in of other laws. But the administration is unilaterally making distinctions between large businesses and medium ones; the latter group, which will get hit hardest and scream loudest when the employer mandate kicks in, will be treated more leniently. The law is also explicit that the government should be enforcing penalties already; that’s the plainest interpretation of Congress’s intent. The administration shouldn’t dismiss that without exceptionally good reason. Fear of a midterm shellacking doesn’t qualify as good reason. Studies have shown that the employer mandate isn’t key to insuring more people, so its implementation is not crucial to getting the whole ACA working. Rather, it’s mostly a revenue-raising measure to fund health-care reform; the first year-long delay cost the Treasury $12 billion. If there’s a less disruptive way to raise that money, Congress should repeal the employer mandate. Until then, the president should implement the law. ||||| The Affordable Care Act means what it says and says what it means. Until it doesn’t. The arbiter is President Obama and a phalanx of health care advisers and political strategists. Together, they try to implement what even Obama’s heartiest loyalists concede is an onerous and complicated law. They do this amid myriad Democratic midterm anxieties. And

– This week, the White House again delayed the ObamaCare mandate for medium-sized employers to provide health care to workers; it also lightened requirements for large employers. The Washington Post editorial board has had enough of the tinkering: Its members are fed up with "President Obama’s increasingly cavalier approach to picking and choosing how to enforce this law." The administration's latest move was an effort to avoid anger ahead of the midterm elections this year, the editors write, and that's not a valid reason to ignore the "plainest interpretation of Congress’s intent." Imagine if Rand Paul were in the White House: Would Democrats tolerate him pushing back "provisions of ObamaCare he thought might be too onerous to administer"? At the National Journal, Major Garrett offers a similar sentiment: "It’s time to concede that no one has been more adept or aggressive about delaying and defanging ObamaCare than Obama himself." Garrett points to a New York Times piece citing 13 changes in 12 months. "The only pattern is chaos," he writes. Click for his full piece; the Post's is here.

Obama administration delays enforcement of the Affordable Care Act's employer mandate. Julian Zelizer: Republicans have done everything they can to impede implementation of the law. But that doesn't excuse Obama's cavalier approach to picking and choosing how to enforce this law, he says. Zelizer says the employer mandate isn't key to insuring more people, so its implementation is not crucial to getting the whole ACA working. It's mostly a revenue-raising measure to fund health-care reform; the first year-long delay cost Treasury $12 billion.

These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| — Mayor Bob Filner has called a news conference for noon Friday in which he plans to make an announcement. Filner has been under siege for two weeks amid sexual harassment allegations. Seven women have come forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual behavior, such as unwanted advances, kisses, groping and derogatory comments. The announcement comes as a growing crowd calls for his resignation. The mayor's news conference will in his office on the 11th floor at City Hall. Only credentialed journalists will be allowed to attend, according to a news release. Support for Filner continued to rapidly erode Friday as the chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee and the San Diego LGBT Community Center's board called for his resignation. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC chair, called the allegations of sexual misconduct by Filner "reprehensible and indefensible." "I am personally offended by his actions and I firmly believe no employee should face a hostile environment or harassment at their place of employment," she said. "There is no place for this type of conduct in the workplace and certainly not in our city halls and public offices. For the good of the City of San Diego, I call on Mayor Filner to resign.” Delores Jacob, chief executive of the LGBT Center, issued a statement Friday saying the organization's board "condemns in the strongest possible terms the victimization of and discrimination against women" "Unwanted, nonconsensual sexual propositions and physical advances by those in positions of power, as well as differential treatment based on gender, perpetuate the second class status of women and, by extension, all people who have historically experienced a hostile work environment," she said. "Further, the now numerous and credibly detailed harassment allegations that have been lodged against Mayor Bob Filner would likely lead to the removal of any other city employee. We do not support holding our mayor to a different, lesser standard. Accordingly, we call upon the mayor to immediately resign." Meanwhile, the woman Filner hired to run the city's Commission for Arts and Culture announced she was quitting his administration. "I cannot in good conscience remain part of the Filner administration,” Denise Montgomery said in a statement released Thursday night. Friday's calls for Filner to step down are the latest in a long line. The local Democratic Party's central committee voted 34-6 Thursday night in favor of Filner's resignation. So far, the mayor has been adamant

– San Diego Mayor Bob Filner admitted today that he's a longtime lech who routinely disrespects women, but he's still not resigning. Instead, he thinks two weeks of therapy should do the trick. At a news conference, Filner said he will go to a "behavior counseling clinic" next month and then presumably emerge a new man, reports CNN. Seven women have come forward so far to accuse him of everything from gropes to headlocks to raunchy comments, and one of his administration's female department chiefs resigned in protest last night, reports the San Diego Union-Tribune. "The behavior I have engaged in over many years is wrong," Filner said. "My failure to respect women and the intimidating conduct I engaged in at times is inexcusable." He apologized again to all the women he has offended. But "words alone are not enough," he added. "I am responsible for my conduct. And I must take responsibility for my conduct." Even leading members of his own party want him to quit. Democratic National Committee chief Debbie Wasserman Schultz called his behavior "reprehensible and indefensible" and said he should resign immediately.

Mayor Bob Filner has been under siege for two weeks amid sexual harassment allegations. Seven women have come forward to accuse him of inappropriate sexual behavior. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the DNC chair, called the allegations "reprehensible and indefensible" The woman Filner hired to run the city's Commission for Arts and Culture announced she was quitting his administration.. The local Democratic Party's central committee voted 34-6 Thursday night in favor of Filner's resignation. The organization's board "condemns in the strongest possible terms the victimization of and discrimination against women"

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends the International Conference on National and Islamic Unification of Palestine Future, in Tehran February 28, 2010. TEHRAN | TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Saturday called the September 11 attacks on the United States a "big fabrication" that was used to justify the U.S. war on terrorism, the official IRNA news agency reported. Ahmadinejad, who often rails against the West and Israel, made the comment in a meeting with Intelligence Ministry personnel. It came amid escalating tension in the long-running dispute between Iran and the West over Tehran's nuclear program, with the United States pushing for new U.N. sanctions against the major oil producer. Ahmadinejad described the destruction of the twin towers in New York on September 11, 2001 as a "complicated intelligence scenario and act," IRNA reported. He added: "The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan." He did not elaborate. Nearly 3,000 people died in the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, which were carried out by al Qaeda operatives. In January, Ahmadinejad termed the September 11 attacks "suspicious" and accused the West of seeking to dominate the Middle East. Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map, was re-elected in a disputed presidential vote last June that stirred the largest display of internal unrest in the country since the 1979 Islamic revolution. (Reporting by Ramin Mostafavi and Hashem Kalantari; writing by Fredrik Dahl; editing by Noah Barkin) ||||| Perhaps concerned that his repeated suggestions that the Holocaust might not have happened have become less shocking over time, Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, upped the ante on Saturday, telling intelligence officials in Tehran that the destruction of the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, was staged. In remarks reported by IRNA, an official Iranian news agency, and translated by Reuters, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, “The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan.” Mr. Ahmadinejad also reportedly described the attacks in New York as a “complicated intelligence scenario and act.” Conspiracy theorists in the Middle East have suggested that the attacks were not the work of Al Qaeda, but carried out by Israeli or American intelligence operatives. In a speech during Iran’s annual anti-Israel day in September, Mr. Ahmadinejad said of the Holocaust, “The pretext for the creation of the Zionist regime is false.” He added: “It is a lie based on an unprovable and mythical claim.” Mr. Ahamdinejad’s claims come at the end of a week in which Radovan Karadzic, the former leader of Bosnia’s Serbs, told a war crimes tribunal in the Hague that both the siege of Sarajevo and the massacre at Srebrenica were “myths,” and a mentally ill gunman from California, who had written that he was

– Mahmoud Ahmadinejad maintains the Holocaust is fictional, and he apparently feels the same way about the official version of the 9/11 attacks. "The September 11 incident was a big fabrication as a pretext for the campaign against terrorism and a prelude for staging an invasion against Afghanistan," the Iranian president said today during a meeting with his intelligence ministry. Without elaborating, he also called the destruction of the World Trade Center a "complicated intelligence scenario and act," reports Reuters. Ahmadinejad has made statements of this nature in the past, but today's seem to go the furthest in buying into conspiracy theories. Fringe elements in the Middle East say American and Israeli intelligence operatives carried out the attacks, notes the New York Times.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls 9/11 attacks a "big fabrication" that was used to justify U.S. war on terrorism. Comments made in meeting with Intelligence Ministry personnel. Nearly 3,000 people died in the hijacked airliner attacks on New York and Washington, which were carried out by al Qaeda operatives. In January, Ahmadinejar termed the September 11 attacks "suspicious" and accused the West of seeking to dominate the Middle East. He has called for Israel to be wiped off the map.

See more of Willow Glen Charm on Facebook ||||| It’s no secret that real estate prices in Silicon Valley are ridiculously high, but a new listing in San Jose is pushing the limits. The owners of an abandoned, fire-destroyed home located at 1375 Bird Ave. are asking $800,000 for the house and surrounding 5,800 square foot lot. The home and lot combination are described on the realtor’s Facebook page as a “great opportunity to build your dream home!” As you might have guessed, it’s all about location. While this particular “home” isn’t near Apple’s recently opened spaceship campus (where a two-bedroom, one-bath home recently set a Bay Area record for price per square foot), it’s close to the proposed Google Village, an area where the company plans to build new offices, stores, and research facilities. Holly Barr, who’s handling the sale, tells KTVU she received inquiries within hours of posting the house and expects it to sell within days—possibly with a bidding war. (She has not yet listed it on MLS, the service real estate agents typically use to list houses.) A nearby home, she says, sold for $1.6 million—though, presumably, that one didn’t have fire damage. The average price of a single family home in Santa Clara County right now, for comparison, is $1.4 million. Incredibly, even though the house was consumed by fire more than two years ago, and is uninhabitable as it currently stands, it might be cheaper for whoever buys the house to renovate it, rather than tear it down and start from scratch, say local realtors. Incredibly, this isn’t the first burned out home in the area to capture that price. Last year, a house in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights area sold for $700,000. That was $100,000 short of its asking price, though Redfin estimates that shell of a home, if it were on the market today, would be worth $868,464. ||||| LISTEN TO ARTICLE :43 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Typical U.S. homeowners are gaining more than $50 of equity in their homes during every eight-hour workday, according to an analysis from Zillow. Price gains in some parts of the country have been significantly higher. In booming tech cities San Jose, San Francisco and Seattle, appreciation of the typical home added the equivalent in wealth of a six-figure annual salary. Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas said, "For homeowners that have already or are very close to paying off a mortgage, this supplemental ‘income’ – especially if allowed to accumulate over several years – can essentially serve as a kind of second job that pays directly to a homeowner’s bottom line, without nearly as much actual work involved in collecting it." ||||| See more of Willow Glen Charm on Facebook ||||| - A burned out home, and the property it sits on, in San Jose’s Willow Glen neighborhood is selling for $800,000. The Realtor said the asking price is reasonable given the housing market and its location. But regular people find the price out of sight. “Growing up here, I think it's crazy,” said Julie

– It's certainly not the prettiest house on the block. But a burned-out home on a 5,800-square-foot lot in Silicon Valley could be yours if you have $800,000 to spare and act fast. "This is what it's worth," realtor Holly Barr tells KTVU of the San Jose home, which Fortune reports was destroyed by fire more than two years ago. She expects it to sell in a few days, noting 10 potential buyers reached out in the hours after photos of the home were posted to Facebook Tuesday. Despite its appearance—with a gaping hole in the roof, no siding, and a leaning fence—the abandoned house in the Willow Glen neighborhood has a few things going for it: It's close to the proposed Google Village, where new offices are likely to be built. And "you save a lot of money when you … do a remodel versus a complete teardown," says Barr, noting another house nearby sold for $1.6 million. "This sells for over $1mil, Im calling it now," reads one comment on Facebook. "Why people are leaving California," reads another. Plenty of others are experiencing sticker shock, but a rep for the Santa Clara County Realtors Association says he's "not surprised at all” by the $800,000 asking price. "Buyers are trading money for time all the time now so they can be closer to their employment," he says. Noting a similar burned-out home in San Francisco's Bernal Heights neighborhood sold last year for $700,000, Fortune reports the average price of a single family home in Santa Clara County is $1.4 million. Interested in what some might call a bargain? You should probably move now. Houses in San Jose are increasing in value by about $200,000 per year, reports Bloomberg. (There's a sad real estate game involving abandoned properties.)

An abandoned, fire-destroyed home in San Jose is on the market for $800,000. The home and lot combination are described on the realtor’s Facebook page as a “great opportunity to build your dream home!” The average price of a single family home in Santa Clara County right now, for comparison, is $1.4 million. The house was consumed by fire more than two years ago, and is uninhabitable as it currently stands, say local realtors.

Police and others gather at the emergency entrance to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, where several police officers were taken after shootings Thursday, July 7, 2016.. (AP Photo/Emily Schmall) (Associated Press) Police and others gather at the emergency entrance to Baylor Medical Center in Dallas, where several police officers were taken after shootings Thursday, July 7, 2016.. (AP Photo/Emily Schmall) (Associated Press) DALLAS (AP) — Dallas was in shock and beset by uncertainty early Friday after gunmen shot and killed five police officers and wounded six during a peaceful protest over fatal police shootings of black men in other states, police said, in bloodshed evoking the trauma of the nation's tumultuous civil rights era. Police Chief David Brown blamed "snipers" and said three suspects were in custody while a fourth had exchanged gunfire with authorities in a parking garage downtown and told negotiators he intended to hurt more law enforcement officials. Early Friday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings said the fourth suspect had died. "We don't exactly know the last moments of his death but explosives did blast him out," Rawlings told The Associated Press. He said police swept the area where the standoff took place and found no explosives. Police did not identify any of the suspects or mention a possible motive. The shooting began about 8:45 p.m. Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the week's fatal police shootings week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. Brown told reporters the snipers fired "ambush style" on the officers. A civilian was also wounded, Rawlings said. Brown said it appeared the shooters "planned to injure and kill as many officers as they could." Video from the scene showed protesters marching along a downtown street about half a mile from City Hall when shots erupted and the crowd scattered, seeking cover. The attacks made Thursday the deadliest day for U.S. law officers since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, which tracks on-duty deaths. It also drew a comparison with November day in 1963 when a U.S. president was slaughtered by a sniper on a Dallas street only a few blocks away. "I think the biggest thing that we've had something like this is when JFK died," resident Jalisa Jackson downtown said early Friday as struggled to fathom the still-unsettled situation. Officers crouched beside vehicles, SWAT team armored vehicles arrived and a helicopter hovered overhead. Protests were held in several other U.S. cities Thursday night after a Minnesota officer on Wednesday fatally shot Philando Castile while he was in a car with a woman and a child, the shooting's aftermath livestreamed in a widely shared Facebook video. A day earlier, Alton Sterling was shot in Louisiana after being pinned to the pavement by two white officers. That, too, was captured on a cellphone video. Thursday's shootings occurred in area of hotels, restaurants, businesses and some residential apartments only a few blocks from Dealey Plaza, where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The scene was chaotic, with officers with automatic rifles on

– Five police officers are dead and at least seven were injured after a shooting in Dallas Thursday night during a rally against police brutality, but at least one civilian was also injured during the attack—and she was hurt while trying to protect one of her children, her sister tells the AP. Theresa Williams says her sister, 37-year-old Shetamia Taylor, had taken her four sons, ages 12 to 17, to the protest in downtown Dallas when gunfire erupted and Taylor's motherly instincts kicked in. As three of her sons ran in different directions, Taylor "jumped on top to cover [the 15-year-old] on the ground as she pushed him in between two cars [on] the curb," Williams tells ABC affiliate WFAA. "All she could think about was her other three boys, where are they at." Taylor, who kept her son sheltered under her body for about five minutes until the cops came to their rescue, suffered a gunshot wound to her right calf and is expected to make a full recovery after surgery Friday morning. "She's not so much worried about the gunshot wound she has on her leg," Williams says. "All she can do is say, 'Lord, be with those families of those police officers.' And that's what she kept repeating."

NEW: Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings says the fourth suspect has died. NEW: "We don't exactly know the last moments of his death but explosives did blast him out," Rawlings said. Police Chief David Brown blamed "snipers" and said three suspects were in custody. The shooting began about 8:45 p.m. Thursday while hundreds of people were gathered to protest the week's fatal police shootings week in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and suburban St. Paul, Minnesota. The attacks made Thursday the deadliest day for U.S. law officers since the 9/11 attacks.

Jack Yantis' barn. (Photo: Paul Boehlke/KTVB) COUNCIL, Idaho -- Idaho State Police are investigating after a Council rancher was shot and killed Sunday by deputies with the Adams County Sheriff's Office. The incident began when a Subaru station wagon crashed into a bull on US 95 north of Council at about 6:45 p.m. Emergency responders and Adams County deputies responded and were working to extricate the two people inside the car. Adams County Sheriff Ryan Zollman said the bull, which was injured in the collision, started charging at emergency responders and other vehicles. "The bull was very agitated and was aggressive to emergency services, as well as the other cars coming up and down the highway," he said. Deputies were getting ready to put the animal down when the bull's owner, 62-year-old Jack Yantis, arrived on the scene with a rifle. Zollman said dispatchers had called Yantis after the crash, telling him that the bull that was hit appeared to be his, and was down on the highway near his house. What happened next is still under investigation, but Zollman said there was an altercation and Yantis and both deputies all fired their weapons. Yantis was fatally wounded and died at the scene. One of the deputies suffered a minor injury. An emotional Zollman said Monday that his thoughts went out to everyone involved, and that his office took the shooting very seriously. ISP has taken over the investigation to prevent a conflict of interest. "This is going to be a big hit to this community," Zollman said. "The gentleman involved, Mr. Yantis, was a well-known cattle rancher around here. It's just a sad deal for everybody involved, for the whole community." The deputies who shot Yantis have been placed on paid leave. Their names have not yet been released. "To the best of my knowledge, this is the first officer-involved shooting that Adams County has ever had," Zollman said. Yantis' wife, Donna Yantis, suffered a heart attack after learning that her husband had been shot, family members said. She was taken to a Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center in Boise, where she was listed in critical condition Monday. Both people inside the Subaru were taken to a Boise hospital by air ambulance. Their conditions are unknown. The bull was killed, although authorities are still investigating whether a bullet from Yantis' gun or one of the deputies' weapons killed the animal. The area where the bull was hit is open range, Zollman said, and darkness had fallen by the time the Subaru crashed into the black bull in the roadway. "It's not uncommon for us to have these kind of livestock versus vehicle accidents," he said. "Typically they don't turn out this way." US 95 was blocked until 3:05 a.m. The investigation is ongoing. Read or Share this story: http://on.ktvb.com/1NlyyXn ||||| Boise businesses provided free services for furloughed federal employees during the shutdown. The shutdown lasted 35 days, but the government temporarily reopened Friday. It will remain open for three weeks.

– Two deputies in Idaho killed a cattle rancher after a dispute over an injured bull on Sunday, authorities say. The bizarre case unfolded after rancher Jack Yantis, 62, received a call that one of his bulls had gotten loose near Council, a town of 800 north of Boise, and was hit by a station wagon, report KTVB and CBS News. Police say the deputies were preparing to shoot the animal—which they say had begun charging passing cars and emergency responders working to free the crash victims—when Yantis arrived with a rifle. Authorities say both deputies and Yantis fired their weapons after a scuffle, per the New York Daily News. One deputy suffered minor injuries, while Yantis died at the scene. The bull was hit by a stray bullet and also died, police say. To add to the tragedy, authorities say Yantis' wife suffered a heart attack after learning of her husband's death and was listed in critical condition at a hospital on Monday. "This is going to be a big hit to this community," the Adams County sheriff says. Yantis "was a well-known cattle rancher around here" and "to the best of my knowledge, this is the first officer-involved shooting that Adams County has ever had." Both deputies, whose names have not been released, have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, reports the Idaho Statesman. The initial crash victims were airlifted to a hospital in Boise. Their conditions are not known.

Idaho State Police are investigating after a Council rancher was shot and killed Sunday. The incident began when a Subaru station wagon crashed into a bull on US 95 north of Council. Deputies were getting ready to put the animal down when the bull's owner, 62-year-old Jack Yantis, arrived. Yantis and both deputies all fired their weapons; Yantis was fatally wounded and died at the scene. The deputies who shot Yantis have been placed on paid leave; the investigation is ongoing.

Pedestrians walk by a flower memorial in the London Bridge area of London on Tuesday, June 6, 2017. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers,... (Associated Press) LONDON (AP) — The Latest on the attacks in the London Bridge area (all times local): 9:55 p.m. Irish police say they have arrested a man in connection with the London Bridge attack. Ireland's police force, Garda Siochana, said a man in his 30s was arrested Tuesday in Wexford county, south of Dublin, under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act. He is being questioned about documentation connected to Rachid Redouane, one of the three attackers identified by British police. Redouane, who claimed to be Moroccan and Libyan, had spent time in both Britain and Ireland. Redouane and two other men were shot dead by police after they went on a vehicle and knife rampage on and around the bridge on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding almost 50. ___ 8 p.m. Residents of an Italian suburb where one of the London Bridge attackers spent time say he was a "good boy" but that some suspicions were raised. Franca Lambertini, Youssef Zaghba's aunt by marriage who lives near his mother Valeria Collina close to the city of Bologna, told The Associated Press: "I know him little from when he stayed with his mother. For me he was a good boy, but." She said that just last week her daughter said: "Mom, I hope Youssef doesn't have anything to do with that sort of thing.'" She said she replied: "'Forget about it! He's a good boy, what do you think?' This is what happened, I swear." Franco Orsi, a neighbor of Collina, says she never spoke about her son. "She would say that one was abroad, the daughter lives in Bologna. She didn't say more. She never talked about anything, especially of her children." ___ 7:30 p.m. The Italian mother of one of the London Bridge attackers says her son used to show her videos of Syria and said he wanted to go there "because it was a place where you could live according to a pure Islam." Valeria Collina, who converted to Islam and lives near Bologna, was quoted by Italian newsmagazine L'Espresso as saying she last spoke to her son, Youssef Zaghba, two days before Saturday's attacks. Collina says she now realizes it was a goodbye call. She had planned to fly to London in a few days to celebrate the end of Ramadan with her 22-year-old son and was informed on Tuesday by Italian intelligence agents that he was dead. Collina says that even though Zaghba was eager to go to Syria, he never told her he wanted to fight as a jihadi. She says she tried to keep him away from radical friends, but "he had the internet, and from there he got everything." She also says she agrees with the Muslim imams who have refused to preside over her son's funeral. ___ 7:05 p.m. London police say a French man

– Tuesday brought reports of another arrest and a potential eighth death in connection with Saturday's attack in London. Irish police arrested a man in his 30s under the Theft and Fraud Offenses Act on Tuesday south of Dublin, the AP reports. Police are questioning the unidentified man about documentation related to Rachid Redouane, one of the three attackers. Redouane had spent time in Ireland before being shot and killed by police Saturday in London. Saturday's attack killed seven people and injured nearly 50. But police fear there may be an eighth victim dead, the Telegraph reports. Frenchman Xavier Thomas, 45, and his girlfriend were visiting London for the weekend and were walking on the London Bridge during the attack. Thomas' girlfriend was seriously injured, but Thomas hasn't been seen since. Based on witness statements, police believe it's possible he was hit by the van driven by the attackers and thrown into the River Thames. However, officers haven't found any bodies in the river.

A man in his 30s was arrested Tuesday in Wexford county, south of Dublin, under the Theft and Fraud Offences Act. He is being questioned about documentation connected to Rachid Redouane, one of the three attackers identified by British police. The three men were shot dead by police after they went on a vehicle and knife rampage on and around the bridge on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding almost 50. A new search was underway Tuesday in a neighborhood near the home of two of the London Bridge attackers.

FILE- In this July 29, 2016, file photo, Chicago Bulls player Dwyane Wade speaks during a news conference in Chicago. A family spokesman says a cousin of Wade's was fatally shot Friday, Aug. 25, while... (Associated Press) FILE- In this July 29, 2016, file photo, Chicago Bulls player Dwyane Wade speaks during a news conference in Chicago. A family spokesman says a cousin of Wade's was fatally shot Friday, Aug. 25, while... (Associated Press) CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago police say two brothers have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade as she was walking to register her children for school. Authorities say 26-year-old Darwin Sorrells Jr. and 22-year-old Derren Sorrells were charged Sunday in the death of Nykea Aldridge. Police say the 32-year-old mother of four was pushing a baby in a stroller near the school when two men walked up and fired shots at a third man but hit Aldridge in the head and arm. Police say she wasn't the intended target. Police say the suspects have criminal records. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson plans to release more information at a news conference later Sunday. ||||| Two brothers have been charged with the murder of 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge, according to police. NBC5's Christian Farr reports. (Published Sunday, Aug. 28, 2016) Two adult brothers have been charged with the murder of 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge, Chicago police announced Sunday morning. Aldridge, a mother of four and the cousin of Bulls star Dwyane Wade, was fatally shot while pushing a stroller on the city's South Side Friday afternoon. Police identified the brothers as Derren Sorrells, 22, and Darwin Sorrells, 26. It wasn't immediately clear if they had an attorney. Derren Sorrells, of the 6000 block of South Indiana Ave, is a documented gang member and was on parole for motor vehicle theft and for escaping custody, police said. He had a total of six felony arrests in his background and was on his daily break from an electronic monitoring bracelet at the time of Friday's shooting, Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news conference Sunday. Derren Sorrells was charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, both felonies, according to police. Darwin Sorrells, of the 7500 block of South Wentworth Ave, was a co-conspirator in the crime, police said, and was also on parole for a gun charge. He was sentenced to six years in prison in January 2013 and released early in February 2016, according to police. The elder Sorrells brother was charged with one felony count of first-degree murder and one felony count of attempted murder, authorities said, as well as one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to land. Community Mourns Dwyane Wade's Cousin As police continue to investigate the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Nykea Aldridge, a community is in mourning. NBC5's Regina Waldroup reports. (Published Saturday, Aug. 27, 2016) Aldridge was shot and killed after registering her children for school on Friday afternoon, walking in the 6300 block of South Calumet Ave in

– Chicago police say two brothers have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade as she was walking to register her children for school. Authorities say 26-year-old Darwin Sorrells Jr. and 22-year-old Derren Sorrells were charged Sunday in the death of Nykea Aldridge, reports the AP. Police say both brothers have criminal records and were on parole at the time of the shooting, reports NBC News. The 32-year-old mother of four was pushing a baby in a stroller near the school when two men walked up and fired shots at a third man but hit Aldridge in the head and arm. Police say she wasn't the intended target. Wade tweeted Saturday that "The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!" His mother, Pastor Jolinda Wade, said Friday that Aldridge "wasn't bothering anybody, just going to register her kids in school—and bullets that fly around and have no name decided to find its way to her head." A vigil is planned at the elder Wade's church on Sunday, notes NBC News. Chicago Police Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson plans to release more information at a news conference later Sunday. (Donald Trump took some heat over his tweets following Aldridge's murder.)

Nykea Aldridge, a mother of four, was fatally shot while pushing a stroller on the city's South Side Friday afternoon. Police identified the brothers as Derren Sorrells, 22, and Darwin Sorrels, 26. Police say the suspects have criminal records. Aldridge was shot and killed after registering her children for school on Friday afternoon, walking in the 6300 block of South Calumet Ave in Chicago. The elder Sorrell. brother was charged with one felony count of first-degree murder and one felony. count of attempted murder, authorities said, as well as. one misdemeanor count of criminal trespass to land.

Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny stands in a court room as he waits for a session in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 24, 2018. Navalny was released from jail on Monday at the end of a 30-day sentence... (Associated Press) Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny stands in a court room as he waits for a session in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Sept. 24, 2018. Navalny was released from jail on Monday at the end of a 30-day sentence for staging an unsanctioned protest — and then immediately detained again on staging another... (Associated Press) MOSCOW (AP) — Immediately after being released from jail at the end of a 30-day sentence, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was detained again on Monday and ordered to spend 20 more days behind bars. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most visible opponent, has served numerous jail sentences for spearheading a series of unsanctioned protests across Russia. Just as he walked out of a detention center in Moscow for organizing an unauthorized rally earlier this year, a police officer took him away. The Simonovsky District Court later sentenced him to 20 days in custody on charges of staging another rally earlier this month that caused bodily harm to police officers and damaged a patrol vehicle. Navalny denied the allegation, saying that as he was serving the 30-day jail sentence he couldn't have organized the unsanctioned rally. Navalny's further detention comes amid a wave of popular discontent against an increase in the retirement age, an issue that angered Russians across the political spectrum. A drop in approval ratings for Putin and outrage at the changes in the pension system have weighed heavily on Kremlin candidates running in regional elections in Russian regions. Early results from runoff votes in Sunday's gubernatorial elections in two Russian regions see opposition candidates beating Kremlin incumbents. A week earlier, an opposition candidate for governor in the Far East mounted protests following widespread reports of vote-rigging in favor of the Kremlin candidate. Several days later, election authorities canceled the results of the elections and called a new vote. ||||| Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption Alexei Navalny (right) is expected to appear in a Moscow court later on Monday Russia's opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been detained again - moments after he had finished serving a 30-day sentence, his colleagues say. He is accused of violating a protest law and was sentenced to another 20 days in jail. The sentence Mr Navalny had just served was over planning an unauthorised anti-government demonstration in January. The 42-year-old politician has long been the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Vladimir Putin. Mr Navalny and his supporters believe the pressure he is coming under is politically motivated, the BBC's Steven Rosenberg in Moscow reports. In recent weeks, the opposition politician has called for nationwide protests against government plans to raise the retirement age in Russia - a deeply unpopular reform that is fuelling resentment with the authorities and which has dented Mr Putin's popularity, our correspondent says. Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption How the Russian

– President Vladimir Putin's most visible critic was released from a Russian jail on Monday only to be immediately arrested again and thrown back in. Alexei Navalny served a 30-day sentence on charges he staged an unsanctioned protest before being re-arrested on charges he staged a rally that caused bodily harm to police officers, per the AP. Navalny, who has long been the face of Russian opposition to the Putin regime, denied the allegations and argued he couldn't have organized the rally in question because he was in a Moscow jail serving out the 30-day sentence when it happened. Per the BBC, the 42-year-old opposition leader and his allies have said they believe the arrest was politically motivated. It also comes at a time of political unrest in Russia, sparked in part by an increase in the country's retirement age. Putin's own approval ratings have dropped amid the outrage and observers say the issue has become a noose around the necks of Putin-alligned candidates running for regional offices. It's a wave of discontent that Navalny and his allies have harnessed as they organize anti-government demonstrations in cities across the vast country. Navalny's prominence has frequently put him in the Kremlin's crosshairs. Just this month, Putin's chief of the National Guard challenged Navalny to a duel and threatened to "make a good juicy beef steak" of the opposition leader.

Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny ordered to spend 20 more days behind bars. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin's most visible opponent, has served numerous jail sentences for spearheading a series of unsanctioned protests across Russia. His further detention comes amid a wave of popular discontent against an increase in the retirement age. A drop in approval ratings for Putin and outrage at the changes in the pension system have weighed heavily on Kremlin candidates running in regional elections in Russian regions. The 42-year-old politician has long been the most prominent face of Russian opposition to President Putin.

Michelle Pettis, a wildlife health technician at the Refuge, said the juvenile female opossum was brought in by a Fort Walton Beach Police Department officer Nov. 24. He said the opossum was found by a Cash’s Liquor Store employee at the AJ’s on the Bayou location who discovered the opossum next to a broken and empty bottle of alcohol the morning after Thanksgiving. OKALOOSA ISLAND — An opossum that snuck into a liquor store and apparently helped itself to a few drinks the day after Thanksgiving was brought in to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge for treatment before it was released Thursday. Michelle Pettis, a wildlife health technician at the refuge, said the juvenile female opossum was brought in by a Fort Walton Beach police officer Nov. 24. He said a Cash’s Liquor Store employee at the AJ’s on the Bayou location discovered the opossum next to a broken and empty bottle of alcohol the morning after Thanksgiving. “A worker there found the opossum up on a shelf next to a cracked open bottle of liquor with nothing in it,” Pettis said. “Assuming the opossum drank it all, he brought her to us, and we looked over her and she definitely wasn’t fully acting normal.” Pettis said the opossum appeared disoriented, was excessively salivating and appeared to be pale. The staff quickly pumped the marsupial full of fluids and cared for her as she sobered up. “We loaded her up with fluids to help flush out any alcohol toxins,” Pettis said. “She was good a couple of days later and was released Thursday night.” Pettis said the drunken opossum was a first for her. She added the opossum was “fairly large” and was curious as to how she was able to break into the liquor store. She also said the opossum did not appear to have a hangover. Cash Moore, who owns the liquor store, said the opossum had gotten into a bottle of bourbon. Moore added that as far as he knew, she was 21 years old. “She came in from the outside and was up in the rafters, and when she came through she knocked a bottle of liquor off the shelf,” Moore said. “When she got down on the floor she drank the whole damn bottle.” Moore added it was the “first time in my life” he had an opossum break into his store and drink his alcohol, and that it was “pretty unusual.” “But it just goes to show that even the animals are impressed with Cash’s,” he said. ||||| FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — An opossum that apparently drank bourbon after breaking into a Florida liquor store sobered up at a wildlife rescue center and was released unharmed. Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge officials say the opossum was brought in by a Fort Walton Beach, Florida, police officer on Nov. 24. A liquor store employee found the animal next to a broken and empty bottle of bourbon. "A worker there found the opossum up on a shelf next to a cracked open bottle of liquor with nothing

– An opossum that apparently drank bourbon after breaking into a Florida liquor store sobered up at a wildlife rescue center and was released unharmed. Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge officials say the opossum was brought in by a Fort Walton Beach, Fla., police officer on Nov. 24, the AP reports. A liquor store employee found the animal next to a broken and empty bottle of bourbon. "A worker there found the opossum up on a shelf next to a cracked-open bottle of liquor with nothing in it," says Michelle Pettis, a technician at the refuge. "She definitely wasn't fully acting normal." Pettis tells the Northwest Florida Daily News the female opossum appeared disoriented, was excessively salivating, and was pale. The staff pumped the marsupial full of fluids and cared for her as she sobered up. "We loaded her up with fluids to help flush out any alcohol toxins," Pettis says. "She was good a couple of days later." Pettis says the opossum didn't appear to have a hangover. The store owner, Cash Moore, says he never had an opossum break in before. "She came in from the outside and was up in the rafters, and when she came through she knocked a bottle of liquor off the shelf," Moore says. "When she got down on the floor she drank the whole damn bottle." (PETA tried to stop a North Carolina town's New Year's Eve Possum Drop.)

Opossum snuck into a liquor store and apparently helped itself to a few drinks. Liquor store employee found opossum next to a broken and empty bottle of alcohol. Opossum was brought in to the Emerald Coast Wildlife Refuge for treatment before it was released. Owner of liquor store said it was the “first time in my life’ he had an opossums break into his store and drink his alcohol, and that it was “pretty unusual” “It just goes to show that even the animals are impressed with Cash’s,” he said.

Six million Americans who describe themselves as white have some African ancestry, according to a new study. In percentage terms, that means that roughly 3.5 percent of self-described white Americans have 1 percent or more African ancestry. To arrive at these numbers, researchers pored over the genetic records of 145,000 people who submitted a cheek swab for testing to 23andme, a private company that provides ancestry-related genetic reports. The researchers examined the genetic recordsof people of self-described European, African and Latino descent to find the genetic traces left by relatives long-since deceased. In order to hit that one percent threshold above, for instance, you'd have to have an African relative no further back than seven generations -- in other words, a great-great-great-great-great grandparent. And as you might expect, there are some fascinating differences in our genetic admixture at the state level. Southern whites are considerably more likely to have African ancestry than whites from other regions: "European Americans with African ancestry comprise as much as 12% of European Americans from Louisiana and South Carolina and about 1 in 10 individuals in other parts of the South," the authors found. That variation makes up part of the genetic inheritance of slavery. As Jenée Desmond-Harris notes over at Vox, the study finds that present-day African-Americans are far more likely to have a European male ancestor (19 percent) than a European female one (5 percent). "That, of course, reflects what historians know about white slave owners raping enslaved women who descended from Africa," she writes. Indeed, the average self-described African-American has about 24 percent European ancestry, according to the study, indicating that descriptors like "black" and "white" mean a lot less from a biological standpoint than they do from a cultural one. To dig deeper into this, the authors plotted respondents' proportion of African ancestry against their likelihood of calling themselves African American. What they found was that people who were 15 percent African or less generally didn't describe themselves as African-American, while those who were 50 percent African or greater almost universally did. But in between there was a considerable amount of variation. Those who were about one quarter African were just as likely as not to call themselves African-American. It'll be interesting to see how these proportions shift in the coming decades. In 1980, for instance, 6.7 percent of new marriages were between different-race spouses. By 2010, that share had risen to 15.1 percent. And as demographer William Frey notes, "nearly three in 10 new black marriages are multiracial, with most of them to white spouses." This is especially significant given that as recently as 1967 -- within living memory for many Americans -- interracial marriages were outlawed in 16 states. ||||| Many Americans who call themselves white might be surprised to find out that they have some African ancestry. Especially in the South. In a study published in The American Journal of Human Genetics in December 2014, researchers used the ancestry data compiled by the commercial genetic testing company 23and Me to measure the percentage of African ancestry of people who self-identified

– A simple cheek swab can reveal a lot about your DNA, and for 6 million Americans who identify as white, mostly in the South, that swab has revealed African ancestry hidden in their genes, the Washington Post reports. One in 10 Southerners have at least 1% African origins, and the reason isn't hard to pinpoint: Slavery. The study, conducted by 23andMe, also found African Americans today are more likely to have a European male ancestor (19%) than a female one (5%). "That, of course, reflects what historians know about white slave owners raping enslaved women who descended from Africa," writes Jenée Desmond-Harris at Vox. The study even reveals that this blending started in the early 1800s. The study examined the DNA profiles of about 160,000 people; the data was compared to where they lived and which race they identified with. They found people with less than 15% African genes didn't identify as black and the average African American's genes are at least 24% European. "Descriptors like 'black' and 'white' mean a lot less from a biological standpoint than they do from a cultural one," writes the Post's Christopher Ingraham. Some other interesting finds, according to Discovery: 5% of African Americans have 2% Native American ancestry; the highest is 14% in Oklahoma, where Native Americans were displaced after the Trail of Tears. Iberian ancestry was common in Latinos from Florida and the Southwest. Scandinavian ancestry is highly concentrated in Minnesota and the Dakotas. Native ancestry among Latinos is concentrated in Texas and California. (Stress also lingers in your DNA.)

Study: 3.5 percent of self-described white Americans have 1 percent or more African ancestry. Researchers pored over the genetic records of 145,000 people who submitted a cheek swab for testing to 23andme. Southern whites are considerably more likely to have African ancestry than whites from other regions. Those who were 15 percent African or less generally didn't describe themselves as African-American, while those who were 50 percent or greater almost universally did, the study found."Black" and "white" mean a lot less from a biological standpoint than they do from a cultural one.

WASHINGTON Iran could produce enough weapon-grade uranium for one or more nuclear bombs by mid-2014, and the United States and its allies should intensify sanctions on Tehran before that point is reached, a report by a group of U.S. nonproliferation experts said. President Barack Obama should also clearly state that the United States will take military action to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, the report said. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, has expressed concern that Iran's nuclear program has a military dimension. Tehran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes, calls those allegations baseless. The 154-page report, "U.S. Nonproliferation Strategy for the Changing Middle East," produced by five nonproliferation experts, was expected to be released on Monday. "Based on the current trajectory of Iran's nuclear program, we estimate that Iran could reach critical capability in mid-2014," the report said. It defined "critical capability" as the point when Iran would be able to produce enough weapon-grade uranium for one or more bombs without detection by the West. By mid-2014, Iran would have enough time to build a secret uranium-enrichment site or significantly increase the number of centrifuges for its nuclear program, said David Albright, one of the project's co-chairs and president of the Institute for Science and International Security. "We don't think there is any secret enrichment plant making significant secret uranium enrichment right now," he told Reuters. But there is "real worry" that Iran would build such a plant, he said. The report recommends that the United States and its allies intensify sanctions pressure on Iran prior to that point because once Tehran acquires enough weapon-grade enriched uranium it would be "far more difficult to stop the program militarily." INTERNATIONAL EMBARGO The report recommends that the U.S. government should announce its intention to use sanctions to impose a "de facto international embargo on all investments in, and trade with, Iran" if Tehran does not comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions. It also recommends sending a "crystal clear" message to Iran's leaders that U.S. military action would prevent them from succeeding in the pursuit of a nuclear weapon. "The president should explicitly declare that he will use military force to destroy Iran's nuclear program if Iran takes additional decisive steps toward producing a bomb," the report said. On the civil war in Syria, the report said that the U.S. government should emphasize to the opposition trying to oust President Bashar al-Assad that once it comes into power, it will have to work with the international community to destroy Assad's chemical weapons stockpile. Failure to do so would lead to sanctions and other measures at a time when a new government would need external assistance to consolidate control and develop the economy, the report said. It also recommended stressing to the Assad government that it should destroy the chemical weapons rather than use them and face prosecution or have them fall into the hands of its opposition. In addition to Albright, the other project co-chairs were Mark Dubowitz, executive director of The Foundation for the

– By the middle of next year, Iran may have stockpiled enough weapons-grade uranium to build a nuclear weapon, US experts say, calling for heightened sanctions on the country. In a new report, five nonproliferation experts argue that it's time for President Obama to make it "crystal clear" that the US military is willing to take action to avoid such a future, Reuters reports. "We don't think there is any secret enrichment plant making significant secret uranium enrichment right now," says one of the experts, but there's "real worry" that could change. The US should say it's prepared for a "de facto international embargo on all investments in, and trade with, Iran" if the country fails to adhere to UN resolutions, the report says. But the Guardian points to dangers from existing sanctions: Sick Iranians are facing a shortage of vital medications ranging from chemotherapy to blood-clotting drugs. Waivers meant to prevent such shortages aren't working because they clash with banking sanctions and rules against chemicals that could be used in weapons capacities. Western officials are working on the problem, but some leading drug companies are avoiding any contact with the country.

Iran could produce enough weapon-grade uranium for one or more nuclear bombs by mid-2014, report says. U.S. and its allies should intensify sanctions on Tehran before that point is reached, it says. President Obama should clearly state that the United States will take military action to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, it adds. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has expressed concern that Iran's nuclear program has a military dimension. Tehran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes, calls those allegations baseless.

Susan Sarandon: Ping Pong Trailblazer Susan Sarandon loves ping-pong so much, she not only opened a New York club called SPiN devoted to the sport, she is also using it as the setting for a reality-TV show . The actress, who refers to herself as the "Johnny Appleseed of ping-pong," said the show won't be likebut instead will be more of "an episodic documentary" chronicling the young players . It's hard to tell where her devotion ends: Rumors circulated in December that fellow SPiN entrepreneur Jonathan Bricklin was the cause of her split with longtime companion Tim Robbins, and the two have been spotted out since then. But wherever her passion for ping-pong begins, Sarandon is undoubtedly proud of her table-tennis skills. ||||| AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Some advice for when Willie Nelson slides off his sneakers personalized with the word "Texas": Don't mess with him. Willie Nelson, the country music icon who turns 81 this week, smiles as he receives his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday, April 28, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP... (Associated Press) Willie Nelson, the country music icon who turns 81 this week, receives his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday, April 28, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Austin... (Associated Press) Willie Nelson, the country music icon who turns 81 this week, bows as he receives his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday, April 28, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Austin... (Associated Press) Willie Nelson, the country music icon who turns 81 this week, poses with Reese Park, 5, one of the youngest pupils of Sam Um, as he receives his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon... (Associated Press) Willie Nelson, the country music icon who turns 81 this week, bows as he receives his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday, April 28, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Austin... (Associated Press) The country music icon who turns 81 this week received his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday night, parking his tour bus outside the Austin studio of his instructor who began teaching him two decades ago. Nelson didn't show off his chops but Grand Master Sam Um assured a packed room that the "Red Headed Stranger" could hold his own against anyone. As is typically the case wherever Nelson goes, other celebrities were close: this time Austin resident Lance Armstrong tiptoed past parents of other students to see his fellow Texan honored. "Honestly, I was surprised to be getting this degree," Nelson said on his bus before the ceremony. "I don't know what else is out there. I never thought about anything beyond second-degree black belt." Nelson's birthday is Wednesday — though he's claimed before that the date is really April 29, a day earlier. He said a doctor gave him a clean bill of health earlier Monday during an annual exam.

– When you think of Willie Nelson, "country singer" and "rampant pot smoker" are the two descriptions that first come to mind. But now you can add "black belt" to that list. It seems Nelson, who turns 81 this week, has a not-very-well-known love of martial arts, and last night he got his fifth-degree black belt in Gong Kwon Yu Sul, the AP reports. "Honestly, I was surprised to be getting this degree," said Nelson before the ceremony, which took place at the Austin studio where he's studied for 20 years. "I never thought about anything beyond second-degree black belt." More stars whose skills may surprise you: Another celebrity martial artist: Bob Barker, who took karate lessons from Chuck Norris. Mike Tyson is into competitive pigeon racing, and has been raising pigeons his whole life. Colin Farrell was a country western line-dancing instructor in the early 1990s. Leslie Mann can ride a unicycle, the Daily Beast reports. Susan Sarandon and a host of other stars are really into ping-pong. Emma Watson is said to be so intimidating, her Harry Potter co-stars wouldn't play against her. Tom Cruise fences. David Arquette knits. David Beckham took photography lessons, Celebuzz reports. When she was in high school, Natalie Portman made it to the semifinals of an elite science competition; she went on to study neuroscience at Harvard. For more on that last subject, click for five other surprising scientists-slash-stars.

Willie Nelson received his fifth-degree black belt in the martial art of Gong Kwon Yu Sul on Monday night. Nelson's birthday is Wednesday, though he's claimed before that the date is really April 29, a day earlier. Susan Sarandon: Ping Pong Trailblazer. Sarandon loves ping-pong so much, she not only opened a New York club called SPiN devoted to the sport, she is also using it as the setting for a reality-TV show.

“This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we’re sorry for this mistake,” the company said in a statement. “This was trending as a result of coverage and horrified reactions to the vandalism against a synagogue in New York. Regardless, it should not have appeared as a trend.” ||||| Just blocks for 770, a reform temple saw hate messages drawn inside its building. Phrases such as, “Die Jew Rats,” and “Jews better be ready,” marked the walls. This and other incidences appear to be part a spate of racial crime in the area. by crownheights.info Thursday afternoon, members of a local reform temple were horrified when they discovered anti Semitic writing on several floors of The Union Temple of Brooklyn, located at 17 Eastern Parkway, just blocks from 770. The messages, which included phrases such as “Die Jew Rats,” and “Jews better be ready,” were only some of the things written. Other phrases, which included some incredibly offensive language, were found as well. The finding of this graffiti caused the cancellation of a political event planned for Thursday night at the temple. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement, “I am disgusted by the discovery of anti-Semitic graffiti at a house of worship in Brooklyn. At a time when the nation is still reeling from the attack at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, New Yorkers stand united with the Jewish community & against hate in all its forms.” On Friday afternoon, the NYPD released a surveillance camera image of the suspect. He is described as a black man, approximately 20 years old, 5’8″, 140 lbs., with black hair and last see wearing a red suit jacket. ||||| On Friday morning, the Twitter trending topic "Kill all Jews" appeared in many New Yorkers' local trending sections. That phrase had been the subject of discussion following the vandalism of Union Temple, a Brooklyn synagogue that was set to host a political event with Broad City star Ilana Glazer on Thursday. The incident was heavily covered by local media, resulting in a number of stories featuring the anti-Semitic phrase that were then shared on Twitter. Some Twitter users started to notice the trending topic on Friday morning and began wondering why the platform was promoting the hateful phrase, which was a violation of the social network's own rules. According to Twitter, it does not permit profanity or words that "incite hate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease" in its trending section. Topics are set by algorithms but can later be reviewed by human moderators. "This phrase should not have appeared in trends, and we’re sorry for this mistake," a Twitter spokesperson said in a statement. "This was trending as a result of coverage and horrified reactions to the vandalism against a synagogue in New York. Regardless, it should not have appeared as a trend." ||||| NEW YORK (AP) — The desecration of a Brooklyn synagogue with anti-Semitic graffiti has prompted the cancellation of a political event with a star

– Among the phrases that appeared in Twitter’s local trends section for many New Yorkers on Friday were “#JobsReport,” “#FridayFeeling,” and “Kill all Jews.” That last one, Twitter says in a statement, “should not have appeared in trends, and we’re sorry for this mistake,” per BuzzFeed, which reports that the offensive phrase appeared for about 10 minutes. The company explains that news coverage and social media discussion of the vandalism of Brooklyn’s Union Temple synagogue the day before prompted the algorithm that selects trending topics to flag the phrase for the section, the New York Daily News reports. According to reports, the vandalism included phrases like “Jew better be ready” and “end is now” being scrawled in black marker on the synagogue. Per BuzzFeed, “kill all Jews” misreported as being among the epithets. The vandalism (which came just days after 11 people were gunned down at a Pittsburgh synagogue) prompted Ilana Glazer, who stars in Broad City, to cancel a Thursday night political event at the synagogue, NBC reports. On Friday, the NYPD made public an image of the suspect, a black man who is about 20 years old wearing a suit red jacket, from surveillance footage.

On Friday morning, the Twitter trending topic "Kill all Jews" appeared in many New Yorkers' local trending sections. That phrase had been the subject of discussion following the vandalism of Union Temple, a Brooklyn synagogue that was set to host a political event with Broad City star Ilana Glazer on Thursday. According to Twitter, it does not permit profanity or words that "incite hate on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease"

By: Jenny Marder A gelada baboon in Simien Mountains National Park, Ethiopia. Photo by A. Davey via Flickr. Scientists studying the evolution of speech have long puzzled over why there are no good models in primates. While primates share many traits with humans -- they've been known to play, grieve, fight, even laugh -- speech isn't one of them. With one possible exception. A group of wild monkeys from the Ethiopian highlands called geladas, which are closely related to baboons, make gutteral babbling noises that sound eerily human-like. And they do it while smacking their lips together. The combination of lip smacking and vocal sounds is called a "wobble." A study in this week's issue of the journal Current Biology analyzed the rhythm of the wobble and found that it closely matched that of human speech. Geladas are found only in Ethiopia, in a national wilderness where steep, jagged cliffs surround high-altitude grasslands. (They sleep on the cliffs and feed in the grasslands.) Thore Bergman, the study's lead author, spends a month or two every year in the Simien Mountains National Park there studying the animals. Lip smacking is a common animal behavior. Bergman describes it as "a rapid opening and closing of the lips." There are different styles, he says. Some animals move their tongues in and out too. But male geladas are the only documented case of primates that make noise while they lip smack. That's the "wobble." Bergman was interested in whether the wobble contained a speech-like rhythm. The vocal sounds made by lip smacking in wild Gelada monkeys have similarities to human speech, which you can watch in this video from the University of Michigan. Talking is actually very rhythmic. All human speech contain patterns -- loud sounds and quiet sounds that alternate as much as three to eight times a second, or at 3 to 8 hertz (Hz). "That rhythm is universal across all languages," Bergman said. "If you listen to language, it's not a smooth steady hum -- there are loud parts, quiet parts and pauses." He recorded the gelada sounds, digitized them and ran them through a software program designed to analyze speech. The model calculates the intervals between each loud noise. And those intervals, he found, fall solidly within the range of human speech. As noted, the range for human speech is 3 to 8 Hz -- that means three to eight loud noises per second. The geladas clocked in at 7 to 9 Hz -- a slightly more rapid, but similar rhythm. "What's incredible about Thore's study is that he showed, in a specialized species of baboons, that under certain circumstances they combine rhythmic facial expression and vocal chord movement," said Asif Ghazanfar, an assistant professor at Princeton University who also studies the biology of primate communication. What it doesn't show necessarily, he cautioned, is a direct evolutionary line from primate speech to human speech. "What it's showing is this possibility for rhythmic expression and vocal output," Ghazanfar said. "This possibility exists and geladas have exploited it. But it doesn't show a direct

– Might this be a hint of how human speech came to be? Researchers at the University of Michigan say wild monkeys of Ethiopia known as geladas smack their lips together and make gutteral noises to produce a sound like our speech, reports PBS. The pattern of these "wobbles" follows the same rhythm as human speech, say the scientists in Current Biology. The male geladas, cousins of the baboon, appear to use the noises to communicate in friendly interactions, reports GlobalPost. "Our finding provides support for the lip-smacking origins of speech because it shows that this evolutionary pathway is at least plausible," says the lead researcher. "It demonstrates that nonhuman primates can vocalize while lip-smacking to produce speech-like sounds." A Princeton prof not involved with the study called it "incredible," though not proof of a direct link to human speech.

Wild Gelada monkeys make noises while smacking their lips together. The combination of lip smacking and vocal sounds is called a "wobble" A study analyzed the rhythm of the wobble and found it closely matched that of human speech. The geladas are found only in Ethiopia, in a national wilderness where steep, jagged cliffs surround high-altitude grasslands. The study doesn't show a direct evolutionary line from primate speech to human speech, an expert says, but it does show a possibility.

Photographed with the same image-acquisition technology James Cameron used on "Avatar," the movie on which we can blame most of the cruddy 3-D films since, the new suspense thriller "Sanctum," executive-produced by Cameron, presents images (underwater, generally) of pristine digital clarity, without the aggravating dimness of a movie shot in 2-D and then converted in postproduction. So, it's the high-type 3-D. The characters, the dialogue, the water-based peril — the stuff the 3-D is supposed to be supporting in the name of racking our nerves — well, "Sanctum" has some problems with those. An Australian production, the film contains a tiny kernel of "based on a true story," that of a particularly rough underwater caving expedition undertaken by "Sanctum" producer and co-writer Andrew Wight, who's a rock star in his field and a pal of diving enthusiast Cameron. That risky, dangerous 1988 expedition claimed no casualties. Grimmer than "127 Hours," this movie is like a remake of "And Then There Were None" directed by Jacques Cousteau. To make things odder, at heart it's a father-son bonding tale. The Ahab-like underwater cave diver Frank, played as a human growl by Richard Roxburgh, is leading his intrepid crew deep into "the largest unexplored cave system in the world" off the coast of New Guinea. A terrible storm gnashes its terrible teeth, and communication with the rest of the team is cut off; the caves begin to flood, with the divers (including Frank's teenage son, played by the appealing Rhys Wakefield) unable to use their original point of entry to escape. The premise is strong with "Sanctum," and for a while you swim with it. Director Alister Grierson and cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin combine location shooting, digital effects and a considerable amount of soundstage and water-tank footage. The sets start looking like a high-end water park only when the suspense sequences begin repeating themselves. The writing really is bad in this film, and even talented actors such as Ioan Gruffudd (a Welshman, faking a generic American dialect) and his fellow adventurer played by Alice Parkinson (Australian, faking the same) come off as rank amateurs. Everyone screams and panics and spews cliches, constantly, whether the context is hubris ("This cave's not gonna beat me!") or portents of doom ("This cave'll kill you in a heartbeat") or expositional duhs ("The cave is flooding!") or, after the latest round of hypothermia or petty infighting, some hard-won advice to Those Who Will Go On To Tell The Story ("Trust the cave, and follow the river"). Here and there an image of spectral beauty, assisted by the 3-D technology, floats into view and captures our imagination. But the script, which really should've been called "Sanctimonium," has a serious case of the bends. mjphillips@tribune.com MPAA rating: R (for language, some violence and disturbing images) Cast: Richard Roxburgh (Frank); Rhys Wakefield (Josh); Alice Parkinson (Victoria); Dan Wyllie (Crazy George); Ioan Gruffudd (Carl) Credits: Directed by Alister Grierson; written by John Garvin and Andrew Wight; produced by Wight. A Universal Pictures release. Running time: 1:43 ||||| Sanctum February 2, 2011 Cast & Credits Josh

– Critics disagree over whether Sanctum, executive-produced by James Cameron, looks good on the screen—but they agree that nothing else about it is too impressive. The film may be “the high-type 3-D” rather than converted 2-D, but “the characters, the dialogue, the water-based peril—the stuff the 3-D is supposed to be supporting in the name of racking our nerves—well, Sanctum has problems with those,” writes Michael Phillips in the Chicago Tribune. "Sanctum tells the story of a terrifying adventure in an incompetent way,” declares Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times. It “should be studied in film classes as an example of inadequate film continuity” and is “a case study in how not to use 3-D.” In the New York Daily News, Joe Neumaier says the film “looks sharp, though the 3-D is wasted except for a scene in a tunnel. The acting, meanwhile, is stuck in one dimension.”

"Sanctum" stars Richard Roxburgh, Rhys Wakefield and Alice Parkinson. The film is based on a true story of an underwater caving expedition. The writing really is bad in this film, and even talented actors come off as rank amateurs. The sets start looking like a high-end water park only when the suspense sequences begin repeating themselves.a.com MPAA rating: R (for language, some violence and disturbing images) The movie is like a remake of "And Then There Were None" by Jacques Cousteau.

Katy Perry is ready to "let it go." During a conversation with Arianna Huffington, live streamed to promote her new album Witness, on Saturday, the 32-year-old singer opened up about her feud with Taylor Swift, revealing that she thinks "it's time" for the two to make amends. WATCH: Katy Perry Slams Taylor Swift for 'Trying to Assassinate My Character': 'That's So Messed Up' "I'm ready to let it go. Absolutely, 100 percent," Perry expressed. "I forgive her, and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her, and I think it's actually... I think it's time." "There are bigger fish to fry, and there are bigger problems in the world," she continued. "I love her and I want the best for her, and I think she's a fantastic songwriter, and like, I think that if we both, her and I, can be representatives of strong women that come together despite their differences, I think the whole world is going to go, like, 'Yeah, we can do this.'" "Maybe I don't agree with everything she does, and maybe she doesn't agree with everything I do, but like, I just... I really, truly, want to come together, and in a place of love and forgiveness, and understanding and compassion," Perry said. Though Perry dated Swift's ex-boyfriend, John Mayer, in 2012, their feud supposedly started when Perry hired backup dancers from Swift's tour years ago. Swift then hired Perry's longtime songwriter, Max Martin, to help write her 2014 hit, "Bad Blood." WATCH: Taylor Swift Puts Her Entire Catalog Back on Streaming Services -- Right When Katy Perry's New Album Drops During the "Roar" singer's live stream on Saturday, she shared that she doesn't "want to be held" to her feud with Swift anymore. "God bless her on her journey," Perry stated. "I want to operate in a positive, kind space. I want to be an example of kindness, compassion, love, and I forgive and forget." "That wasn't easy for me. I think everybody knows that wasn't easy for me. But it's fine," the singer confessed. "I want to let it go. I really want the best for every person." Perry first opened up about her and Swift's rivalry during her appearance on James Corden's Carpool Karaoke. See more in the video below. ||||| Katy Perry admitted that she hopes to finally end her long-simmering beef with Taylor Swift. "I'm ready to let it go. Absolutely, 100 percent," Perry said. Related Katy Perry Vs. Taylor Swift: Pop Stars' Beef History Explained From stolen dancers to passive aggressive tweets, here's a look back at the source of the alleged "Bad Blood" The singer's comments came during a conversation Saturday with Arianna Huffington that featured on Perry's weekend-long YouTube live stream session in support of her new album Witness. "I forgive [Swift], and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her, and I think it's actually... I think it's time," Perry said of the feud (via Entertainment Tonight). "There are bigger fish to fry, and there are

– One of the celeb world's more entertaining feuds may be history: Katy Perry is saying nice things about Taylor Swift. Now the world must wait and see whether Swift reciprocates. In an interview with Arianna Huffington while plugging her album Witness, Perry offered this up: "I forgive her, and I'm sorry for anything I ever did, and I hope the same from her, and I think it's actually ... I think it's time," per Entertainment Tonight. "I love her and I want the best for her, and I think she's a fantastic songwriter." Legend has it that the feud started several years ago when Perry took some of Swift's backup performers. The two didn't talk much about it publicly, though Perry recently let loose in an interview, while Swift seems to have written a song about Perry. More recently, Swift shifted course and allowed her music to be streamed—just as Witness dropped, notes Rolling Stone.

Katy Perry opened up about her feud with Taylor Swift. The singer said she's ready to "let it go" "There are bigger fish to fry, and there are bigger problems in the world," she said. Perry dated Swift's ex-boyfriend, John Mayer, in 2012. Their feud supposedly started when Perry hired backup dancers from Swift's tour years ago.. Swift then hired Perry's longtime songwriter, Max Martin, to help write her 2014 hit, "Bad Blood" "I want to operate in a positive, kind space," Perry said.

President Barack Obama on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court’s rulings on same-sex marriage, but said the high court “made a mistake” in its decision to overturn a key piece of the Voting Rights Act. Speaking from Dakar, Senegal, in his first remarks since those decisions were handed down earlier this week, Obama said he would push forward to respond to the implications of both issues. Text Size - + reset Obama on DOMA ruling: 'Victory for American democracy' On marriage, Obama said he believes that the unions performed in one state should apply in another and should make those couples eligible for all the federal benefits afforded to married couples. “It’s my personal belief — and I’m speaking now as a president [not] as a lawyer — if you’re married in Massachusetts and you move someplace else, you’re still married,” he said at a news conference with Senegalese President Macky Sall. “But again, I’m speaking as a president and not as a lawyer,” he cautioned, saying that lawyers in his administration are working out the details of what Wednesday’s Supreme Court rulings will mean. (PHOTOS: President Obama in Africa) That work is being done by the executive branch in a “systematic and prompt way,” he said. “It’s important that people who deserve these benefits, that they’re getting them quickly.” The Supreme Court’s decision Wednesday overturning a key piece of the Defense of Marriage Act was “not simply a victory for the LGBT community, I think it was a victory for American democracy,” the president said, following up on a written statement he made from aboard Air Force One. (PHOTOS: Reactions to Supreme Court’s gay marriage rulings) “I believe at the root of who we are as a people, who we are as Americans is a precept that we are all equal under the law,” he said, and the high court’s decision is “one more step towards ensuring that those basic principles apply to everybody.” Obama said speaking Wednesday to Edie Windsor, the plaintiff in the DOMA case, was a “special” moment, given that all she and her late wife had gone through in their 40 years together. “And that was just a microcosm of what it meant to families and their children all across America,” he said. (Also on POLITICO: Obama unlikely to push gay marriage) But with its ruling on the VRA, the Supreme Court “made a mistake,” Obama said. The high court “didn’t recognize the degree to which voter suppression is still a problem around the country, and that it makes sense for us to put in place mechanisms to check practices and procedures that may make it difficult for people to vote in those areas where there’s been a history in the past of discrimination.” ||||| The Supreme Court struck down a key part of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between a man and a woman for the purpose of federal law. The court declined to rule on California’s Proposition 8, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman, clearing the way

– When gay marriage advocates finish celebrating yesterday's Supreme Court rulings, a sobering bit of reality is bound to sink in: The nation now has a confusing patchwork of state and federal laws that often conflict with each other, reports the New York Times. Consider a gay couple that marries in one state and retires in another; or the couple whose marriage is recognized within their military base in Mississippi but not in Mississippi itself. One possible solution: The Human Rights Campaign vows to make gay marriage legal in all 50 states within five years, reports the Los Angeles Times. For now, the immediate game plan is to roll out campaigns in Illinois, New Jersey, Nevada, Oregon, and Hawaii in the coming months to try to increase the number of states where gay marriage is legal. But ultimately, it's a good bet that this is going back to the Supreme Court for a definitive ruing on whether gay marriage is a constitutional right, reports the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, Congress may have to clarify rules to accommodate the DOMA decision, making sure that gay couples get their federal benefits. But at least one House conservative hopes to clarify things in the opposite direction: Tim Huelskamp plans to file a constitutional amendment within a week to reinstate DOMA, reports the Washington Post. President Obama, meanwhile, touched on the overall issue today in Africa, notes Poltico: “It’s my personal belief—and I’m speaking now as a president [not] as a lawyer—if you’re married in Massachusetts and you move someplace else, you’re still married." But he cautioned that White House lawyers were still unraveling yesterday's decisions.

President Barack Obama spoke from Dakar, Senegal. He said he would push forward to respond to the implications of both issues. On same-sex marriage, Obama said he believes unions performed in one state should apply in another. On the Voting Rights Act, he said the high court “made a mistake” in its decision to overturn a key piece of the VRA, which he called a “victory for American democracy��“It’s important that people who deserve these benefits, that they’re getting them quickly,” he said.

Play Facebook Twitter Embed Indianapolis Pastor’s Pregnant Wife Fatally Shot in the Head 1:41 autoplay autoplay Copy this code to your website or blog Security footage shows a man suspected in the slaying of an Indianapolis pastor’s pregnant wife during a home burglary, police announced Friday, cautioning that they were still working to identify him. "For those who killed Amanda, we are coming," Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said during a news conference. "We are coming, and I hope it’s not long." Police said the video of the suspect was taken from a nearby home on Tuesday morning, when Amanda Blackburn, 28, was shot in the head during a break-in. She died at the hospital on Thursday. Davey and Amanda Blackburn. Davey Blackburn / Resonate Church An image of the suspect was not immediately released, but police described him as a black male, 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-9, with medium to light brown complexion and a slim to medium build. He was wearing light pants and a two-toned hoodie with a suede bottom and lighter-colored hood obscuring his face. The perpetrator likely watched the home and saw Amanda Blackburn's husband, Davey, leave around 6:10 a.m., police said. Pastor Davey Blackburn went to the gym that morning, according to a statement from his church. Witnesses told police they heard gunshots at around 6:45 a.m., and later saw a dark SUV speeding away from the scene. It's not clear whether the SUV is connected to the incident, but police said they believe the suspect also burglarized another nearby home. They added that there may be more than one person involved. Related:Indianapolis Pastor Thanks Supporters After Wife Slain in Home Invasion No signs of a forced entry were detected, authorities added. The couple's 1-year-old was home in his crib at the time of the break-in, but was found unharmed, police said. "We believe that the people saw this as a home where they could get in and take some things. It just so happens that Amanda was home ... and she was murdered," said Indianapolis police Capt. Craig Converse. Davey Blackburn said he came home to find his wife shot. He has been ruled out as a person of interest in the case, police told NBC News. Indianapolis police Maj. Eric Hench called Amanda Blackburn's killing a "heinous crime" — and vowed to catch the gunman. A $1,000 reward is being offered for any tips that lead to an arrest. "We’ll never be able to repair the damage that’s been done to the Blackburn family," Hench said, "but one thing we can tell you is we will bring justice." ||||| Amanda and Davey Blackburn. (Photo: Provided by Resonate Church) After days of near-silence on the slaying of a young pastor's wife, more than a dozen law enforcement authorities came together Friday to announce significant developments in the case, including news on a possible suspect. "We know who killed her; at least we have a picture of him," said Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department homicide Capt. Craig Converse, quickly adding: "We don't know the name." Authorities obtained surveillance

– Police in Indianapolis say they have made a breakthrough in the murder of a pastor's pregnant wife and they are closing in on a suspect. "We know who killed her; at least we have a picture of him," a police spokesman told a Friday press conference, per the Indianapolis Star, though he added: "We don't know the name." Police have described the suspect as a black male 5-foot-4 to 5-foot-9, with a slim to medium build, and they say he was probably watching the house when pastor Davey Blackburn went to the gym early Tuesday morning, leaving wife Amanda Blackburn home with their 1-year-old son, reports NBC. She was shot in the head during what police believe was a robbery. Police believe the same suspect broke into a nearby home before he targeted the Blackburn residence. At the Friday press conference, police described the crime as "random" and said there was no sign of forced entry into the home, reports the Star, which notes that police made it very clear that they are furious about the murder and are determined to catch the culprit. "To the individual who committed this crime, you are not as good as you think you are. You left evidence behind, and we will find it. We have found it," Indianapolis Police Chief Rick Hite said. "We will not stop until we get you." (Amanda Blackburn was 12 weeks pregnant, which could get her killer an extra 20 years in prison.)

Amanda Blackburn, 28, was shot in the head during a home break-in. She died at the hospital on Thursday. Police say they have a picture of the suspect, but are still working to identify him. A $1,000 reward is being offered for any tips that lead to an arrest. The couple's 1-year-old was home in his crib at the time of the break- in, but was found unharmed, police said. The perpetrator likely watched the home and saw Amanda Blackburn's husband, Davey, leave.

(CNN) -- The 6-month-old girl whose parents created a "bucket list" blog for their daughter after doctors said she would not live past age 2 died Monday, her father said. Avery Lynn Canahuati, who was born in November with spinal muscular atrophy type 1, died of pulmonary complications related to the genetic disorder, Mike Canahuati said on the blog Tuesday. "In short, one of her lungs collapsed and she went into cardiac arrest," said Canahuati, 31, of Bellaire, Texas. "I immediately performed CPR on her and was able to bring her back to life, but only for a brief period of time before she passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. "Avery's passing this quickly came as a complete shock to all of us, as she had just been given a thumbs up at her last doctors appointment only three days ago," her father wrote Tuesday. "While we were aware of the severity of her diagnosis, we never lost hope for Avery and even in her passing, we still have hope for our daughter and all of her friends." The infant's parents had written the blog as though Avery would make it past age 2 and experience life's milestones as a healthy girl. Canahuati wrote Monday that there were two items he could now scratch off Avery's "bucket list": 1. Not let SMA take my smile away. 2. Take one last breath, then take one more before I go to live with my Uncle Bryant, Nana Carolyn, Papa George and all my great-grandparents. He published the last photo the parents took of Avery, which he said showed her "sitting on her mommy's lap looking at me and all it took to get her to smile this big was for me to keep saying 'Hi.' " The blog began as an efficient way to keep family and close friends in touch about their baby's health. But when the father came upon the idea of writing a "bucket list" for his Avery -- a list of things to do before death, normally drafted for adults -- his blog went viral and now has 2.4 million page views. The "bucket list" is so sensitively penned that many of his readers are convinced that it's mom, not dad, typing the entries, he said. "A lot of people, when they post on there, they say, 'you and your husband.' They obviously assume Laura is writing it," he said. The bucket list's entries are lighthearted, humorous and decidedly hopeful, though Avery had the worst order of an incurable disease caused by a genetic defect that attacks the muscles, especially the respiratory system. Only type 0 is worse, but that usually occurs with fetuses, the couple said. One in 6,000 babies is born with one of four types of SMA, according to the Canahuatis, whose daughter was diagnosed on Good Friday. One in 40 people is a carrier of the gene, and the Canahuatis had a one in 1,600 chance of both being carriers -- which they believe they are, the couple said. Writing in the first person

– A baby whose "bucket list" blog was read by millions of people around the world has died at the age of just 5 months. Avery Canahuati's parents created the blog after learning their daughter had the incurable genetic disease spinal muscular atrophy and was not expected to survive past 18 months, CNN reports. In her final weeks of life, she managed to cross items off the list including playing with a puppy, throwing the first pitch at a baseball game, and getting a (fake) tattoo. "Avery's passing this quickly came as a complete shock to all of us, as she had just been given a thumbs-up at her last doctor's appointment only three days ago," her father wrote on the blog. "While we were aware of the severity of her diagnosis, we never lost hope for Avery and even in her passing, we still have hope for our daughter and all of her friends." SMA, which affects around one in 6,000 babies, is the leading cause of death in American children under two. Avery's parents say they plan to keep working to spread awareness of the disease and raise money for finding a cure.

Avery Lynn Canahuati was born in November with spinal muscular atrophy type 1. She died of pulmonary complications related to the genetic disorder, her father says. Her parents had written a "bucket list" blog for her after doctors said she would not live past 2. The blog went viral and now has 2.4 million page views, Mike canahuati says."Even in her passing, we still have hope for our daughter and all of her friends," he says. "Not let SMA take my smile away," he writes.

Belgian researchers report the enticing aroma of chocolate inspired bookstore shoppers to stick around longer, and boosted sales of certain genres. Great news for independent booksellers striving to keep their shops profitable in an Amazon-dominated marketplace. Researchers in Belgium have discovered a simple, inexpensive way to keep customers in the store longer and, quite possibly, boost sales. They report shoppers are more likely to engage in leisurely browsing—and ultimately purchase books in certain popular genres, including romance novels—if the store is infused with the scent of chocolate. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Writing in the Journal of Environmental Psychology, a research team led by Lieve Doucé of Hasselt University describes a 10-day experiment conducted in a general-interest bookstore in Belgium. “Retailers can make use of pleasant ambient scents to improve the store environment, leading consumers to explore the store.” For approximately half of its open-for-business hours (either morning or afternoon, depending upon the specific day), the scent of chocolate was dispersed into the store from two locations. The smell was subtle enough that it wasn’t immediately noticeable, but strong enough so that it could be instantly identified once it was pointed out. Researchers tracked the actions of every fifth customer to enter the store—a total of 201 people. They report that when the scent was activated, shoppers showed a greater tendency to take their time, check out a variety of titles, and/or chat with an employee. ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website ADVERTISEMENT Thanks for watching! Visit Website Specifically, “customers were 2.22 times more likely to closely examine multiple books when the chocolate scent was present in the store, compared with the control condition,” they write. In addition, when the aroma was present, shoppers were less likely to search out one specific book and take it directly to the cash register. Something about the store’s environment made them want to hang out a bit longer than they perhaps had planned. The researchers tracked sales of books in four popular genres. A panel of students had previously ranked two of them (food and drink and romance novels) as congruent with the smell of chocolate, and another two (history books and mysteries/crime thrillers) as particularly incongruent with that aroma. Altogether, 119 of the 201 tracked shoppers bought at least one book in one of those categories. They report sales for books in the first category increased by an impressive 40 percent when the chocolate smell was in the air. Perhaps even more encouragingly, those in the second category also rose, by a more modest but still substantial 22 percent, over the hours when the store was scentless. Interestingly, the customers were more likely to check out the crime thrillers and history volumes when the aroma was absent. The scent of chocolate apparently steered people away from those genres. But after controlling for the gender of the observed shoppers, sales of those books increased anyway during the chocolate-scented hours, apparently because those who did peruse the mystery or history aisles were more likely to buy multiple volumes. These results lead the authors to offer

– Bookstores need all they help they can get in the age of Amazon, and Belgian researchers are obliging with a suggestion: Smell like chocolate. Their study found that people were twice as likely to linger and peruse multiple books if the shop had a subtle scent of chocolate working in the background, reports Pacific Standard. And the scent also seemed to help where it truly matters, at least in some genres: Sales of food-and-drink books rose 40% when compared with scentless shopping, and sales of romance novels rose 22%. “Retailers can make use of pleasant ambient scents to improve the store environment, leading consumers to explore the store," say the researchers, whose work was published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. And they encourage stores to get creative by matching scents to the types of books they're trying to sell. (Amazon probably isn't quaking at the prospect, although one blogger thinks the behemoth needs physical bookstores to survive for its own well-being.)

Belgian researchers report the enticing aroma of chocolate inspired bookstore shoppers to stick around longer. The researchers tracked sales of books in four popular genres. They report sales for books in the first category increased by an impressive 40 percent when the chocolate smell was in the air. However, the customers were more likely to check out the crime thrillers and history volumes when the aroma was absent. But after controlling for the gender of the observed shoppers, sales of those books increased anyway during the chocolate-scented hours.

Therapy Made From Patient's Immune System Shows Promise For Advanced Breast Cancer Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Judy Perkins Courtesy of Judy Perkins Doctors at the National Institutes of Health say they've apparently completely eradicated cancer from a patient who had untreatable, advanced breast cancer. The case is raising hopes about a new way to harness the immune system to fight some of the most common cancers. The methods and the patient's experience are described Monday in a paper published in the journal Nature Medicine. "We're looking for a treatment — an immunotherapy — that can be broadly used in patients with common cancers," says Dr. Steven Rosenberg, an oncologist and immunologist at the National Cancer Institute, who has been developing the approach. Rosenberg's team painstakingly analyzes the DNA in a sample of each patient's cancer for mutations specific to their malignancies. Next, scientists sift through tumor tissue for immune system cells known as T cells that appear programmed to home in on those mutations. But Rosenberg and others caution that the approach doesn't work for everyone. In fact, it failed for two other breast cancer patients. Many more patients will have to be treated — and followed for much longer — to fully evaluate the treatment's effectiveness, the scientists say. Still, the treatment has helped seven of 45 patients with a variety of cancers, Rosenberg says. That's a response rate of about 15 percent, and included patients with advanced cases of colon cancer, liver cancer and cervical cancer. "Is it ready for prime time today? No," Rosenberg says."Can we do it in most patients today? No." But the treatment continues to be improved. "I think it's the most promising treatment now being explored for solving the problem of the treatment of metastatic, common cancers," he says. The breast cancer patient helped by the treatment says it transformed her life. "It's amazing," says Judy Perkins, 52, a retired engineer who lives in Port St. Lucie, Fla. When Perkins was first diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 2003, she thought she'd beaten the disease. "I thought I was done with it," she says. But about a decade later, she felt a new lump. Doctors discovered the cancer had already spread throughout her chest. Her prognosis was grim. "I became a metastatic cancer patient," says Perkins. "That was hard." Perkins went through round after round of chemotherapy. She tried every experimental treatment she could find. But the cancer kept spreading. Some of her tumors grew to the size of tennis balls. Enlarge this image toggle caption Courtesy of Stephanie Goff/NIH Courtesy of Stephanie Goff/NIH "I had sort of essentially run out of arrows in my quiver," she says. "While I would say I had some hope, I was also kind of like ready to quit, too." Then she heard about the experimental treatment at the NIH. It was designed to fight some of the most common cancers, including breast cancer. "The excitement here is that we're attacking the very mutations that are unique to that cancer — in that patient's cancer

– A breakthrough cancer treatment is showing what researchers have called "remarkable" promise in the fight against some of the most common forms of the disease. Per NPR, researchers at the National Institutes of Health believe they've completely rid a woman of her metastatic breast cancer after she ran out of all other treatment options and, she believed, out of time. In a paper published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers describe how they teased out the woman's own T cells that were armed against the very specific DNA mutation that was causing her tumors to grow unchecked. Once found, the T cells were grown billions of times over and given back to the patient along with drugs to encourage them to battle the cancer. While physically brutal, the treatment appears to have succeeded. Doctors say retired engineer Judy Perkins has been cancer free for two years. As doctors work to make treatments like the one Perkins received more accessible and affordable to people with the most common forms of the disease, other cancer news this week could immediately impact the lives of thousands of women. Most women with the most common form of early-stage breast cancer can safely skip chemotherapy without hurting their chances of beating the disease, doctors are reported this week in a landmark study that used genetic testing to gauge each patient's risk. The study is the largest ever done of breast cancer treatment, reports the AP, and the results are expected to spare up to 70,000 US patients a year the ordeal and expense.

NIH doctors say they've apparently eradicated cancer from a patient with advanced breast cancer. The case is raising hopes about a new way to harness the immune system to fight some of the most common cancers. But the approach doesn't work for everyone, and it failed for two other breast cancer patients. Still, the treatment has helped seven of 45 patients with a variety of cancers, Dr. Steven Rosenberg says. "I think it's the most promising treatment now being explored for solving the problem of the treatment of common cancers," he says.

It’s tempting to check social media while stuck in traffic, but that’s illegal now in Washington state. Tickets cost $136 for a first offense. No more tweeting, Facebook glancing, Snapchatting and selfie-making are allowed behind the wheel for Monday’s morning commute, the first rush hour since Washington state’s new distracted driving law took effect. You can’t even exploit the 9-year-old loophole anymore of holding the cellphone under your chin or against your shoulder rather than at the ear. The “Driving Under the Influence of Electronics” law, which began Sunday, forbids nonemergency use of handheld devices, and watching video. That’s a primary offense and tickets cost $136, rising to $234 for each additional citation within five years. The Washington State Patrol and some police departments plan a grace period where they mainly give warnings and hand out educational cards, while others including Redmond and the King County Sheriff’s Office plan to issue fines right away. State analysts make no guess as to how many drivers will be cited, but 39,000 citations a year were issued under the looser 2007 and 2010 laws. Drivers may still turn on apps that require “minimal use of a finger,” including navigation maps, Bluetooth calling and voice-activated software — whether built into the dashboard, or through a smartphone in a dash-mounted cradle. Non-electronic distractions, such as eating, grooming, or a pet on the lap, are secondary offenses. Scofflaws can be fined an extra $99 for those, when police see them commit another traffic offense. Distractions of all kinds cause one-third of road deaths. Experiments have demonstrated how electronic devices occupy brain function, so peripheral vision and reaction times are comparable to driving drunk. ||||| CLOSE Washington state drivers will have put down their cellphones, coffee and mascara. USA TODAY File photo (Photo: Getty Images/iStockphoto) Drivers in Washington state will have put down their cellphones, under a law that went into effect Sunday. And coffee. And mascara. The state's new law to discourage distracted driving closes loopholes against making calls by prohibiting even holding a personal electronic device while stopped in traffic. The law also prohibits eating or applying make-up while driving. The Governors Highway Safety Association called the law a pioneering effort to combat distracted driving, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said was involved in more than 3,000 deaths in 2014. “Washington State was first state to pass a texting ban a decade ago, and they are leading the way again with this strengthened law, which has the potential to be a game changer and serve as a model for other states,” Kara Macek, a spokeswoman for the governors association. The change comes too late for Michael Nicknovich, whose girlfriend died last year when her car was hit by a distracted driver along Interstate 5 near Chehalis, Wash. Jody Bagnariol, 63, and her passenger, Elisabeth Rudolf, 50, died in the crash when another driver on the highway posed for a photo taken by her passenger. "Two lives are lost because another woman was taking selfies at 76 mph on cruise control," Nickinovich said. Fourteen states and

– Washington state is cracking down on texting and eating at the wheel with a new law that went into effect Sunday. The new “Driving Under the Influence of Electronics” law puts stricter restrictions on the use of handheld devices in cars, reports the Seattle Times. Even when stopped at a red light or in standstill traffic, drivers can be ticketed for simply holding their phones. The law allows phone usage strictly in emergency situations or with apps that are voice-activated, controlled through dashboards, or mounted for map navigation that requires “minimal use” of fingers. Per USA Today, offenders will be slapped with a $136 fine for first offenses; the penalty increases to $234 for additional offenses within five years. Police will report offenses to insurance companies and they’ll also appear on driving records. Non-electronic distractions like applying makeup, eating, or driving with a pet on your lap are also restricted as a secondary offense and run a $99 fine. “If I see you speeding and as you speed by me, I see that you're eating a big old cheeseburger, that's a secondary,” Washington State Patrol trooper Will Finn explained to Fox 12 during a ride along, during which he pulled over a driver (who was “shocked” to find out about the law) for speeding while eating an ice cream cone. Finn added that educating drivers is key in the first stages of the law to get to Washington’s Traffic Safety Commission’s "Target Zero" goal of no deaths on the road by 2030. Per the Times, distracted driving causes a third of road deaths. A spokesperson for the Governors Highway Safety Association says Washington, the first state to ban texting while driving 10 years ago, "has the potential to be a game changer and serve as a model for other states."

Washington state's new distracted driving law took effect Sunday. Tickets cost $136 for a first offense, rising to $234 for each additional citation within five years. Distracted driving was involved in more than 3,000 deaths in 2014, the NHTSA says. Distractions of all kinds cause one-third of road deaths, the agency says. The Governors Highway Safety Association calls the law a pioneering effort to combat distracted driving. The change comes too late for Michael Nicknovich, whose girlfriend died last year when a distracted driver hit her car.

The old "P" in the music service's logo was distinct and was not at all comparable to PayPal's like its new one pictured above (right.) It caused and still causes a lot of confusion among mobile users, since their apps began looking pretty similar after the logo was launched in October. I have PayPal and Pandora next to eachother and they look the same so whenever I want to go on Pandora I always end up clicking PayPal 😶 pic.twitter.com/D5K3efsC2B — A D L (@adolfo_lujano) February 25, 2017 PayPal or Pandora need to change their app icon. Forever opening the wrong one 👀 pic.twitter.com/TsUjSyf5em — ♡ Vanessa ♡ (@babexruthless) January 20, 2017 Social media posts like the two tweets above became pretty common after Pandora's rebranding. PayPal said it collected users' concerns like those two and showed them to the streaming company in private in an effort to convince it to redesign its new logo, but the other party wouldn't budge. The company told Gizmodo: "The striking similarities were immediately the topic of news articles and social media commentary by confused customers. Since Pandora would not agree to resolve this matter amicably, we had no choice but to file this lawsuit to protect both our brand and the PayPal experience for our over 200 million users." PayPal is asking the court to order Pandora to stop using its new logo and to pay for damages. It also wants the streaming service to promise never to do anything that could lead people into believing that it's connected to the payment platform again. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| PayPal sued Pandora on Friday, claiming that the struggling music streaming service ripped off its distinctive blue logo in the hopes of piggybacking on PayPal’s popularity. PayPal savagely disses Pandora’s business model in its complaint, basically claiming that Pandora’s user base is faltering so much that it has to trick PayPal’s customers into accidentally clicking on the streaming app. In the suit, which was filed in Manhattan federal court, lawyers for Paypal noted that Pandora is facing serious commercial challenges from Spotify and Apple Music, and has “no obvious path to profitability,” which, wow, burn. Advertisement “Pandora deserted its longstanding logo and latched itself on to the increasingly popular PayPal Logo as part of its efforts to catch up to its competition,” they wrote. PayPal is asking the court to prevent Pandora from continuing to use the

– Pandora unveiled a new logo for its mobile app in October, and PayPal is now suing over it, saying it looks too similar to the logo PayPal uses on its own mobile app, the New York Post reports. Gizmodo has a comparison of the icons—a single P for Pandora and two overlapping Ps for PayPal, both of them blue and white—and Twitter users have been complaining about getting the two apps confused for months. PayPal's lawsuit cites that confusion in its suit, saying customers are accidentally opening their Pandora app when they're trying to open their PayPal app. The company points out more than 20 social media posts about the confusion as exhibits in its suit. The trademark infringement and trademark dilution lawsuit says PayPal "has invested heavily" in its logo and that "one critically important function of the PayPal Logo is to stand out on the crowded screens of customers' smartphones and tablets." The suit accuses Pandora of "openly mimic[king]" the PayPal logo with full awareness of what the PayPal logo looks like. Why? Per Engadget, PayPal hypothesizes it was an attempt to take advantage of PayPal's popularity, since Pandora is struggling financially and "has no obvious path to profitability." PayPal wants Pandora to stop using the logo and pay unspecified damages; Pandora has not publicly commented on the suit.

PayPal sued Pandora on Friday, claiming that the struggling music streaming service ripped off its distinctive blue logo in the hopes of piggybacking on PayPal’s popularity. The old "P" in the music service's logo was distinct and was not at all comparable to PayPal's like its new one pictured above. It caused and still causes a lot of confusion among mobile users, since their apps began looking pretty similar after the logo was launched in October. PayPal said it collected users' concerns like those two and showed them to the streaming company in private in an effort to convince it to redesign its new logo.

Story highlights Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered an investigation into the kidnapping Iraq is one of the most dangerous countries for journalists, Reporters Without Borders says Irbil, Iraq (CNN) Gunmen have kidnapped an outspoken Iraqi journalist, Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi, after storming her home in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, security officials and the journalist's sister told CNN on Tuesday. The gunmen were dressed in civilian clothes and arrived in three pickup trucks at the journalist's home around 10 p.m. local time on Monday night, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. An investigation has been ordered into the kidnapping of Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi. The attackers stole cash, gold, a car and other possessions before they took her to an unknown location. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered security agencies to open an investigation into the case, calling for the prosecution of those responsible for the "intimidation of journalists." "Make utmost efforts in order to save her life and to preserve her safety," a statement released by al-Abadi's office said. Read More ||||| Image copyright JFO Image caption Baghdad's governor called the abduction of Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi a "barbaric" act Gunmen have kidnapped an Iraqi female journalist who has campaigned against widespread corruption in the country. Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi was taken from her home in the Saidiya district of the capital, Baghdad, on Monday night by men claiming to be security personnel. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered security forces to "exert the utmost effort" to save her. On Monday, Ms Qaisi wrote an article in which she expressed anger that armed groups could act with impunity. The article, published by the Aklaam website, criticised an interior ministry officer who she said had assaulted the principal of a school in the southern city of Nasiriya for refusing to punish a pupil who had quarrelled with his daughter. "There is nothing worse in a country than humiliating a teacher; nothing is worse than neglect by those who carry weapons," Ms Qaisi wrote. "If the state is anxious to preserve its prestige, it should hold accountable whoever uses weapons illicitly." Ms Qaisi, 43, works for the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat and a number of other local news websites. She is also an employee of the Iraqi culture ministry, is active in the field of human rights, and has participated in recent protests against government corruption. Image copyright AP Image caption Security personnel searched vehicles for Ms Qasi in the Saidiya district on Tuesday The head of the Baghdad-based Journalistic Freedoms Observatory, Ziyad al-Ajeeli, said eight armed men had arrived at Ms Qaisi's house at about 22:00 (19:00 GMT) on Monday, claiming to be members of the security forces. Before taking Ms Qaisi to an unknown location, the gunmen tied up her 16-year-old son, assaulted her brother-in-law, and stole her car, gold, money, mobile phones and computers, Mr Ajeeli added. A security source told the BBC that the gunmen had been dressed in civilian clothes and had driven unmarked pick-up trucks with no licence plates. The governor of Baghdad, Ali Tamimi, denounced what

– Armed men posing as members of security forces have kidnapped an Iraqi journalist from her home in Baghdad. Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi, also identified as Afrah Shawqi Hammudi, was seized around 10pm Monday in the Saidiya neighborhood, say security officials. "Eight armed men burst into her house in Saidiya dressed in plain clothes and entered by pretending to belong to the security forces," a rep for the Journalistic Freedoms Observatory tells the AFP. He tells the BBC that the men tied up al-Qaisi's 16-year-old son, beat her brother-in-law, and stole money along with al-Qaisi's car, computers, and cellphones. Earlier Monday, al-Qaisi had published an article on a local news website that criticized armed groups that "act with impunity" in Iraq. The freelance writer, 43—who also works for Iraq's culture ministry but recently protested against government corruption—had also condemned an interior ministry official whom she accused of assaulting a school principal who didn't punish a student who'd fought with the official's daughter, per the BBC. Baghdad Governor Ali al-Tamimi describes the kidnapping as a "barbaric" act meant to "persecute and muzzle journalists." In a statement, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi calls for an urgent investigation into al-Qaisi's kidnapping and presses authorities to "make utmost efforts in order to save her life and to preserve her safety," reports CNN. "Please release her for the sake of her children," adds her sister. "I am so scared."

Afrah Shawqi al-Qaisi was taken from her home in the Saidiya district of Baghdad. The gunmen were dressed in civilian clothes and arrived in three pickup trucks. They stole cash, gold, a car and other possessions before they took her to an unknown location. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has ordered security forces to "exert the utmost effort" to save her. The 43-year-old works for the London-based pan-Arab newspaper Asharq al-Awsat.

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - The king size bed in Saddam Hussein’s superyacht is made, the silk curtains around it have been drawn back and, in the gold-rimmed bathroom next door, a barber’s chair awaits its occupant. But the Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-meter (270-foot) “Basrah Breeze” built for him in 1981 - and its amenities will now be enjoyed by the pilots who guide shipping in and out of the port of Basra, the main southern city. In common with other treasures left by Saddam, toppled in 2003 during the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and hanged three years later for crimes against humanity, the governments that succeeded him have been struggling to find a use for the ship. Since Iraq got it back in 2010 following a court battle and a three-decade odyssey abroad, it has been mostly moored in Basra. Equipped with a presidential suite comprising Saddam’s private quarters, dining rooms and bedrooms, as well as 17 smaller guest rooms, 18 cabins for crew and a clinic, the opulently equipped and decorated vessel was put on the market for $30 million. The government failed to find a buyer, and for the past two years the “Basrah Breeze” has served Basra University, hosting researchers on trips to study marine life. “The presidential yacht is in a very good condition. Its two engines and generators are functioning,” said Abdul-Zahra Abdul-Mahdi Saleh, its captain. “It only needs periodic maintenance.” The Museum of Basra is seen at a palace of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, in Basra, Iraq May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Essam al-Sudani But authorities have now decided to moor it permanently as a hotel and recreation facility for the southern port’s pilots, many of whom live in distant cities. “The port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest,” said Basra port spokesman Anmar al-Safi. Built by a Danish shipyard while Iraq was at war with Iran, the yacht was passed on to Saudi Arabia - then a Saddam ally - to protect it from air strikes on Basra, officials giving Reuters an exclusive tour said. The kingdom, which fell out with Saddam after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, then handed the vessel over to Jordan. Its subsequent movements were unclear until Iraq tracked it down in the French resort of Nice, where a court seized it and sent it home. While the “Basrah Breeze” survived the turmoil of Saddam’s decline and demise, its sister ship “al-Mansur” - which he also never boarded - suffered a different fate, sinking in the Shatt al-Arab waterway that passes through Basra after it was hit by U.S. planes and then stripped bare in the chaotic aftermath of his overthrow. Saddam had ordered it in 2003 to leave Umm Qasr, Iraq’s biggest port outside Basra, where it had been moored, to Basra in a vain attempt to avoid air strikes. “I told the captain of the yacht, who was a brigadier, to get rid of the military uniforms of the crew, weapons and munitions and pose as civilian ship in case it is

– Saddam Hussein's swanky superyacht, built for the Iraqi dictator in 1981 but never actually boarded by him, has a new use: It's a sailors' hotel, to be used by the sea pilots who guide shipping in and out of Iraq's port at Basra, many of whom live far from the port city. The 270-foot "Basrah Breeze" features a presidential suite complete with gold-rimmed bathroom, barber's chair, and silk curtains, plus 17 guest rooms, 18 crew cabins, and a clinic, Reuters reports. Per Boat International, it can hold 28 people and 35 crew members. It was built while Iraq was warring with Iran and was given to Saudi Arabia, then allied with Iraq, to keep it safe from air strikes. After Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990, however, Saudi Arabia gave the yacht to Jordan; from there, it's not clear what happened to it until Iraq found it in Nice, France. After a court battle, it was returned to Iraq in 2010, and the government put it on the market for $30 million. No one bought it, however, and it remained moored in Basra; for the past two years, Basra University researchers have used it for trips to study marine life. But now, "the port needs the boat to be a station where sea pilots can rest," says a spokesperson. Basra Museum hopes to one day dock the yacht near its exhibition halls in one of Saddam's former palaces so that, the museum's deputy director says, "future generations could see how a dictator lived."

Iraqi dictator never boarded the 82-meter (270-foot) “Basrah Breeze” built for him in 1981. Since Iraq got it back in 2010 following a court battle and a three-decade odyssey abroad, it has been mostly moored in Basra. Equipped with a presidential suite comprising Saddam’s private quarters, dining rooms and bedrooms, as well as 17 smaller guest rooms. The opulently equipped and decorated vessel was put on the market for $30 million.

The biggest mystery of the Super Bowl LI been solved, and, no, it’s not how the Atlanta Falcons managed to blow a 25-point lead in the second half. As first reported by FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer, the FBI and NFL security have found Tom Brady’s stolen jersey, which has been missing for a month and a half. Breaking: FOX Sports has learned the FBI & NFL Security believe they have located Tom Brady's (cont) https://t.co/kxAaxUl3c5 Article continues below ... — Jay Glazer (@JayGlazer) March 20, 2017 The NFL issued the following statement regarding the investigation, saying Brady’s Super Bowl XLIX jersey was also found. They were both found in the possession of a credentialed member of the international media. Statement on the recovery of @Patriots Tom Brady jerseys pic.twitter.com/3htT0kWhA6 — Brian McCarthy (@NFLprguy) March 20, 2017 The jersey was valued at $500,000, which makes this potential crime a first-degree felony, assuming it was indeed stolen. At the time, Brady said he placed his jersey in a bag in the locker room. When he returned, it was no longer there, and thus the search began. Because the game was in Houston, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick enlisted the Texas Rangers to help find it. They were unable to do so, but the FBI apparently was. Glazer added that the jersey was found on “foreign soil,” which is why the FBI was involved. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Starting in 1996, Alexa Internet has been donating their crawl data to the Internet Archive. Flowing in every day, these data are added to the Wayback Machine after an embargo period. ||||| Tom Brady’s missing jersey from Super Bowl LI has been found in Mexico, apparently in the possession of a newspaper editor who had a media credential for the event and, the authorities say, more: other game-day clothing and equipment from Brady and another player, possibly from other Super Bowls. It took an investigation by the F.B.I. and the police in Houston, where the game was played, as well as Mexican authorities and the league, to find the coveted jersey. Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots, said the jersey was missing from his bag shortly after he returned to the locker room, celebrating his team’s historic come-from-behind victory against the Atlanta Falcons last month. The trail, with the aid of video taken by cameras near the locker room, led to Mauricio Ortega, the editor of La Prensa, a medium-size daily in Mexico City, league officials said. There, the authorities confronted Ortega, who, they said, turned over not only Brady’s Super Bowl LI jersey, but another of his jerseys, from Super Bowl XLIX in Glendale, Ariz., as well as a helmet thought to belong to Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller, who was the most valuable player of Super Bowl 50 in 2016.

– Jerseygate is over: Tom Brady's missing Super Bowl jersey has been found, Fox Sports reports. The jersey, which went missing from the locker room after the Patriots won the big game, was valued at $500,000. In a series of tweets, Fox Sports' NFL Insider Jay Glazer reveals that the jersey was found "on foreign soil," which would explain why the FBI had gotten involved in finding it; the New York Times reports that the jersey was found in Mexico, along with Brady's Super Bowl jersey from two years ago. "The items were found in the possession of a credentialed member of the international media," says an NFL rep. Glazer says he'll later reveal more of the "wild story" on Fox.

The FBI and NFL security have found Tom Brady’s stolen jersey, which has been missing for a month and a half. The jersey was valued at $500,000, which makes this potential crime a first-degree felony, assuming it was indeed stolen. Brady, the quarterback of the New England Patriots, said the jersey was missing from his bag shortly after he returned to the locker room, celebrating his team's historic come-from-behind victory against the Atlanta Falcons. It took an investigation by the F.B.I. and the police in Houston, where the game was played, as well as Mexican authorities and the league, to find the coveted jersey.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- With a heavy heart, San Francisco 49ers receiver Marquise Goodwin played and produced the team's biggest play of the year Sunday against the New York Giants. After San Francisco's 31-21 win, Goodwin posted to his Instagram account that he and wife Morgan's baby boy died Sunday morning because of complications during her pregnancy. "Unfortunately, we lost our baby boy due to some complications, and had to prematurely deliver him early this morning around 4 a.m.," Goodwin wrote. "Although we are hurt, I am grateful for the experience and grateful that God blessed me with a wife as courageous and resilient as Morgan. Editor's Picks Beathard leads 49ers past Giants 31-21 for 1st win of season C.J. Beathard threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a third score to lead the San Francisco 49ers to their first win of the season with a 31-21 victory over the New York Giants on Sunday. "The pain (physically, mentally & emotionally) that she has endured is unbelievable. Please pray for the Goodwin family." Despite the devastating loss, Goodwin managed to play Sunday and came up with an 83-yard touchdown pass from quarterback C.J. Beathard in the first quarter, the longest play from scrimmage by a 49er this season. A clearly emotional Goodwin evaded New York cornerback Janoris Jenkins and then blew a kiss to the sky before he crossed the goal line. He then knelt in prayer in the end zone as his teammates surrounded him. Goodwin quickly exited the locker room after the game to return to his family. The 49ers have a bye this week and won't return to practice until Nov. 20. ||||| In the second quarter of the 49ers’ first win of the season, a 31-21 victory over the Giants, Olympian-turned-wide-receiver Marquise Goodwin hauled in an 83-yard touchdown and immediately dropped to his knees in prayer. Goodwin was emotional, and his teammates surrounded him as he knelt. After the game, Goodwin revealed on Instagram that he and his wife, Morgan, had lost their first child in the early morning on Sunday. He said that they “lost our baby boy due to some complications, and had to prematurely deliver him early this morning around 4am.” Morgan Goodwin had announced her pregnancy on her private Instagram in September, hashtagging it “#hellosecondtrimester.” She also posted a photo of the baby’s hand on her Instagram on Sunday, captioning it in part: This whole week has taken an emotional toll on my husband and I, Struggling to keep our healthy baby safe in my womb. However, God had other plans for us. Today, I had to deliver my precious baby boy early this morning due to preterm labor. Despite our loss, my hubby kept grinding, scored his son a touchdown & got our first “W” of the season. He had a wonderful game today. I️ appreciate everyone who kept us in their prayers and constantly checked in on us. Goodwin, understandably, did not stick around for media availability after the game and left to be with his family. ||||| Marquise

– A tale of heartache and strength in the sports world: Wide receiver Marquise Goodwin blew a kiss toward the heavens Sunday as he scored an 83-yard touchdown that helped the San Francisco 49ers trump the New York Giants 31-21, reports ESPN. Later, he revealed what had happened hours earlier. In an Instagram post, Goodwin revealed that he and wife Morgan Goodwin-Snow "lost our baby boy due to some complications, and had to prematurely deliver him early this morning around 4am. Although we are hurt, I am grateful for the experience and grateful that God blessed me with a wife as courageous and resilient as Morgan. The pain (physically, mentally, & emotionally) that she has endured is unbelievable." NPR reports that Goodwin-Snow posted an Instagram message noting that "Despite our loss, my hubby kept grinding, scored his son a touchdown & got our first 'W' of the season." Deadspin reports she had posted a message in September that announced the pregnancy, accompanied by the hashtag #hellosecondtrimester. The couple were star track athletes while at the University of Texas at Austin, notes NPR.

Marquise Goodwin and wife Morgan lost their first child in the early morning on Sunday. Goodwin played and produced the team's biggest play of the year Sunday against the Giants. The 49ers have a bye this week and won't return to practice until Nov. 20. C.J. Beathard threw for 288 yards and two touchdowns to lead the 49ers to their first win of the season.. Goodwin: "I am grateful for the experience and grateful that God blessed me with a wife as courageous and resilient as Morgan"

Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| KCNA/Reuters Twenty years after it began changing lives in other countries, the internet isn’t even a concept for the average North Korean—so much so that most people in the country of 25 million literally don’t know what they are missing. And that’s by design. Advertisement One of the pillars of Kim Jong Un’s vise-grip on the lives of his people is propaganda: All news originates from the same government propaganda bureau, photographs and video of Kim are tightly coordinated, and there is absolutely no independent media. There’s no satellite TV, no foreign newspapers. Radios are fixed so they receive only domestic broadcasts. Illegally modifying a radio to tune stations from neighboring South Korea can land someone in jail. If widespread access were ever allowed, the internet would pose a massive threat to the regime. But keeping it out completely would deprive the ruling regime of some important benefits. In a country that’s been hit by waves of sanctions, the internet can assist with international trade and communications. So in 2001, the government had a company called Sili Bank set up an email relay between Pyongyang and Shenyang, a border city in China. Messages were held in each city and exchanged in a batch once an hour at a cost of at least $1.50 per message. The line was upgraded to an always-on connection in 2006, but the system was still limited to email and restricted to official use by the government and major trading companies. The first full-time, high-bandwidth internet connection started in 2010 when Star, a North Korean joint venture with Thailand’s Loxley Pacific, started offering service in Pyongyang to expats, the offices of foreign organizations, and some government officers and ministries Because access to the service itself is physically restricted, there’s probably only a few tens of thousands of users at most. So the government doesn’t appear to bother devoting any resources to filtering or censorship. In fact, for a long time, visitors from China noted they could access sites like Gmail, Facebook, and Twitter with more ease in Pyongyang than they can in Beijing. Advertisement Since 2013, internet service has also been available to resident foreigners and visiting tourists through Koryolink, a national cellular operator that was launched in 2008 with Egypt’s Orascom Telecom. It has more than 2 million subscribers, but only foreigners get internet access. And it’s not cheap, either—it costs 10 euros for 50 megabytes of data. In contrast, $10 will buy 1 gigabyte of data on the T-Mobile network in the United States. Nevertheless, it has been valuable for North Korea watchers like me, as it has delivered some truly intriguing glimpses from tourists posting pictures as they travel. For instance, Jaka Parker, a worker at the Indonesian embassy, ran a popular Instagram account with photos from his daily life that included sights across Pyongyang

– Forget nukes and sanctions. A former Navy SEAL and current author has a more innovative idea for bringing down North Korea's regime. "Drop 25 million iPhones on them and put satellites over them with free wifi," tweeted Jocko Willink. This caught the attention of Business Insider, which floated it by an expert on North Korea at the Stimson Center, a think tank in DC. The bottom line? It's not as far-fetched as it might seem. "This approach may be the longer route, but it has the hope of succeeding," says Yun Sun. North Korea's leaders realize the peril of opening up its estimated 25 million citizens to the world, says Sun, pointing out that Pyongyang has responded militarily to much simpler balloon drops of pamphlets and DVDs from South Korea. "Kim Jong Un understands that as soon as society is open and North Korean people realize what they're missing, Kim's regime is unsustainable, and it's going to be overthrown," he says. The internet is available in North Korea to a select few and on a limited basis, Slate explained in a previous post. For example, grad students at the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology have access, and while they're closely watched, the monitoring is almost unnecessary. "North Koreans learn self-censorship from an early age," writes Martyn Williams. "It’s key to survival," and few would risk the consequences of going to banned websites. In the meantime, the UN is sticking with more traditional approaches: On Monday, it imposed the toughest sanctions yet. (We suffer a dangerous knowledge gap when it comes to understanding the North.)

Most people in the country of 25 million literally don’t know what they are missing. In 2001, the government had a company called Sili Bank set up an email relay between Pyongyang and Shenyang, a border city in China. The first full-time, high-bandwidth internet connection started in 2010 when Star started offering service in Pyongyang to expats, the offices of foreign organizations, and some government officers. Since 2013, internet service has also been available to resident foreigners and visiting tourists through Koryolink.

GENEVA (Reuters) - The World Health Organization called on all countries on Monday to monitor closely outbreaks of deadly avian influenza in birds and poultry and to report promptly any human cases that could signal the start of a flu pandemic. World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan leaves the podium after her speech at the 69th World Health Assembly at the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, May 23, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/Files Different strains of bird flu have been spreading across Europe and Asia since late last year, leading to large-scale slaughtering of poultry in certain countries and some human deaths in China. Experts fear the virus could mutate to spread more easily among people. Nearly 40 countries have reported new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza in poultry or wild birds since November, according to the WHO. “The rapidly expanding geographical distribution of these outbreaks and the number of virus strains currently co-circulating have put WHO on high alert,” Margaret Chan told the start of the U.N. agency’s executive board. The world is better prepared for the next influenza pandemic - following the H1N1 “mild” pandemic in 2009-2010 - “but not at all well enough”, she said. Chan said that under an agreement with drug makers, in return for countries sharing virus samples from which a pandemic vaccine would be derived, WHO is promised 350 million doses of vaccine for distribution. “We cannot allow so many countries to be without tools,” Chan later told Reuters. “Remember, it takes four to six months to get the vaccine.” China has had a “sudden and steep increase” in human cases of H7N9 since December and the WHO has not been able to rule out limited human-to-human spread in two clusters of cases although no sustained spread has been detected thus far, she said. Under the International Health Regulations, WHO’s 194 member states are required to detect and report human cases promptly, Chan said, adding: “We cannot afford to miss the early signals.” China’s delegation, led by Zhang Yang of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, told the meeting China would carry out its obligations on communicating and responding to any outbreaks. “Currently H7N9 overall statistics remain the same,” Zhang said. “China will continue to strengthen its cooperation and exchange with WHO in this regard.” David Nabarro, an international public health expert and one of six candidates to succeed Chan in the top WHO post, said that addressing the threat of avian flu jumping the barrier to pose a serious threat to humans was a “central priority”. “This group of viruses are persistent in moving between wild birds and poultry. We should always have a good high guard and never be complacent,” Nabarro, a former U.N. coordinator for avian and human influenza, told Reuters. ||||| Photo After a spate of deaths from bird flu among patients in China, the World Health Organization has warned all countries to watch for outbreaks in poultry flocks and to promptly report any human cases. Several strains of avian flu are spreading in Europe and Asia this

– The World Health Organization says it's on high alert over outbreaks of bird flu that have killed people in China and caused large-scale slaughtering of birds elsewhere. "The rapidly expanding geographical distribution of these outbreaks and the number of virus strains currently co-circulating have put WHO on high alert," Director-General Margaret Chan told the agency's board this week, per Reuters. She said the world is better prepared for a bird flu pandemic than it was during the H1N1 outbreak in 2009 and 2010, "but not at all well enough." Chan said that more than 1,000 cases of bird flu in humans had been reported in China over the last four years, including 39 fatalities. At least 225 cases have been reported since September, reports the New York Times, which notes that the upcoming Chinese New Year holiday is a peak time for infections because of the massive movements of people—and live poultry—around China. Chan said it was vital for all countries to report cases of bird flu as soon as they're detected. "We cannot afford to miss the early signals," she said. Chinese officials have promised to cooperate. The AP reported earlier this month that hundreds of homeless New York City cats were quarantined after testing positive for a strain of bird flu.

The World Health Organization called on all countries on Monday to monitor closely outbreaks of deadly avian influenza in birds and poultry. Nearly 40 countries have reported new outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian flu in poultry or wild birds since November. Different strains of bird flu have been spreading across Europe and Asia since late last year, leading to large-scale slaughtering of poultry in certain countries and some human deaths in China. Experts fear the virus could mutate to spread more easily among people. The world is better prepared for the next influenza pandemic - following the H1N1 “mild” pandemic in 2009-2010 - “but not at all well enough”, Margaret Chan said.

UPDATE: The Clayton County teen abducted from her home early Tuesday morning has been found, Channel 2 Action News is reporting. Read more about how police found Ayvani Hope Perez and the suspects in the case. ORIGINAL STORY: Ayvani Hope Perez remained missing early Wednesday, more than 24 hours after being kidnapped by armed men who barged into her family’s home. When the two gunmen burst into the Ellenwood home early Tuesday, the mother tried unsuccessfully to hide her two teenage children to protect them. Tuesday evening, family members wre trying to raise a $10,000 ransom to give the men who kidnapped her youngest, 14-year-old Ayvani, after their demand for cash and jewelry went unmet in the robbery attempt. Rarely heard of kidnap ransom demands came from two people who law enforcement officials say were strangers to the family before the home invasion. There remained a heavy police presence Wednesday in the neighborhood just east of I-675 where Tuesday’s home invasion and kidnapping occurred. Two Clayton County police officers stationed at the end of Brookgate Drive were stopping all vehicles and only allowing residents to proceed up the street and closer to the victim’s home. Media, which included crews from Good Morning America and the Today show, were being kept well away from the home by officers. Additional police vehicles, including a mobile command center, were parked in front of the victim’s home. A few neighbors on their way to catch the school bus spoke briefly to reporters about Ayvani. “We talked once or twice,” 11-year-old Zakar McCullough said. “I would see her in her driveway, playing with her brother and her dog. We talked about normal kid stuff.” He said he didn’t talk to Ayvani much “because she was real shy.” “I hope she gets home safe,” he said. “I will pray for her family.” Griselda Torres, 15, called Ayvani “a sweet girl” who loves horses. “Hopefully she’s okay,” she said. “She’s too young and I know she’s scared right now.” Clayton County police Lt. Marc Richards issued the following statement late Wednesday morning: “The Clayton County Police Department would like to express its sincere appreciation for the outpouring of support we have received as we steadfastly work toward bringing Ayvani home safely to her family. Our efforts have not waned. We are committed to the task at hand. To our law enforcement family, remain vigilant. To our media partners, continue to put the message out. To the community, the Tip Line to call with information is 770-477-3513. To the perpetrators of this heinous act, release Ayvani unharmed.” Tuesday evening, more than 150 people gathered in a circle and held hands in prayer at the candle-light vigil at Dutchtown High School in Hampton. Many teens there – holding posters with Ayvani’s name and pictures of them with her – were her class mates from Dutchtown Middle School. “I possibly have a chance to never see her again,” former classmate Nina Richardson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “On so many levels, it just feels so unreal.” Ayvani’s aunt, Suky Guerrero, told the AJC

– A terrifying story out of Georgia ends with a missing 14-year-old girl: Police say two men broke into a Clayton County home around 2:15am today looking for money and jewelry. When the mother living there didn't have anything to turn over to them, they shot the family dog and took off with Ayvani Hope Perez, police say. Ayvani's mother had tried to hide her two children, WSB-TV reports. Ayvani is just 4-foot-9 and 93 pounds, and was last seen wearing Star Wars and superhero pajamas. "We are extremely concerned, because if anybody could hurt a puppy just like this, what else could they do?" a police officer says. "We are very concerned." The home invasion appears to be random, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports; the family had just moved to the neighborhood about a month ago.

Ayvani Hope Perez, 14, has been found, Channel 2 Action News is reporting. Perez was kidnapped from her home early Tuesday morning. Two gunmen burst into the Ellenwood, Georgia, home and demanded a $10,000 ransom. The ransom demands came from two people who law enforcement officials say were strangers to the family before the home invasion. The suspects are still on the loose, and police are asking for the public's help in locating them. The home invasion and kidnapping occurred just east of I-675 in Clayton County.

An Edmond woman said her neighbors are taking Halloween too far. Jamilla Phillips said she couldn’t believe her eyes when she saw President Barack Obama’s name on one of the fake Halloween tombstones across the street. "I was absolutely offended," Phillips said. The Dockens family members said they have put the tombstone up in their yard for the last three years and haven't had a complaint before. Phillips recently moved into the neighborhood, and said she felt like she had to speak up. “He is the president of the United States and it actually is about respect," Phillips said. "It’s a total respect thing because this person is still alive.” Dwayne Dockens claims the marker is harmless. “[My family and I] made them a few years ago back when it was a big deal, questions up about [Obama's] birth certificate," Dockens said. "And we made all these ourselves so just thought it was kind of humorous and, you know, went ahead and put him in there as well.” Dockens said he is sorry some people took it the wrong way, but said all his decorations will stay. “I certainly didn’t mean to offend anybody or cause any problems. Don’t know that I would take it down," he said. Dockens said making the decorations together always brings his family closer. Phillips said she is worried about the message the tombstone sends to children. ||||| A family have caused outrage after putting up a fake Halloween tombstone with President Barack Obama's name on. Jamilla Phillips says the decoration in a front yard in Edmond, Oklahoma, is offensive and lacks 'respect.' She said she has just moved into the neighborhood, but after seeing the sign felt compelled to speak up, saying she was worried about the effect it would have on children. A family have caused outrage after putting up a fake Halloween tombstone with President Barack Obama's name on Jamilla Phillips says the decoration in a front yard in Edmond, Oklahoma, is offensive and lacks 'respect' The sign is on the family's front lawn next to 'I told you I was sick' and 'I'm a gonner now.' 'He is the president of the United States and it actually is about respect,' Phillips said, reports Koco. 'It's a total respect thing because this person is still alive.' But the Dockens family said they have put the decoration up in their yard for three years and have not received any complaints. Jamilla Phillips (right) said she felt compelled to speak up, saying she was worried about the effect it would have on children. But Dwayne Dockens (left) said that making the fake tombstones had brought his family together and he has no intentions of taking them down The Dockens family said they have put the decoration up in their yard for three years and have not received any complaints Dwayne Dockens said that making the fake tombstones had brought his family together and he has no intentions of taking them down. '[My family and I] made them a few years ago back when it was a

– A neighborhood feud has become national news: After a man in Edmond, Okla., put up a tombstone for President Obama in his yard, a woman complained to a local station. "Regardless of your political views … he is the president of the United States," Jamilla Phillips says, as per ABC News. "I just think it was disrespectful." But Dwayne Dockens, the owner of the display, says Phillips should have come to him rather than gone to the news; now he's more determined to keep the stone in place. "This could have been settled over an afternoon talk," he says. Dockens and his family have been showing the tombstone for three years, they say, and no one has previously raised issues with it. The grave says Obama's name, with a question mark in place of a birthdate. The family made the stone "a few years ago back when it was a big deal, questions up about [Obama's] birth certificate," he tells KOCO. The item is part of a larger display featuring tombstones with labels like "Imma Gonner Now" and "I told you I was sick," the Daily Mail reports. "I certainly didn't mean to offend anybody or cause any problems. Don't know that I would take it down," Dockens says. (In other questionable Halloween moves, expect to see lots of Ebola costumes this year.)

Jamilla Phillips says the decoration in a front yard in Edmond, Oklahoma, is offensive and lacks 'respect' But the Dockens family said they have put the decoration up in their yard for three years and have not received any complaints. Dwayne Dockens said he is sorry some people took it the wrong way, but said all his decorations will stay. “I certainly didn’t mean to offend anybody or cause any problems," he said. 'He is the president of the United States and it actually is about respect,' Phillips said.

The fight for net neutrality, the basic principle that all data on the internet should be treated equally, isn't important only because it ensures users are able to stream the latest episode of Game of Thrones via HBO GO just as easily as they can watch the latest Pewdiepie video on YouTube. For companies on the fringe of mainstream media, like the adult entertainment industry, the end of an open internet could have dire consequences for their businesses and free speech. "Without [net neutrality], the cable and wireless companies that control internet access will have unfair power to pick winners and losers in the market," Corey Price, vice president of Pornhub, told Motherboard last week, when Pornhub announced it will join over 60 companies in staging a day of action ahead of the first deadline for comments on the FCC's proposal to roll back net neutrality protections. Other adult entertainment sites like Kink.com, ManyVids, and xHamster (the third largest porn site), have announced their support, so we got in touch to find out why net neutrality was important to the online porn business in particular. When you slow sections of the internet, you're telling people that some ideas and sexualities and identities are second-class, and you bring that shame back. The internet becomes The Big Vanilla." "Fifteen years ago, it was really difficult to find quality fetish content," Mike Stabile, a spokesperson for the fetish-oriented website Kink.com, said in a written statement. "We were severely restricted by distributors, by billing companies, and by limitations in internet speeds. The quickening of the internet has meant that many more people have access, and can reach our content, and thus stop feeling loneliness and shame. When you slow sections of the internet, you're telling people that some ideas and sexualities and identities are second-class, and you bring that shame back. The internet becomes The Big Vanilla." Stabile said that even as the largest producer of BDSM entertainment in the world, Kink doesn't have the revenue to compete with companies like YouTube and Netflix for bandwidth, and that he doubts internet service providers, or ISPs will prioritize traffic from Kink.com. This doesn't mean that adult content will be limited entirely by losing net neutrality, only that it would shift away from video to photos and GIFs. Alex Hawkins, a spokesperson for xHamster, said that as a user upload-driven company, where most of its content is from regular people posting their own sexual experiences, throttling internet speeds would have a "devastating effect" on users who are trying to upload as a way to connect with others. "As an international company, we see every day how restrictive governments use regulatory tools, like traffic throttling, to limit access to not only porn but political speech," Hawkins told me. "What people sometimes miss, especially in the United States and Western Europe, is that sexual speech is political speech. The same governments that severely restrict adult content are also the ones that limit sexual expression, LGBTQ rights, women's rights and access to different ideas. "Even in the US," he added, "the

– Many individuals and groups are displeased with the FCC's ruling Thursday to nix "net neutrality" rules, which kept ISPs from giving preference to or throttling some online content. But one demographic in particular is particularly hot and bothered, per the Independent Journal Review: consumers of internet porn. The site notes that, according to data on Pornhub, users ogled 4,599,000,000 hours of porn in 2016—the equivalent of more than 5,000 centuries—and that the mostly free bandwidth they used to view it may become a thing of the past without net neutrality rules. Pornhub was one of dozens of sites that took part in a virtual protest in July to raise awareness for what would happen if net neutrality disappeared, per the Daily Dot, and after Thursday's decision, the porn-sharing site wasn't happy. "Three rich men f--- all Americans. Coming soon to Pornhub," it tweeted. Some in the porn industry say dumping net neutrality will make online porn "very vanilla and boring," possibly forcing more conservative views on what sex should be by making access more difficult for fetishes and alternative types of sex, increasing loneliness for people just trying to connect with others who enjoy the same, per a June Motherboard article. "When you slow sections of the internet, you're telling people that some ideas and sexualities and identities are second-class, and you bring that shame back," a rep for Kink.com said. A spokesman for xHamster said it's even more political than that, comparing it to restrictive regimes around the world. "The same governments that severely restrict adult content are also the ones that limit sexual expression, LGBTQ rights, women's rights, and access to different ideas," he noted.

Net neutrality is the principle that all data on the internet should be treated equally. For companies on the fringe of mainstream media, like the adult entertainment industry, the end of an open internet could have dire consequences for their businesses and free speech. Pornhub announced it will join over 60 companies in staging a day of action ahead of the first deadline for comments on the FCC's proposal to roll back net neutrality protections. Other adult entertainment sites like Kink.com, ManyVids, and xHamster (the third largest porn site), have announced their support.

(CNN) Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is the proud father of a baby boy. The gold medalist and his fiancee, Nicole Johnson, welcomed their son, Boomer Robert Phelps, last week, he announced on social media. "Born 5-5-16 at 7:21 pm!!! Healthy and happy!" Phelps posted. "Best feeling I have ever felt in my life!" The new addition to his family comes as the 22-time Olympic medalist is training for his fifth Olympic Games, set for this summer in Brazil. "I want to retire how I want to retire -- and I have a great opportunity to do that," he said. Read More ||||| Their little champion’s here! Michael Phelps and his fiancée, Nicole Johnson, welcomed their first child together, a baby boy, on Thursday, May 5. The Olympic gold medalist shared a precious black-and-white photo of his family on Instagram a few days later, on Saturday, May 7. “Welcome Boomer Robert Phelps into the world!!!!Born 5-5-2016 at 7:21 pm!!!! Healthy and happy!!!! Best feeling I have ever felt in my life!!!” the athlete captioned the snapshot. “@nicole.m.johnson and Boomer both healthy!!! #boomerphelps.” In the image, the towering 6-foot-4 athlete cradles the sleepy newborn in his arms while proud mama Johnson looks on from a hospital bed in the background. The pair first announced their exciting pregnancy news via Instagram on Wednesday, November 18, and Phelps, 30, has been candid about looking forward to fatherhood ever since. “One of the coolest things about being a father going into Rio is that our firstborn has the chance to see my last race ever,” the 22-time medalist told Us Weekly in March. “I think that’s something that’ll be really special that we’ll be able to share stories with him, you know, from the time he gets old enough to realize, and I’m excited to have a lot of photos and just to share the moments and memories with him growing up as a kid.” Phelps is set to compete in his last Olympic games this summer in Rio. To learn more about all the Olympic hopefuls, visit TeamUSA.org. The Olympics begin on August 5, 2016, on NBC’s networks. Thank you Auntie @arschmitty for the amazingly cuddly star blanky you gifted #boomerphelps. He's been laying in it since coming home. Goodnight 🌎 & thank you for all the well wishes!! A photo posted by Nicole Michele Johnson (@nicole.m.johnson) on May 7, 2016 at 10:06pm PDT Want stories like these delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up now for the Us Weekly newsletter!

– Michael Phelps will compete in the Rio Olympics with an extra set of eyes upon him: He and fiancee Nicole Johnson are the parents of a baby boy, reports US Weekly. Boomer Robert Phelps came into the world on Thursday, and Phelps shared on Instagram photo on Saturday. "Healthy and happy!!!! Best feeling I have ever felt in my life!!!” writes the 22-time Olympic medalist in the caption. Phelps, 30, plans to retire from swimming after the Rio Games in August, notes CNN.

Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps is the proud father of a baby boy. The gold medalist and his fiancee, Nicole Johnson, welcomed their son, Boomer Robert Phelps, last week. The new addition to his family comes as the 22-time Olympic medalist is training for his fifth Olympic Games, set for this summer in Brazil. Phelps is set to compete in his last Olympic games this summer.

People usually laugh when you mention the idea of killer dolphins, trained by the military. But there may be a touch of truth behind the seemingly-silly notion. (Stick with me, this will take a bit of explanation. But I think you'll find it worth your while.) The U.S. Navy's Marine Mammal Programis the public face of their work with dolphins. Tom LaPuzza, the Public Affairs Officer for the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center, described the "Mark 6 Marine Mammal System" – a dolphin with a handler in a boat. The dolphin patrols the harbor, escorted by its handler. If the dolphin encounters an enemy diver, it comes back and rings a bell on the side of the boat. The trainer places a conical marker buoy over the dolphin's snout. The dolphin then "tags" the swimmer: the buoy floats to the surface, flashing a strobe light to mark the location for security forces. The dolphin swims back and jumps into the boat with its trainer. "The security forces handle the situation from there," says LaPuzza, emphasizing that the dolphin has no role in what happens after the diver is located. It has to get out of the water is that the security forces are quite likely to use explosives or other acoustic devices which might harm the dolphin. The Navy also has the Shallow Water Intruder Detection System: a trained sea lion, with a spring-loaded D-clamp attached to a line. The sea lion approaches an intruder from behind, attaches the clamp to their leg and swims off. The intruder is then reeled in like a fish by the security team. "It's difficult to put up effective resistance when you're being dragged backwards through the water," says LaPuzza. These systems use the vastly superior speed and perception of dolphins and sea lions underwater and have proven effective. In tests, divers often never catch a glimpse of the defenders when they are tagged or clamped. But given their capabilities, was there never a temptation to turn marine mammals into lethal weapons? Absolutely not, insists LaPuzza, although there have been rumors for decades about a sinister "Swimmer Nullification Program" since Vietnam days. James Fitzgerald worked on the Navy's dolphin program in the 1960's. He is reported as saying: We trained them to either pull the mouthpiece of the regulator from the diver's mouth or push him to the surface. Then the dolphin would hit a response paddle hanging from a buoy that would trigger an alert signal. Between a man and a dolphin, there was no contest. Later there were less plausible storiesof a military dolphin nose harness armed with a .45 caliber "bang sticks." I can't see it; one of these would put the creature out of action if it was used. In another version that came out at the time of Katrina, escaped dolphins were supposedly armed with "dart guns." (Perhaps lined with the dart-like projectiles fired by underwater guns.) In 1977, Michael Greenwood, a former Navy dolphin trainer, claimed that dolphins had been armed with "large hypodermic syringes loaded with pressurized carbon

– Dolphins can do more than just jump through hoops and balance balls. They can be trained for a variety of military—some say deadly—applications, which is why the Russian military's recent purchase of five bottlenose dolphins is getting some attention. Russia's Defense Ministry sought bids on a contract to procure the marine mammals, reports NBC News, with the Utrish Dolphinarium in Moscow being the only one to respond. The government will pay $26,000 for the three male and two female dolphins, which are stipulated to have "all teeth intact" and "no mucus from the blowhole." The dolphins are scheduled to be delivered by Aug. 1 to a military dolphin training facility in Sevastopol, Ukraine, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Records don't indicate why the defense ministry wants the animals (and no one returned NBC's request for comment), but there is a decades-long history of dolphins being conscripted into the military to do things like detect mines and intercept underwater spies, per NBC. In the '60s, the US and the former Soviet Union had competing military dolphin programs. One former dolphin trainer who visited the Sevastopol facility told Wired in 2007 that dolphins were being outfitted with potentially lethal CO2 darts and then trained to poke swimmers. The US used dolphins during the Vietnam and Persian Gulf wars, the Washington Post notes, and continues to use them to protect ports, find mines, and fetch objects. As for using dolphins to attack people, the Navy says: "It would not be wise to give that kind of decision authority to an animal." However, sea lions have been trained to attach clamps to a diver's leg, allowing human personnel up top to reel the diver in, per National Geographic.

The U.S. Navy's Marine Mammal Program is the public face of their work with dolphins. The dolphin patrols the harbor, escorted by its handler. If the dolphin encounters an enemy diver, it comes back and rings a bell on the side of the boat. The trainer places a conical marker buoy over the dolphin's snout. The Dolphin then "tags" the swimmer: the buoy floats to the surface, flashing a strobe light to mark the location for security forces. The Navy also has the Shallow Water Intruder Detection System: a trained sea lion.

Close Get email notifications on Blythe Bernhard daily! Your notification has been saved. There was a problem saving your notification. Whenever Blythe Bernhard posts new content, you'll get an email delivered to your inbox with a link. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. ||||| CLOSE Christian artist Josh Wilson pays tribute to his friend Nathan Johnson, who just lost his wife. Wochit Christian music guitarist Nathan Johnson holds his newborn daughter Eilee. Johnson's wife, Megan, died Tuesday, June 27 from complications after child birth. (Photo: Courtesy of Nathan Johnson) Just before 2:40 on Tuesday morning, Christian music artist Nathan Johnson and his wife Megan welcomed their first child Eilee Kate. Still in her hospital bed, Megan Johnson held, fed and burped their new daughter. Giddy with excitement, the musician said he couldn't sleep at all that night. Right after Eilee was born, the new father sent pictures of his wife and daughter celebrating the newly expanded family to fellow Christian artist Josh Wilson, who he had been performing with days before. But the celebration took a tragic turn when Megan started having complications later Tuesday morning. Wilson received a text message from his friend, asking for prayers. More: Christian artists blown away by support for dad whose wife died after childbirth "Of course we didn't know what it meant, so we stopped what we were doing and just prayed." Wilson said. But in a few hours, by 11 a.m., the new mother had died from pregnancy-related complications. Eilee was a little over eight hours old. Doctors are unclear what caused Megan Johnson's death, Wilson said. On Wednesday, Johnson took his daughter to their Nashville home for the first time, surrounded by friends and family helping the new father cope with the loss of his wife. Wilson and a close circle of friends and relatives sprang into action. Wilson created a GoFundMe campaign that raised more than $300,000 from over 6,000 donors in less than 24 hours. Update: Over Independence Day weekend, the campaign topped over $400,000 for Johnson and Eilee. Wilson posted an update on the GoFundMe page, saying Johnson was "humbled and grateful," before imploring supporters to become organ donors. "Meg would want me to tell you all to become organ donors. My wife and I signed up yesterday," Wilson wrote. "She would also want me to tell you about her hope in Jesus, both in her life on earth and her new life now." Always together Christian artist Francesca Battistelli, after visiting Johnson once he got home Wednesday, said he is going through “a range of emotions.” “He’s so over the moon for his daughter, but you can see grief has hit him at the same time,” said Battistelli, a Grammy winner who had Johnson play in her band for more than 30 gigs in the last year. Battistelli said her guitarist friend is surrounded by dozens of friends and relatives, and they have volunteered to get food, run errands, cut his lawn, buy diapers and do other things to

– What began as an inspiring story came to a tragic conclusion this week when a 30-year-old Nashville woman who survived a heart transplant seven years ago died after giving birth to her first child, KSDK reports. Megan Moss Johnson, originally of Ferguson, Missouri, gave birth to daughter Eilee Kate around 2:40am Tuesday and spent six hours delighting over her girl. "Megan held, fed, and burped little Eilee," per a GoFundMe page. "[Husband] Nathan says they couldn't sleep because they were too excited. They talked all night and morning." Then Johnson lost consciousness; she died about two hours later. A friend tells the Tennessean doctors don't yet know what caused her death, though the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that pregnancies are considered high-risk for women who have had heart transplants. Johnson was diagnosed with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle, when she was just 15, the Post-Dispatch previously reported. She was put on a transplant list in February 2010 and in April developed pneumonia that doctors said made her too sick for a transplant; 12 hours later she made a surprise turnaround and a heart was en route to her. On Wednesday a GoFundMe page was set up for Eilee and Christian music artist Nathan Johnson, who a friend writes talked about Meg "every day. Half of his posts online are about his 'boo,' his 'goddess,' his 'beauty.'" It has raised $335,000 as of this writing, with the page's creator updating it to say, "I can't quit crying. Nathan and Eilee, we love you. Meg, we miss you. I'm raising the goal again. We're sending this girl to college." (A healthy baby, a tragic twist for her mom.)

Nathan Johnson's wife, Megan, died Tuesday, June 27 from complications after child birth. A GoFundMe campaign raised more than $300,000 from over 6,000 donors in less than 24 hours. Over Independence Day weekend, the campaign topped over $400,000 for Johnson and Eilee. On Wednesday, Johnson took his daughter to their Nashville home for the first time, surrounded by friends and family helping the new father cope with the loss of his wife. "He’s so over the moon for his daughter, but you can see grief has hit him at the same time," said Francesca Battistelli.

The owner of a Massachusetts jewelry store has been awarded nearly $35,000 in his lawsuit over a bogus online review written by a worker at a rival shop. The owner of a Massachusetts jewelry store has been awarded nearly $35,000 in his lawsuit over a bogus online review written by a worker at a rival shop. The Patriot Ledger reports that a jury determined Adam Jacobs caused Stephen Blumberg emotional distress by posting a false Yelp review in 2013. Jacobs is the son of the owner of Toodie's Fine Jewelry in Quincy. Blumberg owns nearby Stephen Leigh Jewelers. The reviewer wrote that while shopping for a 1.5-carat diamond engagement ring at Blumberg's store he had a generally poor experience and suggested shoppers "go elsewhere." "It was like sticking a knife in someone's back," said Blumberg. He says the encounter was fabricated. "Oh, I was incensed by it, I just couldn't believe it, it was so inflammatory," said Blumberg. After his bad review, Blumberg said he started looking at other Yelp reviews left by "Adam J". After a few months, he was able to determine who he was. "I just can't believe this, this is a fellow competitor, I have never met the guy in my life, I never met him face to face, until the first day in court," Blumberg said. Blumberg then sued Toodie's, claiming the interaction in the review never happened and that Adam J was Adam Jacobs, the owner's son. An employee at store declined comment. "I had no beef with him, and no beef with his father, we were in the same city, we should be friendly competitors," Blumberg said. The attorney for Jacobs and Toodie's says he's considering an appeal and possible post-trial motions. ||||| These crawls are part of an effort to archive pages as they are created and archive the pages that they refer to. That way, as the pages that are referenced are changed or taken from the web, a link to the version that was live when the page was written will be preserved.Then the Internet Archive hopes that references to these archived pages will be put in place of a link that would be otherwise be broken, or a companion link to allow people to see what was originally intended by a page's authors.The goal is to fix all broken links on the web . Crawls of supported "No More 404" sites. ||||| QUINCY (CBS) – An employee of a Quincy jewelry store was ordered to pay up by a jury after posting a fake Yelp review on a competitor’s page. “No one should have to go through this, not children, adults, elderly,” said Stephen Blumberg, owner of Stephen Leigh Jewelers. Blumberg sued Adam Jacobs, an employee at nearby Tooties Fine Jewelry in Quincy, claiming he posted false information on the business review website in August of 2013 bashing his store and telling people to “go elsewhere.” “He told the people we were thieves, that we were cold blooded thieves. I’ve never been convicted of anything in my life,” said Blumberg. Last

– "No one should have to go through this, not children, adults, elderly," Stephen Blumberg tells CBS Boston, and a jury apparently agreed with him. The cause of Blumberg's emotional turmoil: a fake, "inflammatory" Yelp review of his Massachusetts jewelry store posted by the son of a competitor, per NBC Boston. A jury decided March 22 that Adam Jacobs, whose father owns Toodie's Fine Jewelry, had purposely put up a false, multi-paragraph diss about Blumberg's store, Stephen Leigh Jewelers, in August 2013; Jacobs has to now pay Blumberg $34,500 for emotional distress, the Patriot Ledger reports. The "guest" who supposedly wrote the review said he'd visited Blumberg's store to buy a diamond engagement ring and "left this place sick to my stomach," calling the shop "the biggest thief on the South Shore." But Blumberg, who tells NBC he was "incensed" by the review, says that interaction never took place—and he started digging to find out who the "Adam J." who'd posted it really was. His months-long detective work had him sifting through other Yelp reviews written by the same person and calling those reviewed businesses; eventually he was able to connect the dots. Blumberg says he had never met Jacobs, who works at his father's store, before this and "had no beef" with either him or his dad. The jury did let Toodie's, which had also been named in Blumberg's December 2013 complaint, off the hook. An attorney for Toodie's and Jacobs says his clients are glad about Toodie's vindication, but "disappointed" about the decision on Jacobs, which they may appeal. (A petsitting company decided a bad Yelp review was worth up to a $1 million.)

A jury determined Adam Jacobs caused Stephen Blumberg emotional distress by posting a false Yelp review in 2013. Jacobs is the son of the owner of Toodie's Fine Jewelry in Quincy. The reviewer wrote that while shopping for a 1.5-carat diamond engagement ring he had a generally poor experience and suggested shoppers "go elsewhere" "I just can't believe this, this is a fellow competitor, I have never met the guy in my life, I never met him face to face, until the first day in court," said Blumburg.

US military says it is investigating after single-seat jet came down in farmland in Redmere, Ely A US fighter pilot has died after a military jet crashed in farmland near RAF Lakenheath in the east of England, the US military have confirmed. The 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing F/A-18C single-seat jet, known as a Hornet, came down in farmland in Redmere, Ely, near RAF Lakenheath at around 5.30am on Wednesday, the US air force said in a statement. The identity of the pilot has not been released. A spokesperson from the US Marine Corps said the jet, from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California, was en route from Bahrain to Miramar when it crashed approximately six miles north-west of the airfield. It was accompanied by five other jets, which were safely diverted to RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland. The jet is understood to have been part of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 232, known as “Red Devils”, one of the most decorated fighter squadrons in the Marine Corps. The pilots are believed to have been heading back to their base on the US west coast having spent months operating attack missions in the Middle East. “Our deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of the pilot. The cause of the crash is still unknown,” said the spokesperson in a statement. The UK coastguard confirmed it had made a search and rescue helicopter available which the US military said was currently at the scene of the crash and working with US officials. The Marine Corps officially confirmed the death of the pilot, but it is unknown at this time if the pilot ejected from the single-seat aircraft. The statement from RAF Lakenheath, which despite the RAF prefix is a US airbase, said: “A 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing F/A-18C Hornet belonging to Marine Attack Fighter Squadron 232 stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar crashed in the vicinity of Royal Air Force Lakenheath, England at approximately 5:30 a.m. (EDT), today. “The aircraft was transiting from Bahrain to Miramar in a flight of six aircraft when it crashed approximately six miles northwest of the airfield. The remaining five F/A-18C’s safely diverted to RAF Lossiemouth. The United Kingdom Coast Guard is currently on the scene of the crash site and is in close coordination with US military officials.” A spokesman from the US embassy in London confirmed that the pilot had died in the crash. Matthew Barzun, the US ambassador to Britain, tweeted: “Have received update on this news. Tracking situation closely. We’re grateful for everyone’s concern.” He added: “The loss in Cambridgeshire today is terrible news, my thoughts & prayers are with all involved.” A Cambridgeshire fire and rescue service spokesman said a call was received just after 10.30am. “We were called following reports of an aircraft crash at Redmere,” he said. “We have two crews at the scene at the moment but there is no sign of any firefighting action taking place.” Patrick Turner, 72, of Redmere, told Cambridge News he was outside his shed when he heard the aircraft. “All of a

– A US Navy pilot was killed when his F-18 jet crashed in farmland in eastern England, just a few miles from the US Air Force base it had departed, on Wednesday morning. "A military aircraft which had taken off from RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk came down at about 10:30am" local time, a police rep tells Reuters. "We can confirm one fatality and believe there was just one person on board the aircraft." Sources tell the BBC and Guardian that the F-18 was one of six Marine Corps planes returning to the US from the Middle East, which landed at Lakenheath, about 70 miles north of London, over the weekend. Four planes reportedly departed the base on Wednesday, but one failed to meet up with a waiting fuel tanker. "I was outside in my shed and heard an aircraft coming over. All of a sudden all hell broke loose," a man who lives near the crash site tells the Cambridge News. "The noise was terrible—I've never heard that before." The man says he then saw a "massive fireball" through the fog. "The flames were huge. There was no way anyone was getting out of that alive. It's certainly not the sort of thing you expect on your doorstep." Another witness tells the BBC the plane was flying low immediately before the crash, and she praised the pilot because he "took the plane away from the houses, which was brilliant."

US military says it is investigating after single-seat jet came down in farmland in Redmere, Ely, near RAF Lakenheath. The identity of the pilot has not been released. The jet, from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in California, was en route from Bahrain to Miramar when it crashed. It was accompanied by five other jets, which were safely diverted to RAF Lossiemouth in north-east Scotland. The pilots are believed to have been heading back to their base on the US west coast after months operating attack missions in the Middle East.

France bans Depardieu from driving after he fell off his scooter drunk (not that he cares now he lives in Russia) Actor given six-month ban and 4,000 Euro fine after drink-driving incident His lawyer said he planned to appeal and is currently filming in Russia Gerard Depardieu has been banned from driving for six months and fined 4,000 Euros for drink driving. The ban follows an incident in November last year when the actor, 64, fell off his scooter and was taken to a police station drunk. Depardieu's lawyer, Eric de Caumont, said he planned to appeal Friday's ruling. He said his client, who was not at the hearing, was in Moscow filming. Ban: Gerard Depardieu, pictured at the Russian Film Festival earlier this week, has been disqualified from driving for six months Fall: The French actor slightly injured his elbow after falling off his scooter drunk in November last year The Frenchman has publicly feuded with France's Socialist government over high taxes and has accepted a Russian passport offered by Vladimir Putin. He was pictured leaving a police station in Paris the morning after his scooter incident, in which he slightly injured his elbow, last autumn. Dressed in a sleeveless white shirt, the actor was well enough to jump back onto the vehicle and drive himself home following the overnight stay. Unharmed: Following a night at a Parisian police station, actor Gerard Depardieu was ready to get back on his scooter In trouble again: The Green Card star tested positive for alcohol after the incident Agence France-Presse reported that when police arrived at the scene and tested Depardieu, he showed a blood alcohol level of 1.8 grams per litre, well above the French limit for driving of 0.5. He was detained and brought to a police station where he could face misdemeanour charges 'after a period of sobering up,' the source told the French news agency. In 1998 the actor was involved in a motorcycle crash when his blood-alcohol level was five times over the legal limit. He escaped with leg and face injuries. And it's not the first motor incident for the beloved French star this year. Not the first time: The French star has been in trouble with the law before Hurt elbow: According to reports, the actor didn't suffer any major injuries One of France's best-known actors for roles in more than a hundred films, Depardieu recently grabbed headlines again for the wrong reasons. A car driver filed a legal complaint for assault and battery against Depardieu following an altercation in Paris after an alleged collision involving the actor's scooter and a car in the capital's Sixth Arrondissement, near the Saint Sulpice Church. The unnamed motorist claimed the 64-year-old punched him in the face, leaving him injured. Feud: Depardieu has shown his public disapproval with high taxes brought in by France's Socialist government by moving to Russia after he was offered a passport by Russian president Vladimir Putin An official from the prosecutor's officer said: 'There was a confrontation and the driver filed a complaint.' Previously Depardieu made

– The latest of Gerard Depardieu's misadventures: A scooter incident from last year has gotten the French actor banned from driving for six months. Depardieu fell off his scooter in November, hurting his elbow, and he was discovered to have been three times over the legal alcohol limit at the time. A Paris court decided today to suspend his license as well as fine him $5,300, Reuters reports, adding that Depardieu could have been sent to jail for up to two years. The Daily Mail notes that the sentence may not trouble Depardieu much, since he's currently in Russia following his tax feud with France.

France bans Depardieu from driving after he fell off his scooter drunk. Actor given six-month ban and 4,000 Euro fine after drink-driving incident. His lawyer said he planned to appeal and is currently filming in Russia. The ban follows an incident in November last year when the actor, 64, was taken to a police station drunk. He showed a blood alcohol level of 1.8 grams per litre, well above the French limit for driving of 0.5. In 1998 the actor was involved in a motorcycle crash when his blood-alcohol level was five times over the legal limit.

The image of Princess Diana walking alongside Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, in the shadow of the Newsweek logo is an attention-getter. Surely, that was the intention of Newsweek's editor Tina Brown, who's penned the latest issue's cover story on what Diana would be like if she'd lived to see her 50th birthday on Friday. But the Photoshopped, looking-you-straight-in-the-eye picture of Diana at 50 seems about half as controversial as the entire cover package which includes not only Tina's brief article, the obvious side-by-side slideshow of Diana and Kate's fashion sense, an update on Diana's causes, a fake Facebook page for Diana, and one doctored photograph of Diana clutching a white iPhone. It's all alarmingly difficult to look away from, bloggers agree. Tina Brown sure loves princesses, says Daniel D'Addario at the New York Observer. Glazing over the cover image, D'Addario quantifies Tina's love for Kate Middleton--she's been on four out of the 15 covers since Brown took over as editor--and calls Newsweek's latest indulgent round-up of princess news "this week's installment of Ms. Brown's beautiful, dark, regal fantasy." About that fantasy, though, D'Addario noticed something funny: A follow-up to our item on Newsweek's creepy alive-Diana cover: the “plot” of Ms. Brown’s article, in which an aging Diana gets Botox and moves to New York, is like-but-unlike the plot of Monica Ali’s new novel, Untold Story, in which an aging Diana dyes her hair and moves to the Midwest. It’s been getting a lot of press, including the cover of this week’sNew York Times Book Review–perhaps Ms. Brown had heard of it before the writing process began. Tina Brown's version of Princess Diana at 50 sounds kind of shallow, says Joe Coscarelli at The Village Voice. Furthermore, isn't it a little indulgent of Brown to frame the whole thing in the context of a socialite magazine editor's glamorous life hanging out in "the London über-swirl of fashion and society and media?" First of all, if she were turning 50 this month, Diana would still be "great-looking." That is literally the first piece of information in the cover story of this weekly news magazine, after a description of a party that the editor-in-chief of said magazine attended. Diana might've worn J.Crew and Galliano, Brown imagines, like Michelle Obama, and might've moved to New York, married a "super-rich hedge-fund" guy who would buy her "toys" and blah blah, France, charity, blah, Kate Middleton. Did you know Tina Brown wrote a book about Diana? We'll be watching for a sales spike. Is the cover image creepy? Let the readers decide! The Los Angeles Times and The Huffington Post ran brief posts and corresponding reader polls on the "jarring" cover image. Nearly half of the L.A. Times readers polled find the image "horribly offensive," and 60 percent of HuffPost readers think it's "a bit too much!" Twitter, the 21st-century polling device seems to agree. The top trending tweet comes from Janice Turner, a columnist for The Times of London. She tweeted, "Astonishing. Why didn't Newsweek just row to Althrop island, exhume & snap Diana's rotted corpse?" What

– Not exactly what you'd expect from the pre-Tina Brown Newsweek: A Photoshopped Princess Diana strolls on the cover with daughter-in-law Kate Middleton, as the magazine imagines what Di would be like today, at age 50. (Brown speculates that she'd still be "great-looking," with the help of some Botox, would have had at least two re-marriages, and would, of course, have 10 million Twitter followers.) Not surprisingly, reaction to the doctored cover has not been great. Some headlines: The Atlantic Wire: "How Creepy Is Princess Diana's Ghost on the Cover of Newsweek?" New York magazine's Daily Intel blog: "Newsweek, a Leading Weekly Journal of Fan Fiction, Checks In With Princess Diana at 50" Jezebel: "Undead Princess Diana Strolls With Kate Middleton On Ridiculous Newsweek Cover" The Frisky: "Is This Princess Diana and Kate Middleton Newsweek Cover Tasteless?" Mediaite: "Newsweek's Princess Diana Cover: Not Quite Right" E!: "Bad Taste Alert: Princess Diana & Kate Middleton Share Creepiest Magazine Cover Ever!" The Stir: "Newsweek Goes Tabloid With Crude Princess Diana Cover" People: "Princess Diana Digitally Altered to Look 50: Is it Disrespectful?" Click for more reactions to the cover.

Magazine editor Tina Brown imagines what Princess Diana would be like if she'd lived to see her 50th birthday on Friday. Nearly half of the L.A. Times readers polled find the image "horribly offensive" 60 percent of HuffPost readers think it's "a bit too much!" Twitter, the 21st-century polling device seems to agree. The top trending tweet comes from Janice Turner, a columnist for The Times of London, "Astonishing. Why didn't Newsweek just row to Althrop island, exhume & snap Diana's rotted corpse?"

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption Shinzo Abe's visit will make relations with China worse, says the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes Japan's prime minister has infuriated China and South Korea by visiting a shrine that honours Japan's war dead, including some convicted war criminals. Shinzo Abe said his visit to Yasukuni was an anti-war gesture. But China called the visit "absolutely unacceptable to the Chinese people", and Seoul expressed "regret and anger". They see Yasukuni as a symbol of Tokyo's aggression during World War Two, when Japan occupied large parts of China and the Korean peninsula. The US embassy in Tokyo said in a statement it was "disappointed" and that Mr Abe's actions would "exacerbate tensions" with Japan's neighbours. Yasukuni Shrine Built in 1869 under the Emperor Meiji Venerates the souls of 2.5m war dead Those enshrined include hundreds of convicted war criminals, among them executed war-time leader Hideki Tojo Shrine organisers stress that many thousands of civilians are honoured China and South Korea see shrine as glorification of Japanese atrocities Yasukuni Shrine China, Japan and South Korea are embroiled in a number of disputes over territory in the East China Sea. 'Major obstacle' It was the first visit to Yasukuni by a serving prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi went in 2006. Mr Abe, who took office a year ago, entered the shrine on Thursday morning, wearing a morning suit and grey tie. His arrival was televised live. "I chose this day to report [to the souls of the dead] what we have done in the year since the administration launched and to pledge and determine that never again will people suffer in war," he said. "It is not my intention at all to hurt the feelings of the Chinese and Korean people." Image copyright Reuters Image caption Shinzo Abe is the first prime minister to visit the shrine for seven years Image copyright Reuters Image caption Woman and children who have died in 150 years of war are among 2.5 million people honoured Image copyright Reuters Image caption The enshrining of hundreds of WW2 criminals in the 1970s made the shrine hugely controversial Officials said Mr Abe visited the shrine in a private capacity and was not representing the government. But Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said: "We strongly protest and seriously condemn the Japanese leader's acts. "This poses a major political obstacle in the improvement of bilateral relations. Japan must take responsibility for all the consequences that this creates." Analysis If the shrine is so offensive to China and South Korea why did Mr Abe go? Firstly, because he wanted to. Close observers of the Japanese prime minister say he is at heart a nationalist and a historical revisionist. He believes the trials that convicted Japan's wartime leaders were "victors' justice". His own grandfather Nobusuke Kishi served in the war cabinet and was arrested by the Americans on suspicion of being a Class A war criminal. He was later released without charge. But the stain of association with Japan's war crimes in China never completely went away.

– Japanese PM Shinzo Abe set off a diplomatic furor today with a visit to a shrine to Japan's World War II dead—including no shortage of war criminals—that has China and South Korea sputtering in rage. Dressed to the nines and appearing on live television, Abe entered the Yasukuni shrine this morning in order to, as he put it, "pay respect for the war dead who sacrificed their precious lives and (hope) that they rest in peace." And seemingly fully aware of the hornet's nest he was kicking, he added: "I have no intention to neglect the feelings of the people in China and South Korea." China instantly deemed the visit "absolutely unacceptable to the Chinese people," notes the BBC, while South Korea is expressing "regret and anger." The US State Department has also jumped in, saying it is "disappointed" with Abe's move, which will "exacerbate tensions" in the region. It's the first such visit in seven years, but what was Abe thinking? NPR thinks the prime minister, a staunch nationalist looking to introduce a "first-strike capability" to his nation's national security strategy, knew exactly what he was doing. An expert earlier this week said of Abe, "What we're seeing is the first move towards Japan really shedding that pacifist post-war stance and taking a much more proactive defensive posture." Another says that with the shrine visit, Abe is "showing he is a tough guy," a move that the BBC says "plays very well with his base." Quartz runs down a list of winners and losers of the visit, noting that "the true implications are likely to play out over a much longer timespan."

Shinzo Abe said his visit to Yasukuni was an anti-war gesture. But China called the visit "absolutely unacceptable to the Chinese people" South Korea expressed "regret and anger" at the shrine. They see it as a symbol of Tokyo's aggression during World War Two. The US embassy in Tokyo said Mr Abe's actions would "exacerbate tensions" with Japan's neighbours. It was the first visit to the shrine by a serving prime minister since Junichiro Koizumi in 2006.

"I'm one of 'those women' he spoke about just now," she said. "I had a procedure at 17 weeks. Pregnant with a child that had moved from the vagina into the cervix. And that procedure you just talk about was a procedure that I endured. I lost a baby. But for you to stand on this floor and suggest, as you have, that somehow this is a procedure that is either welcomed or done cavalierly without any thought is preposterous." ||||| Almost exactly five years ago, in September 2010, I took one pill, and then another, and lay in my bed for a night and a day, and then I wasn’t pregnant any more. It was a fairly smooth experience, distressing only because my relationship was bad and I had no money. The procedure itself was a relief. Not being able to have it would have been the real trauma. Why we must speak out on abortion laws | Letters Read more Suddenly, last week, in the thick of the rightwing, misogynist crusade to defund Planned Parenthood (a vital American nonprofit that provides a broad range of healthcare services, including pelvic exams, STI screenings, contraception and abortion), a thought bowled me over: I never, ever talk about my abortion. I live in a progressive city, I have a fiercely pro-choice social circle and family, I write confessionally about myself for a living – so why is it that I never speak about abortion in anything beyond an abstract way, even with my closest friends? I know about who has a vagina infection, whose boyfriend’s penis bends weird, who used to do drugs, who still does. And I know how all of them feel about abortion, policywise. But I don’t know who has had one, and they don’t know about mine. It’s not a secret; it’s just something we don’t talk about. Not talking about our personal experiences with abortion wasn’t conscious – it felt like a habit, a flimsy ouroboros of obfuscation. We don’t talk about it because we don’t talk about it because we don’t talk about it. So, on Saturday, when my friend Amelia Bonow posted this plainspoken, unapologetic announcement on her Facebook page, it felt simultaneously so obvious, so simple and so revolutionary: “Like a year ago I had an abortion at the Planned Parenthood on Madison Ave, and I remember this experience with a near inexpressible level of gratitude ... I am telling you this today because the narrative of those working to defund Planned Parenthood relies on the assumption that abortion is still something to be whispered about. Plenty of people still believe that on some level – if you are a good woman – abortion is a choice which should be accompanied by some level of sadness, shame or regret. But you know what? I have a good heart and having an abortion made me happy in a totally unqualified way. Why wouldn’t I be happy that I was not forced to become a mother?” #ShoutYourAbortion: women fight stigma surrounding abortions Read more “The assumption that

– As the debate about funding for Planned Parenthood continues, one Seattle activist has gone into hiding after a hashtag she created went viral, her address was posted online, and she started receiving death threats, the Los Angeles Times reports. The hashtag: #ShoutYourAbortion. Its mission, per Bonow and co-founder Lindy West: to encourage women who've had abortions to speak up about it and shake the stigma, notes the New York Times. "A shout is not a celebration or a value judgment; it's the opposite of a whisper, of silence," Bonow tells the New York paper. But not everyone is cool with the initiative. Both Bonow and West say they've received angry reaction and threats, as have other women who've used the hashtag. "I tweeted three times and each time got 20 or more responses, saying things like 'baby killer' and 'your child is waiting to forgive you in heaven,'" a women who had had an abortion at age 20 tells the New York Times. Michele Bachmann jumped into the anti-hashtag fray, tweeting, "#ShoutYourAbortion gives a new meaning to macabre," while #ShoutYourAdoption sprang up to support women who chose adoption over abortion. Bonow and West kicked off their campaign with essays in Salon and the Guardian, respectively, explaining why they started the hashtag and how they felt about their own abortions (read: not sorry or ashamed). And neither is sorry about this hashtag. "Many women want to live in a world where you can say, 'I've had an abortion, and I'm perfectly fine with that,' and not have people saying they want to kill you," Bonow tells the LA Times. Meanwhile, though she's been in contact with the Seattle PD and the FBI, Bonow isn't sure how long she'll stay away from home. "I'm not a public figure," she tells the New York Times. "I've never dealt with anything like this, so I don't know how seriously to take it." (A California congresswoman shouted her abortion on the House floor.)

Abortion is not a secret; it’s just something we don’t talk about. Not talking about our personal experiences with abortion wasn't conscious – it felt like a habit, a flimsy ouroboros of obfuscation. So, on Saturday, my friend Amelia Bonow posted this plainspoken, unapologetic announcement on her Facebook page. “Like a year ago I had an abortion at the Planned Parenthood on Madison Ave, and I remember this experience with a near inexpressible level of gratitude ... I am telling you this today because the narrative of those working to defund Planned Parenthood relies on the assumption that abortion is still something to be whispered about.”

The family of a 14-year-old Central California girl is suing BMW North America and a local school district over the teenager's heat stroke death inside a locked vehicle from which there was allegedly no escape. While an average of 38 children left alone in cars die from heat each year in the U.S., deaths of older children or teenagers are exceedingly rare. A database assembled by the nonprofit Kids and Cars revealed only one other case - more than a decade ago - in which a teenager 14 or older died of heat in a locked vehicle. According to the lawsuit filed this week in Madera County Superior Court, which seeks unspecified damages, Graciela Martinez was driven to school, on Sept. 11, 2013, in the family's 1997 BMW 328i four-door sedan by her older brother, Oscar. After arriving at the Madera High School in Madera, about 20 miles northwest of Fresno, and parking in the rear of the parking lot at about 6:40 a.m., Oscar and his twin sister, Patricia, exited the car, leaving Graciela inside so she could get some extra sleep before her first class at 7:40 a.m., it said. To ensure his younger sister was not disturbed, Oscar Martinez locked the car from the outside, according to the lawsuit. When the elder Martinez children returned to the car after classes, around 3 p.m., they found Graciela unresponsive in the backseat, the lawsuit said. Graciela Martinez, in an undated family photo. Lifetouch Courtesy the Martinez "She was pale in color and did not have a pulse," it said. "Graciela Martinez was pronounced dead a short time later. An autopsy revealed that she had died of heat stroke and environmental hyperthermia due to vehicle entrapment." The lawsuit alleges that the design of the "double-locking mechanism" was faulty and presented a "substantial danger" to passengers because it did not allow them to unlock the vehicle from inside. Furthermore, it said, the car's horn could not be operated without the key being inserted in the ignition and that the vehicle was not equipped with an emergency release lever. Warren Paboojian, who is representing Graciela Martinez's parents, Pedro and Jacinta, said that as a result of the alleged design deficiencies, the family's BMW was a death trap for Graciela as the temperatures climbed over 100 on that late summer day. "There's nothing you can do electronically in any way to escape that car," he said. "I found the 1997 handbook, it clearly states that if you lock the car from the outside, the occupants cannot get out. The problem is that this was a 16-year-old car and my clients didn't have the luxury of having the handbook." David Buchko, a spokesman for BMW North America, said he could not comment on the lawsuit. He confirmed that 1997 model BMW vehicles were equipped with a power lock system that enabled persons inside the car to unlock the doors if they had been locked from inside as well, but not if they were locked externally. He said the design was intended to address "a theft-prevention issue."

– A California family is suing BMW after their vehicle became a death trap for their 14-year-old daughter. Graciela Martinez's older brother drove her to school in the family's 1997 BMW 328i early one morning last fall and left her inside to get extra sleep before classes began. He locked the doors from the outside so she wouldn't be disturbed, only to find her still in the car, pale and without a pulse, after classes finished, NBC reports. She was pronounced dead a short time later and an autopsy found the cause of death to be "heat stroke and environmental hyperthermia due to vehicle entrapment." She had been trapped inside by the car's "double-locking mechanism," which ensures the doors can't be opened from the inside after they have been locked from the outside, according to the lawsuit, which accuses BMW of negligence. The teenager didn't have a phone with her and without the ignition key, she was unable to use the car's horn. The family's lawyer says there are signs she tried to escape, but wasn't strong enough to break a window, reports the Fresno Bee. The family is also suing the school district, accusing it of violating school policy by failing to notify the girl's parents when she didn't show up for classes. A BMW spokesman says that while he can't comment on the lawsuit, the locking mechanism in the 1997 model was designed to prevent theft. "We didn’t envision the situation where someone would lock somebody in the car from the exterior," he says, adding that the design was changed in 1999. (In another heartbreaking lawsuit, a driver is suing the boy she killed for emotional distress.)

Graciela Martinez was driven to school in her brother's 1997 BMW 328i sedan. Oscar Martinez locked the car from the outside to ensure his younger sister was not disturbed. When the elder Martinez children returned to the car after classes, they found Graciela unresponsive. An autopsy revealed that she had died of heat stroke and environmental hyperthermia due to vehicle entrapment. "There's nothing you can do electronically in any way to escape that car," lawyer says. "The problem is that this was a 16-year-old car and my clients didn't have the luxury of having the handbook"

The world's biggest shipping company is about to try out a new route. Denmark's Maersk (AMKBY) said Tuesday it plans to send the first container ship from East Asia to Europe via the Arctic Ocean. The newly built Venta Maersk is set to leave the Russian port of Vladivostok later this month. It will sail through the Bering Strait and over the top of Russia en route to St. Petersburg, taking what is known as the Northern Sea Route. "This is a trial designed to explore an unknown route for container shipping and to collect scientific data," Maersk said in a statement. "Currently, we do not see the Northern Sea Route as an alternative to our usual routes." The company said the Venta Maersk, which can carry roughly 3,600 containers, is designed to withstand waters as cold as minus 25 degrees Celsius (minus 77 degrees Fahrenheit). It will transport a cargo of goods including frozen fish on the trial voyage, after which it will be deployed in Europe's Baltic Sea. The ship's crew of 26 have been given special training to withstand the harsh conditions. Maersk said that it currently had no plans to launch commercial services on the route, which is only viable as shipping lane for about three months every year. The company said it would also need to invest in more vessels capable of handling Arctic conditions. The view of the Arctic as an alternative shipping route has been supported by meteorological models that predict that the polar region will be ice-free for at least part of the year as early as the middle of this century. Thinning ice could open new paths for global trade, potentially saving companies money compared with longer journeys via more southerly routes. Maersk's state-owned Chinese rival Cosco (CHDGF) has been testing the Arctic route for several years with a series of voyages by multipurpose cargo ships carrying goods such as wind turbine equipment. But Maersk said its journey will be the first by a specialized container vessel. An alternative to the Suez Canal? Big ships making their way across the top of the world typically need to be accompanied by nuclear-powered Russian icebreakers to plow through patches of six-foot-thick ice. The Northern Sea Route has been touted by some experts as a possible alternative to Egypt's Suez Canal as a major global shipping artery between Asia and Europe. Last year, a Russian tanker carrying natural gas became the first merchant ship to sail across the Arctic without the help of an icebreaker, finishing the journey in record time. The ship, the Christophe de Margerie, traveled from Norway to South Korea in 19 days, about 30% quicker than the regular route through the Suez Canal. Maersk said it wasn't yet clear how long its container ship would take to cross the Arctic. ||||| Maersk Line, the world’s largest container shipping company, is about to launch the first ever container ship on an Arctic route along Russia’s north coast, as melting sea ice promises to offer a possible future alternative to the Suez Canal. The

– The world's largest container shipping company will follow explorers who sought sea passages through the Arctic half a millennium ago, though likely with more success thanks to global warming. In what NPR calls a turning point, Denmark-based Maersk will send the first container ship—a 42,000-ton vessel housing 26 crew and a stash of frozen fish, per CNN—from Vladivostok, Russia, to St. Petersburg via the Arctic as a means of determining whether such a route might be worthwhile in the future. "The ice is melting and more things are becoming possible," says the founder of the Arctic Institute think tank, noting the Northern Sea Route could cut two weeks off a trip from Asia to Europe. But Maersk claims it isn't interested in saving time just yet. The Venta Maersk's journey to begin later this month, which would otherwise require passage through the Suez Canal, is "a one-off trial designed to explore an unknown route for container shipping and to collect scientific data," Maersk says, per the Independent, adding the course isn't considered "an alternative to our usual routes." That's likely because there are no Arctic ports for security and transshipment options, per NPR. Plus the Venta Maersk—complete with a reinforced hull that can cut through a few feet of loose ice—can only make the journey three months of the year, unless it follows an icebreaker. That might not be the case forever, though. Indeed, activists fear environmental damage from large ships will only speed Arctic ice melt.

The Venta Maersk is set to leave the Russian port of Vladivostok later this month. It will sail through the Bering Strait and over the top of Russia en route to St. Petersburg. The Northern Sea Route has been touted by some experts as a possible alternative to Egypt's Suez Canal as a major global shipping artery between Asia and Europe. The company said that it currently had no plans to launch commercial services on the route, which is only viable as shipping lane for three months every year.

poster="http://v.politico.com/images/1155968404/201612/3491/1155968404_5249391513001_5249366089001-vs.jpg?pubId=1155968404" true Trump: Vanity Fair is 'dead' President-elect Donald Trump took aim at a new media target Thursday morning, writing on Twitter that Vanity Fair magazine is “dead” and its editor has “no talent.” The magazine has been regularly critical of Trump throughout his candidacy and into his transition, publishing stories this week headlined “Someone has finally agreed to perform at Donald Trump inauguration” and “Trump Grill could be the worst restaurant in America.” Story Continued Below Trump shot back at the magazine Thursday morning, asking his followers, “has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!” Carter, the long-serving editor of Vanity Fair, is credited with originating a popular joke about the size of Trump’s hands. The Manhattan real estate mogul was regularly referred to as a “short-fingered vulgarian” in the pages of now-defunct Spy magazine, which was co-founded by Carter. Sen. Marco Rubio cracked a joke about Trump’s hands during the Republican presidential primary, prompting Trump to hold up his hands at a GOP debate and say, "Look at these hands. Are these small hands? And he referred to my hands if they’re small, something else must be small. I guarantee you, there’s no problem. I guarantee you.” Vanity Fair is the latest addition to a long list of media outlets attacked by Trump, including POLITICO, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and NBC News. ||||| Halfway through a recent late lunch at the Trump Grill—the clubby steakhouse in the lobby of Trump Tower that has recently become famous through the incessant media coverage of its namesake landlord, and the many dignitaries traipsing through its marbled hall to kiss his ring—I sensed the initial symptoms of a Trump overdose. Thanks to an unprecedented influx of diners, we were sitting at a wobbly overflow table outside the restaurant, in the middle of a crush of tourists, some of whom were proposing to their partners, or waiting to buy Trump-branded merchandise, or sprinting to the bathroom. As my companions and I contemplated the most painless way to eat our flaccid, gray Szechuan dumplings with their flaccid, gray innards, as a campy version of “Jingle Bells” jackhammered in the background, a giant gold box tied with red ribbon toppled onto us. Trump, it seemed, was already fighting against the War on Christmas. Donald Trump is “a poor person’s idea of a rich person,” Fran Lebowitz recently observed at The Vanity Fair New Establishment Summit. “They see him. They think, ‘If I were rich, I’d have a fabulous tie like that.’” Nowhere, perhaps, does this reflection appear more accurate than at Trump Grill (which is occasionally spelled Grille on various pieces of signage). On one level, the Grill (or Grille), suggests the heights of plutocratic splendor—a steakhouse built into the basement of one’s own skyscraper. Photograph by Tina Nguyen. On another level, Trump Grill falls somewhat short of that lofty goal. The restaurant features a stingy number of French-ish paintings that look as though they were bought

– On Wednesday, Vanity Fair published an unflattering review of NYC's Trump Grill(e) restaurant (yes, it's spelled both ways on signage), Donald Trump got wind of it, and … you probably know where this is going to end up. To be fair, the review of the steakhouse in Trump Tower was pretty brutal: Critic Tina Nguyen describes a waiter "determined to gaslight us into thinking we were having a good time," points out the "French-ish paintings that look as though they were bought from Home Goods," and, when it comes to the overall culinary experience, notes it "could be the worst restaurant in America." Fast-forward to Thursday's Twitter feed, where Trump fought back with a defiant post that didn't exactly address the points made in the review, but did take issue with Vanity Fair, and editor Graydon Carter, in general. "Has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @Vanity Fair Magazine. Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!" the president-elect tweeted. Politico notes Trump and Carter have had a long-standing battle dating back to when Carter mentioned decades ago that Trump had tiny hands (his exa ct words in Spy magazine: Trump was a "short-fingered vulgarian"). Colin Campbell, a Yahoo politics editor, notes Trump has also had a longtime habit of tweeting that Vanity Fair is failing, tweeting about five minutes after Trump's Thursday tweet that "for more than four years, Donald Trump has been tweeting about Vanity Fair supposedly dying." Politico throws VF onto the pile of other media Trump has rampaged against, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, and CNN. (This businessman really didn't like the review of his restaurant.)

The magazine has been regularly critical of Trump throughout his candidacy and into his transition. Trump shot back at the magazine Thursday morning, asking his followers, “has anyone looked at the really poor numbers of @VanityFair Magazine? Way down, big trouble, dead! Graydon Carter, no talent, will be out!” Carter, the long-serving editor of Vanity Fair, is credited with originating a popular joke about the size of Trump’s hands. The magazine is the latest addition to a long list of media outlets attacked by Trump, including POLITICO, The New York Times, CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Post and NBC News.

Doug Herrmann, a father from Ohio, was frustrated that he couldn’t help his second-grade son with his math homework last week. Even though it should have been easy, the curriculum his son was using didn’t look familiar to him. It wasn’t the way Herrmann learned math growing up. On Tuesday, he wrote on Facebook: “Mental math and ten-frame cards? Common core sucks!” Then, on Wednesday, he posted a check made out to Melridge Elementary School in the amount of… well, no one was sure, because he did it “using common core numbers.” He didn’t actually send the check to the school, but the post struck a nerve. It’s been shared more than 25,000 times as of this writing and a whole bunch of articles have been written about it. Herrmann is already scheduled to appear on Fox & Friends Wednesday morning. But does he have a point? Not at all. Instead of trying to figure out what his child was learning, Herrmann did what so many parents do these days: He complained about something he doesn’t understand. I’ll be honest with you: I didn’t know what “ten-frame” cards were and I wasn’t sure what he was trying to write in his check. Then I spent a couple of minutes doing the research he couldn’t be bothered to do himself. So let me back up for a moment and try and explain this. It’ll take a second, but it’ll be worth it, I promise. A lot of adults (myself included) learned math through repetition and algorithms. We memorized times tables, learned to use “zero” as a place holder when we multiplied big numbers, and subtracted by sometimes “carrying” numbers. If that sounds familiar to you, can you explain why zero was a place holder or what “carrying” a number even means? If I ask you to calculate 12 x 11 in your head, could you do it? Maybe. But I’ll bet a lot of you need a few seconds. There’s a really easy way to solve that, though. Instead of trying to answer 12 x 11, just break it down a different way. Figure out what 12 x 10 is — which should be easy — and then just add another 12 onto that to get the answer of 132. Over the past several years, what math teachers have realized is that kids who relied on memorization, algorithms, and calculators had a really hard time understanding math as they got older. Classes like algebra become scary for those kids because, all of a sudden, they couldn’t just plug things into their calculators. Variables got in the way, they had to start manipulating equations, and they just hit a wall. I’ve had a lot of those students in my classes over the years. The one thing they had in common was an over-reliance on formulas and methods. They all wanted to know the “right” way to solve a problem, when the truth was that there were a bunch of ways to solve them. Have you ever seen the show Chopped on Food Network? The

– Last week, a frustrated Ohio dad posted a picture on Facebook—and now it's been shared more than 27,000 times and he's semi-famous. Doug Herrmann posted a picture of a check he wrote to his kids' elementary school which, he said, used Common Core math. Instead of writing in the amount of the check using numbers or letters, he used little boxes, Xs, and 0s. "Wrote a check to Melridge Elementary using common core numbers. I wonder if they'll take it? #YouFigureItOut," reads the caption. The photo went viral, Herrmann went on his local Fox station (he told Fox 8 he never actually sent the check to the school) and Fox & Friends ("I can't help my second-grader and my first-grade daughter with their math homework, and it's very frustrating.") But not everyone is on his side. "To people like him, ignorance is hilarious," writes high school math teacher Hemant Mehta on a Patheos blog post titled "The Dad Who Wrote a Check Using 'Common Core' Math Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About" that describes the "ten-frame" Herrmann was attempting to use, why it's a better way for kids to learn math, and why Herrmann's check actually makes no sense. "Common Core isn’t the problem here. The problem is all the parents who immediately dismiss better, more effective ways of teaching math because it’s 'different' from what they learned." At Education Week, Dave Powell agrees. "What you're actually doing if you let this joke continue to circulate is promoting reactionary, simplistic responses to things that you probably don't know enough about," he writes. Common Core math is "not a conspiracy to make your kids dumb; it's actually a conspiracy to make your kids smart." (Some parents are going to school themselves to learn the new methods.)

Doug Herrmann was frustrated that he couldn't help his second-grade son with his math homework. The curriculum his son was using didn’t look familiar to him. On Tuesday, he wrote on Facebook: “Mental math and ten-frame cards? Common core sucks!” Then, on Wednesday, he posted a check made out to Melridge Elementary School in the amount of… well, no one was sure, because he did it “using common core numbers.”

A strange animal mystery captivated the internet back in 2015: 200,000 critically endangered saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan died from internal bleeding after infections. Surreal photographs showed hundreds of dead antelopes that appeared to have simply dropped dead where they stood as a herd. Some researchers now have an update on that story. Following the die off, folks quickly guessed that infections from normally harmless Pasteurella multocida caused the die-off. Deeper analysis has found another connection: the infection was strongly linked to warmer weather and higher humidity. That’s bad news, considering the whole climate change thing. “The fact that P. multocida infection in saigas... appears strongly linked to high humidity and temperature is of concern going forward, given that a climate change–induced increase in temperature is projected for the region over the short to medium term” the international team of authors write in the study published in Science Advances. Virtually no saigas in the afflicted group survived, and the die-off killed almost two-thirds of the entire global saiga population, according to the paper. The researchers couldn’t design an experiment, and instead just began taking data, observing the dying animals and performing necropsies afterwards. The diagnosis was a disease called Hemorrhagic septicemia, caused by the usually benign Pasteurella multocida. But the quick, simultaneous onset of the symptoms in the whole group implied some environmental change occurred—like warm weather and high humidity. Advertisement There are a lot more questions to answer, though. The evidence linking environmental conditions to saiga death is concerning, but the researchers don’t actually know how the changes could cause the bacteria to become more deadly, yet. And saigas are no strangers to mass die-offs. “These populations are highly vulnerable to the introduction of new diseases and the stress that goes along with that and factors that can trigger it,” veterinarian Amanda Fine from the Wildlife Conservation Society told the Washington Post. Normally, the saiga population bounces back from mass die-offs, but, “high levels of poaching since the 1990s have depleted populations, holding out the possibility that a [mass mortality event] could reduce numbers below the level at which recovery is possible,” the authors write. Advertisement The study’s authors want scientists to be prepared: “The scale and nature of this event also point to the need for ongoing scientific and veterinary monitoring of wildlife populations and the need to be prepared for rapid and rigorous responses to disease outbreaks when they occur.” [Science Advances] ||||| In 2015, more than 200,000 saiga antelopes died in 3 weeks in central Kazakhstan. The proximate cause of death is confirmed as hemorrhagic septicemia caused by the bacterium Pasteurella multocida type B, based on multiple strands of evidence. Statistical modeling suggests that there was unusually high relative humidity and temperature in the days leading up to the mortality event; temperature and humidity anomalies were also observed in two previous similar events in the same region. The modeled influence of environmental covariates is consistent with known drivers of hemorrhagic septicemia. Given the saiga population’s vulnerability to mass mortality and the likely exacerbation of climate-related and environmental stressors in

– Saiga antelopes have been roaming Central Asia since the time of the woolly mammoth, an achievement only a resilient species could pull off. But now, "total extinction" may be on the horizon. That's according to researchers studying the deaths of more than 200,000 endangered saigas in Kazakhstan in 2015. Scientists were dumbfounded to see nearly two-thirds of the global saiga population wiped out in a few weeks and raced to discover the cause, reports Gizmodo. They now think they've found it: In a study in Science Advances, lead author Richard Kock says 10 days of high heat and humidity preceding the deaths fatally altered a usually harmless bacteria in the animals' bodies. Kock tells NPR that Pasteurella multocida type B in the animals' tonsils would've been "quite close to the environment of the air," which caused the bacteria "to start growing." From there, the bacteria entered the bloodstream, causing a disease known as hemorrhagic septicemia. "It's so toxic and so devastating that the animal doesn't show a lot of pathology actually," Kock says. "Suddenly they'd start looking a little bit unhappy and stop feeding. Within about three hours they were dead." Only 30,000 saigas in Kazakhstan survived, likely because they were outside the area of high heat and humidity. But they might not be so lucky if such an event occurs again, a "very, very likely" scenario given that mass die-offs of saigas also occurred in 1981 and 1988, Kock says, per the BBC. Fellow researcher Steffen Zuther says little can be done to prevent die-offs linked to weather as the planet warms. This shows the importance of maintaining large saiga populations and combating poaching and other threats, he says. (Maine's mussels are dying, too.)

200,000 critically endangered saiga antelopes in Kazakhstan died from internal bleeding after infections. The diagnosis was a disease called Hemorrhagic septicemia, caused by the usually benign Pasteurella multocida. But the quick, simultaneous onset of the symptoms in the whole group implied some environmental change occurred. The evidence linking environmental conditions to saiga death is concerning, but the researchers don’t actually know how the changes could cause the bacteria to become more deadly, yet. They want scientists to be prepared.

The Vatican prosecutor of clerical sex abuse warned perpetrators on Saturday that they would suffer damnation in hell that would be worse than the death penalty. The Rev. Charles Scicluna, a Maltese priest who is a top official at the Vatican's morality office, led a special "make amends" prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica. Seminarians and other pontifical university students in Rome wanted to gather for prayers for the victims of clergy abuse and for the healing of the church's wounds from the scandal over its concealment of abuse. Quoting from a long passage from Gregory the Great, an early pope and monk who made rules for the clergy, Scicluna said in the case of a pedophile priest "it would be really better that his evil deeds cause him death in his lifetime" under secular laws than suffer "more terrible damnation" in hell. Scicluna has been leading the Vatican's drive to rid the church of pedophile priests. Many victims' groups say the Vatican must admit responsibility for a decades-old culture of secrecy and systematic cover-ups. The Vatican official likened children to a "holy icon," and decried what the world becomes when children are "abused, destroyed." "Don't make children the object of your impure covetousness," Scicluna said to the priests. Participants at the ceremony asked for prayers "for the victims of abuses perpetrated by men and women of the Church, so that they can heal their wounds and experience true peace," the Italian news agency ANSA reported. Prayers were also offered for clerics and other religious who committed abuses so that "they can honestly face up to the consequences of their guilt and embrace the needs of justice," ANSA said. Scicluna drew on a passage in St. Mark's Gospel saying those who harm children would be better off tying a millstone to their neck and throwing themselves into the sea. Earlier in the week, the Catholic news agency Zenit reported that several seminary students, including ones from Britain and the United States, decided to have the prayer service in response to Pope Benedict XVI's harsh letter to Irish bishops in March. In that letter, Benedict chastised bishops in the predominantly Catholic nation for making grave errors of judgment about the abuse of thousands of Irish boys and girls. But he didn't blame Vatican policies that kept the abuse secret for making the situation worse and he issued no punishment for the Irish bishops. Any scandal in the Italian church is particularly delicate for the Vatican. On Friday, the head of the Italian bishops conference, Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco told his churchmen that it was "possible" that sex abuse by clergy might have also been covered up in Italy, and said bishops should follow the Vatican's guidelines in dealing with abuse allegations. ||||| Paedophile priests destined for hell - Vatican HELL IS not empty. On the contrary, according to the Holy See’s Promoter Of Justice, Msgr Charles Scicluna, hell is full of paedophile priests. Speaking on Saturday in St Peter’s at a service of reparation for abuse committed by priests, Msgr Scicluna suggested that priests

– A Vatican official has warned pedophile priests that a special hell awaits them in the afterlife. "It would be better that the evil deeds" cause an abuser death in secular dress" as a layperson than suffer "more terrible damnation" in hell as a priest, Monsignor Charles Scicluna told seminarians at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, reports the Irish Times. In fact, he added, quoting Christ's teaching in the Bible, "whosoever offends one of these little ones, it is better that a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea." Scicluna, head of the Vatican's morality office, is responsible for catching and disciplining pedophile priests. His remarks were part of a prayer service for the victims of sexual abuse by clerics, reports AP.

The Rev. Charles Scicluna led a special "make amends" prayer service in St. Peter's Basilica. Seminarians and other pontifical university students in Rome wanted to gather for prayers for the victims of clergy abuse and for the healing of the church's wounds from the scandal. Many victims' groups say the Vatican must admit responsibility for a decades-old culture of secrecy and systematic cover-ups. The Vatican official likened children to a "holy icon," and decried what the world becomes when children are "abused, destroyed"

Parents Anguished by Backlash Over Letting Their Terminally Ill 5-Year-Old Help Decide Whether to Go Back to the Hospital Photographs by Charles Gullung The last thing Michelle Moon expected when she publicly shared the moving conversations about death she had with her terminally ill 5-year-old daughter was backlash.But backlash is exactly what she and her husband, Steve Snow, experienced after CNN.com posted a two-part story about the family in late October that included a debate between bioethicists about whether a child that age should have a say in their own end-of-life decisions or even understands what death is.Michelle, 43, a neurologist, says her words have been wildly misinterpreted."I want to make it clear these are not Julianna's decisions or choices," she tells PEOPLE. " They are Steve's and my decisions but we look to Julianna to guide us."Julianna Snow, 5, has a rare, aggressive form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease , or CMT, an incurable, degenerative neuromuscular illness. She has been in and out of hospitals for much of her young life and has slowly lost the ability to walk, eat or even breathe on her own.Her story made headlines across the world last year after Michelle opened up publicly about Julianna's wish to stay home – and not go to the hospital – should she get sick again.Medical professionals who know the family say they understand why Michelle and Steve, 38, a U.S. Air Force veteran, value their daughter's opinion."I think she's very capable of having input into the end of her life," Karla Langlois, a hospice nurse who has been working with Julianna and her family since October 2014, she tells PEOPLE. "I don't know that it's appropriate for every child but in this scenario it's very appropriate."Diana Scolara, the pediatric intensive care unit nurse who helped care for Julianna during her many stays at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon [and administered many of the naso-tracheal suctioning treatments Julianna hated], agrees."I don’t care if she is a little girl," says Scolaro, who has been a pediatric nurse for 26 or her 31 years in the business. "Julianna is wise and she's made her choices and she doesn't want to go back to the hospital."And even if she did go back the next time she got sick "it's not going to cure her disease," she says. "It's not going to stop the progression of her disease. It's not even going to make her better."We save lives and we have miracles but with some diseases you can't have those miracles," she says.For more on Julianna Snow and her family, pick up PEOPLE, on stands Friday.Perhaps most hurtful was Dear Julianna a newly formed online group that features photos and stories of adults with neuromuscular diseases."We wanted to show her and other children that choosing medical treatments can not only extend our lives but improve the quality of our lives," founder Emily Wolinsky, 38, tells PEOPLE of why she started the group.Michelle found out about it when a friend saw it on Facebook and forwarded her the information."It threw me for a loop," says

– It started with a conversation last year that Michelle Moon had with her terminally ill daughter, Julianna, about where she'd want to be if she got sick again: in the hospital or at home. Julianna picked home, even if it meant she'd die there, and that's where the 5-year-old peacefully passed away Tuesday, CNN reports. "Our sweet Julianna went to heaven today," Moon wrote on her blog. "I am stunned and heartbroken, but also thankful. … We got almost six years together." In her post, Moon also documented the fight Julianna had waged against her incurable Charcot-Marie-Toot disease and the "startling" words she'd speak that seemed to suggest a more mature understanding of terminal illness than most would expect. Still, Moon, a neurologist, and her husband, Steve Snow, an Air Force pilot, were thrown by the backlash after a CNN story on their family in October. "They are Steve's and my decisions, but we look to Julianna to guide us," Moon rebutted to People in January. And medical experts who worked with the family supported their decision: One hospice nurse said, "I don't know that it's appropriate for every child, but in this scenario it's very appropriate." What hurt the most, Moon says, were judgmental attacks—including the Dear Julianna website, which shows people with neuromuscular disabilities who survived to adulthood—based on a misperception she and her husband had deprived Julianna of medical care. CNN explains doctors had told Julianna's parents if she chose the hospital, there was a "reasonable chance" she'd die anyway and that she'd spend her last days mostly sedated and undergoing painful medical procedures. Instead, Julianna's final bout was quick, Moon told CNN, and "she died at home … in my arms." (This baby who died shortly after birth finished his bucket list before he was born.)

Julianna Snow, 5, has a rare, aggressive form of Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. She has slowly lost the ability to walk, eat or even breathe on her own. Michelle Moon, 43, a neurologist, says her words have been wildly misinterpreted. Medical professionals who know the family say they understand why Michelle and Steve, 38, value their daughter's opinion. "I think she's very capable of having input into the end of her life," says hospice nurse Karla Langlois.

FILE - In this April 27, 2015 file photo, Kevin Spacey arrives at the Q&A; Screening of "The House Of Cards" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Netflix says Spacey is out at "House... (Associated Press) FILE - In this April 27, 2015 file photo, Kevin Spacey arrives at the Q&A; Screening of "The House Of Cards" at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Netflix says Spacey is out at "House of Cards" after a series of allegations of sexual harassment and assault. Netflix says in a statement... (Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) — Netflix said Friday night that Kevin Spacey will no longer be a part of "House of Cards" and it's cutting all other ties with the actor after a series of allegations of sexual harassment and assault. "Netflix will not be involved with any further production of 'House of Cards' that includes Kevin Spacey," the company said in a statement. Netflix said it will work with the show's production company MRC to evaluate whether it will continue without him. Spacey was nominated for best drama actor Emmy Awards during each of the show's first five seasons, but never won. He played a ruthless politician who ascends to the presidency of the United States. Co-star Robin Wright is also a central player on the show, and it could conceivably continue with a focus on her. Production on the show had already been suspended on Tuesday. Netflix says it also will refuse to release the film "Gore," in which Spacey stars as the writer Gore Vidal and also acted as producer. CNN reported that eight current or former "House of Cards" workers claim that Spacey made the production a "toxic" workplace and one ex-employee alleges the actor sexually assaulted him. Spacey has not been arrested or charged with any crime. His publicist did not immediately return an email message late Friday night seeking comment. A publicist said earlier this week that Spacey is "taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment." The Academy Award-winning actor became ensnared in Hollywood's fast-growing sexual harassment crisis after actor Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey made sexual advances toward him in 1986, when Rapp was 14. Spacey has said he doesn't remember the alleged encounter reported by BuzzFeed News last weekend but apologized if such "drunken behavior" occurred. The story spurred several others to come forward with similar allegations about Spacey. London police are reportedly investigating Spacey for a 2008 sexual assault, British media reported Friday. Police did not identify Spacey by name but said the department's child abuse and sexual offenses unit is investigating the reported assault after it was referred to police earlier this week. Also Friday, Hamilton Fish, publisher of The New Republic, resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. In a company memo shared with The Associated Press, magazine owner Win McCormack wrote that Fish's resignation was effective immediately and that an internal investigation would continue. Fish, who joined The New Republic in 2016, had been placed on leave of absence last week. He is a former publisher

– Netflix said Friday night that Kevin Spacey will no longer be a part of House of Cards and it's cutting all other ties with the actor after a series of allegations of sexual harassment and assault, the AP reports. "Netflix will not be involved with any further production of House of Cards that includes Kevin Spacey," the company said in a statement. Netflix said it will work with the show's production company MRC to evaluate whether it will continue without him; Deadline reports that MRC also said in a statement Friday it has suspended Spacey while its investigation continues, and it will be evaluating a "creative path forward" for House of Cards. Production on the show had already been suspended on Tuesday. Netflix says it also will refuse to release the film Gore, in which Spacey stars as the writer Gore Vidal and also acted as producer. After Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey made sexual advances toward him in 1986, when Rapp was 14, several others to come forward with similar allegations. Eight current or former House of Cards workers claim that Spacey made the production a "toxic" workplace and one ex-employee alleges the actor sexually assaulted him. London police are reportedly investigating Spacey for a 2008 sexual assault, British media reported Friday. Spacey has not been arrested or charged with any crime. His publicist did not immediately return an email message late Friday night seeking comment. A publicist said earlier this week that Spacey is "taking the time necessary to seek evaluation and treatment." Per Deadline, House of Cards was filming the third episode of the not-yet-officially-announced sixth season when production was suspended.

Netflix says it will work with the show's production company MRC to evaluate whether it will continue without him. Production on the show had already been suspended on Tuesday. London police are reportedly investigating Spacey for a 2008 sexual assault. Hamilton Fish, publisher of The New Republic, resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. The Academy Award-winning actor became ensnared in Hollywood's fast-growing sexual harassment crisis after actor Anthony Rapp alleged Spacey made sexual advances toward him in 1986, when Rapp was 14.

A Libyan rebel vehicle drives toward the town as a large explosion, possibly a NATO airstrike, rises above it in Ajdabiya, Libya Saturday, April 9, 2011. NATO officials did not immediately confirm the... (Associated Press) Libyan rebels said NATO airstrikes on Sunday helped them drive Moammar Gadhafi's forces out of a hard-fought eastern city that is the gateway to the opposition's stronghold. Four airstrikes largely stopped what had been heavy shelling of Ajdabiya by government forces, rebel battlefield commander and spokesman Col. Hamid Hassy said. NATO's leader of the operation said the airstrikes destroyed 11 tanks near Ajdabiya and another 14 near Misrata, the only city rebels still hold in the western half of Libya. Hassy said Gadhafi's forces fled the western gate of Ajdabiya and by mid-afternoon had been pushed back about 40 miles (60 kilometers) west of the city. However, sporadic shelling could still be heard around western Ajdabiya. Mohammed Idris, the supervisor of the hospital in Ajdabiya, said 38 people died in the fighting over the weekend, including 20 Gadhafi fighters and three rebels killed Sunday. The main front line in Libya's uprising runs along a highway on the country's northern Mediterranean coast that leads out of the rebels' de facto capital of Benghazi in the opposition-held eastern half of the country and toward the regime's western stronghold in the capital Tripoli. Government forces are trying to regain territory lost to the opposition, which wants to topple Gadhafi after more than four decades in power. The Gadhafi loyalists have been pounding Ajdabiya in their most sustained offensive since being driven back west by international airstrikes last month. If Gadhafi's forces took the city, they would have a clear path to Benghazi, Libya's second largest city about 100 miles (160 kilometers) away along the coast. "If he controls Adjabiya, he makes us feel like we are unsafe because he can move anywhere in the east," Hassy said. The rebels claimed success as South African President Jacob Zuma and the heads of Mali and Mauritania arrive in Tripoli to try to broker a cease-fire. Gadhafi has ignored the cease-fire he announced after western airstrikes were authorized last month, and the government has rejected the rebels' conditions for a stop in fighting. Rebels had been growing critical of NATO, which accidentally hit opposition fighters in deadly airstrikes twice this month. They have complained that the alliance was too slow and imprecise, but Hassy said it is getting better. "To tell you the truth, at first NATO was paralyzed but now they have better movement and are improving," he said. NATO is operating under a U.N. resolution authorizing a no-fly zone airstrikes to protect Libyan civilians. The airstrikes, initially conducted under U.S. leadership, helped knock Gadhafi's forces back just as they were at the doorstep of Benghazi. The commander of the NATO operation, Canadian Lt. Gen. Charles Bouchard, stressed in a NATO statement that the point of the airstrikes was to protect civilians, not to work hand-in-hand with the rebels. "The situation in Ajdabiya, and Misrata in particular, is desperate for those Libyans

– NATO helped to push Moammar Gadhafi’s forces back from the strategic town of Ajdabiya today, with airstrikes hitting killing at least 15 government soldiers. NATO said it destroyed 25 government tanks today, 11 near Ajdabiya and 14 near Misrata, the only rebel-held city in western Libya. Before the airstrikes, Gadhafi’s forces had been attacking both towns, Reuters reports. After complaining about NATO’s slow response, the rebels praised a heightened approach this weekend. The airstrikes appeared to have turned things around for the rebels in Ajdabiya, where they appeared to be losing control until today; the AP notes that Gadhafi’s forces were pushed back about 40 miles. Meanwhile, envoys from the African Union planned talks with Gadhafi starting today, in an attempt to broker a ceasefire. Click for a report that Libya government forces shot down two US-built helicopters today.

Four airstrikes largely stopped what had been heavy shelling of Ajdabiya by government forces. 38 people died in the fighting over the weekend, including 20 Gadhafi fighters and three rebels killed Sunday. The rebels claimed success as South African President Jacob Zuma and the heads of Mali and Mauritania arrive in Tripoli to try to broker a cease-fire. NATO's leader of the operation said the airstrikes destroyed 11 tanks and another 14 near Misrata, the only city rebels still hold in western Libya.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man is accused of impersonating a U.S. senator to avoid paying off his home loan. The U.S. attorney's office in Tampa reports that a grand jury indicted 67-year-old Sidney Hines this week on five counts of impersonating a federal officer or employee. He faces up to 15 years in prison. Court papers say Hines secured a HomeSaver Advance loan of $5,864 for his New Port Richey home in October 2008. Hines reportedly failed to make the payments. Officials say Hines called a collection agency five times between March 2013 and December 2014. He claimed to be a U.S. senator from Illinois identified in the indictment as "R.D." and said Hines' HSA loan had been paid in full. Illinois' senators during that time period were Richard "Dick" Durbin and Mark Kirk. ||||| Sidney C. Hines, 67. Previous jail booking photo TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A New Port Richey man faces federal charges after investigators say he impersonated a U.S. senator when he fell behind on his mortgage payments. Sidney C. Hines, 67, is charged with five counts of false impersonation of a federal officer. Investigators say Hines received a mortgage loan secured by his home in New Port Richey and fell behind on his mortgage payments. Hines participated in the federal HomeSaver Advance (HSA) loan program which allowed delinquent borrowers to continue to make their mortgage paymants and get a loan for the amount they were in arrears. On October 15, 2008, Hines obtained a HSA loan for $5,863.73. Hines failed to make the required payments on his HSA loan and the loan was turned over to ClearSpring Loan Services, a debt collection agency. Beginning in March 2013 and continuing through the end of 2014, investigators say Hines impersonated a sitting United States Senator on multiple occasions in telephone calls that he made to ClearSpring. During those calls, acting as the Senator, he stated that Hines’s HSA loan was paid in full and that the loan should be removed from his credit report. This case was investigated by the United States Capitol Police and the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General and will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor. If convicted, Hines faces a maximum penalty of three years in federal prison for each count. WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW:

– A man's alleged scheme to make officials forget about his outstanding loan not only failed, but could put him behind bars for up to 15 years. Police say Sidney Hines, 67, received a federal HomeSaver Advance loan for about $6,000 in 2008 on his home in New Port Richey, Fla. After he failed to make the necessary payments, however, police say Hines began calling a debt-collection agency pretending to be a senator from Illinois. The indictment identifies the senator as "RD"—likely Richard Durbin, now Senate minority whip—per the AP. He allegedly assured officials that Hines had paid his HSA loan in full and pressed them to remove it from his credit report in numerous calls placed between March 2013 and the end of 2014, per WFLA. US Capitol Police and the Federal Housing Finance Agency eventually caught wind of the scheme. Hines has been charged with five counts of false impersonation of a federal officer and faces up to three years in prison per count. (Donald Trump is accused of impersonating a spokesman.)

Sidney Hines, 67, is charged with five counts of false impersonation of a federal officer. Court papers say Hines secured a HomeSaver Advance loan of $5,864 for his New Port Richey home in October 2008. Hines reportedly failed to make the payments. He claimed to be a U.S. senator from Illinois identified in the indictment as "R.D." Hines faces up to 15 years in prison.

Image copyright PA Image caption Sylvester Stallone spoke about his career which spans four decades Sylvester Stallone has admitted the success of Rocky made him "insufferable" and think he was "an authority on everything". "I abused power badly," the US star told host Jonathan Ross during an on-stage interview at the London Palladium on Saturday. "I read some of the interviews I gave now and wish I could go back and punch myself in the face," he continued. But he added a dismal showing of a later film brought him back to Earth. Stallone had left the set of Rocky II to attend a first-day showing of 1978 drama Paradise Alley, only to find there were just two people in the audience. "And one of them was asleep," he sighed, admitting it had been "a humbling experience" but "a good thing" for him in the long run. Described as An Evening with Sylvester Stallone, the West End event saw the 67-year-old entertain an audience of appreciative fans with anecdotes spanning the breadth of his four-decade career. Billed as Stallone's "first West End debut", the 90-minute interview also saw the star of the Rambo and Expendables films show another side to his macho persona. Bursting into song at one point, he impressed at another by reciting a short passage from Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Stallone is starring with Robert De Niro in boxing comedy Grudge Match The evening climaxed with him being inducted into the London Palladium Hall of Fame - an accolade previously bestowed upon Frank Sinatra, Liza Minnelli and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Discussing the genesis of boxing classic Rocky, Stallone revealed he had been offered up to $300,000 - "a million dollars today" - to let the film be made with another lead. The Italian-American said it had been a "crossroads moment" in his life, but that he knew he would have "hated" himself had he not stuck to his guns. The uplifting tale of a lowly debt collector who gets a shot at the world heavyweight title became a box office smash, going on to win three Academy Awards. Five sequels followed, starting with Rocky II in 1979 and culminating with 2006's Rocky Balboa - which Stallone said was "unquestionably" his favourite. The actor may reprise his signature role in Creed, a spin-off film that would see the older Balboa train the grandson of a former adversary. "People think it's Rocky VII but it's not," he said, adding it would be "a very interesting challenge" to revive the character in a different guise. Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Stallone wrote, directed and starred in 1978's Paradise Alley The actor's John Rambo character, introduced in 1982's First Blood, has enjoyed similar longevity, going on to appear in three more movies. On Saturday, however, Stallone said the series had "maybe run its course", joking that he would only consider reviving his celebrated commando character if he could be a security guard in Las Vegas. Moving on to his fellow action leads, Stallone expressed admiration

– Sylvester Stallone was inducted into the London Palladium Hall of Fame Saturday night, but before that, he gave a revealing Q&A to Jonathan Ross. His best quotes, courtesy of the BBC and Digital Spy: On Rocky: The film's success made him "insufferable," and he started acting like he was "an authority on everything," Stallone admitted. "I abused power badly," he said. "I read some of the interviews I gave now and wish I could go back and punch myself in the face." On Rambo: The 67-year-old is set to play Rocky Balboa again, but as for another Rambo film, he said it would only happen if he could play the late-in-life commando character as a Las Vegas security guard. On Arnold Schwarzenegger: He admitted he and his fellow action hero and Expendables co-star "hated each other" at the height of their careers—"but in a good way. You want to look for an adversary that makes you get up in the morning and give it all and leave nothing on the table." On his life's "crossroads moment": Basically unknown and broke, Stallone was offered $300,000 ("a million dollars today," he said) to allow Rocky, which he wrote, to be made with someone else in the lead role. He said he would have "hated" himself had he agreed.

Sylvester Stallone spoke to Jonathan Ross at the London Palladium on Saturday. The 67-year-old said the success of Rocky made him "insufferable" Stallone said he was offered $300,000 to let the film be made with another lead. The actor may reprise his signature role in Creed, a spin-off film. He joked that he would only consider reviving his Rambo character if he could be a security guard in Las Vegas. He was also inducted into the Palladium Hall of Fame.

LONDON -- Candidates from Britain's two traditional parties sought to recapture the momentum from a surging challenger Thursday night, accusing him of being "anti-American" and "a risk" to national security in the second of three historic prime-time debates. The U.S.-style television debates -- introduced this year in Britain -- have upended the closest prime minister's race in decades, giving a sudden boost to Nicholas Clegg of the perennially third-place Liberal Democrats. But Clegg was less dominant Thursday night in the western port city of Bristol, as the longtime front-runner David Cameron of the Conservative Party exuded a passion noticeably absent in the first debate. Snap polls showed Clegg running away with last week's debate, but all three men scored close in the second round. Different polls each declared Clegg and Cameron the winner. Prime Minister Gordon Brown of the Labor Party also improved on last week's numbers but at times seemed brusque and bulldozing. With the race shaping up as a showdown between Cameron and Clegg, Brown appeared to struggle to score points. Aware of his personal unpopularity, he at one point begged voters to vote for his Labor Party whether they liked him "or not." Although the debate was straight out of American political playbooks, it also showcased British frankness at its best. The contest centered largely on foreign policy, with differences engagingly stated and laced with spicy one-liners. Discussing the need for Britain to join closer with Europe, Clegg said, "To quote a phrase, size does matter." The debates appear set to shape the outcome of the May 6 vote more than anyone here ever imagined, analysts say. "We honestly thought the debates would be static, that people wouldn't think them the least bit interesting," said Tony Travers, a political analyst at the London School of Economics. "But now, we see them in action, interacting like this, and this has shown itself to be a form of political combat that is interestingly revealing, from their smiles to the way they stand." And their answers, too. In perhaps the liveliest exchange, over Britain's future role in Europe, the three men offered starkly different visions. Cameron flashed his distrust of the Continent and the European Union bureaucracy based in Brussels, saying, "We have let too many powers go from Westminster to Brussels . . . we should take some of those powers back." Both Brown and Cameron assailed Clegg as reckless for seeking to mothball Britain's Trident sea-based nuclear deterrent. Brown went as far as calling Clegg "anti-American" for his recent comments describing Britain's "special relationship" with the United States as a case of "slavish" devotion. Clegg offered a harsh critique of the Iraq war, suggesting that Britain's joint mission with the United States had made it complicit in torture. But he rebutted the notion that he was anti-American, arguing that strong ties with Washington and an independent Britain were not mutually exclusive. After last week's debate, Clegg jumped more than 10 percentage points in opinion polls, taking the lead in at least two published Tuesday. Another released Thursday, however, put Cameron

– The third-party candidate who upended Britain's political landscape with a runaway victory in last week's election debate won by a narrower margin as the party leaders clashed again last night, according to polls. In a debate focused on foreign policy, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg came under fire from both David Cameron and Gordon Brown for his plan to scrap Britain's nuclear deterrent, reports the Washington Post. Brown and Cameron clashed over immigration, the European Union, and the military. Clegg sharply criticized the Iraq war, while firmly denying accusations that he is anti-American. A third of viewers believed Clegg won the debate while the Labour and Conservative leaders were tied on 29% each, according to a Guardian poll. The leaders will debate once more before Britain votes on May 6.

NEW: Candidates accuse each other of being "anti-American" and "a risk" to national security. NEW: All three men score close in the second round of the U.S.-style debates. NEW : The contest centered largely on foreign policy, with differences engagingly stated. The debates appear set to shape the outcome of the May 6 vote more than anyone ever imagined, analysts say."To quote a phrase, size does matter," says Nicholas Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats.

Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more ||||| United Airlines planes at San Francisco International Airport on July 25, 2013. (Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images) CLOSE #NewUnitedAirlinesMottos trends on Twitter after the disturbing video of a man being dragged out of United's overbooked flight. The suggestions are savage. USA TODAY Social media was on fire Monday after a video showed the type of hair-raising drama that you’d only expect to see in a horror film. There was blood, screaming and gasps of disbelief. But this wasn't fiction — this was a man being dragged off of a United plane at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport before the flight took off for Louisville. As the Courier-Journal originally reported, a 31-second video posted on Facebook by Audra D. Bridges on Sunday night shows three men wearing radio equipment and security jackets speaking with a passenger seated on the plane. After a few seconds, one of the men grabs the passenger, who screams, and drags him by his arms toward the front of the plane. More Flight 3411 coverage ►Experts: United bungled removal of passenger ►How often do airlines bump passengers? ►A timeline of United Flight 3411 ►United Airlines was just plain wrong | Joseph Gerth ►United’s stock price down after dragging incident ►Who's the worst for bumping passengers? ►Male High teacher aboard United flight: ‘This didn’t need to happen’ ►David Dao, passenger removed from United flight, now in spotlight ►Jimmy Kimmel rips United with fake ad ►United Airlines video has already become a meme ►Jeff Ruby offers United passenger free steak ►United's fiasco prompts apology, suspension ►United Airlines video has already become a meme ►Security officer placed on leave after United flight incident ►United CEO says passenger dragged from plane was 'an upsetting event' ►Social media explodes after man dragged from plane ►United Airlines had a right to remove that flier. But, was there a better way? You can just imagine the social media rage: @JayseDavid posted a similar video capturing the incident on Twitter, showing a man hanging limp as his body is dragged down the aisle, with blood pouring out of his mouth. In the clip, some airline passengers yell, “He busted his lip!” and “This is horrible." Some referred to the airline as “freakin heartless monsters,” that “treat people like cows.” A landslide of Facebook comments and tweets suggest that many are not entertaining the airline's apology to pluck a paying customer, claiming to be a doctor trying to get home to his patients, off of their aircraft: So @united is basically saying; "We asked for volunteers and no one said yes, so we called the cops." #6 — Anonymous (@USAnonymous) April 10, 2017 "So @united is basically saying; 'We asked for volunteers and no one said yes, so we called the cops.' #6" @united@EPCoan Did you also apologize to the man you beat before or after he was knocked

– United Airlines CEO Oscar Munoz says employees had "no choice" but to call security officers and have a man dragged screaming off a plane because a crew member needed his seat on the overbooked flight. In a letter to United staff, seen by ABC, Munoz describes the incident in Chicago Sunday as "upsetting," but says employees followed correct procedures in dealing with the "disruptive and belligerent" passenger, who refused to get off the plane when told he had been randomly selected to lose his seat. Munoz may have made his airline's PR nightmare even worse with his attempt to excuse the treatment seen in disturbing video of the incident, the Los Angeles Times notes. In an earlier statement, Munoz apologized only for "having to re-accommodate these customers." In other developments: The officer who forcibly removed the 69-year-old passenger from the flight to Louisville has been suspended pending an investigation, TMZ reports. "The actions of the aviation security officer are obviously not condoned by the Department," the Chicago Department of Aviation said. The Department of Transportation tells Business Insider that it is reviewing the incident. "While it is legal for airlines to involuntary (sic) bump passengers from an oversold flight when there are not enough volunteers, it is the airline's responsibility to determine its own fair boarding priorities," the department said in a statement. The Louisville Courier-Journal reports that social media "exploded" with criticism of United on Monday, especially after the CEO's statements. "Couldn't overbooking be addressed at check in/the gate instead of letting too many people on the plane and then dragging them off," one user tweeted at the airline. A source tells the Courier-Journal that the name of the passenger, who said he was a doctor with patients to treat the next morning, is David Dao. He reportedly sought hospital treatment after the incident. United says it is trying to reach out to him. Slate describes the incident as a "symptom of the airlines' ridiculous overbooking system" and explains how it got to this point. The Independent reports that Jimmy Kimmel was one of many late-night hosts and other celebrities slamming United. "I've been to 100 games in stadiums with 50,000 seats, they never sell the seat two times to one person, but for some reason, airlines cannot figure this out," he said. Eric Schiffer of Reputation Management Consultants says United may have committed "brand genocide" with the "gruesome, epic-scale" PR disaster, the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is everything that you learn as a brander as to what not to do," he says.

#NewUnitedAirlinesMottos trends on Twitter after the disturbing video of a man being dragged out of United's overbooked flight. A 31-second video posted on Facebook by Audra D. Bridges on Sunday night shows three men wearing radio equipment and security jackets speaking with a passenger. After a few seconds, one of the men grabs the passenger, who screams, and drags him by his arms toward the front of the plane. In the clip, some airline passengers yell, “He busted his lip!” and “This is horrible."

Image copyright EPA Image caption Nine babies were found in a Bangkok flat in 2014 A Bangkok court has awarded paternity rights to a Japanese man over 13 babies he fathered through Thai surrogate mothers. The ruling allows Mitsutoki Shigeta, 28, to pursue custody of the children. The son of a wealthy entrepreneur, he caused controversy in 2014 when he was revealed to have fathered at least 16 babies via surrogates in Thailand. His so-called "baby factory" case and others led to Thailand banning commercial surrogacy for foreigners. Mr Shigeta, who was not present at the trial, was awarded "sole parent" rights after the Thai surrogates forfeited their rights, according to the court, which did not name him. "For the happiness and opportunities which the 13 children will receive from their biological father, who does not have a history of bad behaviour, the court rules that all 13 born from surrogacy to be legal children of the plaintiff," Bangkok's Central Juvenile Court said in a statement. Mr Shigeta was awarded custody of his three other children in 2015. In 2014, he was investigated by Interpol for human trafficking after it emerged he had fathered 16 surrogate children in Thailand. His Bangkok apartment was raided and police found nine surrogate babies, nannies and a pregnant surrogate mother there. He left Thailand soon after, but later sued the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security for custody of the children. You may also like: 'He wanted a very large family' By Jonathan Head, BBC News, South East Asia correspondent When a blurred airport security photo was published, more than three years ago, of Mitsutoki Shigeta, holding an infant as he left Thailand, there was fevered speculation over his motives for siring so many children with surrogate mothers. Some of the children had already been taken to Cambodia, and the Thai police began investigating him for possible human trafficking. But his lawyer insisted he simply wanted a very large family, and that as the son of a wealthy Japanese entrepreneur he was able to look after them properly. A court in Bangkok has now accepted that explanation: Thai officials told the court they had travelled to Cambodia and Japan, and found he had enough carers and facilities to bring up the 13 children who are still in state care in Thailand. What is known about the father? Few details are known about the background of Mr Shigeta. According to Japanese media, he is the son of an IT billionaire and paid between $9,300 (£6,600) and $12,500 to each of the surrogate mothers. Thai media says Mr Shigeta is unmarried, owns several companies himself and has already made plans for the future of his children, including setting up trust funds for them. After leaving Thailand four years ago, he was thought to have moved to Hong Kong and currently lives in Japan again. Media reports also suggest he might have travelled to India and Ukraine to father children there. Gradual transfer of custody The 13 children will not immediately be transferred into Mr Shigeta's custody. His

– The son of a Japanese IT billionaire reportedly wanted a big family and set out to get it via surrogate. Now, Mitsutoki Shigeta, 28, is about to gain custody of all 16 kids he is known to have fathered via Thai surrogate mothers. The BBC explains Shigeta grabbed headlines in 2014 when his Bangkok apartment was raided, turning up a "baby factory"—nine babies, a pregnant surrogate, and 24-hour nannies—over fears of a human trafficking operation. The truth, argued his lawyer, was just that Shigeta wanted plenty of kids and had the means to do so (the AP reports he earns at least $3 million a year via stock holdings); and so they sued for custody. A Thai court on Tuesday agreed with that premise, after hearing from Thai officials who traveled abroad to verify he had sufficient resources to raise the 13 children in the country's custody. Shigeta secured custody of the three other kids in 2015, and media reports say it's possible he has fathered even more children in other locations. (The AFP suggests there are at least 19 kids.) He reportedly bought land next to a Tokyo park on which to raise them and has opened trust funds for them. "For the happiness and opportunities which the 13 children will receive from their biological father, who does not have a history of bad behavior, the court rules that all 13 born from surrogacy to be legal children of the plaintiff," read a court statement. The BBC notes the Thai surrogates gave up any rights to the children. The children, most around age 4, will not immediately enter his custody but will be transferred gradually out of foster care. Shigeta's case helped prompt a 2015 law that bars foreigners from paying for Thai surrogates.

Mitsutoki Shigeta, 28, was investigated by Interpol for human trafficking. He was revealed to have fathered at least 16 babies via surrogates in Thailand. His so-called "baby factory" case and others led to Thailand banning commercial surrogacy. Thai court rules that all 13 born from surrogacy to be legal children of the plaintiff. The 13 children will not immediately be transferred into Mr ShigETA's custody. His 13 children are still in state care in Thailand; he has three other children.

Donald Trump Donald John TrumpAccuser says Trump should be afraid of the truth Woman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Shulkin says he has White House approval to root out 'subversion' at VA MORE on Wednesday said he wanted to "get on with the campaign" when he announced last week that he had moved past conspiracy theories about President Obama's birthplace. ADVERTISEMENT When asked what made him change his mind about Obama's birthplace in an interview with Ohio's Fox 28 , the Republican nominee replied that he wanted to focus on the real issues of the campaign."Well I just wanted to get on with, I wanted to get on with the campaign. A lot of people were asking me questions," he said. "We want to talk about jobs. We want to talk about the military. We want to talk about ISIS and get rid of ISIS. We want to talk about bringing jobs back to this area because you've been decimated so we just wanted to get back on the subject of jobs, military, taking care of our vets, etc."Trump last week gave a very short speech announcing that he believes President Obama was born in the U.S., a reversal from his long-running "birtherism" campaign. “Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonWoman behind pro-Trump Facebook page denies being influenced by Russians Trump: CNN, MSNBC 'got scammed' into covering Russian-organized rally Pennsylvania Democrats set to win big with new district map MORE in her campaign of 2008 started the 'birther' controversy. I finished it,” Trump said. “President Barack Obama Barack Hussein ObamaOvernight Energy: Dems ask Pruitt to justify first-class travel | Obama EPA chief says reg rollback won't stand | Ex-adviser expects Trump to eventually rejoin Paris accord Overnight Regulation: Trump to take steps to ban bump stocks | Trump eases rules on insurance sold outside of ObamaCare | FCC to officially rescind net neutrality Thursday | Obama EPA chief: Reg rollback won't stand Ex-US ambassador: Mueller is the one who is tough on Russia MORE was born in the United States, period. Now we all want to get back to making America strong and great again.” ||||| Democrat Hillary Clinton has maintained her lead over Republican Donald Trump, according to a new WSJ/NBC News poll out Wednesday. WSJ's Gerald F. Seib discusses the poll and what it will take to shake up the numbers. Photo: AP Hillary Clinton is maintaining her edge over Republican rival Donald Trump despite recent campaign setbacks, but the 2016 presidential race continues to tighten going into the homestretch, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found. After a rocky week of controversy over her health and for calling some of Mr. Trump’s supporters “deplorables,” the Democratic nominee leads Mr. Trump by 6 percentage points, 43% to 37%, among people likely to vote, the survey found. Two third-party candidates drew 12% support. ... ||||| CLEVELAND — Donald Trump campaigned Wednesday morning in a church in a historically African-American community and sold himself as the candidate who could fix the problems of urban America. Within hours,

– Donald Trump made what Politico calls a "puzzling pitch" to black voters Wednesday with a call to use the controversial "stop and frisk" tactic to reduce crime in cities across America. The practice involves officers stopping and questioning pedestrians before frisking them for drugs or weapons. "We did it in New York, it worked incredibly well," Trump told Fox's Sean Hannity during a town hall event on black issues, though a federal judge found in 2013 that the NYPD's use of the tactic was unconstitutional and was used to illegally target minorities. A roundup of coverage: The New York Times reports that the tactic has caused tension between police and black residents of cities where it's used, and that black leaders slammed both Trump's endorsement of stop-and-frisk and his apparent failure to realize that rolling out the tactic nationwide is beyond the president's constitutional powers. The Guardian reports that Trump also addressed Friday's police shooting of unarmed black man Terence Crutcher in Tulsa, Okla., saying officer Betty Shelby might have "choked." "He was walking, his hands were high, he was walking to the car, he put the hands on the car—now maybe she choked, something really bad happened," Trump said. People reports that Trump was introduced at an event at a black church in Cleveland by boxing promoter Don King, who said the n-word while introducing him before correcting it to "Negro." Hillary Clinton is 6 points ahead of Trump among likely voters, according to the latest NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. The poll found that Clinton has a 43% to 37% lead despite the fact that most voters view her negatively. Some 44% of Clinton voters said their main motivation was voting against Trump—and 51% of Trump voters said they were mainly voting against Clinton. The AP notes that according to a report from the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget released Wednesday, Trump's tax proposals would add a whopping $5.3 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade. Clinton's would add $200 billion. When asked by an interviewer Wednesday why he had changed his mind about being a "birther," Trump said he wanted to "get on with the campaign" and talk about issues like ISIS, jobs, and the military instead of President Obama's birthplace, the Hill reports.

Donald Trump said he wanted to "get on with the campaign" when he announced last week that he had moved past conspiracy theories about President Obama's birthplace. Trump last week gave a very short speech announcing that he believes President Obama was born in the U.S., a reversal from his long-running "birtherism" campaign. Hillary Clinton is maintaining her edge over Republican rival Donald Trump despite recent campaign setbacks, but the 2016 presidential race continues to tighten going into the homestretch, a new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll has found. After a rocky week of controversy over her health and for calling some of Mr. Trump’s supporters “deplorables,” the Democratic nominee leads Mr.

Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday rejected the word "war" as a description for the U.S. fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and he said people should not "get into war fever" over the conflict. "We're engaged in a major counterterrorism operation, and it's going to be a long-term counterterrorism operation. I think war is the wrong terminology and analogy but the fact is that we are engaged in a very significant global effort to curb terrorist activity," Kerry told CBS News State Department Correspondent Margaret Brennan in an interview from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he is traveling as part of American effort to build a global coalition to battle ISIS. "I don't think people need to get into war fever on this. I think they have to view it as a heightened level of counter terrorist activity...but it's not dissimilar to what we've been doing the last few years with al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan and in Yemen and elsewhere," Kerry said. In a primetime speech Wednesday night, President Obama announced his plans to increase U.S. airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and to go after the militants in Syria as well. Previously, airstrikes were reserved for humanitarian aid and protecting American assets in Iraq. Senior administration officials likened the campaign to the counterterrorism strategy the U.S. has employed in Somalia and Yemen over the past several years to continue decimating leadership within al Qaeda. While the president has said the objective is to "degrade, and ultimately destroy" ISIS, Kerry said that success will not merely be measured by how many of its leaders are taken off the battlefield through airstrikes. "You have to begin by taking back territory in Iraq. You have to deny them the capacity to own an entire village that belongs to Iraq or a town or a city," Kerry said. "ISIL will be very isolated and there are other means that will be brought to apply to them both there and Syria, elsewhere, that will diminish their ability to be able to threaten the United States, Europe, the region and particularly Iraq," he added, using another acronym for the group. Although Mr. Obama is seeking additional authorization from Congress to train moderate Syrian rebels in Saudi Arabia and other partner nations, Kerry said that is the "next echelon" and that the U.S. has already been involved with training operations. "That's not different from what we've been doing for the last couple of years except that it will happen to a greater degree and with greater intensity," he said. He also pushed back on the notion that the U.S. will be supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad by helping the rebels fight ISIS. Kerry said Assad's claims that he, too, is fighting the militant group is "fraud." "He's not fighting ISIL," Kerry said. "In fact, there's major headquarters of ISIL that sits in a number of major places evident to everybody... and he's never taken them on." ||||| Story highlights Strategy has "things that one doesn't think of normally in

– The White House seems a little off on its talking points about the military strategy against ISIS. President Obama consistently says the goal is to "degrade" and "destroy" the group. But does that mean we're at war? White House spokesman Josh Earnest thinks so, reports the Hill: “In the same way that we are at war with al-Qaeda and its affiliates around the globe, we are at war with ISIL,” he says, using an alternate acronym. As does Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby: It's "not the Iraq war," but "make no mistake, we know we are at war with ISIL." But Secretary of State John Kerry? He seemed to be going out of his way to avoid that three-letter word yesterday: "We're engaged in a major counterterrorism operation," he told CBS News. "I think war is the wrong terminology and analogy, but the fact is that we are engaged in a very significant global effort to curb terrorist activity." He added, "I don't think people need to get into war fever on this. I think they have to view it as a heightened level of counter terrorist activity." And to CNN: "What we are doing is engaging in a very significant counterterrorism operation. It's going to go on for some period of time. If somebody wants to think about it as being a war with ISIL, they can do so, but the fact is it's a major counterterrorism operation that will have many different moving parts." As the Wire sums up, Earnest seems to have deliberately trumped Kerry on semantics by "repeatedly invoking the W-word" in his briefing, though, crucially, he framed it as a continuation of the war that President Bush waged against al-Qaeda. Congress gave Bush the OK for military force back then, and the White House argues that the approval of 13 years ago still applies to the fight against ISIS.

Secretary of State John Kerry says the U.S. is engaged in a "major counterterrorism operation" He says people should not "get into war fever" over the fight against ISIS. Obama announced plans to increase airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria on Wednesday. Kerry says success will not be measured by how many ISIS leaders are taken off the battlefield through airstrikes. He also pushed back on the notion that the United States will be supporting the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad by helping the rebels fight ISIS. "He's not fighting ISIL," Kerry said.

ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A woman described as a "sharpshooter" was sentenced to 18 months of probation Wednesday for firing a gun at the getaway car as suspected shoplifters fled a Home Depot in suburban Detroit. FILE - In this undated file photo provided by the Auburn Hills, Mich., Police Department, Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez is shown. The woman described as a "sharpshooter" was sentenced to 18 months of probation... (Associated Press) Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, who was licensed to carry a concealed weapon, said she heard a scream and feared the incident was worse than a theft. She acknowledged the shooting in the parking lot was a mistake. "I made a decision in a split second," the 46-year-old Clarkston woman told a judge. "Maybe it was not the right one, but I was trying to help." Her gunfire flattened a tire on the thieves' SUV on Oct. 6 at a Home Depot in Auburn Hills. No one was hurt. Duva-Rodriguez pleaded no-contest to reckless discharge of a firearm. The suspects were captured a few days later and charged. "I don't believe any malice was involved in what you were doing, but I believe you have to think about what could have happened," Judge Julie Nicholson said. Duva-Rodriguez' permit to carry a concealed weapon is revoked until at least 2023. Defense attorney Steven Lyle Schwartz said she's a "sharpshooter." "We need more people like Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez in our society," he said. ||||| Woman gets 18 months probation for shooting at shoplifters Local News Woman gets 18 months probation for shooting at shoplifters The woman who shot at two alleged shoplifters outside a Home Depot in Auburn Hills was sentenced to 18 months' probation Wednesday. - The woman who shot at two alleged shoplifters outside a Home Depot in Auburn Hills was sentenced to 18 months' probation Wednesday. Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, 46, pleaded no contest shortly after the incident in October. Police say a man pushed a cart full of unpaid merchandise out of the Home Depot store on Joslyn Road and got into a dark-colored SUV. Prosecutors say Duva-Rodriguez tried to intervene and stop the suspects by shooting at their tires. Police believe the shots flattened a tire. Nobody was hurt in the shooting. Duva-Rodriguez, who had a concealed pistol license, says she learned her lesson. "I tried to help, and I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again," she told the media afterwards. "She's there to help; saw something happening; thought it was serious; pulled her gun. She didn't want to hurt anybody. We didn't know that there were any people in the parking lot, other than this person that was driving away this vehicle. She didn't shoot it in the air; she didn't shoot it at the window, at the windshield. She fired at the tires," her lawyer, Steven Schwartz, added. In addition to 18-months probation, Duva-Rodriguez also can not apply for a gun permit for the next eight years. The man suspected in the shoplifting and his getaway driver have been found, arrested and charged. You can read more about

– A woman who shot at two shoplifters outside a Detroit Home Depot back in October was sentenced to 18 months of probation and had her concealed gun permit taken away on Wednesday, the Chicago Tribune reports. "I don't believe any malice was involved in what you were doing, but I believe you have to think about what could have happened," a judge told 46-year-old Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez. But that wasn't quite Duva-Rodriguez's takeaway. "I tried to help, and I learned my lesson that I will never help anybody again," she tells Fox 2 Detroit. She pleaded no contest to a charge of reckless use of a handgun and won't be eligible for another concealed gun permit until at least 2023, the Tribune reports. Duva-Rodriguez faced criticism from all sides after firing multiple rounds outside the store, the Tribune reports. Gun experts told her she was lucky she didn't kill anyone in a busy parking lot, and prosecutors called her actions "disturbing." But her lawyer—who described her as a "sharpshooter"—points out she was only shooting at the tires on the suspects' getaway car and even managed to flatten one, according to the AP. "We need more people like Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez in our society," he says. It seems a growing number of Americans agree. The Tribune reports 56% of US residents believe the country would be safer if more people carried a gun. And the number of people with concealed carry permits has nearly tripled in the past eight years.

Tatiana Duva-Rodriguez, 46, pleaded no contest shortly after the incident in October. Her gunfire flattened a tire on the thieves' SUV on Oct. 6 at a Home Depot in Auburn Hills. "I made a decision in a split second," the 46-year-old Clarkston woman told a judge. "Maybe it was not the right one, but I was trying to help," she told the court. The man suspected in the shoplifting and his getaway driver have been found, arrested and charged.

For fiscal 2012, J. C. Penney lost more than $4 billion in sales as traffic declined. Its stock now trades at $14.55, less than half of its price when Mr. Johnson’s appointment was announced in June 2011. It had $13 billion in sales for fiscal 2012, well below its competitors Macy’s and Kohl’s. Mr. Johnson had earned $53.3 million in total compensation in 2011 for the two months he served as chief executive. Most of the compensation was in stock to replace the stock he left behind at Apple, his former employer. In 2012, his total compensation was reduced to a $1.5 million salary, with no stock awards and no bonus. He was given about $345,000 for personal use of a corporate aircraft, $30,000 for a home security system, and $3,000 for information technology services, for a total of about $1.9 million. Photo According to the filing, Mr. Johnson’s target cash compensation was $3,375,000. “There are a bunch of goose eggs there in every category except the one in perks, which is still limited,” Mr. Hughes said, adding that it was unusual for a chief executive who had been on board a short time to have such a low salary. While corporate governance advocates might object to the use of the aircraft, “it’s really the only thing he’s got, other than a small-by-modern-C.E.O.-standards cash salary,” he said. Retail chief executives generally receive higher compensation than Mr. Johnson. At Kohl’s, which had a tough year, the chief executive Kevin Mansell received $7.8 million in compensation in 2012, about 80 percent of what he’d received the previous year, when Kohl’s posted better results. And Mr. Johnson’s predecessor at Penney, Myron E. Ullman III, received $13.1 million in compensation in 2010, his last full year as chief executive. Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters. Michael W. Kramer, whom Mr. Johnson brought in as chief operating officer, received $33.4 million in total compensation in 2011. He received a little over $1 million in 2012. And the chief talent officer, Daniel E. Walker, another of Mr. Johnson’s hires, who was given $20.2 million in 2011, in 2012 walked away with $731,385. Only the two veterans among the top executives had compensation within similar ranges in 2011 and 2012. Michael P. Dastugue, the former chief financial officer who left in April 2012, got $3.1 million in 2012, and $4.3 million in 2011. Janet L. Dhillon, the general counsel, received $3.7 million in 2011, and $2.7 million in 2012. But across the board, not a single bonus or nonstock incentive award was given to top executives in 2012. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Compensation experts said the board had reacted properly to the company’s dismal performance.

– Let's just say Ron Johnson's 2012 was not quite as good as his 2011. The JC Penney CEO worked just two months in 2011 and got $53.3 million for his troubles, the vast majority of it in stock; but last year his compensation was slashed a staggering 96%, reports the New York Times. He walked away from 2012 having made $1.9 million in pay and perks, per yesterday's regulatory filing: a $1.5 million salary, with the rest representing personal travel on corporate aircraft (his work commute takes him from California to Texas) and security at his home. Oh, and no bonus, USA Today reports. Though the drop is a big one, the news isn't exactly a big shock: The retailer is struggling mightily and posted $1 billion operating loss for the year, with shares dropping 44%; they're off 26% this year. "The company underwent tremendous change as we began shifting our business model from a promotional department store to a specialty department store," reads yesterday's filing. "Fiscal 2012 was tougher than expected." Click for more on JC Penney's "disastrous" year.

Mr. Johnson had earned $53.3 million in total compensation in 2011 for the two months he served as chief executive. In 2012, his total compensation was reduced to a $1.5 million salary, with no stock awards and no bonus. For fiscal 2012, J. C. Penney lost more than $4 billion in sales as traffic declined. Its stock now trades at $14.55, less than half of its price when Mr. Johnson’s appointment was announced in June 2011.

It's officially awards season and Stephen Colbert is taking out "For Your Consideration" ads, but not for your average awards show. Following President Trump's tweet Tuesday announcing that he would hold "the most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year" next week, the host of CBS' "The Late Show" said that he took out a billboard in order to not get "snubbed" for the awards. "Personally I'm excited for the most dishonest and corrupt media awards of the year or as we call them in the biz, 'The Fakies,'" Colbert said on Wednesday night's broadcast. "Because nothing gives you more credibility than Donald Trump calling you a liar." Colbert told his audience that he actually placed a "For Your Consideration" billboard in Times Square, or as Colbert called it "The failing New York Times Square." "I'm hoping to be nominated in all categories," the host added, and suggested categories like "Outstanding Achievement In Parroting George Soros' Talking Points," "Least Breitbarty" and "The Eric Trump Memorial Award For Disappointment." The ad, which Colbert also posted on his Twitter account, had blurbs from Sean Hannity, Twitter and Trump himself who was quoted on the ad saying that Colbert is a "no-talent guy." So excited for Monday's "MOST DISHONEST & CORRUPT MEDIA AWARDS OF THE YEAR!" See you on the red carpet, @AndersonCooper! #TheFakies pic.twitter.com/r8pYCj0g9r — Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) January 4, 2018 On Tuesday, Trump tweeted that he would be announcing the awards on "Monday at 5:00 o'clock" and that "Subjects will cover Dishonesty & Bad Reporting in various categories from the Fake News Media." "Sunday is the Golden Globes. I'm not nominated don't watch," Colbert said. "But on Monday there's an awards show everyone's going to be glued to." ||||| Tweet with a location You can add location information to your Tweets, such as your city or precise location, from the web and via third-party applications. You always have the option to delete your Tweet location history. Learn more

– "Nothing gives you more credibility than Donald Trump calling you a liar," says Stephen Colbert, explaining why he's campaigning hard to be crowned the King of Fake News. Responding to President Trump’s announcement Tuesday of the "most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year," Colbert told a Late Night audience Wednesday he's erected a "for your consideration" billboard in Times Square, reports CNN. Among the imaginary "Fakies" categories in which he hopes to be recognized: "Least Breitbarty," "Smallest Button," and "The Eric Trump Memorial Award for Disappointment." Trump's awards are slated for 5pm ET Monday.

Stephen Colbert took out a "For Your Consideration" billboard in Times Square. President Trump announced he would hold "the most dishonest & corrupt media awards of the year" Colbert suggested categories like "Least Breitbarty" and "The Eric Trump Memorial Award For Disappointment" The ad, which Colbert also posted on his Twitter account, had blurbs from Sean Hannity.

With celebrities like Tim Gunn calling out the fashion industry for failing to cater to women of all sizes, Meijer is making some changes. Tuesday, Nov. 1, the retailer announced the plus-size departments in all stores across the Midwest will be integrated into missy and women’s -- placing straight and extended sizes on one rack. According to a press release, Meijer "is proud to create a shopping experience based on trends, not size." “Over the past few years, we’ve placed an increased focus on bringing more on-trend, affordable apparel to our customers,” said Peter Whitsett, executive vice president of merchandising and marketing in the release. “This fresh approach to shopping represents a continuation of that commitment, giving our customers the trends they’re looking for, regardless of what size they wear.” As part of this change, Meijer is also rolling out equal pricing for all women’s apparel items, no longer charging more for plus sizes despite the higher production costs. There are no plans to raise existing clothing prices. This shopping experience is currently available in 15 Meijer stores. Customers will see a full roll-out to all 230 stores by early 2017. ||||| WALKER, MI - Meijer Inc. is showing its commitment to plus-size apparel by getting rid of the plus-size department, and putting all clothing on the same rack. The Michigan-based retailer says all women's clothing, regardless of size, will be in one location. The clothing, sizes XS through 3X, will also be at the same price, even if that means Meijer pays higher production costs for the larger sizes. "It's a big deal for our customers," said Annette Repasch, the retailer's group vice president of softlines, which includes clothing. "We are giving them trends of what they are looking for, regardless of size." The approach of same sizes, same place, same price is revolutionary in the retail business, Repasch said. "We are looking to see how it goes and are willing to pioneer it," she said. The new policy is for both Meijer brands, such as Falls Creek, Massini and MTA, as well as major label brands carried by the retailer and its competitors. Another benefit of combining all sizes into one department is that it frees up floor space for more apparel options, the company said. Meijer began experimenting with the new approach in June at 15 stores, and will roll out the new configuration to all of its 230 Midwest stores by early 2017. The decision comes as the average American woman now wears a size 16 to 18, motivating retailers to improve their plus-size clothing options, reports the Wall Street Journal.

– One retailer believes it's found a way to ease the stigma felt by certain shoppers while at the same time improving sales. The Wall Street Journal reports Meijer will be desegregating its plus-size clothing in its 230 stores by early 2017. Most stores keep their plus-size sections out of the way and don't offer plus-size clothing in as many styles. That will no longer be the case at Meijer. WZZM quotes Meijer executive Peter Whitsett, who says the change gives "our customers the trends they're looking for, regardless of what size they wear." Meijer will now have all its clothes, from XS to XXXL, on the same racks. It also won't charge more for larger sizes. The change means Meijer will have to eat the extra cost of plus-size clothing, something the company says is worth it. "It's a big deal for our customers," Mlive.com quotes Meijer executive Annette Repasch as saying. "We are giving them trends of what they are looking for, regardless of size." Sales of plus-size clothing are growing twice as fast as any other clothing segment. It's estimated that sales of plus-size clothing will be up 17% this year from 2013. It's also estimated that 34% of teens will buy plus-size clothing this year—nearly double what it was in 2012. (Amy Schumer says a magazine sent the wrong message by labeling her plus-size.)

Meijer Inc. is putting straight and extended sizes on one rack. All women's clothing, regardless of size, will be in one location. Clothing, sizes XS through 3X, will also be at the same price, even if that means Meijer pays higher production costs for the larger sizes. Customers will see a full roll-out to all 230 stores in the Midwest by early 2017. "It's a big deal for our customers," said Annette Repasch, the retailer's group vice president of softlines.

60-Day Return Policy - (details) Description: Modeled after the Pro Cut jersey silhouette, the NFL� replica Tim Tebow white jersey from Reebok� displays screenprinted team wordmarks, logos, sleeve details, and player's name and number. Don't see your size? Try our customized replica jersey! Features Colors: 100% 5-oz nylon diamond-back mesh body and nylon dazzle sleeves/yoke/side inserts White: 100% 5-oz polyester diamond-back mesh body and polyester dazzle sleeves/yoke/side inserts Collar: 100% 8.6-oz polyester flat-knit rib Engineered Stripe-Knit Inserts (select teams): 100% 8.6-oz polyester Engineered and constructed to replicate the Pro Cut jersey silhouette Screenprinted name, number, team wordmarks, logos and sleeve details Embroidered NFL� Equipment patch sewn onto bottom of front collar or fabric insert NFL� Equipment jock tag with alpha sizing applied above left hem Reebok� logo screenprinted on each sleeve Decorated in the team colors Machine wash cold, hang to dry Officially licensed Made in Honduras Remember, no sales tax except in FL, IL, KY, NY, OH, PA and TX. ||||| The Denver Broncos traded up in order to snag quarterback Tim Tebow(notes) with the 25th pick last night in the NFL draft but it's become clear that another team would have grabbed him if given half a chance. ESPN is reporting that the Buffalo Bills planned to go after Tebow as well. The Bills had selected Clemson running back C.J. Spiller(notes) with the ninth overall pick but it may have been planning to take Tebow with pick No. 41, the ninth selection in today's second round. The Broncos apparently knew of the Bills' interest and moved up in order to not lose Tebow. Follow Yahoo! Sports Rumors on Twitter at @markjmill. Source: ESPN Related: Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos ||||| broncos premium The Broncos just got Back to the Future with the Quarterback of the Future. Tim Tremendous may be high risk, but he will be a Mile High Reward. Timothy Richard — you may know him as Tim — Tebow is The Real Steal. On Thursday night, the Broncos became relevant again for the first time since The Quarterback of the Past, John Elway, retired after back-to-back Super Bowls. The greatest all-time college quarterback will be a big-time quarterback in professional football. In this space last Sunday, I strongly recommended that the Broncos go for Tebow and wrote: Make it happen, McDaniels. The Broncos made the best pick of the draft, and Josh made it happen. One jersey No. 15, Tebow, replaces another No. 15, Brandon Marshall. They are quite far apart. On Thursday night in Florida, Tebow told one of his closest friends he would be drafted by the Broncos at the 22nd position. It took three more picks. Tebow has become the most celebrated fourth-string rookie quarterback in NFL history, the most controversial quarterback pick by the Broncos since Tommy Maddox was chosen in exactly the same spot in the first round in 1992, the most decorated player and the most determined quarterback, and the most puzzling dichotomy, in the entire draft. Josh McDaniels was willing to take a risk on the QB, take a chance on Tebow's

– It's been less than 24 hours since the Broncos selected Tim Tebow, and we're not even positive what his number will be yet, but you can already buy his jersey for $80 at NFLShop.com—and we're willing to bet a lot of Denver fans are going to do it. The hype surrounding the surprise first-round pick is Mile High. Woody Paige of the Denver Post is already crowning him the “Quarterback of the Future,” comparing him to no less than John Elway. Pretty much every commentator agrees that Josh McDaniels took a big risk by taking Tebow, but apparently he wasn't the only one willing to do so. The Broncos traded up to get Tebow because they knew Buffalo wanted him, too, Yahoo! Sports reports. So go ahead and buy a jersey—or, if you're rich, here's a collectible for you: the actual postcard announcing the pick. The lucky kid who wound up with it says he'll sell for “a million dollars. Seriously. $1 million.”

The Denver Broncos traded up in order to snag quarterback Tim Tebow with the 25th pick last night in the NFL draft. ESPN is reporting that the Buffalo Bills planned to go after Tebow as well. Tebow has become the most celebrated fourth-string rookie quarterback in NFL history. The Broncos just got Back to the Future with the Quarterback of the Future. Tim Tremendous may be high risk, but he will be a Mile High Reward. Timothy Richard — you may know him as Tim — Tebow is The Real Steal.

A 15-year-old boy celebrated a video game touchdown by whipping out a gun, waving it around and then fatally shooting a friend in the face. Police said the shooter and the victim, identified as 16-year-old Denzel Nash, were playing Madden NFL inside an apartment on Miller Ave. in East New York, Brooklyn, on Thursday night. The younger teen, whose name wasn’t immediately released, was charged late Friday with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. He told police the shooting was a tragic accident. Police are investigating where the suspect got the gun. ALASKA BOY FATALLY SHOT BY CHILD WHILE PLAYING VIDEO GAMES Police responding to a 911 call at 9:39 p.m. saw two young men leaving the building. The officers stopped them, determined they had been in the apartment and marched them back to the crime scene. That’s where cops found Nash shot in the face. The victim was rushed to Brookdale University Hospital, where he died at 10:15 p.m. At least one other person was in the room at the time of the shooting. Police said that person is 18 and was texting someone when the gunfire rang out. He hasn’t been charged. Denzil Nash was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he died. (Ken Murray/NEW YORK DAILY NEWS) Residents at the three-story walk-up — where spatters of frozen blood could be seen outside the door — were still in shock Friday night. “This is an unfortunate situation. It could be one of my kids,�? said Tamika White, 23, who lives right across the hall from where Nash was shot. “I feel sad. My heart goes out to the parents. ... That could happen to anybody’s child.�? Another man who lives in the building said the violence was sadly typical of the neighborhood. “I mean, this is East New York, things like that happen,�? he said, as tears streamed down his face. Overall serious crime has remained flat through Sunday in the 75th Precinct compared to the same time last year. Records show serious crime — including murder, rape, robbery, assault and burglary — was up less than 1%. ||||| A 16-year-old was shot and killed in Brooklyn Thursday night when a friend waved a gun to celebrate scoring a touchdown in a video game and the weapon fired, authorities said. Denzil Nash died from a gunshot wound to the face, and police were interviewing two teens who were with him at the time. Charges against one of the teens, a 15-year-old,... ||||| A 16-year-old boy was fatally shot during an apparent accidental shooting as he played video games with friends inside his Brooklyn home.Police responded to the house on Miller Avenue just before 10 p.m. Thursday, when they found Denzil Nash suffering from a gunshot wound to the head.He was rushed to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.Authorities say Nash was playing Madden with two friends, ages 18 and 15, when the youngest teen scored a touchdown, pulled a gun from his waistband and celebrated by waving it around. The gun discharged, striking Nash in the face.The two other

– A 15-year-old boy allegedly killed his 16-year-old friend while using a gun to celebrate a touchdown in a video game, WABC reports. According to the New York Daily News, Denzil Nash was playing Madden NFL at home with two friends on Thursday when the 15-year-old scored a touchdown. Police say the friend took a gun out of his waistband and started waving it in front of Nash's face while "gloating." The gun fired, and Nash was struck in the head. Police don't believe the teen meant to pull the trigger. The Wall Street Journal reports officers responding to a 911 call about someone being shot caught the 15-year-old and an 18-year-old allegedly trying to leave the scene. The teens led officers to Nash. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Both teens were taken in for questioning, and charges are pending against the 15-year-old. The 18-year-old was reportedly texting when the gun went off.

Denzil Nash, 16, was playing Madden NFL with two friends, ages 18 and 15, when the youngest teen scored a touchdown, pulled a gun from his waistband and celebrated by waving it around. The gun discharged, striking Nash in the face. The younger teen, whose name wasn’t immediately released, was charged late Friday with manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon. He told police the shooting was a tragic accident. At least one other person was in the room at the time of the shooting. Police are investigating where the suspect got the gun.

Universal reconceives the follow-up to focus on Chris Hemsworth's character as writer David Koepp exits. Universal has decided to shelf its planned Snow White and the Huntsman sequel and is instead focusing on a solo Huntsman movie starring Chris Hemsworth. Kristen Stewart will not be invited to return if the follow-up goes forward. PHOTO: Snow White and the Huntsman Starring Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth Sources tell The Hollywood Reporter that the sequel to June's Snow White, which starred Stewart, Hemsworth and Charlize Theron, is being reconceived as a spinoff movie. It's unclear whether director Rupert Sanders will return, though one source with ties to the production says he will. However, screenwriter David Koepp, who had been hired to pen the continuation of the original film, is being settled out of his rich contract, according to sources, as the project is being transformed into something other than the movie that Koepp had been hired to write. "The studio is currently exploring options to continue the franchise," a Universal spokeswoman says. The move comes in the wake of Stewart, 22, and the married Sanders, 41, apologizing publicly for a romantic affair after compromising photos of the duo were published in July. (Stewart was dating her Twilight co-star Robert Pattinson.) While it might have been awkward for Stewart and Sanders to reunite for a sequel, it is not clear why the decision to move forward without Stewart was made. It is highly unusual for Hollywood studios to drop stars of franchises between the first and second installments. The original plan, according to sources, was to make two films featuring the Snow White character and a third film spinning off the Huntsman, similar to how Fox's X-Men series has spun off Wolverine. PHOTOS: Kristen Stewart Vs. Lily Collins Projects: Anatomy of a Snow White Smackdown It's far from clear whether a Snow White follow-up will ever get made. The movie was a modest hit for Universal, grossing $389.2 million worldwide on a budget of about $170 million. But Stewart, one of Hollywood's top stars thanks to the Twilight franchise, commands a hefty salary. Declining to pick up her option would shave millions from the budget of a second movie. Universal is looking for a new writer, and insiders hope to start filming in July when Hemsworth, who also stars in Marvel's Thor series, becomes available. Borys Kit contributed to this report. E-mail: Kim.Masters@thr.com Twitter: @KimMasters ||||| Kristen Stewart attends an industry screening of "Snow White and the Huntsman" in Los Angeles in May. (Alex J. Berliner / ABImages / ) While a recent cheating scandal involving Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson may be affecting their personal lives, it has yet to have any serious ramifications on the young "Twilight" stars' careers. As Pattinson hit the promotional trail this week to talk up his new collaboration with David Cronenberg, "Cosmopolis," in which he stars as a paranoid billionaire, reports surfaced that Stewart had been dropped from a planned follow-up to her summer film “Snow White and the Huntsman.” But the studio that released that film,

– First Kristen Stewart lost her boyfriend; now her affair with Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders may have cost her a job. The Hollywood Reporter says Stewart has been "dropped" from the Snow White sequel, which will now focus solely on the Huntsman character played by Chris Hemsworth. Sources say Universal originally planned to make three films—two including Stewart's character, and one focusing just on the Huntsman—but that plan has changed, and Stewart will not be asked back. But, E! notes, "dropped" may be too strong a word, considering Stewart was never officially attached to the sequel (and neither is Hemsworth, at least officially), and she herself told E! earlier this summer she's not contractually obligated to return. Even so, the Reporter calls it "highly unusual" for a star not to be invited to a second installment of a franchise. The Snow White screenwriter, David Koepp, will also not return since the project is now different than what he was hired to write. As for Sanders, his future with the franchise is still unclear, but one insider says he will return. (And a Universal rep tells the LA Times that Stewart's character could still return to the Huntsman-centric film.)

Universal reconceives the follow-up to focus on Chris Hemsworth's character as writer David Koepp exits. It's unclear whether director Rupert Sanders will return, though one source with ties to the production says he will. The move comes in the wake of Stewart, 22, and the married Sanders, 41, apologizing publicly for a romantic affair after compromising photos of the duo were published in July. It is highly unusual for Hollywood studios to drop stars of franchises between the first and second installments.

Use whatever adjective you want to describe the 2018 Pac-12 Championship Game but chances are it will be a synonym of ugly. And it won’t matter one bit to fans of No. 11 Washington as they topped No. 17 Utah by a very indicative 10-3 score on Friday night to capture the league title for a second time in three years and book their trip to the Rose Bowl Game for the first time since 2001. As one would expect in a game featuring two of the best defenses West of the Mississippi, offense was hard to come by in this one — both because of what defenders were doing and want offensive skill players were not. Huskies quarterback Jake Browning was again a bit of a liability as a passer with one interception (and several others that could have been picked) but did wind up making a few key plays to move the sticks in the second half and finished the game with 187 yards and a few key scrambles as well. He combined with Myles Gaskin (71 yards rushing) and Salvon Ahmed (28 on the ground) to help Washington dominate time of possession nearly 2-to-1 in the game however, certainly a winning formula given they could lean on their defense pretty much all night. And what a defensive performance it was. The Huskies held the Utes to only 188 yards in the game and recorded three turnovers to go with two sacks and numerous pressures. Defensive back Byron Murphy also all but won UW the game in the third quarter with one of the most remarkable pick-sixes you’ll ever see as he snatched the ball off an opposing wideout to return it 66 yards for the game’s only touchdown. BYRON MURPHY, ARE YOU SERIOUS?! The @UW_Football DB picks the ball off the Utah player and returns it 66 yards for a touchdown. 📺 FOX pic.twitter.com/ztUHF0RFz7 — Pac-12 Network (@Pac12Network) December 1, 2018 While many in purple will note how good the team is on that side of the ball, there was also plenty of issues getting anything going for the team in red as a 53 yard Matt Gay field goal that barely cleared the crossbar was the only bright spot of the game for the Utes. Quarterback Jason Shelley must have used up all his second half magic last week against BYU as it was rough from start to finish for the youngster in throwing for 137 yards and a trio of interceptions all on consecutive drives across the third and fourth quarters. Tailback Armand Shyne chipped in with 37 yards rushing to barely outpace receiver Britain Covey and his 14 yards on the ground. Crazy as all those numbers were, the team still had a chance to tie things up in the final few minutes before turning the ball over on downs. While the ending wasn’t quite what Utah wanted at Levi’s Stadium, it was still a remarkable campaign for Kyle Whittingham as he guided his team to their first South Division title, a victory over their in-state

– Ole Miss head coach Hugh Freeze's five years with the team ended abruptly Thursday after he faced a choice: Resign, or be fired for "moral turpitude." Freeze resigned from the Rebels effective immediately after the University of Mississippi discovered that he had used his school-issued phone to make a call to an escort service last year, USA Today reports. Athletics director Ross Bjork says the brief call was initially thought to be a misdial, but the university then looked into the rest of Freeze's phone records and "discovered a pattern of conduct that is not consistent with our expectations as the leader of our football program." Bjork says Freeze is leaving without a buyout or settlement, and if he hadn't quit, the university would have exercised the termination clause in his contract for moral turpitude, the Clarion-Ledger reports. NBC reports that Freeze was 39-25 in his time with the team and led Ole Miss to a Sugar Bowl victory last year. But he was dealing with multiple issues even before the escort call surfaced, including lawsuits relating to an NCAA probe that accused the program of 21 rules violations under his leadership. Ole Miss says offensive line coach Matt Luke will be interim head coach for the 2017 season.

No. 11 Washington beat No. 17 Utah 10-3 to win the Pac-12 Championship Game. The Huskies will now play in the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2001. The Utes were held to just 188 yards and three interceptions in the game. Byron Murphy scored the game's only touchdown with a 66-yard pick-six in the third quarter. The game was played at Levi’s Stadium in San Francisco, the home of the 49ers and 49ers in the NFL.

Officers said that Holmes carried three guns – a rifle and handgun and possibly a shotgun. They were found in the theatre after the shooting. They said that the witnesses told police that the man “just appeared” at the front of the cinema, possibly from behind the screen or a fire exit. Oates says one gunman stood at the front of one of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall. He says "witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire." He said that the motive was unknown “other than it was the latest Batman movie and there was a lot of people.” Holmes was arrested by police near his car at the rear of the cinema following the attack at about 12.40am local time. He was wearing body armour and a gas mask. Local police said his car was in a car park behind the cinema which was not generally used by the public. The 24 year-old later told police that there were explosives in his apartment building in north Aurora, about nine miles from Denver, Colorado. Aurora Police chief Dan Oates said: “He made a statement to us about explosives in his residence. We have evacuated the apartment building.” Mr Oates also said that police had no evidence that there was another gunmen. He added: “We have no evidence of a second gunman but we are concerned about that and doing everything to find out if that might possibly be true.” Eyewitnesses reported that a baby was shot at point blank range and some of the victims were children as a single masked gunman went on a rampage. The shooting happened at the Century Aurora 16 Movie Theater in a mall in the suburb of Aurora, Denver, Colorado which was packed for a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. Two separate devices were also said to have been found in vehicles outside the cinema. Local reporter Justin Joseph of KDVR said that, according to witnesses, the moment Batman appeared on screen a man wearng body armour and a gas mask, and wielding at least one long gun, stood up and faced the crowd What witnesses described as two "bombs" - now believed to be tear gas - were thrown into the crowd, he said. He said: "As people ran this gunman opened fire hitting people. Police sources have told us there are at least 10 bodies inside the cinema, most of them children or teenagers, and one baby. "A baby was shot at point blank range, the family were gathered around screaming." Brenda Stuart, from 850 KOA Radio, said: "People inside tell us they thought it was part of the movie. They heard what they thought were firecrackers, loud bangs and all of a sudden they saw the bullets flying. "Police officers are carting the injured to the hospital in their own cars, not waiting for the ambulances." A makeshift hospital was set up at the mall to treat those wounded in the attack.

– Horrifying details are emerging from the shooting at a Dark Knight Rises premiere that killed 12 and injured 50. Witness accounts describe a terrifying scene, complete with police dragging bodies out of the theater and injured children; KDVR confirms that some of the victims are as young as 12. "Reports say that many of the dead are children," it notes. Witness accounts and other reports, via the Denver Post, the Wall Street Journal, Sky News, and the Telegraph: "He looked so calm when he did it." "I thought it was some sort of publicity stunt for a second but then he threw tear gas over the crowd directly behind where we were. Then he started firing shots to the crowd. He just walked in pretty casually, threw the tear gas, then he just started firing." "A cop came walking through the front door holding a little girl in his arms and she wasn’t moving. I’d heard another witness in my theater, she was on the phone and the really messed up part for me was that she said she saw bullet holes in the little girl’s back." "There was a child struck, a little baby girl was struck in her back and that was something that’s going to stay with me for the rest of my life. You can never prepare yourself for seeing a mother holding her child." "As people ran this gunman opened fire hitting people. A baby was shot at point blank range, the family were gathered around screaming." "I thought it was pretty much the end of the world." President Obama called the shooting "horrific and tragic," and assured, "We are committed to bringing whoever was responsible to justice, ensuring the safety of our people, and caring for those who have been wounded." Click for the latest details on the 24-year-old shooter.

Shooting happened at the Century Aurora 16 Movie Theater in a mall in the suburb of Aurora, Denver, Colorado which was packed for a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises. Police sources have told us there are at least 10 bodies inside the cinema, most of them children or teenagers, and one baby. Eyewitnesses reported that a baby was shot at point blank range and some of the victims were children as a single masked gunman went on a rampage. What witnesses described as two "bombs" - now believed to be tear gas - were thrown into the crowd.

The Islamic State has announced that they will start producing their own currency in areas under its control, in an effort to “emancipate itself from the satanic global economic system”. Isil which is thought to be the wealthiest terror group in the world - announced on Thursday its plans to reinstate an ancient Islamic dinar currency using gold and silver coins in a move "purely dedicated to God" The self-declared state’s Treasury said it would soon be issuing another statement to explain the new currency's exchange rate and where to find it. The currency, based on the original dinar coins used during the Caliphate of Uthman in 634 CE, will include seven minted coins: two gold, three silver and two copper. On one of the gold coins with be a symbol of seven wheat stalks and on the other a world map. The silver coin had three different denominations: one symbolised with a spear and shield, another with a white minaret of Damascus and a third with the al-Aqsa mosque - one of the holiest sites in Islam. For the copper currency, one coin has a crescent while another more valuable coin has a palm tree. While the highest value gold coin will be worth about $694, its lowest-denomination copper coin will be just seven cents. “The purchasing power of the money they’re emitting will be wholly dependent on what the purchasing power of gold, silver and copper are,” Steven H. Hanke, professor of applied economics at Johns Hopkins University, told the FT. “The important thing is: where are they going to get the gold and copper? Isis will have to confiscate more property through theft and the spoils of war.” Isil is striving to establish a completely self-sufficient state, and oil production will be part of achieving that. It in unclear how the group will be able to resource enough of the precious metals to ensure widespread distribution of the coins. However, paying from it will not be a problem. Isil is thought to make as much as £2 million a day from the oil refineries under its control in Syria and Iraq, as well as receiving funding from supporters in the Gulf. They are thought to earn up to £5 million a month through extortion of local businesses as well as millions from selling off looted artefacts. In the past year they are estimated to have made £40 million from taking hostages, with each foreign hostage thought to be worth £3 million. ||||| Story highlights An expert describes ISIS as the world's wealthiest terrorist organization The currency will include seven coins: two gold, three silver and two copper, according to ISIS The group says its aim is to stay away from the "tyrant's financial system" ISIS has seized large swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria ISIS is planning to mint its own currency in gold, silver and copper, the group said Thursday. Its aim is to stay away from the "tyrant's financial system," ISIS said in a statement. It said it would issue another statement to explain the new

– Who needs a "tyrant's financial system" when you can mint your own money? That's apparently the thinking of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, which plans to mint its own currency of seven coins—two gold, three silver, and two copper, reports CNN. The Telegraph adds that the coins are inspired by the dinar coins used during the Caliphate of Uthman in AD634. In a statement, the Islamic State explains the decision is "purely dedicated to God" and will remove Muslims from the "global economic system that is based on satanic usury." Though ISIS is rich—and raking in as much as $3 million a day from the oil refineries it controls—it isn't clear how the group will get its hands on the precious metals it needs. One economics professor suggests ISIS "will have to confiscate more property through theft and the spoils of war." The Financial Times explains just how much metal will be needed per coin: 21.25 grams of 21-karat gold in the most valuable (putting its worth at about $694), and 10 grams of copper in the least (the equivalent of 7 cents). Observes Borzou Daragahi for the FT: "Despite seeking to distance itself from the international economy, the new currency's underpinnings may make ISIS's economy even more heavily dependent on global fluctuations than most, specifically on precious metal and commodity prices." Designs for the coins show a spear and shield, wheat stalks, a world map, a palm tree, and the al-Aqsa mosque.

Isil is thought to be the wealthiest terror group in the world. The currency will include seven minted coins: two gold, three silver and two copper. While the highest value gold coin will be worth about $694, its lowest-denomination copperCoin will be just seven cents. It is unclear how the group will be able to resource enough of the precious metals to ensure widespread distribution of the coins. However, paying from it will not be a problem as they are thought to make as much as £2 million a day from the oil refineries under its control.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — After just two days, Florida ended its controversial black bear hunt because a higher than expected number of bears had been killed. Wildlife authorities said late Sunday that 295 bears taken overall, nearing the official limit. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission posted a statement on its website saying it had closed the 2015 hunt because it was approaching an agency "objective" of 320 bears overall. "The 2015 bear hunt is officially over," the statement said. Wildlife officials had already shut down hunting in designated central and east Panhandle regions of Florida after the first day Saturday. The statement late Sunday said additional North and South units were closed to hunting after the second day, meaning hunting had ended in all four "bear management units" were it was allowed. Authorities say they weren't alarmed by the numbers, saying the figures suggest the bear population is higher than they thought. The hunt was approved earlier this year after considerable and contentious debate. Backers estimated Florida's black bear population had grown to 3,500 — from a few hundred in the 1970s. But opponents challenged those numbers. More than 30 states allow bear hunting in some form, officials said. Earlier Sunday, the agency's executive director, Nick Wiley, told The Associated Press the agency closely monitors the numbers of bears taken and was already leaning toward ending the hunt after two days. The agency's subsequent statement late Sunday said the agency "took a conservative approach ... building in buffers so the number of bears harvested would stabilize growing populations while ensuring a continuation of healthy bear numbers." Officials shut down the central and east Panhandle regions after the hunt's first day Saturday. They said 112 bears were killed in the Panhandle region at last count, nearly triple the 40 kill limit for that area. In the central region, 139 bears were killed, it said. The agency's statement added that 23 bears were taken in the North unit at last count and 21 bears in the South unit before those final two areas were closed Sunday to hunting. "From a biological sustainable population perspective, none of these numbers are worrisome to us, we have large growing bear populations," said FWC's Thomas Eason, speaking Sunday before the overall hunt had ended. More than 3,200 hunters purchased permits to participate, including 1970s rocker Ted Nugent and Liesa Priddy, a rancher and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission member who voted to approve the new hunts. Backers of the hunt said growing numbers of bears presented a safety problem, as close encounters with bears made headlines in recent months. Activists have argued that the state should instead focus through other means on curbing nuisance bears and assuring safety through trash management and other means. Opponents of the hunt staged protests around the state over the weekend. Officials set up 33 stations where hunters were required to record each kill within 12 hours, with some of the last stations to remain open until noon Monday. Hunters were prohibited from using dogs or bait to lure the

– Hunters hoping to take advantage of Florida's weeklong bear hunt—the first in 21 years—have had to shoulder their rifles after just two days. "I have signed the order to close the hunt," Nick Wiley of the state's wildlife commission said Sunday after 295 bears were killed. The number is likely to rise as hunters have 12 hours to report their kills. Wiley said the max limit of 320 bears would likely be exceeded with another day of hunting, adding, "We'd rather err on the conservative side." Still, the number of dead bears did exceed limits in specific areas. Some 112 bears were killed in the eastern Panhandle in the first day of hunting, though the limit was set at 40. Hunters in Central Florida felled 39 more bears than the area's limit of 100. "The bears haven't been hunted in 21 years, so they're relatively naive," says the commission's bear expert. Wiley hailed the hunt as a success, but not everyone was pleased. Opponents warned that the loss of too many animals would be devastating to a population—estimated at 3,300—that was only recently scratched off Florida's imperiled-species list. A rep for the Sierra Club, which opposed the hunt, said the limitless hunting permits sold may have "set back the recovery of the bears for years, if not decades." The public was generally against the hunt: About 75% of the 40,000 responses received ahead of the commission's vote on the hunt this summer were against it. However, 3,779 hunters, including Ted Nugent, were eventually issued licenses, which earned the state $376,900, per the AP and Orlando Sentinel. Officials are now investigating possible hunting violations and say one hunter has been charged after shooting a cub.

Officials say 295 bears were taken overall, nearing the official limit. Authorities say they weren't alarmed by the numbers, saying the figures suggest the bear population is higher than they thought. The hunt was approved earlier this year after considerable and contentious debate. Backers estimated Florida's black bear population had grown to 3,500 — from a few hundred in the 1970s.. Opponents of the hunt staged protests around the state over the weekend, with some of the last stations to remain open until noon Monday.

Hope Hicks. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images It has been almost three weeks since White House communications director Hope Hicks announced that she was quitting her job. On Sunday, New York magazine published a succulent cover story on Hicks’s role as “Trump whisperer,” the circumstances surrounding her departure, and the chaos she leaves in her wake. This story left me with a needling question: How is it possible to read 6,000 words of deep, attentive reporting on Hicks and still feel no closer to understanding her as a human at all? “What Hope Hicks Knows,” by reporter Olivia Nuzzi, is a textured (if too-flattering) portrait of Hicks’s final months, a fine specimen of the palace-intrigue style of Washington reporting. She traces the undulating fortunes of Corey Lewandowski, and uncovers the shady “elite agency” that snapped the first paparazzi photographs of Hicks with now-disgraced paramour Rob Porter. She deploys delightful if possibly meaningless details, like the fact that Hicks made sugar cookies for the White House communications staff on Valentine’s Day; each little package included a note written in silver marker, with a message like “Believe in love.” And Nuzzi scoops up insight into Trump himself along the way. Hicks is “the only person he trusts,” one source tells the reporter. “He doesn’t trust any men and never has. He doesn’t like men, you see. He has no male friends.” At the center of it all, Hicks herself remains a mystifying figure. Almost the only thing anyone seems to actually know about her is that she doesn’t want attention. Everyone around her agrees she wields enormous influence over Trump, but no one seems to have a bead on her core beliefs, or even if she has them. She’s a paradox wrapped in an enigma wrapped in an extremely glamorous tuxedo. It seems likely that Nuzzi couldn’t have put together a profile this intimate without its subject’s help. Indeed, the reporter tweeted Sunday night that she had spent time with Hicks over the last few weeks, but her subject “declined to speak on the record”—a very different thing than declining to speak at all. The level of detail almost dares the reader to imagine any other possibility. In the opening set-piece alone, Nuzzi takes us inside one of Hicks’s private notebooks, recounts her prayer habits, and tells us exactly what happened in the Oval Office when Hicks resigned. In Hicks’s three years in the spotlight, she has only spoken on the record a couple of times. And even those interviews seem designed to obscure. In a Forbes “30 Under 30” feature last year, she drops bombshells including the fact that her favorite take-out order is coffee, and her favorite app is Uber. It’s the Proust questionnaire as filled out by a block of tofu. Nuzzi profiled Hicks for GQ in 2016 in another write-around executed without on-the-record quotes from its subject; that piece notably opened with a scene in which Trump extols Hicks’s talents to Nuzzi as Hicks herself sits silently beside him. Another sharp piece, by Annie Karni in Politico last year, left Hicks seeming

– New York magazine is out with a lengthy profile of former presidential aide Hope Hicks that provides some behind-the-scenes snapshots of her stint in the White House and her close, daughterly relationship with President Trump. (He would regularly summon her to his office by shouting, "Hopester!" or "Hopey!") Just maybe don't expect it to reveal too much, with the article leaving Ruth Graham at Slate wondering, "How is it possible to read 6,000 words of deep reporting on Hope Hicks and still not really understand her at all?" The question, though, meshes with the gist of the profile, which emphasizes that the 29-year-old Hicks was that rarity in DC: someone who shunned publicity (though also someone who cares about her public image). The story by Olivia Nuzzi recounts that Hicks considered resigning twice before eventually making the move on Feb. 28. "She'd prayed a lot over the weekend," then opened a notebook in her White House office that morning with pro and con lists about resigning—not if, but when, writes Nuzzi. At noon, she informed Trump she was out immediately, tired not of him but of the toxic DC environment. "Before she could finish resigning, Trump interrupted her," writes Nuzzi. "He told her that he cared about her happiness, that he understood her decision, and he would help her do anything she wanted to do in her life. He said he hoped she would go make a lot of money. He also said he hoped that she would come back at some point." Then Trump added, “I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through.” Click for the full profile, which deals with Hicks' high-profile personal relationships with former Trump aides Rob Porter and Corey Lewandowski.

New York magazine published a cover story on White House communications director Hope Hicks. Julian Zelizer asks: How is it possible to read 6,000 words of deep, attentive reporting on Hicks and still feel no closer to understanding her as a human at all? Zelizer: At the center of it all, Hicks herself remains a mystifying figure. Almost the only thing anyone seems to actually know about her is that she doesn’t want attention, Zelizer says. The story is a fine specimen of the palace-intrigue style of Washington reporting.

CHESAPEAKE, VA- A Virginia mom brews up controversy, after breastfeeding at a bar while drinking a beer. Mom Crystal McCullough was with her infant daughter at Big Woody's bar Monday, celebrating closing on a new home. She doesn't deny drinking alcohol while feeding her baby, but says she only had a few sips of beer. But other customers noticed, and employees closed her drink tab. McCullough says she's upset over how employees handled the situation. "I was so angry and so hurt and in disbelief," she said, "I have nothing to hide. I don't deny that I had alcohol and was breastfeeding, but it's how I went about it and how I always go about it that makes the difference." "Our concern was for the child, really that's what it is," said bar employee Craig Davis, "He kind of said the breastfeeding is kind of bothering a few customers. He didn't want to say bad mom, didn't want to judge anybody." The incident has earned McCullough support, and also some criticism. Guidelines vary on how much mothers can drink while safely breastfeeding their children. ||||| Crystal McCullough says she and her husband met some friends for drinks at Big Woody's Bar & Grill to celebrate the Labor Day (Photo: Family photo via WVEC) CHESAPEAKE, Va. - It's a story that's exploded on social media. A mother breastfeeding her baby at a popular bar and restaurant in Chesapeake, is told to stop. The manager says the act was bothering other patrons. Crystal McCullough says she and her husband met some friends for drinks at Big Woody's Bar & Grill to celebrate the Labor Day holiday. When she began breastfeeding her child, the manager approached her and asked her to be more discreet, saying patrons were complaining. "This is a natural right that you're allowed to give your child. I said that it's the law for breastfeeding in public and that I'm allowed to do this. And then he proceeded to look at the table and saw a beer in front of me," she said. Crystal says she had one or two sips of beer before she began nursing her nearly one-year-old child. She says she is well aware of the dangers of drinking and breastfeeding. "At the time, I was only drinking water. I did have a beer and a shot, but that was for later. And I said, 'No I'm not.' And he said, 'Well I do have the right to refuse you service so I'll be cashing you guys out." Furious at how the situation was handled, she took to social media to tell her story, and it blew up --some taking her side, others blasting her. But bar owners say it's not the breastfeeding they had a problem with. "She was asked to leave because it became confrontational, and we couldn't resolve it amicably. Could we have handled it better? Sure. But this has been made out to be that we are anti-women breastfeeding in public, and that's not the case whatsoever," co-owner of Big Woody's Jeff LeRoy said. In

– Customers at Big Woody's bar in Chesapeake, Va., weren't terribly comfortable with two of the pub's patrons over Labor Day weekend: Chrystal McCullough and her infant daughter, whom she was breastfeeding while having a beer, Fox News reports. Staff closed her tab down and asked her to leave, but while McCullough doesn't deny drinking, she says she only had a couple of sips, that she was guzzling water, and that the rest of the beer—and the shot of Fireball whisky in front of her—was for when she finished nursing, she tells WTKR via Fox. McCullough says the problems began when a manager came over to ask her to be more "discreet" about breastfeeding her baby, KHOU notes. It was then that he reportedly noticed the drink in front of her and said, "I'll be cashing you guys out." McCullough was asked to leave because "it became confrontational," one of the co-owners tells KHOU—but McCullough says they violated her rights as a mom and hurt her feelings. "[Breastfeeding] is a natural right that you're allowed to give your child," she says. She adds, "I was so angry and so hurt and in disbelief. I have nothing to hide," according to My Fox Philly.

Crystal McCullough was with her infant daughter at Big Woody's bar Monday. She says she had one or two sips of beer before she began nursing her nearly one-year-old child. The manager approached her and asked her to be more discreet, saying patrons were complaining. Bar owners say it's not the breastfeeding they had a problem with, it's the way it was handled that's the problem, not the mother's actions. "This has been made out to be that we are anti-women breastfeeding in public," co-owner says.

A federal judge on Tuesday refused to invalidate last year's ruling against Proposition 8, deciding the gay jurist who overturned the same-sex marriage ban had no obligation to step aside because of a possible conflict of interest. The decision by Chief Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco left the ruling by retired Judge Vaughn R. Walker in place. Walker’s decision remains on hold pending a separate appeal to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Proponents of Proposition 8 argued that Walker's conflict was not his sexual orientation, but the fact that he was in a serious same-sex relationship that could conceivably lead to marriage. Walker, a Republican appointee, has never said publicly whether he wished to marry his partner. But he told reporters that he never considered his sexual orientation grounds for declining to preside over the Proposition 8 challenge. "It is not reasonable to presume that a judge is incapable of making an impartial decision about the constitutionality of a law, solely because, as a citizen, the judge could be affected by the proceedings," Ware wrote in his ruling. Photos: Reaction to court's decision to uphold ban in 2009 The chief judge said all Californians share an interest in having the the Constitution enforced. The "single interest" Walker shared with the same-sex couples who challenged Proposition 8 "gave him no greater interest in a proper decision on the merits that would exist for any other judge or citizen," Ware wrote. [Updated, 2 p.m.: Ware said it was unreasonable to assume from Walker's relationship that he had such a great interest in marrying that he was incapable of performing his judicial duties. "The mere fact that a judge is in a relationship with another person -- whether of the same sex or the opposite sex -- does not ipso facto imply that the judge must be so interested in marrying that person that he would be unable to exhibit the impartiality which, it is presumed, all federal judges maintain." To assume Walker had a conflict of interest would be speculation based on "unsubstantiated suspicion that the judge is personally biased or prejudiced," Ware continued. The chief judge also said that Walker's failure to disclose his same-sex relationship prior to his ruling could mean that he had considered the situation and decided that no reasonable observer would conclude that his impartiality was questionable. "Silence is by its very nature ambiguous and thus is open to multiple interpretation," Ware wrote. If Walker had disclosed "intimate but irrelevant details of his personal life," he could have "set a pernicious precedent" for other judges by promoting disclosure of highly personal information, Ware said. Chad Griffin, who formed a civil rights group that launched the federal case, said Ware's ruling "erased all doubt that the Prop. 8 trial was anything but fair and thorough and sent a powerful message that extreme fringe groups cannot strong-arm the law." Peter Renn, attorney with Lambda Legal, a gay rights legal advocacy group, said Ware's ruling "decisively rejected an outrageous attack on the integrity of

– A victory for gay marriage in California today: The judge who overturned the state's ban last year was under no obligation to recuse himself because he is gay and in a long-term relationship, a federal judge ruled. "It is not reasonable to presume that a judge is incapable of making an impartial decision about the constitutionality of a law, solely because, as a citizen, the judge could be affected by the proceedings," wrote the judge. Opponents of gay marriage had argued that the now-retired Vaughn Walker should not have been allowed to decide the legality of Prop 8 because he had a personal stake in the outcome, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. No dice, said today's ruling. That logic would require "recusal of minority judges in most, if not all, civil rights cases," wrote James Ware, chief judge of US District Court in San Francisco. A separate appeal of the Prop 8 ruling is still pending in federal court, notes the Los Angeles Times.

Chief Judge James Ware of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco left the ruling in place. Walker’s decision remains on hold pending a separate appeal to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Proponents of Proposition 8 argued that Walker's conflict was not his sexual orientation, but the fact that he was in a serious same-sex relationship that could conceivably lead to marriage. Walker, a Republican appointee, has never said publicly whether he wished to marry his partner, but he told reporters that he never considered sexual orientation grounds.